Ormat, Geothermal and Ocotillo Wells
I was recently invited to the desert to meet with staff from Ormat Technologies and look at a geothermal power plant. These people are seriously looking at developing a geothermal facility close to the Salton Sea Airport. The people we met with (as well as staff from State Parks and the BLM) are in charge of obtaining permits for the project. While there are some ugly geothermal facilities near the south end of the Salton Sea, this facility would be much more modern and better looking. An important part is that they are planning on placing 10 wells near the facility. Some of you might recall the proposed geothermal project along Pole Line Rd by Icelandic America about 17 years ago. That project proposed drilling 25 wells. The Ormat project would have half the wells outside the park and half inside. The proposed project site is a couple miles from the open area of Ocotillo Wells and about 1/2 mile from the closest legal route. I don’t think this project will have a negative effect on OHV, but we will keep a close eye on it.
The BLM is holding an auction for geothermal leases in Imperial County. There are a bunch of square miles up for lease, but only one in Ocotillo Wells. That one touches Highway 86 and is about midway between S22 and Highway 78. There is no telling if it will ever become developed, but we will for sure keep watching it.

Hungry Valley
Hungry Valley SVRA has two actions going right now. They are updating the General Plan as well as creating a Soil Conservation Plan. We just learned about these two projects, so we will have details next month. Speaking of next month, I plan on going on a long motorcycle ride for most of September, so I may not get a column out until October.

Flat-tail horned lizards
I am heading out to the desert soon to watch BLM staff count flat-tail horned lizards. This is a species of concern and environmentalists have tried five times to get this lizard on the endangered species list. What keeps them off is an agreement by 11 agencies that manage land in Imperial County. They all work together to provide enough protection for the lizard to justify keeping it unlisted. I predict the environmentalists will try again to list it and I would like to be more knowledgeable about it in case I need to testify before the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The best way to keep the lizards off the list is to manage effectively (including counting) as a regular part of managing our public land.

Sand Sports Super Show and Off Road Expo
The big Sand Sports Super Show is back at Costa Mesa with hundreds of great vendors ready to show you all things off-road. If you love off-roading and show specials, you should make the trip to Orange County Events Center September 19-21. Click here for details.
Two weeks later (Oct 4 and 5) at the same venue will be Off Road Expo, the big show which will be aimed more toward dirt and four wheel drive vehicles. Again, there will be hundreds of vendors with great show specials for all thing off road. Click here for details.

RZR
Our friends from Premier Legal Center, A.P.C. are looking for Polaris RZR owners. They are looking for (1) California Polaris RZR owners who (2) received a “Stop Ride” recall notice in the past 5 years (3) were unable to use their vehicle for at least 30 days and (4) did not receive financial compensation from Polaris. Our investigation reveals that Polaris routinely pays California consumers subject to such a notice who call in to complain because of the California Lemon Law, but takes no action to compensate consumers who do not affirmatively call and complain. If this describes your RZR ownership, please call 619-235-0137 and see if they can help you.

Safety summit
The next State Parks sponsored Safety Summit is scheduled for September 3, with an OHV commission meeting to be held in the same place the next day. It is going to be in Redding California and we plan to attend.

Chuckwalla National Monument and CalWild
Calwild (formerly the California Wilderness Coalition) sent an email recently stating that they, with some Native American Tribes and other environmental groups, have intervened in the lawsuit to overturn the Chuckwalla National Monument on the side of the government. I don’t honestly know what they can bring to the table, but it adds some complexity to the lawsuit. At the end of President Biden’s term, he made the Chuckwalla National Monument. It is 624,000 acres in northern Imperial and eastern Riverside Counties. The monument and the lawsuit shouldn’t have much effect on off-road vehicle use, but we will keep an eye on it. The proclamation states that all routes will remain open until a management plan is created. That will likely take 10 plus years and will probably not close any currently open routes.

Ed Stovin, President
San Diego Off-Road Coalition