We had our first SDORC membership meeting since the outbreak and it was good to see those of you who attended. We meet on the first Tuesday of the month at Ranch House Restaurant off Highway 67. I never tire of getting together and talking about land use stuff in person with friends.

We just heard from the BLM that the geothermal test well project in northeast Ocotillo Wells has been approved. There are no legal trails out that way so we don’t have to worry about losing opportunity. I do worry that if the wells are successful, more will come in areas where don’t want them. Four wells will be placed in the park boundary close to the Salton City airport and six will be just outside the park.

Comments were submitted by SDORC on new camping spots at Lark Canyon in McCain Valley. I commented that interested people should all be invited out there together to be shown what they are thinking of doing on the ground. While they are talking about that area, I suggested they look at adding new routes to the trail inventory, including a four-wheel drive challenge route. Right now, trails are limited to 40-inch-wide vehicles.

Ocotillo Wells will probably be closed for a while. Imperial County now has the third highest increase of new COVID-19 cases in California. With the hospitals full of virus patients, they don’t want people with OHV injuries coming in.

The Cleveland National Forest has announced that the closures of Corral Canyon and Bobcat campgrounds will end July 1. The restrooms at Four Corners and Bear Valley staging area are now open.

Over in the legislature, Brian Jones’ bill, SB1024, is moving along. The bill will allow for racing motorcycles to be registered and will allow racers to practice on public land. Because the bill will increase revenue, it stands a shot at turning into law. We just found out about AB3030. This bill will make California “protect” 30% of the state’s land and water by year 2030. There are quite a few enviro groups in support of the bill and we have joined some hunting and fishing groups in opposition. Odd thing about this bill is it does not define “protect” and a few other key terms, so we don’t really know what the threat is. We hate to have the courts help define that. Does BLM and National Forest land count? If so, we might not have much to fear. Good thing the bill could cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars and given the State’s current finances, any bill with a price tag will likely fail.

We don’t honestly know what we are going to do with the Lost Lizard Fun Run. The BLM won’t say if we can hold an event or not. If we learn that we can, we will let you know as soon as possible. We may have an informal camp and ride weekend.

We are looking into having stretchy, around the head, face masks with our logo on made to sell. More on that later.