July 15, 2026—The Marine Corps would like to remind the public of the upcoming temporary closure of the Johnson Valley Shared Use Area from August […]
Oceano Dunes
Great news! Oceano Dunes is open for off-roading. After only six weeks of closure, California’s only OHV area on the beach is open. The […]
Election
SDORC just had an election, and we have made some changes. Thank you, Desert Doug, for tending to our election. After 11 years of this […]
Ocotillo Wells SVRA is once again starting the process to form an updated general plan. This plan tells the park how it is to be […]
WEMO Ruling
I’m sure most of you have heard about the closing of 2,200 miles of trails in the Mojave Desert. WEMO stands for Western Mojave […]
Safety Bill
It has been a while coming, but recently an OHV safety bill has been introduced in the state legislature by Assemblymember Lori Wilson. Should […]
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. […]
OW Checkerboard Land Ownership
There was a recent court ruling that I find fascinating. It doesn’t affect […]
Wheels and Water X
Our big show is coming to the Dianne Jacob Lakeside Equestrian Park in Lakeside on May 31 and you are all welcome […]
Coming Events
Wheels and Water X
SDORC is hosting an outdoor recreation expo May 31 at Diane Jacobs Equestrian Center from 8:00am to 4:00pm. […]
Chuckwalla National Monument
We first heard about the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument in December 2023 at a BLM Desert Advisory Council Meeting. I don’t really like […]
Desert Tortoise
We saw that the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service was working on a conservation plan for the desert tortoise in California for nonfederal entities. […]
Corral Canyon
The cost of camping at Corral Canyon is going up. The Cleveland National Forest is raising rates for camping across the forest and will […]
Megan Marie Lopez
In January 2022 Megan Marie Lopez was killed in an accident in Ocotillo Wells on Shell Reef Expressway. She was hit head on […]
SDORC readers, this column goes to S&S Off Road Magazine each month.
First, I want to thank editor Sherri for allowing my column to be late. […]
Idaho Plan Comments
Last month you saw our comments to the Idaho BLM Grand View Travel Management Plan. Our comments were unusually harsh but justified given […]
I would like to comment on the Grand View Travel Management Plan Environmental Assessment on behalf of the San Diego Off-Road Coalition. Some of our […]
Chuckwalla
We first heard about a proposed National Monument, called Chuckwalla National Monument, in the California desert last December. This proposal would go from east of […]
Bills
The California bill introduction deadline has passed and all the bills for the year are available for the legislature and public to see. I met […]
General Plans
Every National Forest, BLM area and State Vehicular Recreation Area operates under general plans. These plans have everything to do with what we can […]
Lobbyist and Bills
Because our lobbyist is new to off-road vehicles, we recently had a call to explain what types of bills we are looking for. […]
I’m back from my cross-country ride on the Trans America Trail. I can tell you it’s worth doing if you like traveling by motorcycle. I […]
I recently retired…
…from my full-time job and am about to leave for a long trip. It’s called the Trans America Trail, and I am heading […]
Oceano Dunes
Last month we saw that Friends of Oceano Dunes won their lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission, who voted to end off-road vehicle use […]
Jamboree
Our Jamboree at Lakeside Rodeo Grounds was a big success. We sold out of vender spaces several weeks before the event and had to turn […]
Federal Bill S.873
S.873, America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023, was introduced last March by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The bill discusses a wide […]
Jamboree
SDORC is having an off-road jamboree this June 24 at Lakeside Rodeo Grounds. So far we have 42 vendors signed up, 8 nonprofits and clubs, […]
End of Gas Off-Road Vehicles
A few people have recently asked me about Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-79-20, because in the order it states that “It […]
SDORC BBQ!
Our big announcement is SDORC will hold a fundraising BBQ at Lakeside Rodeo on June 24. We are planning a raffle, auction, music, interesting […]
Cleanups
SDORC helped put on two recent OHV area improvement days recently. A week after Thanksgiving, we put on a cleanup in north Ocotillo Wells SVRA […]
Lost Lizard
The 17th Lost Lizard Off-road Fun Run is now complete and a great time was had by all. I have been a part of […]
Lost Lizard Fun Run
Planning for the 17th Lost Lizard Fun Run is going full steam ahead. Online pre-entry is open and we have lots of […]
Side-by-sides
Unless you have been under a rock, you know that side-by-sides (aka UTVs) have become a huge part of off-roading lately. These vehicles are fast, […]
Dirt Rider Foundation
It’s official, the Dirt Rider Foundation is alive. Some of you may remember the group called Fight for Ocotillo Wells; well, that was […]
Kathy
I just took a quick trip to Sacramento for the memorial service for our slain lobbyist, Kathy Lynch. We met at the Sutter Club close […]
Kathy
It is with a heavy heart we have to tell you that our lobbyist, Kathy Lynch, and her partner Gerald Upholt were killed in late […]
Yamaha Grant
We’re happy to report that there is not so much bad news this month. Our big announcement is that Yamaha has funded our grant […]
CARB On Road Motorcycle Emissions
We submitted comments on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) proposal to implement new, tighter rules for on road motorcycles. I […]
Oceano Dunes
In the ongoing battle at Oceano Dunes, there has been a positive development. Friends of Oceano Dunes filed three separate lawsuits after the California […]
The 16th Lost Lizard Fun Run is history and it was a fun one. Lots of happy participants, fun checkpoints and a great raffle made […]
November 4, 2021—Tread Lightly! has awarded SDORC one of its BFGoodrich® Tires Outstanding Trails stewardship grants, in recognition of our ongoing efforts cleaning up trails […]
November 4, 2021—Congratulations to lobbyist Kathy Lynch, representing the Off-Road Vehicle Legislative Coalition (of which SDORC is a part), for winning the Off-Road Motorsports Hall […]
This month we will be talking about trouble on Otay Mountain, our bill being signed into law, Carnegie SVRA, OHMVR Division birthday, Superstition / bombing […]
Here are SDORC’s very own VP Audrey Mason and Secretary Nicole Honstead on KUSI getting ready for the upcoming Rebelle Rally! Wishing you ladies all […]
Legislation
The California legislative session ended in September and every bill that had a chance had to be passed by then. We follow state bills that […]
DAC meeting
The BLM Desert Advisory Council (DAC) had a meeting recently (yours truly is on the council). The all-day Zoom meeting covered some topics of […]
Legislation
This month we will talk about State legislation and all the events that are reappearing. Our legislative coalition is closely watching three bills right now. […]
Legislation
The world of California off-road politics has slowed down quite a bit lately. That is good for us, as most news in our world is […]
Today we will look at some OHV grant applications, state bills, law suits and our own Lost Lizard Fun Run.
Lost Lizard
The Lost Lizard Fun Run […]
Anza-Borrego Camping Fees
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) published a survey recently asking about camping in the park and tossing out the idea that they may […]
A big showdown is coming to Pismo Beach, aka Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). On March 18, the California Coastal Commission is expected […]
December 15, 2020—The United Desert Gateway & L.A.N.D.S. organization announce the cancellation of next year’s annual Sand Dunes Cleanup. This event, which has been held […]
As of this writing, all the areas where San Diego residents usually off-road are open except Corral Canyon, and there is no overnight camping at […]
Hang on, because there is a lot to talk about today. There is a new lawsuit in Oceano Dunes, action by State […]
Big news at Oceano Dunes: The county supervisor who opposed off-roading in the dunes, Adam Hill, whose office was recently raided by the FBI, has […]
There is a variety of topics affecting off-roaders this month and, surprise, some are pretty good for us. Sierra National Forest is going through the […]
As many of you know, SDORC now has its own radio show. SDORC Radio is on Dave Stall’s “The Answer” on the last Sunday of […]
We had our first SDORC membership meeting since the outbreak and it was good to see those of you who attended. We meet […]
Ocotillo Wells
I had the chance to sit down and chat with the superintendent […]
State Senator Brian Jones’ staffer recently contacted us and asked if we could take the Senator riding. Seriously, he wanted to go […]
Geothermal in Ocotillo Wells
The BLM has published an Environmental Assessment (EA) to drill up to four geothermal test wells in Ocotillo Wells. There is a […]
AB 1086
Last month I wrote about how the bill we have been fighting all year that would authorize State Parks to sell part of Carnegie […]
State legislature: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The legislature in California is in session and crazy things are happening. The good is that […]
Hang on because there is some important stuff going on in Oceano Dunes SVRA (Pismo Beach) and an announcement from the BLM. First though, some […]
Oceano Dunes (Pismo Beach) has been in the limelight lately. The only beach in California where you can legally drive on the shore (seven out […]
Two years ago a bill was introduced in California that would have grave consequences for off-roaders. Reauthorization of the state off-road program was hijacked by […]
At SDORC we helped with and looked at a lot of land use action this past year and I’d like to go over some of […]
CORVA’s Amy Granat recently went to Washington DC to testify before the Congressional Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. Her goal was to point out […]
SDORC held its annual election at our May meeting and we have a complete board of directors: Audrey Mason as VP, Rob Smith as Treasurer, […]
May 2, 2018—At the May general meeting the following members were elected to the SDORC Board of Directors. The positions become effective at the June […]
February 16 was the last day new bills could be introduced in the California legislature for 2018. The next day, our lobbyist searched through the […]
March 7, 2018—Rod Simmons from the Quick n’ Dirty mountain bike club spoke at the SDORC meeting last night to let the members know they will […]
January 17, 2018—The hard-working SDORC board members and volunteers are getting tired! SDORC plans an off-road expo this year, and in order to also put […]
December 17, 2017—We all love to get out and enjoy ourselves in the outdoors, but we don’t always think about how to ensure that we […]
Our 13th Lost Lizard Fun Run just happened and was a huge success. We had a record number of entries and more people than ever […]
The red sticker program was started in 1997 by the Air Resources Board for vehicles starting in 1998 that didn’t meet the new emissions standard […]
May 21, 2017—On Sunday May 21 a small work party of dedicated SDORC volunteers worked minor miracles on the two trails, originally created and adopted […]
May 5, 2017—At the May general meeting the following members were elected to the SDORC Board of Directors. The positions become effective at the June […]
April 22, 2017—A memorial service for Steve Bier will be held Monday, May 1 at 10 a.m. at the Borrego Springs High School football field, […]
Mar 28, 2017—On April 29, 2017 the San Diego Off-Road Coalition (SDORC) will be participating in the 52nd Annual Lakeside Western Days Parade. The theme […]
Last month I talked about windmills coming to McCain Valley and Lark Canyon OHV area. You might remember that a deal was made and some […]
It has been busy at SDORC, so let me fill you in. We just had our Lost Lizard Fun Run and what a success it […]
October 22, 2016—ATVs: Helmets required. Riders under 17 need ATV Safety Training. Riders under 14 require parental supervision. Riders need to be able to reach […]
October 15, 2016—I have some good news to share this month with all of you. First, SDORC has hired a lobbyist to help with the […]
September 14, 2016—Los Exploradores Search and Rescue (LESAR) has generously consented to provide medical services for the SDORC Fun Run in November. LESAR is a […]
July 24, 2016—There are big rumblings in Sacramento about the Off-Highway Division of State Parks. State Parks has been under scrutiny the last few years. It […]
July 14, 2016—Caltrans is permanently closing the Buckman Springs RV Sanitation Station on Sept. 12. This location no longer meets California Waste Water Quality Standards for […]
June 2, 2016—It has been one year since I became your president at SDORC, and the fight to protect off-roading never seems to get easier. A […]
June 11, 2015—SDORC is an organization that works to keep land open for off-road vehicle use and advocates for off-roading. We have developed relationships with […]