OHV restoration

[Sal]

from the desert e-news april 09

The El Paso Wilderness Restoration Project is currently undergoing plans for implementation next year. In conjunction with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the Ridgecrest Bureau of Land Management office, the California Wilderness Coalition will be working to restore 22 illegal off highway vehicle (OHV) trespass routes into the designated wilderness. The El Pasos are a vast and alluring wild-space that provides habitat to a wide range of native flora and fauna as well as recreation opportunities for hikers, horseback-riders, and outdoor enthusiasts with an admiration for the El Paso’s beautiful desert landscape.

The restoration project will involve bringing in large boulders to obstruct the illegal OHV route, and the use of SCA techniques to disguise the routes and jumpstart rehabilitation. Such methods have been tried and tested in other wilderness areas such as Golden Valley with positive results. The El Pasos project, like many of its kind, will be looking to community volunteers and activists to aid in the restoration efforts. Look for upcoming events next fall for a chance to participate in protecting amazing wilderness places in the California desert.

[LeeVW]

This is what happens when formerly legal roads get closed due to Wilderness designation.

[Plays In The Dirt]

This is what happens when formerly legal roads get closed due to Wilderness designation.

A Positive Way To Look At It - SOLUTIONS

Ride OHV's in the many-many areas that are available for that type of recreation

Ride your OHV as close as you legally can and hike the rest of the way to your destination

Do the bod a favor - buy a pair of hiking boots and go hiking. You can see so much more on foot

Buy a horse - Horseback riding is also a great way to see the country

Visit the many National and State Parks - You can drive right through many of them

Petition the Legislators to open more OHV areas in your state

Join a forum and waste time arguing opposing viewpoints and get absolutely nowhere.

Here's a map of OHV trails I quickly found doing a search: http://www.trailsource.com/scripts/two. ... COUNTRY=US - Another one:http://www.trailsource.com/ - There are many - many more of them

Of course these are only suggestions, but I'm learning that there are many positive solutions to the problems we face in our lives.

[Sal]

before the Cal Desert Conservation Act in 1980, virtually all travel was legal in that there were no complaints about it. After OHV'ers started making the desert a grapevine of interwoven trails, people started complaining and the agencies in charge of administering the areas began to close them to indiscriminate use.

What was "legal" was the routes that were then "designated" as open routes of travel. This was almost 30 years ago. Do you think that riders that forge these routes into the El Paso Wilderness are following routes that were formerly open?

Wilderness designation seems to be the only thing that will protect our open lands from OHV destruction.

[Dan]

Thanks, PITD. Solutions are the only approach that has any potential to end the wrestling match over public lands. But then, not everyone is looking for solutions.

Sal, you claim Wilderness designation is the only thing that protects our lands from what you call "OHV destruction". But in the very same thread, you post someone else's claim that Wilderness is being "destroyed" by trails and OHV use. I guess that particular Wilderness designation is not "protecting" those lands? So, which is it? Does the designation protect the lands, or does it NOT protect the lands? Please get your story straight, as we are all a bit confused as to your message.

We get the very same confusion from proponents of Ordinance 3973, the anti-OHV ordinance in San Bernardino County. They say the ordinance is required because of the "OHV abuse, retaliation, harrassment, destruction of private lands" etc. But then once it's passed, in one single breath, they claim the ordinance is working, and then they claim the retaliation, harrassment, abuse and destruction are still going on unabated, and that more restrictions on public use of public lands is warranted.

Truly, which is it?

My take is that those who push for restrictions simply want all public use of public lands with OHVs ended. First, they claim all they need is this new "reasonable" restriction to curb a problem. Then, once they get it, they claim the problem is just the same as before, and they need new restrictions. In reality, it's never enough for them. What they want is to ultimately close all public lands to public use, with all activities except their own to be rendered illegal. That is the only logical conclusion to their advocacy.

You can't possibly have it both ways. So, which is it?

[Brew]

What was "legal" was the routes that were then "designated" as open routes of travel. This was almost 30 years ago. Do you think that riders that forge these routes into the El Paso Wilderness are following routes that were formerly open?.

The El Paso Wilderness was designated as a wilderness in Dec. 1999.

But, it is good to hear that the enviro groups are trying to rally the troops to do some on-the-ground work, instead of just going to court.

Brew

[Dan]

People have been riding in the El Paso Mountains since at least the 1950's, likely well before that. It's where Burro Schmidt's Tunnel is located, as well as Last Chance Canyon, where much gold has been placer mined over the years. The Wilderness is at the extreme north edge of the range. The majority outside of the Wilderness area is still legal limited use trails. Chukar hunting used to be decent until the drought.