Community ORV Watch

From Feb. 6 to 12, off-road vehicle promoters are expecting more than 15,000 participants to the Johnson Valley area for a huge ORV race. As we have seen in the past, these large gatherings can result in adverse impacts on local communities including traffic congestion, accidents, drunk drivers, trespass on private property and public lands, damage to CSA roads and fugitive dust.

An ORV race on public lands last August had tragic results when unsupervised participants acted irresponsibly. Both the Bureau of Land Management and the race promoter were faulted for failing to control the crowd. The cost of the permit for the event represented a fraction of the real costs of law enforcement and other public services. The BLM has now pledged to enforce a “cost recovery system” by which these kinds of races will pay for themselves instead of being an unwelcome burden on law enforcement and the taxpayer.

We are asking the sheriff’s department, California Highway Patrol, city and county code enforcement, state OHMVR division and the Bureau of Land Management to coordinate their efforts to protect our communities from the impacts of huge ORV events on public lands. We would like to offer the following recommendations:

1. Use of electronic message boards along major highways and roads to direct riders to the location of the event.

2. Public service announcements in local newspapers and radio stations to inform race participants about the relevant laws, encourage responsible recreation and rider safety.

3. Outreach by law enforcement at the site to educate the thousands of riders attending the event to respect the property rights of surrounding communities.

4. Mitigate the dust that will be generated by thousands of ORVs in an area that is out-of-compliance with state air quality control standards.

We see the race on Feb. 6 as an excellent opportunity to educate the riding public about the need to respect our communities. We believe that many of the law-abiding participants would welcome the information. Outreach about rider safety coupled with adequate supervision could save lives and decrease the chance for accidents — prevention and education are much less costly in both lives and resources.

The public is invited to a Community Meeting on Monday, November 22nd at 6:00pm at the Joshua Tree Community Center located at 6171 Sunburst Street just north of Highway 62 in Joshua Tree.

Representatives from the Sheriff’s Department, Code Enforcement, Bureau of Land Management, the California Highway Patrol and District Attorney’s office have been invited to discuss how they are addressing trespass, staging, nuisance, harassment and intimidation and property destruction by off-road vehicles.

The public will have an opportunity to ask questions and make comments to these officials at the meeting at this free event.

This event is sponsored by Community ORV Watch with support from the Desert Legacy Fund of the Community Foundation serving Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

On March 23, 2010, in a vote of 3-1, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, voted to eliminate the Staging Permit requirement from the County ORV Ordinance, in an action that threatens to make County residents more vulnerable to increased noise, dust, harassment and trespassing from abusive ORV riders. This unfortunate action removes an important protection from the Ordinance, one that has definitely improved the quality of life of County residents.

A large number of residents made public statements in support of preserving the Ordinance as is. These statements were passionate, informed and spoke directly to the issue of the negative consequences of changing the Ordinance. These statements also spoke to the fact that the process undertaken to gut the Ordinance by Supervisor Mitzelfelt was deeply flawed, as he only listened to the pro-access special interests, ignoring other views.

Supervisors Mitzelfelt, Derry and Ovitt voted to remove this protection from the Ordinance. Supervisor Gonzales expressed reservations that residents adversely affected by ORV abuse were not being heard, and voted not to change the Ordinance. Supervisor Biane was not present.

Supervisor Mitzelfelt had cut this deal with pro-access advocates, inappropriately negotiating this change with them last year. Supervisors Mitzelfelt and Derry came into this hearing with the issue already decided in their minds and nothing said was going to sway their vote. We thank Supervisor Gonzales for listening with an open mind and expressing well considered reservations on the negative effect that this action will cause.

We thank everyone who has been supportive of the efforts to protect the quality of life of residents affected by ORV abuse and protecting our beautiful desert.

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Read the LA Times Report.

(If you need transportation assistance to attend the hearing on Tuesday, please go to the end of this message for information.)

On Tuesday, March 23rd at 2:30pm at the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors hearing room, proposed changes to weaken the county ORV ordinance by eliminating controls on large stagings will be discussed and perhaps voted on.

(Note: Our recent ads in the HiDesert Star and Desert Trail stated that the meeting time would be at 10 AM. That is the usual time that Supervisors meeting begin. After the deadline to submit our ads, the BOS issued a statement saying that public comment on the ORV Ordinance would start at 2:30 PM. We suggest that you arrive at the Government Center no later than 2 PM.)

If the off-roaders get their way, as many as 199 riders will be able to gather on 2.5 acres of land in a neighborhood near you to ride for 6 days out of every 30 days without permits or oversight.

The off-roaders will be there in force and if you want to defend our communities from large stagings of ORVs Morongo Basin residents must be present to protest the decision by Supervisors Mitzelfelt and Derry to weaken the ordinance.

They need to hear loud and clear:

* DO NOT remove the staging portion of the ordinance.

* RE-CONVENE the stakeholder’s process to address any proposed changes to the ordinance.

* DO NOT allow special interests to dictate public policy.

* PROTECT our private and public lands from ORV abuse.

Attend this meeting has sign-up to speak your mind to the Supervisors.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED — defend our desert communities from ORV abuse.

Update: Transportation Assistance:

If you need assistance getting to the SB Government Center for this hearing there are a few people who can provide a ride. If you need a ride contact us at orvwatch@orvwatch.com NO LATER THAN MONDAY, 3/22 AT 8 PM and we will try to make arrangements to get you there. We will have two pick up points:

Twentynine Palms Pick up location
Bucklin Park
Located at Desert Queen and 29 Palms Hwy
Map Link

Yucca Valley Pick up location
Yucca Valley Park-n-Ride, located near the west end of Yucca Valley, on the northeast corner of State Route 62 and Kickapoo Trail. You can safely leave cars in one of the 137 lighted parking spaces.
Map Link

This fact sheet provides Community ORV Watch’s Position on the proposal to eliminate the staging provision of San Bernardino County Ordinance 3973 and covers the following areas:

• Why We Support Retaining the Staging Portion of Ordinance 3973
• While We Strongly Oppose Eliminating the Staging Provision We Are Open to Dialog
• Community ORV Watch Responses to Arguments Against the Staging Provision

Printable (PDF) Version

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Why We Support Retaining the Staging Portion of Ordinance 3973

The elimination of the staging permit requirement will weaken county ordinance 3973 by removing an important tool for the management of ORV activities on private and public lands. There continues to be conflicts between ORVs and residents in our communities and we need fair and effective laws to protect our private property. Before the ordinance, large stagings of 15, 25, and even 50 vehicles would ride day and night with no oversight resulting in conflicts with neighbors who experienced excessive noise, dust, nuisance and trespass on their private property. These problems still exist, but the situation has improved due to code enforcement’s oversight on staging.

This is an issue of the protection of private property rights and the quality of life in San Bernardino County.

The requirement for a staging permit has prevented problems with stagings. Code enforcement has used the requirement for a permit as a means to contact hundreds of riders and dozens of unpermitted stagings to inform riders of the law and break up groups that are trespassing on CSA roads, private property and public lands off-limits to ORVs. County residents have been able to be the eyes and ears for code enforcement by reporting unpermitted stagings that have been disruptive to their neighborhoods. Both code enforcement and the Sheriff’s department report that the staging portion of the ordinance has improved the situation in the Morongo Basin.

The ordinance was developed thought a stakeholder process in 2006 facilitated by Randy Rogers of county Code Enforcement that included stakeholders from community (COW, Western San Bernardino Homeowners Association) and conservation groups (CWC and Sierra Club) and representatives from the California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA) and a rider’s group. After four months of negotiations, county Code Enforcement brought the ordinance before the board where it passed unanimously.

Residents fought for the ordinance because they want to protect their private property from ORV trespass that often occurs as a result of stagings. A wide spectrum of constituencies support keeping the ordinance strong including residents, businesses, homeowners associations, all the conservation groups in the Morongo Basin and a former San Bernardino County Sheriff’s captain.

While We Strongly Oppose Eliminating the Staging Provision We Are Open to Dialog

If the supervisors want to change the ordinance, they should convene a group of stakeholders who, along with code enforcement, can recommend changes to the board. In this way we can come to a compromise that will serve both our communities and ORV riders. In 2007, Friends of Giant Rock (FOGR) attempted to repeal the ordinance and the board once again voted in favor of retaining the law. In December 2009, Supervisor Mitzelfelt proposed eliminating the staging portion of the ordinance without consulting with any of the original stakeholder groups. Policy should be based on the needs of our communities and not special interests.

We would agree to some changes to the ordinance including: a reduction or elimination of the permit fee (without removing the requirement for a permit); the definition of staging as 10 vehicles instead of 10 persons gathered to ride (which is how code enforcement currently interprets the ordinance); and, the ability of riders to apply for a permit once a year listing all of the dates of their stagings. These are similar to the recommendations proposed by code enforcement and are the kinds of compromises that are worked out in a stakeholder process.

Community ORV Watch Responses to Issues Raised Against the Staging Provision

Issue: Removing the requirement for a staging permit will make no difference.
Response: We know from reports by county residents, code enforcement personnel, Sheriff’s department and BLM rangers that the staging portion of the ordinance has worked to deter large, unmanaged gatherings of ORVs. This is the tool law enforcement asked for when the ordinance was passed. Code enforcement has used the permit requirement to approach dozens of unpermitted stagings when riders are engaging in illegal activity such as trespass on private property. The change would make a BIG DIFFERENCE and that is why so many people, groups and law enforcement are opposed to it.

Issue: Only ten groups have filed for permits.
Response: That’s because people do not want to spend $155 for a weekend of ORV recreation. We propose reducing the fee, but not eliminating the permit. Filing for a permit allows code enforcement to keep track of the stagings and monitor them. The fact that permitees expect to be monitored improves their behavior. Very importantly — the permit process provides neighbors with advance notice and the chance to challenge the permit with evidence of past behavior by a particular group.

Issue: The permit requirement has “disrupted Grandma’s birthday party”.
Response: This argument has absolutely no merit. Ask Mike Romage of Code Enforcement if his officers have ever broken up Grandma’s birthday or any similar type of gathering of people who are not there to ride. It may sound dramatic, but it just isn’t true.

Issue: People should not have to get a permit to recreate on their own land.
Response: People need to get a permit for activities that will impact their neighbors — bonfires, large and noisy parties or large gatherings, etc. This is how counties protect their residents from nuisance and disturbance. Residents have the right, and the county has an obligation, to protect their private property from trespass and their neighborhoods from the impacts of large groups of ORVs. Even ten ORVs make a big impact on the neighbors – noise, dust and nuisance. Many of the large stagings consist of people who come from outside of our communities and do not have to pay for the extra costs of law enforcement and damage to roads, berms and flood control.

Issue: The nuisance portion of the ordinance can take care of stagings.
Response: NOT TRUE. The nuisance portion of the ordinance puts the burden of proof on residents experiencing difficulties with stagings and has resulted in conflicts between neighbors over documentation. Some riders have sought restraining orders against neighbors who attempt to document trespass and nuisance. Code enforcement does not work evenings and cannot be everywhere at all times. If residents leave home for the holidays, no one will be there to report trespass often resulting from a large staging, and the nuisance portion does not cover damage to remote public lands.

Issue: Higher fines and stiffer penalties will adequately deter bad behavior at large stagings.
Response: Removing the staging element of 3973 replaces an effective deterrent. It is cheaper and more efficient to prevent problems than to have to respond to them. Major stagings frequently coincide with holiday periods when law enforcement resources are already stretched thin. Higher fines and penalties are a good idea and may serve as a deterrent as well, but it can be very difficult to catch riders to issue them a citation.

Issue: The staging element of 3973 is not enforceable.
Response: This is not our experience on the ground or the opinion of code enforcement, the Sheriff’s department, public lands managers or county residents. We know of many examples of large, disruptive stagings that have been disbursed by code enforcement and the riders directed to Johnson Valley. When stagings are permitted, code enforcement has a list of the staging events and monitors them. When they observe a large staging or get a report of one, they can consult the list and determine if it has been permitted. County residents can call in a large, disruptive staging and code enforcement can investigate. When riders trespass on private property, investigating Sheriffs can approach the riders where they gather.

On September 26, 2009 the BLM, Community ORV Watch and over fifty volunteers participated in a National Public Lands Day event to help remove trash, protect 100 year-old adobe ruins, erect signs and place barriers to protect sensitive habitat and historical resources from illegal off-road vehicle activity at the Poste Homestead.

A visit today to the Poste Homestead site shows evidence of heavy ORV abuse over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Off route incursion and damage is in evidence everywhere, including on all closed routes. Virtually 100 % of the vertical mulching installed during the recent Poste Homestead clean-up was destroyed. A large number and variety of ORV’s visited the site; ground evidence is consistent with dirtbikes, quad runners, and sand rails.

Much of the work done on National Public Lands Day has now been ruined and further damage has been done to the Poste Homestead. We are outraged at the damage done. Is the pro-rider community outraged as well? Pro-OHV-rider groups and individuals frequently blame their bad reputation on a few “bad apples”. They complain that organizations like COW exaggerate the negative effects of abusive off-road riding. They say the answer to any actual problem is “education”. Here is clear example of abusive riding in a place that is clearly marked as off-limits and ORV riders, who apparently have not been effectively “educated”, have plainly ignored those limits and damaged valuable natural and community resources. These riders are outlaws who feel that they can ride with impunity and without consequences.

Incidents like this along with the regular and on-going noise, dust, trespassing and harassment of citizens who object are why the efforts Community ORV Watch and others who are negatively affected by the abusive use of ORVs goes on. Please support our efforts.

Click the “read more” link below to view pictures of the damage done by this abusive riding.

Evidence of heavy Holiday ORV Traffic into Poste Homestead site. Photo taken near BLM kiosk.

Trash discarded near trees at Homestead.

Quad runner tracks between trees near homestead ruins.

Adobe block freshly dislodged from Poste Homestead ruins.

Deep ruts from heavy ORV use on South side of Tree grove surrounding homestead ruins.

Fresh off – route tracks near interpretive sign to West of trees & ruins.

Heavy Holiday ORV use on closed route. Vertical mulching used for closure was obliterated.

Sole surviving route closure feature; ORVs just went over or around it.

Heavy Holiday ORV use on another closed route. Vertical mulching used for closure was obliterated.

Heavy Holiday ORV use on another closed route. Vertical mulching used for closure was obliterated.

Heavy Holiday ORV use on another closed route. Vertical mulching used for closure was obliterated.

Heavy Holiday ORV use on another closed route. Vertical mulching used for closure was obliterated.

ORV tracks past a lone surviving vertical mulching feature.

Rutting left by illegal ORV travel on closed route on the face of the dunes to the SW of the Poste Homestead Adobe.

Evidence of heavy ORV activity over Holiday on top of dunes adjacent to Poste Homestead site. This location was accessed via use of closed routes.

As above, but a little more to the North to try to show extent of impact.

View of heavy use on closed route looking ENE towards the Poste Homestead from top of dunes. Note fresh off – route damage in upper left quadrant of image.

Better view of off route damage described in previous image. View looking North.

RULING PROTECTS CALIFORNIA DESERT LANDS

Judgement Overturns U.S. Bureau of Land Management Designation of More Than
5,000 Miles of Off-Highway Vehicle Routes in the California Desert

Eleven environmental organizations scored a huge victory in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages 25 million acres of public land in southern California known as the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), which is home to numerous critical environmental, recreational and cultural resources, including many protected animal and plant species. The ruling, by the Hon. Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California impacts off-highway vehicle (OHV) routes established within the last 30 years, as well as the designation of future routes.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, including Community ORV Watch, The Alliance for Responsible Recreation, California Wilderness Coalition, The Wilderness Society, Friends of Juniper Flats, Western San Bernardino Landowners Association, California Native Plant Society, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Desert Survivors argued that BLM’s designation of OHV routes in the Western Mojave (WEMO) region of CDCA violates the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). These Acts assure that environmental considerations, such as impacts to wildlife, soils, watersheds, vegetation and cultural resources, must be carefully analyzed and minimized prior to BLM’s designation of OHV routes. The groups were represented by Robert Wiygul, Skye Stanfield and the Center for Biological Diversity.

In its wide-reaching ruling, the Court held that BLM did not adhere to its own regulations in analyzing and minimizing environmental impacts during its designation of 5,098 miles of OHV routes in the Western Mojave in 2006. The Court also held that OHV route designations developed since 1980 are in violation of the CDCA Plan, which limits route designations to those in existence in 1980. The BLM has not adhered to that restriction, allowing development of hundreds of illegal OHV routes during the last three decades.

COW conducted ground-truthing surveys for the lawsuit that revealed that the routes actually encouraged trespass into private property and protected public lands. The court held that the BLM’s environmental review failed to consider an adequate range of alternatives and was insufficient in its consideration of impacts to soil, cultural resources, certain plant and riparian resources, sensitive animal species, and air quality. This ruling means that the BLM must reconsider the destructive environmental impacts of OHVs on public lands in the Western Mojave region.

Free T-Shirts, Breakfast, BBQ Lunch and Music Festival

On Saturday, September 26th, the Barstow Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is organizing a large volunteer clean-up of the Poste Homestead Natural and Historical Area in Wonder Valley as part of their annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD). The BLM is partnering with local organizations including the Mojave Desert Land Trust, the Morongo Basin Conservation Association, the 29 Palms Historical Society, Community ORV Watch and ORV groups and vendors that promote responsible recreation including Hutchins Motor Sports of Yucca Valley.

Everyone is welcome to participate in the clean-up and each volunteer will receive a free T-shirt, a breakfast of coffee, tea and pastries, BBQ lunch and live music at The Palms Bar and Restaurant at 8131 Amboy Road in Wonder Valley located about 10 miles east of 29 Palms.

The Poste Homestead Natural and Historical Area is located off of Chadwick Road between Amboy Road and Highway 62 in Wonder Valley. Over 100 volunteers will help remove trash, protect 100 year-old adobe ruins, erect signs and place barriers to protect sensitive habitat and historical resources from illegal off-road vehicle activity. Local groups have been working to protect this historical and natural resource that is home to threatened wildlife species and magnificent displays of wildflowers in the spring.

The clean-up begins at 7:30am with pastries, coffee and tea at the parking lot of The Palms Bar and Restaurant. Volunteers will be shuttled from the parking lot to the Poste Homestead site, about 4 miles to the east. After the clean-up, a free BBQ lunch and free live music concert will be provided back at The Palms Restaurant . Organizations are invited to table at the program. Everyone is invited to participate at this fun and exciting event.

Community ORV Watch is funded in part by the Desert Legacy Fund.

The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment today announced the winner of the 2009 Anthony Grassroots Prize, an annual $1,000 Earth Day cash award recognizing outstanding examples of grassroots environmental stewardship. The 2009 Anthony Grassroots Prize winner is Community ORV Watch, along with its founder, Phillip Klasky. Community ORV Watch will receive a $1,000 award from the Rose Foundation, which administers the Anthony Prize.

The Anthony Grassroots Prize was endowed by Juliette Anthony, a lifelong environmental activist who has received wide recognition for her work in protecting the Santa Monica Mountains, banning the toxic gasoline additive MTBE, promoting solar power, and publicizing the negative environmental impacts of ethanol, as well as her work as a legislative and regulatory consultant in renewable energy. Ms. Anthony, who chairs the prize jury, offered the following statement about this year’s selection of Community ORV Watch. “Protecting the desert, both for the native species, plant and animal, who need our watchful protection, and for those who visit the desert for its peace, COW does essential work. We are delighted to award COW this year’s Anthony Prize.”

The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment is a grantmaking public charity dedicated to supporting community-based initiatives to protect the environment and public health. For more information about the Anthony Prize, Prize Chair Juliette Anthony, or the Rose Foundation, visit www.rosefdn.org, or call (510) 658-0702.