Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1093741
IN THE WIND P50 O n March 14, President Donald Trump signed into law S.47, the Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which over- whelmingly passed in the Senate and House last month. Rep. Paul Cook (R- Apple Valley) attended the signing ceremony at the White House earlier this afternoon. The Conservation, Manage- ment, and Recreation Act is a package of bipartisan public lands-related bills that passed the House or Senate in the previ- ous Congress. It includes criti- cal lands legislation Rep. Cook introduced in the last Congress, including the Santa Ana Wash Land Exchange Act and the S.47 Becomes Law, Great News For California Off-Roaders California Desert Protection and Recreation Act (previously known as the California Off-road Recre- ation and Conservation Act). The Santa Ana Land Wash and Exchange Act authorizes a land exchange in San Bernardino County, which will boost the economy, provide increased water storage, and protect critical habitat for threatened and endan- gered species. The California Desert Protec- tion and Recreation Act is the culmination of over five years of work in Congress by Rep. Cook, as well as over a decade of work by supporters on the ground. This landmark legislation cre- ates the first national system of Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation areas and designates or expands six Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Areas in the Califor- nia desert. These are Johnson Valley, Spangler Hills, El Mirage, Rasor, Dumont Dunes and Stoddard Valley. This bill creates additional protections for OHV users and ensures that these ar- eas cannot be closed by a future administration. The established or expanded OHV areas would total approximately 200,580 acres. Combined with the nearly 100,000 acres that make up the existing Johnson Valley OHV Recreation Area, this bill will en- Trump recognize all of this hard work by signing S.47 into law today. I thank President Trump, my colleagues in the House and Senate, and most importantly all of those people on the ground who worked tirelessly to get a compromise bill that we could all be proud of. This is a huge legis- lative victory." A member of the House Natu- ral Resources and Armed Ser- vices Committees, Cook served as an infantry officer and retired after 26 years as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. During his time in combat, he was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. CN sure that over 300,000 acres are open permanently for OHV use in the California Desert. Rep. Cook said, "It's been a long process to get to this point, but this is truly a model for how grassroots legislating should work. This bill had widespread support from local governments, recreational groups and conser- vation groups, as well as signifi- cant bipartisan support. It was a great honor to see President Finally, a win for California off-roaders. The passing of S.47 means more land to ride on— permanently.