Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~_. - _. - ~ - • ~ : "." ~ -- - ~- - ==:::- .:::::::=: --- - .- -~- - - - " " . -< -: ~'-~. --='--- - shouldn 't we co nsider the fact that extinction is a natural phenomena. that at leas t 50 species bec o me ex tinc t each century? Archeologists are askin g for 16 squ are mil es in t he Blac k Hills, which shouldn't upset an y body . But th ey h ave also ide ntified a lar ge are a as a " possible milling site " - an area wh er e p ast tribes may h ave milled their grain. Th e larg es t o f t hese area s corresponds closely to the Rand-Spangle r open are a. Let's hope that . when the specialists begin hashing o ut the conflicts that "recre ation " overrides "possible milling site :' in importance. Speaking of re creation, the re creation resource specialist Bob Badaracco , is in a tough spot. Recreation covers not only ORV use, but hiking, hunting, rep tile observation, sightseeing, pleasure driving, birdwatching and backpacking. Remember, what we saw in California City was the complete set of possibilities, before any o f t he conflicts are resolved. Nevertheless the list of impro vemen ts to the recreational resource is very de pressing. Look ba ck at ho w many fo rms of recreation infringe on motorized vehicle use. No t only do the ani mal an d cu lt ural resource people want large ch unks of the desert closed, but even the recreationists arc hungrily ch o mp ing away at our areas. The hunters want Red Moun tain and the Spangler HiIls closed to ORV use to improve hunting . Sightseers wan t J "wbone closed to ORV use . So do the reptile watchers. Somebody wants the Trona Pinnacles closed to vehicular use - ever been there? All sorts of vehicle tracks around the b ase of the pinnacles, but the tracks are scarcely visible due to the hard sand surface . Na tu ral forces will erode th e pinnacles in the far distant future , but vehicle use around the base just plain isn 't harming them or detracting from their scenic value. Somebody else wants to nominate the Garlock Fault to the National Did anybody besides me who went to California City on June feeling 7th come 'away overwhelmed, confused, suffering vISions of odd co lo red blo tches chasing each other across h uge plastic overlays? Here's what we saw . I think. To begin with , UBLM n is no t a singular noun ; it's plu ral - a group of people with di fferent backgrounds, different ideas, and different ideals. They don 't always agree am o ng the mselves, even when they're supposed to . This ti me they were no t supposed to agree. Each resource specialist on the Desert Plan staff was working mo re o r less in dependently, resourcing his reso urce so to speak, foll owing this general p lan: 1. First they analyzed the ex isting situation regarding each desert resource, gathering inp u t fro m general meetings with the public (those Ridgecre st , Trona and L.A. meetings) and fro m meetings with individ ual user gro ups. At this stage (about 2 mon ths ago), Bob Tartter, with the help of Ro n Burpo, Bob Hayes and Mike Henshaw, submitted m ap s and recommendations on behalf of de sert riders - like movin g the n orth boundary of the To rtoise Preserve out o f the Rand Mountains, to open up the canyons for ORV use . By the way , that's th e kin d of information BLM needs - Tartter pointed o ut the fact that tortoises in habit an area which is b ounded more by natural terrain than by sect ion lines drawn on the map. 2. After collecting input fr om interested gro ups and individuals, each resource specialist studied the possibilities for im proved management of the potential of his own specialty. Eac h put his info rmation on colore d overlay m ap s and compiled a booklet containing all the possibilities, regardless of numero us co nflicts within each resource. Th at 's what we saw : a study by each specialist, listing every possible opportuni ty to deriv e m ax imum poten tial be nefit fro m his or her specific resource . J une 7 was t he fina l step in the information-gathering process. What they wanted from us was any additional information we happened to have. The specialists wen: then: to answer questions and gather information, and with a co up le of excep ti ons they did just that. At times some tended to be more interested in defensively arguing the merits of their case than in engaging in any in telligen t discussion, but on the other hand we had a co up le of bikers who behaved with all the maturity of the average 2-year-old also. Bill Te mpleton (vegeta tio n specialist ) really did his homework. The areas he has pinpointed for t he pro tect io n of rare pl ant species are small an d p recise, generally less than one sq uare mile eac h . It's my guess t ha t wh en he go t a letter fro m the Militant Society for the Protection of Everyweed saying "We saw a Plantus Pro tect us a few mil es off Highway 14 ," that he went out, located the plant, and drew the location carefully o n his map rather than blindly shading in a 60-square-mile are a somewhere in the vicinity of where he though t it was they said they thought they saw what might have been a rare plant. Less precise and less cooperative was the wildlife specialist. Instead o f listing I ' opportunities fo r resource imp rovement, n she showed "alternative A" (expanding the Tortoise Preserve to include the rest of Rand Mountains) and "alternative B" which is a new preservation area with boundaries su spici ous ly similar to 'the Fremont Valle~ n area. Another fascinating p oint. The wildlife specialist also explained 't hat both the dune ~ pe o ple ~ORV A) and the four-wncclers i CA4 WD) have sent letters supporting the tortoise fence . But nei th er CO RVA nor CA4 WD kn ow anything about any suc h lett ers. Ray Moo n, So uthern California vice president of CA4 WD, is against fe ncing the area. He favors the tortoise pre serve, but can 't see any reaso n why the northern boundary should n't be moved so uth to exclude the Ran d Mountains. Furthe r Wild life recom me ndation : Two areas to talling 80 sq uare miles h ave been reco mme nded as a protection area for the Vagrant Shrew. I can't understand why anyone would consider advocating using such a large amount of land for the protection of a rodent. Even if they are in danger of extinction, which is open to serious doubt if they are co n cen tra ted in that large an . area,. Register of Outstanding Landmarks, establish sightseeing spots along it and protect it. The equestrians want the area south of Ridgecrest closed to ORV use. All these people want a piece of the ac ti o n , and in the opening remarks, r e cr eat io n al specia list Badaracco the need for a r e cog nizes "comprehensive management plan to protect the re creational resources which should pay special attention to the impact fro m mining, grazing, ORV use and pot hunting." Next the staff will get together to iron out conllicting suggestions - last day for comment on what we saw in California Cit y is this Friday, J une 20. So write it down and m ail it tonight. It's going to be very interesting to see what the staff comes up with. We'l find out when the dr a ft co me s ou t , about July 14. -rrleiids, 1 co uld be wrong. I have been before, all too freq uently. Bu t after absorbing as mu ch of the vast collection of reco m mendations as possible, 1 can 't shake the feeli ng t hat th e dr aft plan is goi ng to start fr o m the In terim Critical Manageme nt Program an d take t wo gian t steps in t he directio n of "designated routes of travel" an d " BLM design ated race courses" and damned few of them . INTERESTING NOTE: Remember Fradkin, the L.A . limes environmental goon who co mp ared the CORVA dune buggy roundup at Pismo Beach to the Woodstock Riots? An inside source says he left the TImes by mutual agreement when his supervisor sent him to cover a story at the state offices which he considered beneath his dignity. And a usually reliable Sacramento source says Fradkin is very very quietly working with Caire Diedrick and Larry Moss (ex-Sierra Cub officers and current Brown ap poi n tees) - probably being groomed for a job as Chief Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation. Heave n hel p us all . Leslie Richards oJ oJ UJ u a: ::> a. UJ oJ > a: a: « a What was that Marlon said about stereotyping minorities? , _,"-,-~_,"-,- -,- ---, 23

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