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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126310
Desert alert update By Russ Sanf ord In last week's issue, we told you of the new Bureau of Land Management plan to set aside selected areas of land under their administrative jurisdiction as Wilderness Areas, thus by regulation prohibiting the continued use of such areas by motorized vehicles. .. yes, that means dinbikesl We also told you that the first of the BLM- 10 administered lands to be considered for such Wilderness Area status would be the California Desert, and that the fat e of the Cal ifornia Desert with rega rd to ORV use , would be decided in a series of workshops to be" conducted primarily in th e southern half of the state. At th e time that we went to pr ess last week , we only knew the locations and times of the first two meetings (which will have already taken place by the time that you read th is a rticle). We have just rec eived th e times and locations of the remaining workshops, and we hasten to get this inform a tion to you so that you may attend th e workshop of your choice. This last sta te me n t wasn't m eant to be " pe rm issive" . . . it was meant to be " d icta to ri al. " If you ride in ' th e Ca lifornia Desert, then you must attend and offer your contributions to th ese workshops. If each and every one of us does not attend and protect our inherent rights , then we can expect to see the Cal ifornia Desert turned into one vast Wilderness Area and the sport of motorcycling in the dirt will become a thing of the past. How about it ? Ar e you going to do you r part? The follow ing is a d irect quote from a notice issued by the BLM regarding these workshops: "Beginning in May and continuing over the next several months, the Bureau of Land Management will be conducting an intensive inventory of wilderness resources in the California Desert. Its purpose is to identify wildernessstudy areas and assure their assessme nt in the California Desert Plan. "Ultimately, the Bureau's recommen dations as to whether particular areas a re suitable or nonsuitable for inclu sion in the National Wilderness system will be su bm itte d to Congress for action . " A vital fac et of th e wilderness progra m is input and sugges tions fro m interested persons such as yourself. To obtain your individua l recommend ations on speci fic loca tions , we will be distributing a series of pu blic response packets, and conducting several public meetings and workshops throughout the state. There will be 17 such meetings during th e month of Ma y. In addition to the overall program orientation, the accelerated sched ule for the wilderness portion of the California Desert Plan will be discussed. "T he public meetings and workshops will consist of a formal evening presen· ration and question -and -answer period from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m . The following day, BLM representatives will be availab le from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m . for informal discussion and individual assistance in working on public response, maps and narratives . ' The following schedule ~ves locations and times of th e 17 formal pr e· ' sentations and the follow-up workshop sessions. Please note that in some cases the second-day session is held ata d iff- erent location than that of the previous evening meeting." Note: If you are interested in participating in th e BLM pr ogram, send a note to BLM , Riverside District Office, 1695 Spruce Street, Riverside, CA 92507 and sta te : "Yes, I am int erested in receiving all information and materials perta in ing to the California Desert Wilderness Program." Be sure to list your name and address as well as any group with which you are affilitated or which you represent . The following is the schedule of meetings. Please not e that th e first day presentations are from 7:00 to 10:00 p .m . and the second day workshops are from 1:00 to 10:00 p .m . Bishop City Hall 377 West Line Street Thursday, Ma y 11 Bishop Chamber of Commerce Bishop Cit y Park North Main Street I nd io Thursday , May II Shalimar Building Indio Fa irgrounds Intersection Hwy . I I 1 at Arabia Friday, May 12 EI Morocco Mo tel 82645 Miles Avenue EICcn tro Thursday, May 11 Imperial Irrigation District Auditorium 1285 Broadway Friday, Ma y 12 Imperial Irrigation District Auditorium 1285 Broadway Anaheim Tuesday, May 2 Anaheim High School Auditorium 811 West Lincoln Los Angeles Monday, Ma y 15 Parker Center Auditorium 150 North Los Angeles Street Wednesday, May 3 Quality Inn Conference Room 616 Convention Way Tuesday, May 16 Valley Hilton Hotel Room 424 15433 Ventura Boulevard (Intersection: San Diego & Ventura Freeways) Sherman Oaks, CA Barstow Wednesday, May 3 KennedyJunior H igh School 1000 Armory Road Thursday, May 4 Howardjohnson Motorlodge Conference Rm. 1431 East Main Ba kersfi el d Thursday, May 4 Ramada Inn Conferen ce Room 2620 Pierce Road Friday, Ma y 5 Ram ada Inn Confer enc e Room 2620 Pier ce Ro ad Lone Pine Monday, May 8 Lo ne Pin e Town Hall Bush & Jackson Str eets Tuesday, May 9 Lone Pine Town H all Bush & Jackson Streets Victorville Monday , May 8 Greentree Inn Continental Rooms A & B 14173 Greentree Bou levard San Diego Wednesday, May 17 San Diego Gas & Electric Auditorium 101 Ash Street Thursday , May 18Sa n Diego Gas & Electric Auditorium 101 Ash Street R idgec r est Wednesday, Ma y 17 Burroughs High School Multi-use Room Burrough s access Road Thursday, May 18 BLM Ridgecr est Area offi ce 342 Segundo Str eet (Old Wherry Navy Housing Facility) Baker Monday, May 22 Recreation Hall Telephone Complex I Lakeview Drive (Yi mile north of Baker Post Office) Tuesday, May 23 Recreation Hall Telephone Complex 1 Lakeview Drive ( Yi mile north of Baker Post Office) Tuesday. May 9 Greentree Inn Fairway Room 14173 Greentree Boulevard Yu cca Valley Tuesday, May23 Yucca Valley High School Multi-Purpose Room 7600 Sag e Avenue Bishop Wednesday, Ma r. 10 New City Council Chambers Wednesday. May 2'l Yucca Inn 7500 Camino di Cie lo Needles Wednesday, May 24 Elks Club 1000 Lily Hill Drive Thursday, Ma y 25 Needles School District Board Room 1900 Erin Drive Blyth e Wednesday, Ma y 24 Ru th Brown School 241 North Seventh Thursday, May 25 _Desert Inn Motel 850 W . Hobson Way Bay Area Thursday, May 25 California Academy of Sciences Morrison Auditorium Golden Gate Park San Francisco , CA Friday, Ma y 26 California Academ y of Sciences Junior Academy Class Room Golden Gate Park San Francisco, CA Riverside Tuesday, May30 Landis Auditorium Riverside Cit y College 4800 Magnolia Avenue Wednesday , May 31 Bureau of Land Management Riversid e District Office 1695 Spru ce Street Now, I am going to tell you why it is so important for each and every one of us to attend and participate in these meetings and workshopsl W hen I talked se p a r a te ly to the BL M representatives at the Apr. 19 meeting here in Sacramento, they informed me that they will be marking off the California Desert on a large map and di vid ing it up into sect ions. Then they will ask for the input from e-:eryone participating as to how these areas should be classified , based upon past an d present use. You can bet your sweet - that every eco -freak in th e country will be there telling the BLM that the whole Californ ia Desert should be turned int o a vast Wilderness Area and that no off-road vehicl es should be allowed anywhere . We, the off-readers, must rise above thi s sort of ta ct ic and earnestly and sin cerely work with the BLM at these meetings and workshops to show them and justify to them that we use these areas. If there are areas that we don't use , then let the BLM know that and let them turn those areas into Wilderness if the areas meet all of the other criteria for esta blishing Wilderness Areas. You don't have any excuse for not a tt en d ing one of these sets of meetings. If you work days, you can go on the two successive nights. If you work nights, have your wife, husband (or some friend) go during the first evening session, and then you go during the following day, If you don't go , put yo u r bikes up for sale immediately and beat the rest of the crowd! •