Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

anced solution for desert conservation and use. We believe this legislation would have a great negative impact on this 25-million-acre area. "S7 ignores the' California Desert Plan," said Griles. "The plan is an excellent example of consensus landuse planning. It's a balanced plan. No one group was entirely happy with it and that's a good sign. The BLM believes these lands are for the people. Wilderness is an important use of the desert, but it is only one use." Hastey was praised by several witnesses - including Levine and other witnesses who support S7 for his managemen t of the desert, bu t several critics blasted the BLM for reportedly allowing mining operations, motorcycle races and other "abuses" in Wilderness Study Areas. "Other Wilderness areas do not have motorcycle races going through them. How do you preserve land as pure wilderness if you allow motorcycle races?" asked Senator Wyche Fowler (D-Georgia) in a reference to the annual Barstow-to-Vegas desert race. "The area is a Wilderness Study Area," said Hastey. "Only Congress can designate wilderness. If congress designates those I. 9 million acres as wilderness there will be no ORVs in those areas. "We are protecting 5.6 million acres until we make a recommendation to Congress (expected in 1989). Until then, mining and other uses are going on," said Hastey. "We feel the actions we have taken were nonimpairing to the proposed wilderness areas." "I feel, many feel, that the BLM has taken their power of discretion and abused it," said Bumpers. "The BLM has abused its discretion in allowing some of these mining claims to be worked. "If God's going to hold man accountable. for anything," said Bumpers, "it's going to be our stewardship over the land. So far, we've been doing a hell of a poor job in this country." 18 Thursday. July 23 With testiinony from government officials concluded, Thursday's hearings turned to public testimony. The Cranston/Sierra Club camp led off the hearing with a double-barreled, public relations blast in the form of Duvall and Fairchild. "I want to see the desert preserved for the future before it is too late," Duvall told the panel. "I had no idea a landscape so rugged could be so fragile. These areas need protection from overuse and destruction." "Man is not known for his great respect for the rights of other species," Fairchild said. "Man must learn to fit into nature, not destioy it. Something has got to give in our collective demands on the desert." What has to' give, according to Emde and Rasor, is repeated attempts by environmentalists to impose their philosophies on others. Emde called Cranston's bill, "a sledgehammer approach to a 'delicate que.stion ... conceived and authored by a singular interest group. Outside input from the thousands of other users and interest groups was rejected. It is therefore. impossible that S7 was planned with the balanced concerns of all those involved. "We believe that a balanced plan already exists," Emde said. "The current California Desert Conservation Area Plan is working. In fact, National Geographic magazine agrees with that. In their January 1987 issue they said, 'By all accounts, the BLM has done a commendable, even heroic job of ameliorating conflict in putting the plan to work.• This plan cost over eight million tax dollars to develop and has been approved by both Democratic and Republican administrations during its existence." Rasor also lauded the plan. "One of the strengths of the existing desert plan is the depth and extent of public involvement it represents." said Rasor. "The BLM conducted 12 hearings and workshops attended by more than 900 people, distributed more than 18,000 copies of the draft desert plan and reviewed more than 9,000 written responses containing more than 40,000 individual comments between 1977 and 1980. Everyone from individuals to environmental, cultural, recreational, mining and ranching organizations participated in the process. "It's important to note that the original draft plan included a 'protective alternative' that ... is almost a mirror image of the proposals reflected in S7," Rasor said. "What these organizations were unable ,to do through the public review pmcess, they are now asking congress to do for them. . "The bill's proponents' central theme seems to be their dissatisfac- . tion with how the BLM goes about managing the (desert)," Rasor. "The bottom line is that the BLM is not the park service, nor should it be. It is exactly because all of our public lands should not be parks that the BLM exists. "Bill proponents will say that it is uncontrolled motorized recreation that requires the restrictions imposed by S7," said Rasor. "Motorized and ORV use are among the most highly regulated uses in the (desert) today. Compared to 1970, random legal motorized acess to the desert is virtually unavailable. "Others will say that a compromise of the existing plan and Senator Cranston's bill will address the problem," Rasor continued. "To this we must reply, the existing plan is the compromise. The compromise was made in 1980 and must be given a chance to work. In truth," Rasor concluded, "if ever there was a piece of federal legislation that was unnecessary, the Desert Protection Act of 1987 is it." Sierra club officials, however, were quick to criticize the plan and pointed to off-road vehicle use in the de.sert as an example of BLM mlsmanagement. . "When we saw ... the revival of the Barstow-to-Vegas race, we were forced to the conclusion that the desert plan was not going to work," said James Dodson, Sierra Club regional vice president for southern California. "(The BLM) also deleted 300,000 acres of wilderness from the original plan. And they decided, when considering grazing management, that they no longer had to worry about the slope of the land or water sources." Following testimony by Dr. David Hess, spokesman for the California Association of Four- Wheel Drive Clubs, Senator Wilson asked, "You feel the (ORV play) areas you have now are adequate and the bill doesn't close those?" . "Yes," Hess said. "We have no complaints... During a recess, Emde pointed out to Wilson that motorcyclists and ATV riders do not share that view. Officials representing mining interests warned the subcommittee that approval of S7 would deprive the nation of a rich supply of mineral resources. "California leads the nation in the production of nonfuel minerals and one-half of that production comes from the California desert," said Glenn Rouse, executive director of the California Mining Association. "The California Desert Protection Act threatens to cripple the California mining industry. Mining is not compatable with parks and wilderness." Miners contend that closing the desert would limit the supply of "rare earth" minerals used in superconductivity technology. _ The American Motorcyclist Association Board of Trustees met in Monterey, California, on July 13. The board considered the Association's 1988 budget and studied a series of options for funding a renovation of r.he Association's national headquarters including establishment of a motorcycle museum and hall of fame. The proposed $4.7 million 1988 budget was approved by the trustees, and the staff was instructed to meet with architects to refine the museum plan prior-to the board's next meeting. William Baird, chairman of the Association's subsidiary American All- Terrain Vehicle Association reported that the organization would take initiatives against government attacks on ATV use. These initiatives will include an appearance by AATVA President Roy Janson on NBC's Today Show and a grass roots effort to respond to Congressman Doug Barnard (D-GA) who has proposed an all-out ban on ATVs. The AMA board approved a 'policy governing the role of trustees in executive session. A copy .of the policy is available upon request. Chairman John Hasty summarized the activity of a strategic planning committee meeting that took place in Westerville on June 22, 1987. The board approved an amendment to the AMA Code of Regulations that clarifies the Association's mission statement to read: "The purpose of the Corporation is to pursue, promote, and protect the interests of motorcyclists while serving the needs of its members." In addition, the trustees reviewed, amended, and approved a series of "prognosis statements" that will lay the groundwork for developing a three- to fiveyear strategic plan for management of the Association and improvement of its programs and services. The board studied additional proposals to change the AMA Code of Regulations aimed at expanding the definition of corporat~ membership and clarifying the eligibility of trustees. While these amendments received a six to five favorable response from the II trustees present, the amendments failed since the rules require a three-fourths majority. AMA President Ed Youngblood delivered a verbal report on meetings between the Laguna Seca race course management, AMA professional racing staff, and a representative of the FIM. He stated that the FIM's requirements for a Grand Prix road race have been agreed to by Lagurta Seca and that the AMA will press (or· ratification of a 1988 world championship calendar that would include a U.S. Grand Prix on April 10. He explained that a Grand Prix at Laguna Seca may preclude the traditional July AMA National Championship, since local government places a limitation on the number of racing events per year. The trustees authorized the staff to prepare a letter of agreement that would assure the Laguna Seca track that it will be the site of any road racing Grands Prix granted to the United States through 1990. The trustees considered a request from AMA District 28 (Oregon) to affiliate with an organization not connected with the AMA that purports to provide government relations services. The board denied the request, believing that as authorized local governing bodies of the AMA, chartered district organizations should rely on the leadership of the AMA's government relations department and support its policies as provided for in the AMA guidelines for district organizations. The board heard' 'reports on 'the presentation of AMA Bright.er Image Awards to Jay Leno and Malcolm Forbes. Forbes and Leno are AMA members and motorcycle collectors, and both frequently make public statements about the joy of motorcycling. The trustees selected another recipient of the AMA Brighter Image Award to be announced at a future date. They also named a recipient of the AMA's Dud Perkins Award for outstanding contribution to motorcycling. This will be announced at a future date. The trustees discussed current television advertisements - namely American Express and Anacin that are very unfavorale toward motorcycling. Youngblood reported that AMA members have heavily criticized the American Express ad and that the Association has formally protested and requested that the company cease using the ad. The board decided to further demand from American Express a written apology to be published in American Motorcyclist, and instructed the staff to also contact Whitehall Laboratories to .register displeasure with its Anacin ad. American Motorcycle Herita!{e Foundation Chairman Dal Smibe reported on fund raising activities and the search for a celebrity honorary chairman. The board reviewed a new brochure on responsible alcohol use that has been co-sponsored by. the AMA and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and funded by Anheuser-Busch. A copy is available upon request from the AMA. Trustee Gary Smith, who also serves on the Motorcycle Industry Council's land use committee, summarized plans for 1988 and said there would be many opportunities for MIC and AMA to conduct cooperative efforts to promote off-road motorcycling. Trustee Paul Schlegel reported that the qualifying series for the National Amateur Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch has been completed and that there will be a full lOOO-rider field at the August 12-15 event. He indicated that the series contractor, MX Sports, will contribute approximately $18,000 in royalties to the AMA. The AMA Board of Trustees is schedule to meet in Milwaukee on November 9, 1987. John Hasty Chairman

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