Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

ar eas within " lim ited" class managemen t zones being opened for unrestricted OHV u se is mis leadi ng. Genera lly, OH V use wi thin the " limited" class ma nagement zones is . restricted to a pproved routes of travel that meet specific criteria relating to use, a lternative routes, and potential advers e impacts. However, cert a in a reas , such as th e Imperia l Sand Du n es, are o pe n to ve h ic u la r tr av el. .. becau se routes of travel canno t be readily delineated. Allegation: The net effect of six years of amendments (to th e Desert Pl an ) has been to exacerba te (the) plan 's sho rt co mings and leave la nd vulnera b le to damage. Example: (T he ) Ba rsto w-to-Vega s desert race , halted in 1975 because it was too d a m a g in g ; (a) 1982 am endment reactiva ted it , a llowi ng 1000 motorcycles to traverse a WSA and (the East Moj ave) Sceni c Area. (The race is) no w moved to avoid (the) WSA, but sti ll degrades the rac e co urse area. BLM Response: This stateme n t implies an un pl anned , prolific event which is not based o n th e facts or lega l review. T he B-to -V race is managed through th e permi tting process a nd has with ita set o f st ip ul at io n s w hich address t he resou rce co ncerns. This permit, supported by a comprehensi ve envi ronmen tal impact statement, has been sus tai ned by the courts as ha vin g addressed the environmental issues without creating un necessary damag T he co urts found the ro ute to be acceptable as a wh ol e a nd (tha t the race) is a wel l-co n tro lled event, Allegation: O HV users inflict im mense d am a ~ e on pla nt .a nd a ni ma l l ife, SOl Is, archeo logical reso u rces a nd air quality. BLM Response: The use of the term " immense " is not quantifiable and a lludes . to uncontrolled use in the desert th at does no t exis t. This is a gross exa ggeratio n of th e facts. All egation: Scientists have warned that OHVs, if not con tro lled, have potentia l to ·co m p le tely a lter th e vegeta ti o n a n d landscape of the desert . BLM Response: OHV use is being control led by th e Desert Pl a n and many in th e scien tific com m u nity endorse BL M 's efforts. In fact , BL M has, over the past 20' years, closed su bstantial portions of th e desert to O H V use. In many cases, areas are bein g closed to protect vegetation and other specia l values, or managed to sustain use without continuing resource damage. In fact , the Bureau has no t opened a ny " new " areas even as a resu lt of the Desert Pl an. In . add ition, it is importan t to rememb er that mill ions of acres in the desert are not even a p propriate or desirable for OH V recrea tio n b eca u se of terrain, rocks or hazards. Allegation: In less th an 20 years of use , OH Vs have scarred one million acres of public lands in (the) desert . BL \f Response: This a llegatio n is to tall y un su p portabl e. Only 60,000 acres have been substantially affected by OH V use . Areas often cited as damaged are th e Antelope a nd Victor Valleys, which happen to be mostly private, not BL M public lands. Allegation: Moderate O HV use reduced vert ebrate biomass (desert animals) by 60 percen t. Animal loss rose to 75 per cent in heavi ly used areas. BLM R es p o n se: Con centrated OH V use does indeed impact wildlif e t in the immedia te vici n ity. However, these im pa cts dimin ish rapidl y with dis tance from the race cou rse or roa . OHVs are a legitimate land use wh ich will conu nu e in th e desert with or without 57. BLM's Desert P la n controls OHV use and ope n area s. R a ce co u r ses hav e been ll1E BREATI,' • .ERICAIIl ..'MIE & Alr [if MOTORCYCLES [ifATVS [if ACCESSORIES [if FEATURES ~BII_§ ~ / ROSEMONT/O'HARE EXPO CENTER January 15-17/ Fri. 5 pm - 10 pm / Sat.10am -10 pm / Sun.10am - 6 pm SHOEI WINS cMCNationalS Golden state 3 '\ 9SS Jan. • k Round One. at'" Par Glen Helen dina CA ' San Sernar 0 PrO '\ st 2S cc lEffV4ARD d confidence f~~ED Champions The Choice of e ... CORPORA:T~

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