Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

• State Parks (Continued from page 2) th~ California Parks and Recreation Commission during a specia l meeting held in Morro Bay. After two hours of public testimony, the Commission vot ed 6-0 to . reaffirm a policy banning OHV use, 00 which was adopted at their Ma y 13 00 meeting in Lake T ahoe. ~ The a n ti-O H V policy a pproved o n May 13 says, " It is the policy of this co m m issio n that o n ly highwa y licensed vehicles will be permitted o n primitive roads or designated routes of trav el in units classified as State Parks or State Hi storic Parks unless otherw ise authorized by the gen eral plans of those state park uni ts." There are only two State Parks in California which allow for OHV use in their general plans. The co mmission a mended its May 13 decision today to allow the use of snowmobiles in State Parks wh ere their use will neither cause enviro nmental damage nor disrupt th e general public. Opponents . who testified against the ban included five members of the state Off-Highwa y Motor Vehicle R ecr eati on Commission , which voted unanimously during th eir May 20 meeting in San Luis Obispo to oppose the . new Parks Department OHV policy. Opponents also included spokesmen for severa l off-h ighwa y user groups, which su p port ers 'of th e measure included enviro nmentalists and Park Department emp loyees. Opponents of the ban charged that th e new policy is a ploy to sabo tage an ' agreement betw een State Parks Dir ector H enry Ag oni a a nd th e California Off-Road Veh icle Associ - . ati on (CO RVA) which would reopen Anza-Borrego Desert Sta te Pa rk to off-road vehicles. Agonia closed Anza-Borrego to OHV use sh ortly after taking office as tenta tive director in early 1987. H e agreed to. reopen th e park to OHVs after CORVA mounted a campaign which nearl y succeeded in railroad- . ing Agonia 's co n firma tion as permanent director of the Parks a nd Recreation' Department during confirmati on h earings in th e s ta te sena te. Foll owing negotiations, Agonia agreed to allow OHV use in AnzaBorrego under a special use permit process, CORVA withdrew its oppo. sitio n to Ago nia's co nfir mation a nd Agonia was con firmed unanim ously by th e sta te sena te. Shortly after th e Anza -Borrego deal was made, however, Sta te Park s em p lo yees a nd ra ngers at Ari zaBo rrego vowed to meet on the ir.o wn time to " see what we ca n do about (n ull ifying ) thi s agreement " Sta te em ployee' unions are very powerfu l within the Californ ia system, accordi ng to ca pito l insiders. OHV Co m issio ner Ed Waldheim said after today's meeting th at th e o nly reason a policy change even was co nsi dered by the Parks Commission is because a proposal to ban OHVs was' proposed to th e co mm ission by severa l sta te unions, includi ng th e Pa rks Employees Union, the Parks Rangers Union a nd th e Peace Officers Association. " In the m eeting they ali g ned themselves with enviro nmen talists," said Waldheim. "T he y don 't care about you and me." Park Commission Chairman John Whiteh ead flatly denied that th e OHV ban was specifically aimed at keeping off-road vehicles o u t of Anza-Borrego. "This policy is not an Anza- Borrego issue," said Whitehead. 'It's . a State Parks issue. 1 want tha t understood! " John Motley, vice cha irma n of th e OHV Commission a nd a 30-year user off-high way vehicles, asked th e Parks Commission to reverse its Ma y 13 decision. "The ad option of th is policy impacts the OHV Commission and the OHV community," Motley said. " It ind iscr imi na tely ban s OHVs eve n th o ugh th ere is a p er mi t process availa ble. "T he OHV Commission req ues ts that Parks and Recreati on withdraw th e policy and adopt a new pol icy after all concerns are heard," said Motley. "We'r e here to express ou r very, very stro ng concern. " OHV Commissioner Marge Su tton, a 3D-year memb er of the Sierra Club, urged the Parks Commissioners to rethin k their decision. "Our ch a ll e nge i s to find ways . . . for 'resp o n sib le off-road vehi cular recreation to tak e place," . Sutton said. "T his is an opportunity for us to issue a challenge to off-road groups to help in restoring th ese .lands. I think responsible off-road veh icle users would join with us. There should be a one-year trial period to giv e people th e cha nce to prove th ey can be responsibl e users." Waldheim was o bvio us ly di splea sed when , h e spo ke to th e com mission. " At th e May 13 meeting I asked you to reconsider," said Wal

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