Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
New Mojave plan is blueprint for disaster
By Philip M. Klasky / Community ORV Watch
Over a decade in the making, the long-awaited and much-delayed Bureau of Land Management's West Mojave Management Plan (WEMO) final draft was just released.
The Morongo Basin is part of the 9.3 million acres covered by the plan. The WEMO was supposed to balance development and recreation with the conservation of natural resources. But unfortunately the plan encourages uncontrolled off-road-vehicle abuse of our private property. The WEMO also invites trespass on cultural and historic sites, designated wilderness areas and other protected public lands.
If you take a close look at the three huge volumes of paper and over 80 maps, you will find that the plan invites clashes between homeowners and riders by directing riders to follow ORV routes that come right up to the boundary of private land and continue on the other side. The routes were determined by an inept bureaucratic decision-making process that ignored the situation on the ground.
A group of Hi-Desert residents followed one of the proposed routes through dozens of private land parcels right into the front gate of a family homestead. You should have seen the expression on the faces of the homeowners when we informed them that their house was on an officially-sanctioned ORV route.
Local law enforcement has expressed concerns about the proposed routes, especially since their forces are already stretched too far to deal with the current ORV problem. Who will pay for the impact of thousands of ORVs churning up our public roads and the additional burden on emergency services?
WEMO is a blueprint for conflict and a law enforcement train wreck.
But don't take my word for it - find out if you too are in harm's way.
It appears as though the BLM has decided to accommodate the ORV industry by adding hundreds of miles of ORV routes - turning our neighborhoods into motorized playgrounds with more noise day and night, more dust, more harassment and the invasion of our property rights.
We've got until the May 2 deadline to protest the WEMO and fight to protect our quality of life. Go to the BLM's Web site to access the plan (good luck - the site has been down during this protest period), your local library or a BLM office to pick up your copy of the plan. The WEMO ORV Route Designation maps on compact disk are hard to read but you can access them on the Community ORV Watch web site with instructions on how to protest the plan.
Make sure that you document each case of trespass and send us a copy. The WEMO is so unworkable, it will most likely be sued every which way.
But it is up to all of us to stop the government from encouraging ORV trespass on our lands.
The Morongo Basin is part of the 9.3 million acres covered by the plan. The WEMO was supposed to balance development and recreation with the conservation of natural resources. But unfortunately the plan encourages uncontrolled off-road-vehicle abuse of our private property. The WEMO also invites trespass on cultural and historic sites, designated wilderness areas and other protected public lands.
If you take a close look at the three huge volumes of paper and over 80 maps, you will find that the plan invites clashes between homeowners and riders by directing riders to follow ORV routes that come right up to the boundary of private land and continue on the other side. The routes were determined by an inept bureaucratic decision-making process that ignored the situation on the ground.
A group of Hi-Desert residents followed one of the proposed routes through dozens of private land parcels right into the front gate of a family homestead. You should have seen the expression on the faces of the homeowners when we informed them that their house was on an officially-sanctioned ORV route.
Local law enforcement has expressed concerns about the proposed routes, especially since their forces are already stretched too far to deal with the current ORV problem. Who will pay for the impact of thousands of ORVs churning up our public roads and the additional burden on emergency services?
WEMO is a blueprint for conflict and a law enforcement train wreck.
But don't take my word for it - find out if you too are in harm's way.
It appears as though the BLM has decided to accommodate the ORV industry by adding hundreds of miles of ORV routes - turning our neighborhoods into motorized playgrounds with more noise day and night, more dust, more harassment and the invasion of our property rights.
We've got until the May 2 deadline to protest the WEMO and fight to protect our quality of life. Go to the BLM's Web site to access the plan (good luck - the site has been down during this protest period), your local library or a BLM office to pick up your copy of the plan. The WEMO ORV Route Designation maps on compact disk are hard to read but you can access them on the Community ORV Watch web site with instructions on how to protest the plan.
Make sure that you document each case of trespass and send us a copy. The WEMO is so unworkable, it will most likely be sued every which way.
But it is up to all of us to stop the government from encouraging ORV trespass on our lands.
 |
||
| Reader's letter: Keeping Schaivo alive cost millions |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of hidesertstar.com.
You must register with a valid email to gain access to this site feature.
Already a Member?Login Here:
|
Become a Registered MemberFill out the form below.
|
RSS
ken@wondervalley wrote on Jan 13, 2009 2:36 AM: