Help needed to save Joshua Tree desert area

[Richard D]

Hello desert lovers,

(we need your web vote - please read on...)

The Joshua Tree area is currently under an ominous, growing seige - the desert needs your help.

Developers, speculators and others are gobbling up land, water and other resources, threatening both the local ecology and the rural nature of the area with spawling development and off-road vehicles.

Last week a community seminar took place in the area to gather desert users and highlight the off-road vehicle impact. PLEASE note the contacts and info below, and VOTE YES (to restrict off-road-vehicle use to designated areas) at the Hi-Desert Star website:

http://www.hidesertstar.com/articles/2005/02/26/editorial/opinion5.txt

PLEASE FORWARD THIS to anyone you can think of who will vote and help out in any way...

Thanks! - Jewel

PS - to join the high desert community forum, check out their web page:

http://npogroups.org/lists/info/highdesertcommunityforum

(For all list information and functions, including subscribing modes and options.)

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Here is the background news:

--- [email protected] wrote:

The Desert Under Siege Event was an empowering weekend. As some of you may know, instead of trying to work with us, Hutching Motorsports portrayed us as a fringe element from hell, a very small group with an attitude - for pictures that debunk his mistruths take a look at the www.savejoshuatree.com site and go vote at the star:

http://www.hidesertstar.com/articles/2005/02/26/editorial/opinion5.txt

-Sydney
www.savejoshuatree.com

*********
Quoting Andrea Zittel at andreazittel.org:

From: OHV Watch <[email protected]>
Date: February 28, 2005 10:53:37 PM PST
To: [email protected]
Subject: We're losing... :-(

We're way behind in the Hi-Desert Star poll, friends.? "No" is at 57.4% and "Yes" at 42.6.? Please get out there and tell your friends to register their vote NOW at:

http://www.hidesertstar.com/articles/2005/02/26/editorial/opinion5.txt


?
It only takes a moment, & it's FREE!

Also, the Victorville Daily Press printed the following?article about the conference:

http://www.vvdailypress.com/2005/11096002896277.html

Monday, February 28, 2005

Off-road alliance favors designated riding areas

Joshua Tree conference focuses on illegal ORV
use in High Desert

By LEROY STANDISH/Staff Writer

JOSHUA TREE — Almost 200 people, including Victor Valley residents and recreational riders, attended a two-day conference over the weekend to discuss the problem of illegal off-road vehicle
use.

The conference, sponsored by the Alliance for
Responsible Recreation, exemplifies problems High Desert residents are being confronted with more frequently as off-road vehicle use
increases. Invasions of private property, destruction of desert habitat, noise and dust pollution were all discussed.

In the coming months legislation at the county and state levels could be introduced to confine off-road vehicles to
designated areas, conferees learned.

Already the city of Hesperia has an ordinance that drastically curtails off-road vehicle use within city limits, and the town of Apple Valley is moving forward with an ordinance, which could take shape in the next few months.

A panel composed of representatives from San Bernardino and Riverside counties, their respective sheriff's departments and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management addressed resident concerns and discussed the issues, said Byron Kahr, the conference coordinator.

"It was the concern that there is riding going on all over the place that is not on public land," he said. "This conference accomplished an important first step, which is bringing people together in the rural communities."

During the conference Kahr said he learned of state legislation being introduced by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-San Jose, that would address some of the off-road problems. If passed the bill would make the display tags that off-road vehicle riders purchase from the state larger so they are more visible, and it would put some teeth into current state law in an effort to make enforcement easier, he said.

Many of the attendees complained of the nuisance created by illegal riding in the desert, yet recognized there are many who enjoy the sport legally.

"There are responsible people out there who also love the desert and try very hard not to be destructive," said Jenny Wilder, one of more than 200 members of the Friends of Juniper Flats, a Victor Valley-based organization formed specifically to deal with the off-roading problem. "We would hate to close the desert down because there are outlaw riders out there that either don't know the rules or don't care."

The attendees made it clear they were there to preserve their quality of life, which they said was being threatened by the so called "outlaw" riders.

"We heard personal stories about this exact same
thing happening everywhere. It is not a local problem at all — it is a statewide problem," Wilder said. "We are hoping to get better legislation and enforcement by working with the Sheriff's Department and the county Board of Supervisors."

One of the main problems noted was that riders
are often confused about where they can ride legally.

"There needs to be a lot of education and outreach to the public so they know where they can ride," Wilder said."Motorcycle and quad riders trespass on private property to ride their vehicles. We have found it very difficult to find where the private lands begin and the public lands end."

Areas near the Victor Valley that are designated
as open to off-road vehicle use include El Mirage Dry Lake and the Stoddard Valley and Johnson Valley off-highway vehicle areas.

Kahr said some of the suggestions were to introduce education programs in the schools or have dealerships that sell off-road vehicles inform customers about the rules.

But the conference also had its share of riders who objected to increased enforcement, revealing a bitter divided between many vehicle riders and desert residents who want the vehicles controlled, Kahr said.

"One of the reasons this has become so adversarial is that the riders have concerns that we want to shut down the desert," he said. "What we want is for everyone to know where you can ride and everywhere else, that is a mix of public and private land, is just not appropriate to ride."

LeRoy Standish may be reached at 951-6277 or
[email protected].

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COMMUNITY ORV WATCH
[email protected]
Call 1-800-MY-YAHOO, enter MY-OHV-WATCH
(1-800-699-2466, enter 696-489-2824)

_______________________________________

A-Z West
PO Box 1058
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
760-366-8368

http://www.zittel.org

_____________________________________________________________

This information was provided by:

[email protected]


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