Wednesdays 12-3-08 Meeting on Johson Valley

[dwasser]

I went to the meeting in Twentynine Palms about the Johnson Valley withdraw.

The following info is also posted in the "General Discussion" board and the "Save the Desert Board" If you want to respond I would go with the general discussion board.

Just got back from the meeting in Twentynine Palms. The gym that it was held in was pretty crowded by 6:00. There were easels set up with maps showing all 6 options that the military is looking at. It was a long drive from El Centro but to see the maps first hand was worth it. It puts the reality of this into perspective. I would encourage everyone to make the effort and go to one of the two remaining meetings. There were a lot of land owners there and definitely some off-roaders. My guess would be that the majority were land owners.

Couple of suggestions/questions:
I’m not sure if this would matter or not but it might not be a bad thing to “look” like an off-roader. When I would scan the room I got the impression that there weren’t very many people from the off-road community there. The BLM and military might get that same impression even if you talk to them about the issues with the OHV area. It is a casual setting so maybe wear you favorite off-road hat, shirt or jacket. Just keep it respectable. By doing this we might be able to make a bigger impression for the off-road community.

The downside to this could be that if you want to get a quick response to a question and catch someone guard you could loose the element of surprise. I doubt it though because they have it down pretty good.

I did feel like there is some hope with the BLM. They seamed genuinely concern with what would happen to the off-roaders if the have no where to ride. I stressed the point that cramming off-roaders into smaller and less areas would result in increased accidents and deaths.

I heard many of the land owners saying that if JV was taken they were worried about the off-roaders riding through private properties and creating a problem. Even some land owners that have a very vocal dislike for off-roading would rather keep JV then have us racing up and down their streets.

Here’s my take on the meeting:

The military has a very polished presentation

Some guys in uniform some not

Very polite people to greet you and sign you in

Snacks and drinks

All military representatives have practiced their responses to questions and are prepared to answer just about any question you have.

You should specifically ask about the terrain. One of the excuses for not being able to use certain terrain was because of the dry lake beds. They said they would get stuck. Aren’t there dry lake beds in JV?

Pay attention to the legends on the maps. They highlight a lot of terrain that wouldn’t be “suitable” for them everywhere but the areas they want. Things like deep sand and silt. When you see the maps they only have one small area marked as deep sand. I have never personally ridden in JV but I have to guess that there’s more sand and silt then what they are showing.

I did get to meet and talk to Harry from PFJV. He seemed very knowledgeable and really knew his stuff.

Everyone that has anything to do with off-roading should be going to these meetings.

If anyone has specific questions about the meeting please post them and I’ll try to answer the best I can. If you have specific questions about the situation PFJV is the best people to answer.

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