Crowdog

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/.../News/108090031 Sand Mountain blue butterfly petition heads for status review CHRISTY LATTIN, clattin@lahontanvalleynews.com August 9, 2006 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Tuesday it will initiate a 12-month status review of the Sand Mountain blue butterfly, following its 90-day finding on a petition filed by several environmental groups seeking to list the butterfly as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The announcement of the status review does not immediately affect the Sand Mountain Recreational Area, said Bob Williams, Nevada field supervisor for the USFWS in Reno. "This finding carries no regulatory power under the ESA. We're just letting folks know there was a positive finding," Williams said. In a release from the USFWS, Steve Thompson, manager of the California/Nevada operations office said, "Our finding is based on scientific information contained in the petition to list the butterfly. The finding does not mean that the service has decided it is appropriate to list the Sand Mountain blue butterfly. It is the first step in a process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. We encourage the public to submit any relevant information about the butterfly and its habitat." A petition to list the butterfly as threatened or endanger was submitted to the Department of the Interior by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Xerces Society, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Nevada Outdoor Recreation Association in April 2004. The groups submitted a 26-page petition which lists the species of the blue butterfly, its host plant the Kearney buckwheat and evidence of the plant's declining habitat at Sand Mountain. The petition contains satellite photos showing an increase in the number of trails at the site as well as photos taken over a 26-year span that illustrates the decline in the buckwheat. The petition extrapolated that since the buckwheat habitat has declined, the butterfly is threatened. Daniel Patterson, ecologist and director of the Deserts and Endangered Species Outreach for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the positive result of the 90-day finding is a benefit to the butterfly. "From a conservation perspective, we will consider this a very good thing to prevent it from going extinct," he said. "Without some real protection, the Sand Mountain blue could be lost forever." Patterson said there are only 1,000 acres left "on the whole planet" for the Sand Mountain blue and conservation groups would like to see it protected. Off-road groups, however, see the positive 90-day finding as a step closer to listing the butterfly as endangered. Jon Crowley, owner of DuneGuide.com and past president of the Friends of Sand Mountain off-road vehicle group, said in a prepared statement the blue butterfly is just a subspecies of a larger group of butterflies found in the Great Basin with slight color and genitalia differences. Crowley also said "classification of a subspecies is arbitrary, artificial and subjective depending on who's in charge. But once this new subspecies has been recognized, it can then have the same full protection under the Endangered Species Act as a bald eagle. "Are these minor geographical variances worthy of federal protection and the enormous cost associated with protecting it? The Endangered Species Act has fallen victim to unintended consequences, politics, and counter-productive lawsuits filed by environmental extremists." Crowley ended his statement by calling for the reform of the Endangered Species Act. Williams said the conservation plan, which was agreed upon by Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance, the Bureau of Land Management, the city and county, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and two off-road vehicle groups, will be taken into consideration by the USFWS when conducting the 12-month status review. Williams said he was pleased to see the various groups working together to help mitigate the threats against the butterfly. He said the 12-month status review will be conducted by a USFWS staff botanist and will be concluded by April 2007. The 90-day finding is calculated into the 12-month review.

Details.

Online at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories...18.41ae64a.html End nearer for off-road site Cathedral City wants to restrict off-roading within the city 12:58 AM PDT on Sunday, September 18, 2005 By HENRI BRICKEY / The Press-Enterprise CATHEDRAL CITY - It's one of the most popular playgrounds in the Coachella Valley for off-road vehicle enthusiasts -- for now. But the vast sand dune north of Interstate 10 between Date Palm Drive and Palm Drive in Cathedral City could be placed off limits to motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles before long. Next week, city officials will discuss banning off-roaders from the area known by many as Edom Hill. Six months ago, the police began ticketing riders in the area for helmet violations, riding double, alcohol-related offenses and other infractions. Now, city officials want the police chief to develop a plan that would put more teeth into the city's ability to restrict use of off-road vehicles. "There have been a lot of problems ranging from injuries to abuse of property," Councilman Chuck Vasquez said. Police Chief Stan Henry said recently that if and when the new policy goes into effect, off-roaders will likely have to find another in the near future. "There probably will not be any land out there available for off-road use," Henry said. The City Council is expected to hold a study session Sept. 28 to discuss the zero-tolerance off-road vehicle policy. For many of the riders who spend their weekends at the popular site, the city is disrupting their way of life. "If they close this down, where do we go?" said Marcos Ceja, 24, of Cathedral City. Ceja, who lives in the northern tip of Cathedral City, said easy access to off-road vehicle areas is part of the reason he and his friends live in the area. John DiCiaula, a motorcycle mechanic who lived in Cathedral City in the early 1980's, said authorities put pressure on riders 20 years ago. DiCiaula moved to the western Riverside County town of Aguanga, where he can ride his motorcycle legally on his 10-acre parcel. For those off-roaders without their own property, DiCiaula said the future looks bleak. "If you want to talk about endangered species, talk about the American motorcyclist," DiCiaula said. C.J. Stewart, an off-road vehicle advocate in Lake Elsinore, says the future of off-roading depends on the riders learning where they can legally ride. Stewart visits places where people illegally ride their off-road vehicles and gives maps with directions to places where it is legal to ride. "It's very important that off-roaders join an organization so they can become educated so they can hook up with other families to go legally riding," Stewart said. Stewart said she doesn't ride at Edom Hill because she respects the law, and she urges other off-roaders to do the same. Jim Foote, an outdoor recreation planner with the Palm Springs office of the Bureau of Land Management, said the BLM has wanted to restrict access to the area for years. The Edom Hill area is not naturally barren sand dunes. A thin layer of vegetation usually covers the sand, and those plants are important for local wildlife species, Foote said. The vegetation also helps prevent erosion of the sand dunes, he added. Restricting access on the land has been difficult until now, because the area is divided among so many owners, according to Foote. Edom Hill has a checkerboard of ownership, with parcels owned by private individuals, and others by the BLM and city. Other portions belong to a local Indian tribe."This is what was really required -- a coordinated effort to deal with the (off-road vehicle) use," Foote said. If the council passes the policy, Foote said BLM law enforcement rangers will assist police by patrolling the area and ticketing trespassers. Even if the policy isn't approved, some say it's just a matter of time before development pushes the off-roaders out of the area north of I-10. Officials have hinted that developers are looking to build a commercial and residential development near the intersection of Varner Road and Date Palm Road, adjacent to the Edom Hills. "There's interest in doing something like that out there," Vasquez said recently. There's nothing on the books yet but Pulte Homes is planning for a sewer line that would run through the area, according to city officials. Until then, Ceja said he'll keep riding at Edom Hill. Reach Henri Brickey at (760) 837-4417 or hbrickey@pe.com

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/...9240022/-1/NEWS BLM to double fees at Sand Mountain Oct. 1 BURKE WASSON, bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com September 24, 2005 When the calendar flips over to October one week from today, Sand Mountain will have two new changes - higher fees and no monuments. Bureau of Land Management officials will double annual and weekly passes Oct. 1 at the giant sand dune popular for attracting off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Yearly passes will jump from $45 to $90, and weekly passes will rise from $20 to $40. But the BLM will also help people adjust to the fee raises by offering free admission to Sand Mountain on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Oct. 1 is also the deadline for anyone who has monuments placed on top of Sand Mountain to remove them. After that, they will be removed by BLM officials. "We're still planning to remove the monuments," BLM Associate Field Manager Elayn Briggs said Friday. "We want folks to either go get theirs or come to us and say, 'Help me get it.' We're more than willing to work with these folks to come up with a suitable memorial down near the kiosk." To Briggs' knowledge, no one has contacted the BLM about needing help to remove any monuments. Briggs said she would like to remind people that rangers would carefully remove any monuments or items left on top of Sand Mountain. "At some point, we will thoughtfully remove the memorials and hold those for folks," Briggs said. "We're not just going to take the monuments off there and throw them in a dumpster. We're not going to do anything like that." As far as the doubling of annual and weekly fees to Sand Mountain goes. Briggs said they are necessary in order for the BLM to continue to offer needed amounts of law enforcement and emergency management services as well as enough funds to cover maintenance of the park. According to BLM officials, Sand Mountain fees generated $170,000 in revenue last year. This money is exclusively reserved for maintenance costs, which include cleaning restrooms, trash disposal, pumping vault toilets, additional toilets during holidays, grading the entrance road, emergency medical services, law enforcement, fee collection, signing, brochures, education and resource protection. The cost of maintaining those services last year at Sand Mountain was $225,000, according to the BLM. Wile maintaining the enforcement and these services at Sand Mountain are high on the BLM's list, allowing any monuments on top of the mountain is not. The decision to strip the items from the popular recreational area was made due to two reasons - the illegal placement of monuments on public land and the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe's recognition of that area of Sand Mountain as a sacred place. Briggs said about eight to 10 memorials like bronze markers, cement monuments and wood boxes are sitting on top of Sand Mountain. Anyone who has any questions about monuments currently sitting atop Sand Mountain is encouraged to contact the Bureau of Land Management's Carson City office. Burke Wasson can be contacted at bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com

http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3911333&nav=8faO BLM raising fees at Sand Mountain Sep 28, 2005, 12:04 PM PDT User fees for off-road vehicles at Sand Mountain will double beginning Saturday. Under the new rates, annual passes will jump from 45 to 90 dollars. Weekly passes will cost 40 dollars. Permits are not sold on a daily basis. However, the BLM says Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be free, when no passes required. BLM Carson City Field Manager Don Hicks says the money raised will help maintain the popular recreational site and efforts to protect the rare Sand Mountain blue butterfly. The BLM began imposing fees at the mammoth sand dune 25 miles east of Fallon in March 2003. Last year, those fees generated $170,000, while costs rose to $225,000. This year, management costs rose to over $300,000. BLM projects expenditures will rise to more than $800,000 to implement conservation programs to protect the blue butterfly. ---------------------------------------- BLM Press Release: http://www.sandmountain-nv.org/BLM_Press_R...ee_Increase.htm

Full Audit Info: http://www.bsa.ca.gov/reports/summary.php?id=484 ------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/sto...-14274912c.html Audit blasts oversight of off-road parks State says the problem is being corrected By Alexa H. Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, August 18, 2005 Story appeared on Page A3 of The Bee The program in charge of the state's off-road recreation parks has violated state contracting rules and misused its funds by developing projects that offer few or no new opportunities for off-highway vehicles, according to a report released Wednesday by state Auditor Elaine Howle's office. The highly critical audit details shortcomings in California's Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program that range from insufficient environmental planning to the unauthorized chartering of a private aircraft. "The division has also used contracts for questionable purchases and violated state contracting rules," the 93-page audit states. The program administers eight state-run off-road recreation areas, including the Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area about 20 miles east of Sacramento, and partners with local governments and federal agencies to provide other off-road opportunities. The off-highway vehicle program, run by the state Parks and Recreation Department, receives its funding mainly from fuel tax revenues, vehicle registration fees and entrance fees to the off-road parks. The agency does not dispute most of the findings in the audit, even the most serious, said Roy Stearns, deputy director for communications at the parks department. He said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed a new deputy director for the program, Daphne Greene, last summer and that "she is on board to help us fix it and make it right." "We look at this audit as a way to give us an immediate laundry list of good recommendations that we can start on," Stearns said. "Clearly, we think the program needs some significant midcourse corrections." One off-road advocate who sits on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission criticized the audit. "Personally, I think it's a witch hunt, and any time you audit, you are always going to find something. Nobody is infallible," said Ed Waldheim, president of the California Off Road Vehicle Association. Waldheim was appointed to the state commission by former Gov. Gray Davis. But state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside, who requested the audit about a year ago, said the report confirmed his suspicions that the program is "pickpocketing the off-highway users." "This is what we feared," he said. "Now we have the proof, if you will, of chronic misfeasance and negligence by government agencies." Specifically, Morrow said he was concerned about findings that the program's grant awards have shifted away from expanding off-road opportunities and toward funding restoration projects. The audit found that the program earmarked $38 million for three land acquisition projects that will provide little or no new acreage for off-road trails. "Basically what it comes down to is that there was one ... $38 million slush fund for the department in which monies were going into uses that have little or nothing to do with off-highway use," Morrow said. Among the more serious findings, the audit discovered several violations of state contracting rules. A review of 42 contracts, totaling more than $8 million, found the program contracted for "questionable purposes, including the unauthorized chartering of private aircraft." The review also found the program violated state contracting rules that prohibit splitting up related tasks to avoid bidding rules and oversight. The audit suggested that the department should review whether tasks can better be done by its own officials rather than outside contractors. Stearns said state officials already have begun to address contracting problems. "That's already been stopped, and we've got a process in place to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said. Other findings in the audit include: * The department used $3.6 million in Off-Highway Motor Vehicle trust fund money in 2003-04 to support state parks that do not have off-highway recreation. * The department has not developed goals to balance off-road vehicle recreation with environmental concerns.

Indian land in Nevada isn't worth as much for casinos....

More Details and Boycott Fox Peak Info

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../508140301/1053 Treading on a Shrine Sacred site now an ATV playground Maxim Kniazkov For the Coloradoan Rochanne Downs, a member of the council of the local Paiute-Shoshone tribe, says that for tribal members, the mountain is the same as a church. She says the tribe does not demand the return of the dune, just a suspension of ATV traffic for two months every year. SAND MOUNTAIN, Nev. - Rochanne Downs has trouble explaining it even to her own children. If going to the mountain is a big taboo, how come hundreds of total strangers careen every weekend over it in their buggies and all-terrain vehicles? "I really have not been able to come up with a credible explanation," she shakes her head in disbelief. Is it because most of them don't believe in God? Or because their God may not the same as the one worshipped by Paiute people? No answer. Either from the riders, or the Paiutes, or the mountain. When strong wind whips up its white sand, the dune emits just a monotonous, high-pitched wail. "Yes, it can sing. But it's not really the mountain," Downs explains. "It's Kwasi the serpent hissing." It lived with the Paiute people centuries ago, when western Nevada was just emerging from under massive Lake Lahontan, a remnant of the ice age, the legend goes. The serpent came out of a burrow in the Stillwater Mountains and traveled with his spouse all around what is now western Nevada

Federal land agencies plan to restrict off-road vehicles in West By MARTIN GRIFFITH | Associated Press May 5, 2005 RENO, Nev. - For decades, off-road vehicle enthusiasts have been mostly free to roam federal forests and rangelands at will. But their freewheeling days could be numbered. In a move expected to generate controversy, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are developing plans to restrict the vehicles to designated routes and areas. Federal officials say the proposal is essential to curb environmental damage and ease conflict among users of public lands. Nationally, they cite a sevenfold increase from 1972 to 2000 in the number of off-roaders to 36 million. "The days of blazing new trails are coming to an end," said Leo Drumm, off-highway vehicle coordinator for the Nevada BLM. "Off-highway vehicles are a legitimate use of public land, but there has to be some controls." Nowhere would the proposed changes have a bigger effect than Nevada and its wide-open spaces. The federal government controls 87 percent of the state, and Nevada is home to the largest national forest outside Alaska: the 6.3-million-acre Humboldt-Toiyabe. While the vast majority of Nevada's backcountry is currently unrestricted to off-roaders, federal land managers have begun the process to ban travel off designated routes and areas. And while the changes might be most dramatic in Nevada, similar efforts to address off-road travel are under way across the West. "We're all recognizing at the same time the need to work on this issue," said Bob Vaught, supervisor of the Humboldt-Toiyabe. "There's widespread agreement that we need to do a better job of managing off-highway vehicle use." Even though a Forest Service national off-road policy awaits final action nearly a year after it was unveiled, individual national forests are being encouraged to address the issue because of soaring off-road use. Federal land managers are taking a cue from Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth, who identified unmanaged recreation as one of the four biggest threats to national forests. BLM Director Kathleen Clarke shares Bosworth's concerns. Environmental and motorized recreation groups praise federal officials for confronting the issue, but they say a battle looms over which roads and trails to close and keep open. Conservationists said they're concerned not enough roads will be closed to protect wildlife and habitat. "We need to encourage them to act in a way that will result in real on-the-ground protection," said Jeremy Garncarz of the Wilderness Society's Denver office. "We're losing wildlife habitat on a daily basis because of these problems." Most hunters welcome the push to keep off-road vehicles to designated routes and areas, said Stan Rauch, hunter outreach coordinator of the Washington, D.C.-based National Trails and Waters Coalition, which seeks better management of the vehicles on public land. Traditional sportsmen have accused those who go off road to hunt using all-terrain vehicles of disturbing their hunts and punching out more new roads in remote regions across the West. "It's a good positive development for the land and users looking for a quality experience on public land," said Rauch, a big-game hunter from Victor, Mont., and member of the National Rifle Association. Vehicle enthusiasts will try to keep as many roads and trails open as possible, said Brian Hawthorne, public lands director of the BlueRibbon Coalition, a motorized recreation advocacy group based in Pocatello, Idaho. "(Environmentalists) are spending millions of dollars to close public land to public uses," Hawthorne said. "That's where the controversy is generated. What we want are managed off-highway trail systems and areas that are sustainable and that we can enjoy for generations to come." Gerald Lent of the Nevada Hunters Association said most off-roaders are responsible and are being unfairly singled out. He questions the need for restrictions. "Out in the middle of the desert, what damage are you doing with an ATV?" Lent asked. "It doesn't hurt anything. There's so much land out there I don't know how they would harm it." Last year, Nevada Wildlife Commission Chairman Tommy Ford got a taste of the intense feelings surrounding the issue when he recommended a plan to prohibit hunters from driving ATVs more than 25 yards off established roads on public land. Ford, who said the proposal was necessary to protect wildlife and habitat, shelved it after Lent and other hunters circulated petitions calling for his removal and printed bumper stickers that read: "Ban Tommy Ford, Not ATVs." "They mislead the public on everything. They made it a personal issue," Ford said. "But it (off-road restrictions) is going to happen. It's happening as we stand here." Federal land managers said they will work with various groups to identify roads and trails suitable for vehicles. Each BLM district will update its resource management plan, and each forest district will work under centralized oversight to develop a system of designated routes and areas. Every national forest is different and has to evaluate its own needs and abilities to provide for motorized use and recreational use at the local level," said Jerry Ingersoll, the Forest Service's Off-Highway Vehicle Program manager in Washington D.C. "Many national forests are and will be evaluating those needs over the next few years," he said. "The answers they get from doing travel planning are likely to be just as different as the national forests are different from one another," he said. Implementation will vary, but some districts are shooting for as early as 2007. While federal land managers said it's premature to discuss road closures, they won't rule them out. "We're growing up as a state and we can't handle the unrestricted cross-country travel like we did in the past," Drumm said. "Every time you go out you find more new trails. Unfortunately, we're going to have to rein them (vehicles) in." ___ On the Net: U.S. Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/ Bureau of Land Management: http://www.nifc.gov/ The Wilderness Society: http://www.wilderness.org The Blue Ribbon Coalition: http://www.sharetrails.org/ http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/13451.html#

In Desert Battle, Dune Buggy Takes On Peirson's Milk-Vetch Fight About Spiny Plants Blossoms Into a War Over Endangered Species By JOHN J. FIALKA Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal April 15, 2005 IMPERIAL SAND DUNES, Calif. -- This stretch of hot, dry, wind-carved sand is one of the least habitable spots in the U.S. But it has become the battleground for advocates of two rugged denizens of these hills. One is the Peirson's milk-vetch, an obscure, shrub-sized member of the pea family. The other is the 21st-century Southern California dune buggy, a snarling, V-8-powered beast in a tubular frame mounted on special tires with rubber flaps. In the milk-vetch's corner is Dan Patterson, a 34-year-old red-bearded ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, a Tucson, Ariz., nonprofit. He argues that the vehicle endangers the plant and should be banned from large parts of the dunes, which are 20 miles west of Yuma, Ariz. To prove his point, he likes to drive his battered, dirty, 1992 Toyota SUV down a highway that bisects the dunes. The side where buggies are prohibited is dotted with wildflowers including the purple bloom of the milk-vetch. The side where off-road vehicles are allowed is a mess of tire tracks. For the buggies, there's Dick Holliday, sporting a gray Fu Manchu mustache, who has spent 40 of his 60 years driving on the dunes. He's now a top officer of the American Sand Association, a 19,000-member lobbying group in La Verne, Calif., devoted to improving the image and rights of off-road vehicles. He argues the buggies don't pose a threat to the milk-vetch, and says buggy drivers steer clear of the spiny plants for fear of puncturing one of their $250 tires. The competing claims have sparked multiple lawsuits, fights between rival camps' biologists, and testy public hearings. "I've never been physically pushed, but I've been catcalled," says Eileen Anderson, a botanist for the California Native Plant Society. To try to sift the conflicting assertions of vetch viability, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management will spend $1 million for its annual survey. This month, as the winter off-road-vehicle season ends, a team of 30 government-hired biologists has moved out here, living in tents, tallying the plants in sample five-mile tracts. The milk-vetch squabble is at the center of a broader, escalating, debate over the 31-year-old Endangered Species Act, hailed by backers as a high point of the 1970s environmental movement. Mr. Patterson's center alone -- calling itself "nature's legal eagles" -- claims credit for having used the law's club to get 334 plants and animals formally designated as threatened, more than a quarter of all species on the endangered-species list. Businesses and political conservatives have long attacked the law as imposing additional expenses on property owners, who must often make changes to protect species. They also argue the law is ineffective, noting that of 1,264 plants and animals listed as endangered, only 16 have recovered. They want the Republican-dominated Congress to make it more difficult for the government to limit landowners' options. "Pretending that mankind is not part of the environment doesn't work," California Republican Rep. Richard Pombo, who is spearheading the effort, said recently at a hearing on the subject. The milk-vetch was named after the early 20th-century California botanist F.W. Peirson, who first identified it. There are no known commercial uses for the plant, but biologists marvel at how well it has adapted to severe conditions. It anchors itself in the shifting sand with a sturdy taproot that can snake down 50 feet to find water. It has gray, fuzzy leaves that prevent sunburn, seductive purple flowers that attract a certain type of white-faced bee and lightweight seed pods that float for miles on desert winds which replant the milk-vetch, often where nothing else grows. The buggies came after World War II and have also adapted. They started as converted Volkswagen beetles, so underpowered that most couldn't make it up the steeper dunes. Then hot-rod enthusiasts and manufacturers created bigger, more powerful machines. Today modern buggies costing up to $75,000 and propelled by 600- to 800-horsepower engines can easily claw their way up any dune. Sometimes they climb into the air above the dunes before slamming down on special, air-cushioned shock absorbers copied from airplane landing-gear. Over the past decade, off-road-vehicle traffic here has nearly doubled. Winter holiday weekends can bring 190,000 people, the great majority of them watching the drag races or roaring around on dune buggies, motorbikes and all-terrain vehicles. Moves to separate vetch from vehicles began in 1994, when a Democratic Congress prodded by environmental groups set aside 32,000 acres in the northern part of the dunes as a permanent wilderness area. That didn't bother buggy enthusiasts too much because the steepest dunes are in the south. Then environmentalists sued to have the milk-vetch officially declared an endangered species and to broaden the restrictions. They claimed victory in November 2000, when the Clinton administration as part of a court settlement agreed to fence off an additional 49,300 acres in the popular southern portion of the dunes. Until then, the battle was a legal and political mismatch. Environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity have had a long history of coordination, working the Endangered Species Act through regulators and the courts. Off-road enthusiasts mainly just showed up on weekends to ride the dunes and to party. But after the string of court decisions favoring the milk-vetch, buggy riders and manufacturers banded together to form the American Sand Association. In 2001, the group hired a biologist, Arthur M. Phillips III. After counting more than 71,000 of the plants growing in the dune-buggy area, he concluded that the milk-vetch wasn't endangered. Patrolling in dune buggies, and using the satellite-based Global Positioning System, Mr. Phillips said he and five other milk-vetch counters marked out 25 census tracts for a return visit. This year, after heavy rains here, "it looks like the count will be equivalent or greater," he estimates. Mr. Patterson dismisses those findings. "Phillips's work is scientifically invalid," he asserts. "Off-roaders think everything they see out there is a Peirson's milk-vetch." Mr. Phillips replies: "We do our work in the field. They do theirs in court. We have almost nothing in common." Another big part of the ASA's campaign is to try to soften the image of dune-buggy riders as hell-raisers -- a reputation exacerbated over Thanksgiving weekend in 2001, when a drug- and alcohol-using crowd that gathered to watch the competition experienced a fatal shooting, several stabbings and accidents involving more than 150 injuries. Since then, the sand association has started a charm campaign. Members pick up trash and put up billboards emphasizing safety on nearby highways. They are working out rules for uphill drag-races to minimize the danger to crowds. The ASA says in one safety flier to members that "this is important" in part because, after one raucous incident, "the Sierra Club demanded the dunes be closed because a reasonable amount of safety could not be maintained. A nonenvironmental issue, to be sure, but ammunition they could use just the same." The Interior Department, which regulates the dunes, is required by law to keep them open for a variety of recreational uses. Mr. Patterson thinks the department should promote greater use of the dunes by hikers and photographers to offset the domination of off-roaders. As it stands, dune-buggy drivers, seeing the rare person walking in the dunes during busy weekends, sometimes stop to ask whether their vehicles have broken down. Do they need any help? "This is not just about Peirson's milk-vetch," says Mr. Patterson. "This is about a really cool place." His center has notified the Interior Department that it is preparing a new lawsuit that argues 16 other dune species are also endangered, including three exotic beetles, two rare ants and four weevils. Write to John J. Fialka at john.fialka@wsj.com http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB...ys_free_feature

This editorial was printed in the Yuma Sun today.

Oregon Senate Bill #344 is MOVING QUICKLY! Motorized recreationists need to make their voices heard now, while there is still time to act. BRC and Oregon motorized recreationists are growing increasingly concerned about Senate Bill #344. If this bill is adopted Oregon emission standards will duplicate that of California. Many of you might not be aware that California emission law PROHIBITS operation of certain OHV's during certain times of the year. The bill will not only increase off road vehicle costs, but will limit your choice, and possibly the area in which you would be able to ride. Your legislators need to hear from you about this important legislation. Below is contact information. Write your letter today, this Bill will be on the floor within the week! BlueRibbon Coalition recognizes the importance of this news and the impact it will have on OHV users in Oregon and the precedence it could set for other states. It is imperative that you call and write your State Legislators to voice your concerns TODAY. For more information on this bill go to < http://www.leg.state.or.us/bills_laws/> Thank you in advance, Brian Hawthorne Public Lands Director, BlueRibbon Coalition 208-237-1008 ext 102 Joani Dufourd, a local Oregon BRC member and past president of BRC suggests the following talking points that should be covered in your letter. For State legislator go to <www.leg.state.or.us/senate/seanteset.htm> or contact Joani Dufourd at brjoani@bendbroadband.com Also, it is imperative that the people mounting the campaign to KILL BILL #344 must receive a copy of your letter so please fax or email a copy to Kelly O'Brien; Kelly@hubblecomm.com, fax 503-961-8991. TALKING POINTS: 1. We have already made our vehicles 99% cleaner than they were in the 70's 2. The California standards will NOT improve air quality or climate in Oregon 3. An increase of $3,000 per vehicle is unacceptable 4. California standards will reduce choice of vehicles, reduced horsepower and reduced vehicle size 5. Loss of vehicle choice could affect Oregon economy 6. Consumers will be negatively effected especially those who drive the big work vehicles, or need to tow 7. Why should Oregon adopt anything California adopts, shouldn't our decisions be made in Salem instead of Sacramento?

Here's a few aerial shots: Dumont Amargosa

ARE YOU IN THE CHOIR? by Brian Hawthorne, BRC Public Lands Director Dear Readers: As Public Lands Director, my job can be described as a mixture of motivation, facilitation and inspiration. Toward the motivation and inspiration end of things I will, from time to time, send motivational emails to a select group of OHV leaders and involved enthusiasts. Sometimes, those emails fall into the "rant" category. Recently, I felt it was necessary to rant, and express frustration at one of the OHV communities biggest failings - lack of involvement. Interestingly, expouse on this particular problem throws into sharp contrast the generosity and effectiveness of the small minority that are involved, and more importantly, my personal appreciation of BRC's members and supporters. Anyway, apparently this particular rant hit a nerve, and we've received several requests for it to be reprinted in the BlueRibbon Magazine. Is it time for another rant from Brian? The answer is yes, and you'd better hang onto your hats, because Hawthorne is riled up! Here's what set me off. I got an email from an "OHV enthusiast" that said: "I am a long time dirt bike rider, and I also do quite a bit of jeeping. I have heard of your outfit many times in motorcycle magazines and such. I am not the sort of person to get active in these things, but having been all but shut out of the California deserts, and worrying about it in Colorado, I now live in [i won't mention where he lives]..." The writer goes on to describe his concern over a lawsuit that might close his favorite road and wants me to help. I responded politely, and I offered to help the best I could. But on the inside, I was seething! What I wanted to say, but didn't, was something like; "Okay, Mr. OHV Enthusiast, you've heard about our group, didn't join, don't want to get involved, did nothing while millions of acres were being closed, didn't ever visit our website or respond to an action alert, but as soon as some anti access group closes YOUR favorite road (that you thought was safe), you expect us to fly in with lawyers and money and save the day, is that right?" Allow me to ask for your indulgence. Put yourself in my chair just for a minute. Ok, sitting down? Good. Now, if you sit in this chair, your job is to fight huge anti-access organizations that are noted for their cooperation with each other. These groups share a well funded and coordinated legal team and if they don't get their way in Congress, they appeal to the courts. Their members are active and are passionate about their issues. Their members engage federal land managers in just about every planning project going on. Their members visit regularly with their political representatives, and often write letters to the editors in their local papers. Still sitting down? Stay in the chair for a minute, I'm not done. You represent millions of Americans who use vehicles for access and recreation. Your members are just as passionate as the members of these anti-access groups. You fight these guys and many times you are successful. Those victories are sweet, especially in light of the overwhelming disparity between your budget, and the budgets of your adversaries. You ask yourself how can this be? The answer is clear. It's because your membership is passionate and generous, and often, you find yourself overwhelmed with gratitude. But you can't escape the fact that each year more and more roads and trails are closed. You look at the best case scenario and note that only 9 percent of OHV users are members of a club or access organization! Still in the chair? Good! Because just for a minute I want you to imagine how successful you would be if that nine percent figure would be, say 50 percent? Think about that carefully. Imagine what you could do. Imagine having biologists on staff to review public land planning documents. Imagine being able to respond to every lawsuit. Imagine if BRC had full time professional access advocates in every state. Imagine if our political clout matched that of our adversaries. Imagine how much more successful you could be. For those of us who decide to stay in that chair, we do the best we can. But we are limited because 91 percent of OHV users are exactly like the "OHV enthusiast" who emailed me - mired in ignorance and apathy. They read about our group, read about our court victories, and they still don't join or get active. They just stand by, doing nothing, while they get shut out of millions of acres of public lands. Ok, you can get out of that chair now. Here comes the important part of my rant. If you are reading this, you are "in the choir." You are members. If you are on Brian Hawthorne's email list, you're active and you participate. I need you to know how much we, the people who sit in these chairs, appreciate your involvement. Thank you! What more can you do? We need the few that are part of the involved, active OHV community, now more than ever. Land use planning processes all over the nation are shifting into high gear. National initiatives will be made final and implemented in coming months. New threats to OHV use are just over the horizon. As you know, I'm the "bring it on" type of guy that can't help but see every challenge, every closure threat, and every lawsuit as opportunity for success! But in order to succeed, I need help from the choir! I need each and every one of you to resolve to take action whenever you see an action alert come across your inbox. I need you to talk to your OHV club and organization about budgeting for legal defense. I need you to contact your political representatives and communicate your concerns to them. I need you to try and educate your fellow "OHV enthusiasts" who, like my friend who emailed me, simply needs to get over their apathy and lack of knowledge. Again, thanks to all the active OHV enthusiasts! You make my job FUN! --Brian Hawthorne is the Public Lands Director for the BlueRibbon Coalition. For questions or comments on this article, he may be contacted at: BlueRibbon Coalition, 4555 Burley Drive, Suite A, Pocatello, ID 83202-1921. Phone: 208-237-1008, Fax: 208-237-9424. Email <brbrian@sharetrails.org>. http://www.sharetrails.org/index.cfm?page=41