By: ORV WATCH KERN COUNTY
Topics: Illegal off road vehicle use
Posted by peaceonearth Tuesday, February 15, 2011 – 11:55
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Location: Tehachapi, CA, 93561
Map data ©2011 Google – Terms of UseMapSatelliteHybridSan Francisco, CA – Finding that the Bureau of Land Management has favored off-road recreation over resource protection, a federal judge has ordered that agency to beef up prosecution of ORV abuse in California’s Western Mojave Regionrecreation over resource protection, a federal judge has ordered that agency to beef up prosecution of ORV abuse in California’s Western Mojave Region.
The long awaited judgment on remedies follows an October 2009 judgment on the so-called WEMO (Western Mojave) Plan lawsuit (Center for Biological Diversity, et al v. Bureau of Land Management, et al, USDC Case No. CV08-5646), in which the court found that the BLM had violated federal law and its own standards in designing off-road trails on federal lands and had submitted a defective environmental impact statement. This most recent judgment represents the court’s mandated remedies.
In her ruling, United States District Court for Northern California Judge Susan Illston found that the process by which the BLM designated 5,098 miles of ORV routes as part of the WEMO Plan violated federal laws and the BLM’s own route designation guidelines. Illston ruled that the BLM was not doing enough to educate the public about where they can and cannot ride and is failing to sufficiently monitor ORV abuse. In addition, she found, the BLM has not maintained accurate maps of the areas under their jurisdiction and did not conduct adequate “ground truthing studies” in determining route locations. The ruling requires the BLM to reconsider the destructive environmental impacts on public lands in the Western Mojave Region.
Judge Illson ruled that the BLM must complete a new designation of ORV routes by 2014. Other parts of the ruling require the BLM to: (1) increase law enforcement to prevent illegal activity; (2) provide signage on designated routes; (3) install informational kiosks; (4) take measures to inform the public on ORV restrictions; and (5) immediately implement a plan for monitoring ORV abuse on public lands. A federal magistrate will monitor the BLM’s compliance with the court order.
Local residents and conservation groups have been advocating for these policies for years, but it took action by the federal courts to mandate these changes. The judge determined that the BLM had favored ORV use over the protection of natural resources, water quality, endangered species and archeological sites. The BLM was joined by off-road vehicle special interest groups in the court case.
“This ruling is a huge victory for desert communities defending themselves from ORV abuse. The judge has mandated that the BLM go back to the drawing board and use a fair, accurate and open process when designating ORV routes. The ruling requires the BLM to consider the protection of our communities and natural, cultural and historical resources in their ORV management plans,” said Phil Klasky of Community ORV Watch, a representative of one of the groups who successfully sued the BLM.
Other plaintiffs include The Alliance for Responsible Recreation, The Wilderness Society, Friends of Juniper Flats, Western San Bernardino Landowners Association, California Native Plant Society, the Sierra Club, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and Desert Survivors. The groups were represented by attorneys Robert Wiygul, Skye Stanfield and Lisa Belenky.
Said Mesonika Piecuch, Executive Director of ORV Watch Kern County, “This ruling follows logically from the recognition that off-road vehicle recreation is incompatible with fragile eco-systems. Mechanization and technological advance are great when properly applied. Applying them to wilderness areas is not great.”
Contacts: Mesonika Piecuch, (661) 878-7838; ORV Watch Kern County
Links: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/palmsprings/general_-_pssc.Par.76001.File.dat/CBD%2012-18-08.pdf