BLM Mum Until San Bernardino Hearing : Details Scarce on Navy’s Desert Takeover Plan

Details of a plan to allow the Navy to take over as many as 315,000 acres of Imperial County desert prized by off-road vehicle riders are being withheld by the federal Bureau of Land Management until a Feb. 15 public hearing in San Bernardino.

But a Navy spokesman said Wednesday that the Navy does not plan to refuse off-roaders entrance to the riding areas.

John Scull, public affairs specialist with the BLM in Riverside, said he anticipates a “standing-room-only crowd” at the 1 p.m. hearing. Off-roaders and residents of desert towns in San Diego and Imperial counties whose businesses are booming along with the popularity of the sport are expected to show up en masse to oppose the Navy takeover.

Scull acknowledged that many people who plan to travel more than 100 miles to San Bernardino to testify probably will be frustrated by the failure of the BLM to release its plan in advance of the hearing.

“I know exactly where they are coming from on that,” Scull said. “But there still are details to be ironed out--nothing is finalized. Both sides have to run the agreement by their various superiors, and we’ll need an opinion from our counsel about the legality of the plan.

“Plus, we will be listening to the public input at the hearing, and we might schedule subsequent hearings in San Diego if there is sufficient interest shown.”

Many desert residents and off-road enthusiasts had hoped to be informed of the details of the Navy’s takeover immediately after a closed-door meeting between BLM and Navy officials this week in Riverside.

Already, there have been bitter complaints about the Navy’s failure to consult desert residents or off-road organizations before moving ahead with condemnation of the land, and with the decision to hold the hearing in San Bernardino rather than El Centro or San Diego.

Meanwhile, a Navy spokesman at the El Centro Naval Facility said the Navy did not plan to refuse off-roaders entrance to the desert riding areas. Senior Chief Petty Officer Victor Pinzon said the Navy wants control of the land, which is being relinquished by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, only to ensure that its flight training exercises can continue in the future.

“We’ve been living cooperatively with the off-road community for a long time,” Pinzon said. “There are plenty of areas within the 315,000 acres that are compatible for our needs and the off-roaders’.

“The Navy doesn’t see any big change in the way things have been operating in the desert. We just want to make sure the public remains safe during our training, and we’re more worried about preventing significant construction in the desert than anything else. The popular off-road areas are not of much concern to us.”

Pinzon said there are “many misconceptions in the desert and among the off-roaders about the Navy’s intentions,” adding that those misconceptions have been aggravated by the secrecy surrounding the negotiations with the BLM.

“I think the legal terminology scares a lot of people,” Pinzon said. “And I think people are dubious about the power and authority the military has. I can understand why they’re worried--the recreational life styles of a lot of families might appear to be at stake. But I don’t know what else we can do except continue to reassure them that we do intend to continue to share the desert with them.”