Off-Roaders Win as Navy Pares Desert Land Plans

Bowing to the wishes of thousands of Southern California off-road vehicle riders, the U.S. Navy has agreed to close to the public only 48,500 acres of Imperial County desert, rather than the 315,000 acres it had originally requested as part of a target practice area.

The agreement reached with the federal Bureau of Land Management was unveiled here Friday at a public BLM hearing. It placated the off-roaders, scores of whom had traveled to San Bernardino to vent their opposition to the Navy’s first proposal, which would have closed one of the prime off-road riding areas in the state.

“Well, we got a fair deal and I don’t even have to talk now,” said Rich Crusins of Los Angeles, an off-road enthusiast who had taken the day off from work to testify in opposition to the Navy’s original plan.

“It’s still a good thing we showed up, though, because the Navy would have taken all of our land if we hadn’t gotten our act together to fight them.”

The 48,500 acres surround six target practice areas used by fliers stationed at the Navy base in El Centro.

The Navy, which already has closed off more than 600,000 acres in Imperial County, has maintained that the target practice areas must be off limits to the public as a safety precaution.

Gerald Hillyear, district manager for the BLM, said it probably would be at least a year before the Navy assumes control of the 48,500 acres.

The agreement reached by the BLM and the Navy will be the subject of public hearings in Los Angeles, San Diego and western Arizona, and requires approval of an environmental impact report by Imperial County and ratification by Congress.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado), whose district extends into Imperial County, likely will shepherd the final agreement through Congress, Jay Wilkinson, an aide to Hunter, said at the hearing.

“This proposal might be modified somewhat after the public hearing and (environmental review) process,” Hillyear said.

“But what we have come up with appears workable for all the interests involved. It assumes that we will continue to have public access to the popular recreational areas in the Imperial County desert, and it allows the Navy to continue its important training maneuvers.”

Hillyear said the BLM balked at the request for 315,000 acres, although the Navy had promised to continue allowing off-road vehicle riding and other recreational pursuits in the area.

“Despite the Navy’s assurances, its promise could not have been binding once it had control of that land,” Hillyear said.

“It could have completely blocked off any portions of that land whenever it wanted to. That’s exactly what the Navy has done with all of the land it controls in California.

“We didn’t want to be in the position of losing so much valuable recreation space, so with the Navy’s cooperation, we scaled the acreage down to the bare necessities.”

Cmdr. Dave Walsh said the Navy was “given what we need for our training. I’m glad we were able to work something out that seems like a fair compromise for everybody concerned.”

Robert Rasor, government relations director for the American Motorcycle Assn., praised the BLM for taking a tough stand with the Navy.

“Considering the magnitude of the original proposal, the Navy did a great deal of retrenching,” said Rasor, who traveled to San Bernardino from Westerville, Ohio, to testify at the hearing.

“Obviously, this is a lot better for our interest,” he said. “The land they now propose to close is heavily used by off-roaders, but we understand the importance of the Navy’s training in the desert and we’re willing to bend for them because they bent for us.”

Rasor, however, criticized the Navy for “keeping its proposal out of the public light until people throughout the region were outraged.”

“In the end, the worst thing about this whole proposal was the terrible way the Navy handled its public relations,” he said. “There was no need to foster such distrust among the public by trying to take its land away.”

Donald Fife, a geologic and mineral resource consultant based in Tustin, also appeared at the hearing to oppose the closure of the 315,000 acres.

“Like the off-road vehicle riders, we wanted the restricted area as small as possible,” he said. “Many indicators point to the fact that there could be valuable mineral resources in that land.

“If the Navy had prohibited exploration out there, we would never be able to know if the potential exists for getting natural gas and oil out of that land. Those resources could be an economic boon to Imperial County.”

Despite their victory Friday, off-road enthusiasts remain angered by the state’s failure to develop more parks for their sport. By law, the $35 annual registration fee paid on each off-road vehicle is to be spent on new parks. But efforts to develop one close to state’s the population centers inevitably have met with opposition from neighboring residents and environmentalists.

The only park in San Diego County is at Ocotillo Wells, less than five miles from the land the Navy hopes to control. The county is studying additional sites, with Otay Mesa the leading candidate, but has abandoned plans for an off-road park in Sycamore Canyon after strenuous objections from the nearby cities of Poway and Santee.

Saddleback Park, the only off-road area in Orange County, was closed several months ago. The Irvine Company plans to build houses on that land.