Off-Roaders Win Land Battle With Navy

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 they had originally sought for a target practice area.

The agreement reached with the federal Bureau of Land Mangement was unveiled here Friday at a public 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 racing 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.”

6 Target Areas

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 bureau, said it probably would be at least a year before the Navy assumes control of the 48,500 acres.

The agreement reached by the bureau 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 the U.S. Congress.

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 them close to population centers inevitably have met with opposition from neighboring residents and environmentalists.