Threat to Tortoise Cancels 2 Desert Motorcycle Races

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, invoking for the first time federal protections recently provided the desert tortoise, has canceled two off-road vehicle races because of the potential threat they posed to the endangered reptiles.

BLM officials said Friday that permits for the two motorcycle races, scheduled for Sunday, were denied because biologists did not have time to evaluate their impact on the tortoise and its habitat.

“We sympathize with the racers, but we also sympathize with the tortoise and we have to follow the law,” said Barbara Maxfield, a BLM spokeswoman.

Off-road vehicle enthusiasts, who predicted the Aug. 4 listing of the tortoise as a federally endangered species would restrict their use of the desert, decried the decision, with some predicting it could be an omen of things to come.

“This is very unfortunate,” said Ed Waldheim of the American Motorcycle Assn. “These are controlled, totally authorized events on existing trails in areas designated for what we do.”

But Sierra Club activist Elden Hughes said: “Certain activities considered normal in the past will, and should, be affected by the listing. If off-road races destroy tortoises and tortoise burrows, then that’s a no-no.”

The races, expected to draw 300 riders apiece, were to be held in Johnson Valley near Barstow and in the Spangler Hills near Ridgecrest. Both areas are open to off-road vehicle use.

But under provisions of the “emergency” federal listing the tortoise now enjoys, the BLM must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before permitting races or other events that might harm the state’s official reptile. Maxfield said there was not time for biologists to conduct that review before Sunday.