BLM Gears Up to Stop Bike Race to Las Vegas

When word spread that this month’s running of the annual Barstow-to-Las Vegas motorcycle race had been canceled, disgruntled dirt bikers quickly made it clear they did not plan to take the news sitting down.

First, an anonymous mailer was sent to conservation groups that have doggedly fought the world-famous race, warning that a protest ride involving 25,000 “infuriated” participants would take place along the traditional racecourse Nov. 24.

Then, in a newsletter, a maverick group of off-road enthusiasts urged bikers to take a stand on the Barstow-to-Vegas race before the “eco-freaks” further trample “the right to enjoy our public lands.”

“If they can stop this recreational event,” the Sahara Club newsletter told its readers, “they can stop just about anything they want.”

On Thursday, the federal agency that manages the California desert responded to the rumblings with an unmistakable message of its own. In an unusual action, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it will temporarily close the Barstow-to-Vegas race routes and staging areas to all motor vehicles beginning next week.

Gerald Hillier, the BLM’s desert district manager, said the action was precipitated by “rumors of a possible unauthorized motorcycle event” that have been percolating over the last few months.

“Although we acknowledge that individuals have every right to express disapproval of any bureau action, riding through sensitive desert resources is not the way to protest,” Hillier said.

In particular, he said, the BLM was concerned about renegade riders harming habitat of the desert tortoise, a species federally listed as threatened whose numbers have declined precipitously in recent years.

Environmentalists, who had feared an illegal protest ride, responded gratefully to the federal government’s decision Thursday.

“I think the BLM has been thinking long and hard about this situation, and in our view this move makes a lot of sense,” said Deborah Reames of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, which has sued in the past to block the race. “From a legal point of view, they really had little choice if they wanted to protect the resources and prevent this race from going forward.”

Defiant motorcyclists said the BLM’s action would have little effect on their plans for a protest ride--and might even make their day in the desert more interesting.

“Their intent is to stop us, to stop people from exercising their rights to protest,” said veteran racer Louis McKey, 59, a Buena Park electrician. “They have made it inconvenient for some people who don’t know the desert, perhaps, but there’s a lot of land between Barstow and Las Vegas. We’ll just find a way around the closed areas. It might be more fun this way.”

McKey also said it would be up to the BLM to post the closed areas and notify people of the new rule. Otherwise, he said, “how will we know where we aren’t allowed to go?”

The BLM, anticipating that some riders may not heed the closure order, will have a team of rangers on hand at the race start east of Barstow on Nov. 24, said Barbara Maxfield, an agency spokeswoman. She declined, however, to divulge the size of the ranger force or discuss any specific law enforcement plans.

“We don’t want to tip our hand,” Maxfield said. “In past years there were threats made against our rangers, and we’re taking those very seriously.”

Maxfield said the rangers may issue warnings or citations and can also make arrests. A violation of the closure order--which is in force from Nov. 21 until Dec. 2--would carry a maximum fine of $1,000 and one year in custody.

Controversy has swirled like a dust devil around the so-called “B-to-V” race almost since its maiden running 23 years ago. Popular because of its challenging, timed course and conclusion in the West’s gambling mecca, the event typically attracted up to 3,000 racers and 20,000 spectators in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

From the start, the race drew howls of protest from scientists and conservationists, who contend that it could take centuries for the slow-healing desert to recover from damage inflicted by the army of dirt bikes.

Such complaints prompted the BLM to ban the event in 1975, but that move spurred angry dirt bikers--led by McKey--to carry out annual protest rides across the eastern Mojave. In 1982, after concluding that the renegade motorcyclists were inflicting more damage on the desert than a controlled group of competitors would, the BLM reauthorized the B-to-V race.

Since then, however, the event has been challenged repeatedly by conservation groups, and the listing of the desert tortoise earlier this year seemed to signal the race’s demise. In September, American Motorcyle Assn. officials canceled the event, saying they had lost hope of obtaining a federal permit.

Although they scheduled a substitute race in Johnson Valley, an area that does not include desert tortoise habitat, the AMA’s decision drew criticism from other motorcycle groups, which accused the AMA of caving in to pressure from environmentalists.