Mad Machinist
Silver Member
Before anyone blows a gasket, let me explain.
I sit here damn near in tears over this. I never dreamed, for all the years I've been fighting land use issues, that many others and I would have to fight any of the U.S. Military for our right to use public land. Being former Army, I understand the necessity of proper training, but there comes a point when enough is enough.
Johnson Valley is one of the few areas we have left for open OHV use. It was developed under a desert protection act in 1980 as a place for us to use in order to protect the rest of the desert. Now Twentynine Palms wants to take away more of what little we have.
We, in the OHV community understand and support the training necessary to keep our fighting forces alive and well. We have even come up with an Alternative Plan to meet the goals of both entities. Charging Hard: Common Ground; How The US Marines and OHV Users Can Share Johnson Valley We are willing to sit down with the Marine Corps and help institute this plan.
Here's a pretty good map. Marine Base Expansion Threatens Johnson Valley and Hammer Trails - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine
The tan is Twentynine Palms as it is now. The blue is what we will PERMANENTLY lose. The brownish color is what we stand to lose if an errant piece of ordinance falls. The gret is possible future expansion.
This is a very hard pill for us to swallow after the support we have shown for the Marine Corps over the years through the Toys for Tots program and through the efforts of our community to send care packages to our overseas soldiers. We are asking that all stand to support this option by calling your Congress critters in support of the option we have developed. Going to the east would be an even better option for the Marines as there is more open space to be used.
The alternative is that the estimated 80 million OHV users will forever turn there backs on the Marine Corps. We, in the OHV community DO NOT want this to happen, but we are left with no other choice. We are not the only ones who use this area. Prospectors, model airplane enthusiasts, stargazers, and a host of other people use this area too.
I sit here damn near in tears over this. I never dreamed, for all the years I've been fighting land use issues, that many others and I would have to fight any of the U.S. Military for our right to use public land. Being former Army, I understand the necessity of proper training, but there comes a point when enough is enough.
Johnson Valley is one of the few areas we have left for open OHV use. It was developed under a desert protection act in 1980 as a place for us to use in order to protect the rest of the desert. Now Twentynine Palms wants to take away more of what little we have.
We, in the OHV community understand and support the training necessary to keep our fighting forces alive and well. We have even come up with an Alternative Plan to meet the goals of both entities. Charging Hard: Common Ground; How The US Marines and OHV Users Can Share Johnson Valley We are willing to sit down with the Marine Corps and help institute this plan.
Here's a pretty good map. Marine Base Expansion Threatens Johnson Valley and Hammer Trails - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine
The tan is Twentynine Palms as it is now. The blue is what we will PERMANENTLY lose. The brownish color is what we stand to lose if an errant piece of ordinance falls. The gret is possible future expansion.
This is a very hard pill for us to swallow after the support we have shown for the Marine Corps over the years through the Toys for Tots program and through the efforts of our community to send care packages to our overseas soldiers. We are asking that all stand to support this option by calling your Congress critters in support of the option we have developed. Going to the east would be an even better option for the Marines as there is more open space to be used.
The alternative is that the estimated 80 million OHV users will forever turn there backs on the Marine Corps. We, in the OHV community DO NOT want this to happen, but we are left with no other choice. We are not the only ones who use this area. Prospectors, model airplane enthusiasts, stargazers, and a host of other people use this area too.
