According to the BlueRibbon Coalition, land use provisions in the Carson City District Draft RMP/EIS still don’t recognize dry washes as OHV routes.
So often we scrutinize the words that are included in a government plan to find out exactly what’s in them, but in the case of the current Draft Resource Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft RMP/EIS) for Northern Nevada, it’s what is missing that could adversely impact our OHV recreational opportunities.
Nevermind that the current Draft RMP/EIS for the Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carson City District, Sierra Front and Stillwater Field Offices could threaten such off-road races as the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno and the iconic Virginia City Grand Prix. The Draft RMP/EIS’ crucial failure to acknowledge dry washes as part of designated OHV recreation routes could result in the closure of thousands of miles of long-established OHV routes in Nevada.
According to the BLueRibbon Coalition, April 27, 2015, is the deadline for public comments on the Draft RMP/EIS for the Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carson City District, Sierra Front and Stillwater Field Offices. Once finalized, the Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carson City District, Sierra Front and Stillwater Field Offices’ RMP will provide management direction for almost 5 million acres of public land in northern Nevada.
The BRC says that the DEIS can currently be interpreted to preclude designation of “dry washes” as an OHV route. The elimination of dry or sand washes from interim management prescriptions or subsequent project level travel management plans could functionally close most of the desert because motorized travel would be “limited to designated roads and trails.”
Dry washes are often the backbone of any desert-based route network. They either function as trails themselves or they are part of any trail that traverses them. The Nevada DRMP/EIS does not clearly codify future “area” designations in the document, and the BRC believes it is important for the BLM to describe a strategy for the designation of staging/camping areas.
Area designations may also include future “play” areas or other open areas where said use is an important recreational experience. The agency should grant itself broad authority to designate varying acreages (using historical and anticipated use patterns) from 1 to 20 acres or more for said uses.
BRC also believes the BLM should develop a process to expedite the approval of competitive and other permitted events that are well-known, historic, and reoccurring. This can be accomplished through known “pre-approved” routes from which an event organizer can choose. Events that could benefit from a streamlined permitting process include the aforementioned Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno and the Virginia City Grand Prix.
BRC is encouraging all OHV enthusiasts to go to its LETTER GENERATOR and tell the BLM to include “washes” in future travel management plans and to allow for the designation of additional open areas for play riding, camping, and staging. When doing so, please insert text that describes what forms of OHV recreation your family enjoys on BLM lands in Northern Nevada.
BRC has also set up a special “Northern Nevada OHV Defense Fund” to help support our administrative and legal efforts on this important issue.
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