Off-Roaders Fight Ecos for Calif. Canyon

The Associated Press ^ | December 17, 2006 | GILLIAN FLACCUS

[george76]

Daniel Patterson of the Center for Biological Diversity points out that ...

[GoforBroke]

This is one. Haven't been there in years.

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1192

[george76]

Inyo County's Fifth District Supervisor Richard Cervantes claims that neither of these federal agencies has any jurisdiction over the Surprise Canyon Road.

"When that road was built in 1874 it automatically became an RS 2477 road," Cervantes said recently.

"That means that it belongs to the citizens of the United States and is held in trust by Inyo County.

No federal agency has any right to touch that road."

[george76]

For Fellows, the designation of large amounts of public lands as wilderness, meaning no vehicular access, is a touchy subject.

With nearly 130,000 acres of wilderness in the Panamint Valley area alone and nearly 95 percent of the nearly three million acres in Death Valley National Park, he said, "I dare say there is enough wilderness!"

[Porterville]

Judging how the scumbags treat the Pismo Dunes, they don't deserve a place to ride until they learn respect. They destroy everything and crap on everything they use. And I hate the illegal fireworks, the fat children, the sleazy girlfriends, the stupid barbwire tattoos on obese arms flapping out of cut off tanks, obnoxious matching jumpsuits on men weighing over 300 pounds under 5'5", the beer cans on the beach, the loud music, the loud cars, the smell, and loud obnoxious behaviors from this sub culture of idiocy.

I wish I was just jealous, but I'm not. From Porterville, I know this type of trash.

[Westlander]

Throw in some crack ho's, gunplay in front of schools, and some corpses. Welcome to Deetroit.

[Amerigomag]

[Carry_Okie]

Battles over RS-2477 roads are a huge matter all across the West, usually because they can be used as access to develop mining claims. The guy who, in my opinion, has the best grip on that body of law is Don Fife.

[Myrddin]

I lived in San Diego when I was paying those fees. I would have to have a means of towing my offroad vehicle almost 400 miles north to use the Hungry Valley area. The canyons around my home (Rice/Bats/Otay Ranch) were wide open when I was in high school. I could literally push my bike 2 blocks to the edge of the canyon. Today, I would have to transport the bike at least 15 miles east to the nearest undeveloped land.

Thankfully, I don't live in California anymore. The mountains around south Pocatello are open for offroad activity. It occurs at such a low level that nobody really cares. At age 50, I won't be taking a dirt bike out anymore either. I prefer to put my $$ into something safer. Something with a large caliber.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

Amazing that the activist gets his britches in a bunch over a desert cyn., and yet lives in a city covered with hundreds of square miles of asphalt and concrete, with millions of vehicles circulating on it. Maybe they should just pave the canyon, so he can drive his BMW SUV up it.

[SierraWasp]

Did you say "Center for Bioilogical Duplicity?"

[SierraWasp]

Ain't it the TRUTH!!! (what you said!) Some people are so danged oblivious to the obvious that it's laughable! Except it ain't funny!!!

[george76]

Yes.

Whatever they are for...I am against.

"Center for Bioilogical Duplicity?"

[antidisestablishment]

ROTFLOL! You got that right! (From an expat CA native ;))

[dljordan]

"If in fact they did this, they deserve to lose access to the area."

Do you think someone MIGHT be exaggerating the damage just a wee bit?

[Ben Mugged]

What don't you understand about the word "if"?

[dljordan]

What is this "IF" you speak of? :)

[Ben Mugged]

See post number 2.

If in fact they did this, they deserve to lose access to the area.

[Exton1]

How do you destroy a canyon? These environmental Nazis make it seem that there are no other gushing mountain streams or a once-bustling silver mining towns in California.

Also are you aware that clearing the DEAD tree stumps and rocks was done on PRIVATE property? Something like 90% of California is owned by either the State or the US Government. Isn’t that enough so called protected areas. What the environmental Nazis or the fun police want is to have NO ONE on ANY land doing ANYTHING.

They want it all to be the Kings land so that ONLY they can enjoy it.

[Exton1]

Porterville, if you hate it so much, why do you go to this stuff?