BLM WEMO Land Use Plan Published

MBCA has offered information and advice to Morongo Basin residents for several years concerning WEMO, the West Mojave BLM Land Use Management plan related to off-highway vehicle use. A lot of focused effort and detailed research was conducted a year ago by MBCA Board members Pat Flanagan, Sarah Kennington, and Steve Bardwell, along with many other Basin residents, to advise the BLM in the prior comment period of dozens of OHV "routes" that were untenable. In the recently-released West Mojave Route Network Project Land Use Plan Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), the hard work seems to have paid off and many of the targeted routes no longer exist in the Plan. An assessment and links for this final review can be accessed at the Community ORV Watch website.

For a visual representation and explanation of the Plan, see this one-page WEMO flier prepared for the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council by Pat Flanagan.

Additional explanation can be found in MBCA's May 13 EBlast:
The West Mojave Route Network Project Land Use Plan Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) is now available for download. The deadline for protests is May 28, 2019. Our conservation partner, Community ORV Watch, has prepared a preliminary analysis of the recently released documents. The current mapping system uses an entirely web-based interface as opposed to the PDF maps that were utilized in the past. Our previous comments and efforts appear to have made a difference and many are reflected in Alternative 5, the BLM’s Proposed Action Alternative. Many of the short, discontinuous route segments within the checkerboarded communities in County Service Areas (CSAs) have now been designated as Street Legal Only. This is a good step towards controlling unwelcome and disruptive OHV use within CSAs communities although there continue to be routes in communities that are identified ‘Motorized, No Subdesignation’. This designation permits the use of any motorized vehicle (OHV, ATV, electric) within neighborhood communities that are accessible by traveling on County roads. OHVs driving on such routes are subject to the County’s OHV ordinance that the Sheriff's department and Code Enforcement will enforce.

We encourage you to study and digest the MANY documents and extremely detailed maps that have been posted on the BLM website.

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