HAMMERS DECISION OUT TO PUBLIC

MARINES WANT JOHNSON VALLEY -- STILL; BUT DON'T PANIC The Record of Decision on Johnson Valley Marine Base expansion was signed Feb. 13th and calls for Alternative 6, basically taking over a lot of our OHV area.  But the fight is long from over.  Congress still has a say in all this. The Johnson Valley OHV area, which is home to a series of off-road trails known as The Hammers, is currently at risk due to the proposed expansion of the 29 Palms Marine Base. 29 Palms is the largest Marine base in the world and at 930 sq. miles which is about the size of the state of Rhode Island. The Marines proposed expansion would include acquiring an additional 250 sq. miles which is the land equivalent to acquiring the country of Singapore. Some of the land for this expansion will be taken from the Johnson Valley OHV area. This expansion would mean the permanent loss of half of the California desert available to the public. Learn more and see the notes from the Calif. Motorized Recreation Council (CMRC) at http://www.savethehammers.org

JOHNSON VALLEY EIS NEEDS OUR VOICE NOW

We need every off-roader to participate in a targeted outreach. One phone call or fax a day is all we ask. Talking points can be found below. Contact name is underlined. Congress is on recess this week, they should be in the District Office. Every off-roader must participate!

THINK of this as 7 days to save the Hammers (and Johnson Valley).  

The US Marine Corps has posted the final EIS on their website here: http://www.marines.mil/unit/29palms/las/Pages/default.aspx

USMC Preferred Alternative:
Alternative 6 was selected in the DEIS as the preferred alternative and slightly modified in the Final EIS: it is the optimal alternative for the Marine Corps considering operational and environmental impact factors together. Developed in response to public comments it was designed to rpeserve public access to important off-road recreation areas during periods when MEB training did not require use of those lands. The Preferred Alternative would allow for reopening to public recreation use approximately 40,000 acres of the acquisition area for ten months a year. The land would fall under management of the Marine Corps under this proposed plan.

More here on Cal4's site:  http://www.cal4wheel.com/

KING OF HAMMERS LANDUSE PERSPECTIVE AND MARINES

Short video by me on the King of the Hammers; a landuse perspective and why we need to help the Marines find someplace else to train.  HELP SAVE Johnson Valley: