I got this off the BLM newsletter today, thought it may be of interest, and pass it on for discussion. Sorry if it isn't formated correctly, I usually don't do this..................

"BLM receives $8.3 million from state" (Barstow Desert Dispatch, 7/12/09)
"BLM’s California Desert District received about $8.3 million in grants from California’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program on Thursday, according to a release. The funds will go toward the operation and maintenance of OHV areas, the support of programs in the Dumont Dunes, El Mirage and Imperial Sand Dunes recreation areas, as well as increased law enforcement in those areas."
http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/barstow...lm-million.html

BARSTOW • Visitors to off-highway vehicle sites and campgrounds managed by the Bureau of Land Management’s Barstow field office may soon see a few changes to their favorite spots.

BLM’s California Desert District received about $8.3 million in grants from California’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program on Thursday, according to a release. The funds will go toward the operation and maintenance of OHV areas, the support of programs in the Dumont Dunes, El Mirage and Imperial Sand Dunes recreation areas, as well as increased law enforcement in those areas.

Mickey Quillman, chief of resources at BLM’s Barstow Field Office, said out of 3.2 million acres the field offices manages, OHV recreation areas include Stoddard Wells, Johnson Valley, El Mirage, Dumont Dunes and Rasor. There are also miles of open trails outside these areas that off-roaders can use.

Quillman said each BLM office writes grant proposals outlining their needs when competing for state motor vehicle recreation program grants. Whoever comes up with the best program, he said, is going to get a portion of the money. Much of the OHV grant money is used for things BLM wouldn’t normally have the budget or time for, Quillman said. This includes marking designated OHV trails with new signs and disguising blazed trails with vegetation or rocks.

“We’ll do vegetation planting and put rocks out there just to make sure people don’t think (it’s) a road,” Quillman said, adding that BLM will put volunteers from the California Conservation Corp and other organizations to work. “We’ll make sure it looks like normal desert again.”

David Briery, BLM spokesman for the California Desert District, said the grant money from the state’s OHV recreation program partially comes from green-sticker fees off-roaders pay to the state to register their vehicles. Funding for OHV grants also come from fuel taxes from off-road vehicles and fees collected at state vehicular recreation areas. Briery said the state OHV program also distributes grants to organizations such as Friends of El Mirage, which also operates on BLM land.

About $1.3 million of the grant money will be used to maintain public safety. Quillman said the money will be used go towards enhanced law enforcement at the different OHV recreation areas. Grant money also paid for a new helipad for rescue helicopters at Dumont Dunes. The extra law enforcement and BLM paramedics and search and rescue personnel will be able to maintain public safety during BLM’s major weekends, Halloween, Christmas, New Years and President’s Day.

Other uses for the grant money include upgrading Owl Canyon Campground with new barbecues, fire rings and shelters. Grant money will also be used for the junior ranger program at the El Mirage Dry Lake OHV Recreation Area.

“We’ll have somebody come out there with live animals that you typically find in the desert,” Quillman said. “(They’ll) talk about recycling, trash pickup and what you can do in the desert.”

Representatives from the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program were unavailable to answer questions Friday due to state furloughs.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com

Wondering outcome of these funds?

"increased law enforcement". Great

And they get the 8mil back with all the citations they hand..

I'll admit, I used to question what it is my ever increasing annual pass paid for and just what it was that BLM was doing out there. This weekend I drove down a beautiful new road out to Wash 15 to see some friends, stopped at Wash 10 to drop a deuce then hauled my trash to some shiny red new dumpsters.

Neil Hamada has done an outstanding job with a tight budget, good for him and his crew for getting some extra scratch to work with.......

BTW, I feel warm and fuzzy about the dough I spent on the annual passes

the dumpsters are money well spent,
I wouldn't mind seeing some of the money spent on more camping pads along Gecko.
Or extend Gecko Rd. all the way to Gordon's Well.

The Reader's Digest version is as follows....

The State of California Department of Parks & Recreation OHMVR Division (self funded by green/red sticker registration, fuel tax, Etc) funds annual Grants & Cooperative Agreements. A grant can be applied for by local/federal agencies and non-profit orgs. There are specific buckets such as Operations & Maintainance, Law Enforcement, Restoration and Safety/Education. Not only does the BLM apply but the USFS and Counties statewide apply for money to help run their programs....these entities depend on the grant to help make ends meet and it's not always about law enforcement.

I can expand into more detail if necessary...just let me know!

I think more detail would be welcomed. For instance...who much of the 8.3 Million did the ISDRA get? For which 'bucket' does that money go into? Like Wash11, I applaud Neil H. for the wonderful job he did in building us our new road. Where did he get the $$$ from and how much did it cost?

"disguising trails with rocks and bushes"- "We want it to look like a desert again". I am pretty sure there was bushes there before I first mobbed that trail. SO we are planting bushes to be mobbed over? I really dont understand...The desert is DEAD. yet we are going to make sure and make "designated" trails, that way we dont run over dead bushes

you see alot of this so called restoration in the high desert.
of course, the road went to a guzzler or old mine or diggings
and had prolly been there for half a century
then they come in and try to disguise it
how ?
they dig up living creosote bushes and try to replant them
they move the rocks and native veg around, old yucca logs, anything they can find
the creosote bushes all die, haven't seen any that have survived
next time the desert is green after rain, these disguised roads/trails are easy to find
everything else is green, and what they tried to replant is dead