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July, 2006
Public Hearing Held On Mckeon Wilderness Bill H.R. 5149
Off-Road Business Association testifies In Washington, DC stating the bill creates unneccesary wilderness designations and keeps previously designated wilderness study areas locked away from public use
BAKERSFIELD, CA (July 31, 2006)-On July 27, 2006 Fred Wiley, Executive Director of the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA) testified in front of the Forests and Forest Health committee on behalf of the California Off-Road Vehicle Association, the San Diego Off-Road Coalition, the American Motorcyclist Association - District 37, California Four Wheel Drive Association, the American Sand Association, the California Nevada Snowmobile Association, EcoLogic Partners, Inc. and the Off-Road Business Association.
H.R. 5149 the Eastern Sierra Rural Heritage and Economic Enhancement Act sponsored by Congressman Buck McKeon (R) has been the subject of much speculation among the OHV advocates in California. The OHV leadership in California feels that there has not been sufficient input from their community. Three basic flaws keep the OHV community in California from supporting the bill. The first problem is that it fails to release Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) even though those areas will never qualify as "Wilderness," and at the same time it restricts public access to 39,000 more acres by designating those as Wilderness.
Secondly, it designates segments of the Amargosa River as "Wild and Scenic" when in reality the current uses in place today do not qualify it as such. This designation also does not protect the historic use of this area as a recreation area. Thirdly, the bill does not include statutory language that protects existing OHV routes and previously opened routes. Such language protected OHV routes and was included in the recently passed Thompson Wilderness Bill. As of this date there has been no action taken on this bill.
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