[CPEO-MEF] EXPANSION: "Marines, off-roaders compromise on [29 Palms, CA] base expansion"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

JOHNSON VALLEY: Marines, off-roaders compromise on base expansion

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JOHNSON VALLEY: Marines, off-roaders compromise on base expansion

 
BY JANET ZIMMERMAN
Riverside Press-Enterprise (CA)
December 12, 2013

Off-road enthusiasts are celebrating a compromise that drastically scales back an expansion of the Twentynine Palms Marine base and retains most of the Johnson Valley for recreational use.

The 188,000-acre expanse of desert between Yucca Valley and Barstow is prized by both sides - off-roaders for the boulders, dry lake beds and wide open terrain, and the military for the remote, limitless space ideal for training maneuvers.

Johnson Valley is the largest off-highway vehicle area in the United States, drawing about 200,000 visitors annually and pumping an estimated $71 million a year into the local economy.

Under the law passed by Congress late Tuesday, 99,870 acres will remain part of the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area and be overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. That includes 56,000 acres of land to be borrowed by the Marine Corps up to twice a year for a total of 60 days.

…

For the entire article, see
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20131212-johnson-valley-marines-off-roaders-compromise-on-base-expansion.ece

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
LSiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org




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