After the successful turnout for the “Virtual Rally” the message has been sent that closure of the Johnson Valley OHV area will not be tolerated. We need to continue to send the message, this time in person (no web wheeling allowed:D) by attending a meeting of the off-road community scheduled by Congressman Duncan Hunter. The meeting:

Saturday, March 22, 2008
9a.m. to 11 a.m.
Cuyamaca College Student Center, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon. Conference rooms 1207-1208.

After the past few weeks of my introduction to land use issues, I believe we cannot sit passively waiting for our elected officials to act. A show of support to keep our trails and public lands open for OUR USE is necessary. It is likely the meeting will be covered by the San Diego Tribune and other media outlets, which in turn, promotes our efforts.

If you are in the area, take a couple hours out your day to attend. Our political leaders must know that we are serious about this issue and are ready to take action.:mad3:

Please spread the word about this meeting to everyone and anyone you know. We did a great job publicizing the Virtual Rally, we can do it again.:) We also need and we are seeking the support of the San Diego off-road community to make this another successful gathering.

This thread is just the introduction to act. Please post any comments or suggestions you may have.:)

Thank you for your time,

Jim Knox

I had planned to be there.

I had planned to be there.

Me too.

It is extremely important that as many people attend this meeting as possible. We have to back up in person what we did online.

If live live in or near that area, please make EVERY effort to attend.

PLEASE e-mail people, call people etc. to get the word out on this meeting!

i plan on being there also.

Does anyone know how many people these conference rooms will hold at Cuyamaca College Student Center? A standing room only crowd would be great!

The District 37 riders will be there:

Here is some information I feel needs to be passed to our community.....no reason there shouldn't be at least 50 people or more from various motorcycle forums showing up for this !! SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR SPORT IN NUMBERS !!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2008 CONTACT: Joe Kasper (202) 225-5672

HUNTER TO HOLD OFF-ROADING TOWN HALL

California State Director of the Bureau of Land Management to attend

El Cajon – Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will hold a town hall meeting</SPAN> on Saturday, March 22nd at 9 AM PT, to discuss issues involving the off-roading community. Congressman Hunter will also be joined by special guest Mike Pool, the California State Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Topic and Guests: San Diego Congressman Duncan Hunter and State BLM Director Mike Pool will discuss a variety of issues with the off-roading community;

Date and Time: Saturday, March 22, 2008, from 9 AM PT to 11 AM PT;

Location: Cuyamaca College Student Center in El Cajon (900 Rancho San Diego Parkway), Conference Rooms 1207 and 1208.

Parking is available in Student Lot #4, as indicated by the attached map of the Cuyamaca campus.


http://www.cuyamaca.edu/cc/pdf/spring08/pp77_CampusMap.pdf

A couple of more threads on the meeting:

http://www.dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2316

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=617599

bring family friends and friends of friends, con them with promise of beer or whatever it is they like. It's easy to support online but having a huge in person turnout will be helpful. I wish I was closer, about 1500 miles closer.

We need an accuate count of people.

If you are going post up and also chime in how many people you are taking!

IMPORTANT!: BRING YOUR FAMILIES!

Road trip! :D Some of the bikers are planning to ride to the meeting, do we bring the 4X4s to load up the parking lot?:p

Its looking like I will be there.
Scott

Thanks Scott! :beer:

Pass the word for us!

well, since my plans have seemed to have failed for next weekend, it looks like i'll be able to make it saturday.

alone since they prolly won't let me bring tweek in with me.

well, since my plans have seemed to have failed for next weekend, it looks like i'll be able to make it saturday.

alone since they prolly won't let me bring tweek in with me.

I told Scott he could come to my place and we could carpool the rest of the way. I guess you could come too. :flipoff2:

I told Scott he could come to my place and we could carpool the rest of the way. I guess you could come too. :flipoff2:
thanks.


and SHOTGUN!!!!! :D

Count me in. I'll do my best to bring people with me. Unfortunately it's big saturday at EJS, and a lot of people are in Moab.

I'll be there in August. We need to have another meeting then.

thanks.


and back seat!!!!! :D

Fixed for you!!! :flipoff2:


I'm in!!! Can I bring the rolled over truck I have?....To show off how much fun I have out there? :laughing:

Fixed for you!!! :flipoff2:


I'm in!!! Can I bring the rolled over truck I have?....To show off how much fun I have out there? :laughing:
how about we flip scott for it??? if he lands on his head, i win, if he lands on his feet, you win??




back to the rally. is there anything we need to bring??? i've got some 4' lath with pointy ends that we can use for something if needed

back to the rally. is there anything we need to bring??? i've got some 4' lath with pointy ends that we can use for something if needed

We should all try to represent our sport in a positive light. That said, I will be dressed in slacks, a button up shirt but will be wearing a Club jacket so as to be identified as an OHV supporter. I doubt that we will get to speak, we will probably be there for appearances only.

John Stewart will be there also.

Count me in. I'll do my best to bring people with me. Unfortunately it's big saturday at EJS, and a lot of people are in Moab.


:idea:

Well, this may be a stupid idea but,

What if someone gathered up a big crowd of people at EJS, and called via "speaker phone" to someone at the meeting?

"Mr. Hunter, we have 150 people on the phone calling from Moab, and they would like to voice thier concerns."

Just the fact that people stopped doing what they love and CALLED in to voice concerns may be so "differnet" that it could not be ignored? Also have the person in Moab take some pics from thier camera to prove that there is a crowd there? Or even better a video of them and send it to another phone?

We also need to e-mail all the 4x4 clubs in so-cal AND the MX/ATV crowd about this meeting and ask them to attend in-mass....

Suzy, from InGear4x4.com, sent out a Bulletin Friday or Saturday. I've notified my Clubs and will be posting up on a few more Forums.

Below is the notice Suzy sent to the Cal4 Email list Friday evening.

It is or has been posted to several other forums.


Desert land acquisition proposal to be discussed
by John Stewart, Natural Resources Consultant

Johnson Valley and Proposed Expansion of Twentynine Palms Marine Base to be discussed at Town Hall meeting scheduled for March 22, 2008

For the past ten days, the proposed Marine Corps expansion into Johnson Valley has been a major topic of discussion.

A "virtual rally" was staged to spread the word about the proposed loss of Johnson Valley. Almost 1,500 people expressed their views while over 33,000 people viewed the comments. Impressive numbers for a four-hour timeframe.

After the successful turnout for the “Virtual Rally”, the message has been sent that closure of the Johnson Valley OHV area will be contested.

Congressman Duncan Hunter, (R-CA) representing the 52nd Congressional District will be hosting a town-hall meeting. According to the report in the March 14 San Diego Union, Congressman Hunter plans to address the issue at the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled for:
Saturday, March 22, 2008
9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Cuyamaca College Student Center
900 Rancho San Diego Parkway
El Cajon, CA
Conference rooms 1207-1208

Links for more info:
Pirate4x4.com
Marine Corps Times
Cal4Wheel forum topic

Monday update :D:

As reported in other forums, the town hall meeting on Saturday will address the Johnson Valley issue, but it will also be for members of the 52nd district to talk to Congressman Hunter on other matters. There will be a representative from the BLM there to discuss Johnson Valley. A representative from the Marine Corps will not be present.

The Student Center conference rooms that are reserved (2) each hold about 100 people, however, a third room is available if needed. They are expecting a large turnout from the off-road community from throughout Southern California due to the San Diego Tribune article and the internet coverage of the meeting.

I met with Barb Takahashi a few minutes ago. She is the Senior Administrative Secretary for Cuyamaca College. Very nice lady.

She made a few phone calls for me to Congressman Duncan Hunters office and to the college security folks. Then informed me that parking will be free for those attending the meeting.

She didn't know off the top of her head how many seats were available in the two conference rooms. So I suppose it's possible that folks will be standing. I'll know more tomorrow after I speak with her associate Pam who is incharge of the Student Center Facility rooms. We will basically have two joining conference rooms in the "I" building on the second floor.

If at all possible, I would try to park in Student Lot #1 and walk towards the Student Center, "I" building.

Here's a link to the campus map posted earlier.

http://www.cuyamaca.edu/cc/pdf/spring08/pp77_CampusMap.pdf

Thanks for the info.:) Hunter's office thought each room would hold around 100, so your info will be accurate. ;)

Yep, I walked on the campus today and checked a few things out since it's only 2 stop signs from my home. :) It's a very nice campus with LOTS of parking. The building we'll meet in looks to be new & I think it was built over this past year.

I'll post an update tomorrow morning concerning the conference rooms seating capacity that's planned for.

I'm also looking into what may be on the meetings agenda and will post whatever it is I'm informed of.

I just got off the phone with one of the staff members of Mr. Hunter. I called his San Diego phone number. I asked if it was possible to know whether or not Johnson Valley OHV/29 Palms Marine Corps expansion was an item on the agenda for the upcoming Saturdays Cuyamaca College meeting with Mr. Hunter.

I asked this because I heard there was some confusion concerning this and I wanted to be 100&#37; certain this was on the agenda and I didn't want folks to travel distances and be disappointed. I wanted to weed-out any possible uncertainty.

She confirmed that this was definetly on the agenda. I asked if other topic items were on the agenda and she informed me that this was the only one she was aware of.

I also asked if there was a way to look online to see the official agenda, she regreted it's not available online after looking into it for me.

I also found out that Mr. Mike Harrison of Mr. Hunters staff is who is coordinating things and that he was currently in a meeting. I was told I could probably call him directly at ~10:00AM, which I plan on doing.

I also contacted the nice folks at Cuyamaca College again to confirm the appoximate anticipated seating capacity for the meeting to be held their this Saturday. Mrs. Sara Grasmick of CC informed me that 2 classrooms set-up for the type meeting that will be held is ~180 seats using two adjoining conference rooms.

More info to follow.

Update:

I got some good news, and some not so good news.

I just spoke to a much more informed staff member at Congressman Hunter's office. He mentioned that the agenda is mainly for San Diego Offroading issues and that it has been mis-reported on accident that the townhall was for the Johnson Valley OHV/29 Palms expansion plan.

However, he said that if/when the JV/29 Palms issue is brought up, Congressman Hunter will address it and he will try to formulate a course of action.

Basically, it's not on the "scheduled agenda", however, they fully expect it to be brought up so come on out so we can discuss it and see what we can do.

I will be there early and will participate as things progress.

Sorry for any misinformation earlier. You can shoot me later.

Joe

I just spoke to a much more informed staff member at Congressman Hunter's office. He mentioned that the agenda is mainly for San Diego Offroading issues and that it has been mis-reported on accident that the townhall was for the Johnson Valley OHV/29 Palms expansion plan.


May I be the first to call bullshit by DH's office on this one. It's political wrangling to turn the crowds away. What date was this meeting called on? Mis-reported on accident my ass.

What other "pressing" OHV issues are in the SD area that call for a meeting at this time? He is the miniority leader and involved in the 29 palms project right? He held this meeting just for that issue. Don't listen to their rhetoric.

EVEN IF this meeting is for so called "important" OHV stuff in San Diego, it does not matter.....we NEED to flood this meeting with people.

I am kinda worried about that, becuase I am not hearing enough talk about this outside of this forum..maybe it's just becuase I am in Nor-Cal but we NEED to do a blitz marketing campaign this week.

When I spoke to Micheal Harrison last week he said this meeting was specifically to help address this issue and all issue facing DH's off roading constituents. No matter, I'll be there and this issue will come up, one way or the other.

I am kinda worried about that, becuase I am not hearing enough talk about this outside of this forum..maybe it's just becuase I am in Nor-Cal but we NEED to do a blitz marketing campaign this week.

X2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I find this interesting;
They call for a meeting on the Saturday of what is typically a long weekend.
Right?
I know I'll be out in the sand dunes during the weekend, me with 50,000 other off roaders from the San Diego area (over 150,000 if we count all the interlopers....)
I wonder if the significance of the date was ever mentioned to the Congressman?

I find this interesting;
They call for a meeting on the Saturday of what is typically a long weekend.
Right?
I know I'll be out in the sand dunes during the weekend, me with 50,000 other off roaders from the San Diego area (over 150,000 if we count all the interlopers....)
I wonder if the significance of the date was ever mentioned to the Congressman?

That's why I say get a bunch of people together in a large group at the dunes. Take a photo or a vid of those people on a cell phone and then CALL someone at the meeting and voice your concerns as a group from there on a speaker phone...

I understand folks are not happy about what I mentioned earlier, I'm not happy either.

I simply want to convey what has been mentioned to me and provide an update to what has been said so far to me.

I highly doubt that Congressman Duncan Hunter is directly responsible for the land issues that arise outside his district. He is however a strong supporter of the offroad community in San Diego where he represents.

If I'm not mistaken, Congressman Jerry Lewis is the Crongressional representative for the land where Johnson Valley is in (San Bernardino County) not San Diego County.

http://www.house.gov/jerrylewis/district.html

I will be at this Saturdays meeting that will be held at Cuyamaca College. It's less than 1/4 mile from my home in Rancho San Diego.

If anybody wants to join me - feel free to come to my house prior to the meeting, have a cup of coffee, some donuts, yap for a while, and we'll attend this meeting together if you wish. PM me for my home address, or simply come to it however you wish. Whichever way - come.

Regards,
Joe Dillard

.

I highly doubt that Congressman Duncan Hunter is directly responsible for the land issues that arise outside his district. He is however a strong supporter of the offroad community in San Diego where he represents.

If I'm not mistaken, Congressman Jerry Lewis is the Crongressional representative for the land where Johnson Valley is in (San Bernardino County) not San Diego County.


You are wrong here Joe.

Duncan Hunter is a RANKING member of the house committee on Armed Services. He has EVERYTHING to do with the proposed expantion by the Marines.

As a matter of fact, AMA, AMA D-37, and CORVA met with Duncan Hunter in Washington the last week of February and obtained a copy of a presentation provided by the Marines concerning Johnson Valley as a proposed expansion of Twenty Nine Palms.

He is a key person in this mess. Yes, he had been OHV friendly in the past, but we need to show numbers.

FWIW, internal from one of my Clubs:

I have a good friend who is on Congressman Duncan Hunter's staff (52nd district, El Cajon and ranking member of the house armed services comity). I personally talked with him about this issue for an hour yesterday. They are well aware of this issue and working hard for the off-road community. Did you know Duncan set up a face to face meeting with the club leaders from LA County and The Commandant of the Marine Corps in his office in DC. These arenâEURO(tm)t even his constituents, and it is not easy any time to get face time with a congressman. He is also hosting a town hall meeting where this is likely to be discussed. I learned a lot from my friend who has worked for Duncan for more than a Decade. He rattled off more info than I knew existed about how Duncan has Always fought for and sided with the off-road community. He was frustrated to say the least that Duncan was painted so badly on this Issue. He assured me they are on top of this and working with all parties involved. I believe my friend when he tells me they are working hard for the off-road community on this issue. I Hope this info eases some of your fears.

Kurtuleas, thanks for the info. I stand corrected, sorry about that. He does have a big say-so and is in an excellent position to hear our voices and concerns.

My open invitation still stands if folks want to stop by my home prior to this meeting. I live ~1/4 mile from Cuyamaca College and I know some folks will be driving long distances and may need a place to relax prior to attending. Coffee & donuts will be provided by me.

PM me if you need an address/phone number.

Joe

Kurtuleas, thanks for the info. I stand corrected, sorry about that. He does have a big say-so and is in an excellent position to hear our voices and concerns.

My open invitation still stands if folks want to stop by my home prior to this meeting. I live ~1/4 mile from Cuyamaca College and I know some folks will be driving long distances and may need a place to relax prior to attending. Coffee & donuts will be provided by me.

PM me if you need an address/phone number.

Joe

Chocolate covered buttermilk and coffee please :D

Actually, I will going straight to the College unless I hook up with a friend Friday night. I think I have 107 miles.

Ok, I am gonna catch shit for this, but FAWK IT I am gonna say it!

Does it worry anyone that these organizations that met with DH are primarly dirt dike/MX groups and NOT 4x4 organizations?

"AMA, AMA D-37, and CORVA met with Duncan Hunter in Washington the last week of February"

Seems like the 4x4 crowd is being left out of the discussion here IMO. Cal4 knew NOTHING about this! I HOPE they are not trying to cut some deal with the Marines where the Marines take the area the Hammers trails are in and leave the areas the MX community uses. :shaking:

It's just a thought, not an accusation. But it seems these groups have been pretty quiet on this issue with US, Other than Wayne on this board who has been helping us out......

"AMA, AMA D-37, and CORVA met with Duncan Hunter in Washington the last week of February"

Seems like the 4x4 crowd is being left out of the discussion here IMO. Cal4 knew NOTHING about this! I HOPE they are not trying to cut some deal with the Marines where the Marines take the area the Hammers trails are in and leave the areas the MX community uses. :shaking:

It's just a thought, not an accusation. But it seems these groups have been pretty quiet on this issue with US, Other than Wayne on this board who has been helping us out......

Without naming names, you seem to be correct. There has been some internal discussion at Cal4 about this. There was actually information last year (and maybe a meeting) that was never shared.

At this point, we all know and we need to work together and move forward.

Ok, I am gonna catch shit for this, but FAWK IT I am gonna say it!

Does it worry anyone that these organizations that met with DH are primarly dirt dike/MX groups and NOT 4x4 organizations?

"AMA, AMA D-37, and CORVA met with Duncan Hunter in Washington the last week of February"

Seems like the 4x4 crowd is being left out of the discussion here IMO. Cal4 knew NOTHING about this! I HOPE they are not trying to cut some deal with the Marines where the Marines take the area the Hammers trails are in and leave the areas the MX community uses. :shaking:

It's just a thought, not an accusation. But it seems these groups have been pretty quiet on this issue with US, Other than Wayne on this board who has been helping us out......

After lurking and positng on the D-37, Thumpertalk, Dual Sport and other MX boards, they (the MX community) are concerned about the proposed expansion. The Marines claim they need more flat ground to train. In "COA2" (the least restrictive of the expansion proposals) the flat land in Johnson Valley from the exisitng USMC boarder to Camp Rock Road is taken. A majority of the Hammer trails are left intact. If we can have some unity between ALL of the offroad groups, there is a much better chance the expansion doesn't affect Johnson Valley. Here is a post on the D-37 site made after I requested people attend the 3-22 meeting:

I just got off the D-38 web site and they are all fired up for this meeting too !!! They know that we need to unite and fight ! So its looking good for the turn out, lets PRAY it turns out good for offroaders.


Here is the COA2 map again for some perspective:

Here is the link to the D-38 thread on the meeting:http://amad38.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=1041

I am concerned we are not getting the message out to the 4X4 community.:( If you visit the D-38 site you wil note it is tiny compared to Pirate. Their thread on the 3-22 meeting has about the same number of page views (500) as this thread.:shaking:

Ok, I am gonna catch shit for this, but FAWK IT I am gonna say it!

Does it worry anyone that these organizations that met with DH are primarly dirt dike/MX groups and NOT 4x4 organizations?

Dirt dike or not, I plan on attending the meeting :D

Edit: There is a petition about JV going around http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveJohnsonValley/

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j222/kurtuleas/800px-Gadsden_flag_svg.png

Is anyone from Central Cali or NorthCal going to attend?

My gas funds are extremely low, but would like to be here for this meeting to represent UFWDA in this fight.

I will also talk to our legal advocate, and work up some questions from her that we can ask pointed questions to the congressman.

I will also ask her if she knew of the meeting that took place in DC that 4x4 groups were left out of?

Todd

My gas funds are extremely low, but would like to be here for this meeting to represent UFWDA in this fight.

I will also talk to our legal advocate, and work up some questions from her that we can ask pointed questions to the congressman.

Todd

Todd,

If you are unable to attend, forward any specific questions to John Stewart.

Steve

Johnson Valley isn't the only hot spot.
Other topics those of you that are attending might want to bring up are the closures at the Imperial Sand Dunes, land possibly being closed for wind farms or solar generators, and all of the law suit problems from CBD and others.
How about more FEDERAL funding for recreation? California has been giving out millions of dollars each year to the BLM and USFS through the state OHV Grant program.

Ride on

Brewster

I plan on being there.

To confirm things:

Today I went into the conference rooms where we're suppose to have this meeting on Saturday. I counted the seats. There's ~180 seats plus a few for the folks who sit at the front table (like the Congressman).

So, there's not much seating available unless Steve (who works at the college) opens up another curtain and expands the conference area.

Also, since it's a holiday weekend, I was told the second floor coffee shop, is expected to be closed.

Expect some security folks to be doing their thing.

I plan on being there.

So will I and hopefully 200+ concerned voters representing the off road community.:)

good luck guys

good luck guys

The meeting is over. I'm writing a pretty long post right now. It will be posted up within an hour or so.

I just posted a thread. Feel free to add. :)