Imagine 400 off-road vehicles tearing across nearly 1,000 miles of your wild public lands in a three-day race. Motorcycles, quads, and full-sized desert racing vehicles rip across the landscape at speeds over 110 miles per hour, destroying the riparian habitat that shelters imperiled Amargosa toads and the desert washes that threatened desert tortoises call home. The off-roaders trample sparse desert vegetation such as creosote bush and sagebrush, and crush globally imperiled squalid milk-vetch, Tecopa birdbeak and Churchill narrows buckwheat.

It's an appalling scenario -- and this nightmare may come to life unless you take action and ask the Bureau of Land Management to stop off-roaders from running roughshod over your public lands. The Bureau is considering a request for a three-day, 986-mile off-road race through the Nevada desert, billed as "Vegas to Reno - The Long Way!!" Please speak up and let the Bureau know you value Nevada's wild places and the plants and animals that live there by submitting a letter in opposition to the proposed race before March 6.



Click here to find out more and take action.



If you have trouble following the link, go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26783



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Sample letter:

Subject: Protect the Desert - Stop the Race


I am writing to voice my concern over the proposed "Vegas to Reno - The Long Way" off-road race. This type of thrill-speed event has no place on my public lands and I urge you to reject the proposal.

The proposed race will have significant, adverse affects on the environment and the Bureau of Land Management's intention of permitting it with a simple Environmental Assessment is unacceptable. The course cuts across almost 1,000 miles of pristine desert backcountry, passing through habitat for the federally protected desert tortoise, imperiled Amargosa toad, desert bighorn sheep, and several other globally imperiled species. These considerations alone call for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Past runs of this race have shown that the Bureau's permit conditions are not respected, implemented or enforced. Racers ignored the original, flagged course, widening it to more than 200 feet in places; vegetation was destroyed along the course as racers passed each other outside the course boundaries; litter and race debris was not adequately cleaned up; and the course itself was not properly rehabilitated to accommodate the non-racing recreationists who enjoy quiet, undisturbed desert.

The impacts of the race extend far beyond the actual course driven by the participants. Support and pit crews, spectators and media will all significantly expand the footprint of race. The proposed "Camp Adventure" will likewise result in destruction of the fragile desert ecosystem. The dust kicked up by vehicles tearing across the desert crust will spread far and wide, adversely affecting nearby residents and recreationists long after the race ends.

This type of thrill-speed event has no place on federal public lands. It is irresponsible to consider allowing such a precious resource to be forever damaged for the sake of a three-day event enjoyed by only a few. I strongly request that you fulfill your responsibilities as a federal land steward by conducting the proper level of environmental compliance required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and ultimately deny the request to allow this destructive race to take place.

There it is, CBD finally admits what we knew all along, they don't consider us recreationists, and don't recognize our right to exsist...TJ:smokin:

This race is going to be on dirt roads the entire way, if the fucking CBD would bother to research this they would know that, there will be no harm to the environment at all. I plan on being there, we may even race if I can get the Ranger project going (highly unlikely, though).

Center for Biological Diversity is an extremist origanization - they have specialized in fallacious argument for years - it is part of what attracts their funding. They will tone it down a little in their brochures for the public. CBD has in the past contributed to political campaigns (such as Jerry McNerney in California 11th District) but they focus more on litigation.

IMHO, if CBD is invloved in a land use issue it is only for the purpose of threatening litigation - providing it has sufficient interest with their constituency. They mention in the press release they did not get their way before - and I think this is part of the rhetoric to establish a history of attempts to resolve the matter through existing means before court.

>>>Race contestants, support crews, spectators, and media will gather nightly at "Camp Adventure" -- complete with its own beer garden.<<<

Well there's your problem - change it to a chablis/brie garden and invite the CBD.

From race-dezert.com
Protect our rights to use our public lands – Let the race go forward,

I am writing to voice my concern over the proposed "Vegas to Reno - The Long Way" off-road race. This type event has a very special place on my public lands and I urge you to allow the proposal.

The proposed race will have no significant, adverse affects on the environment and the Bureau of Land Management's intention of permitting it with a simple Environmental Assessment is completely acceptable. The course cuts across almost 1,000 miles of pristine desert backcountry all while staying on existing roads and trails. It’s truly refreshing to see an organization take such care in planning an event like this.

Past runs of this race have shown that the Bureau's permit conditions are completely respected, implemented and enforced. Racers obeyed the original, flagged course, not widening it more then 50 feet even in the worst in places; vegetation was protected along the course as racers passed each other within the course boundaries; litter and race debris was cleaned up; and the course itself was properly rehabilitated to accommodate the non-racing recreationists who enjoy quiet, undisturbed desert.

The impacts of the race don’t extend much beyond the actual course driven by the participants. Support and pit crews, spectators and media will not significantly expand the footprint of race as they are required to stay in specific areas. The proposed "Camp Adventure" will likely not result in destruction of the fragile desert ecosystem as it will help localize the footprint left by the race teams and their families. The dust kicked up by vehicles moving across the desert won’t spread much beyond the original race course, and as the area is very sparsely populated it’s unlikely to affect any residents. After all the wind will stir up far more dust then the racers ever could.

This type of family event has a very important place on federal public lands. It is responsible to consider allowing such a precious public resource to be used for a three-day event enjoyed by thousands of people and their families. I strongly request that you fulfill your responsibilities as a federal land steward by conducting the proper level of environmental compliance, and ultimately grant the request to allow this race to take place.

Fixed:flipoff2: courtesy jbarker@banks ....

So I take it I'm not the only one that thinks CBD lost their cookies on this one...TJ:smokin:

Eric Williams
BLM – Tonopah Field Office
P.O. Box 911
1553 S. Main Street
Tonopah, NV 89049


RE: Letter in Support of Best in the Desert Racing Association Vegas to Reno Off-Highway Vehicle Race

Dear Mr. Williams:

I am writing to you today in support of the 2009 “Vegas to Reno” race being held by the Best in the Desert Racing Association (BITD). The State of Nevada has a tourist-based economy and relies on events like this for revenue. Given the current state of our economy, cities and rural communities in Nevada would be further strained if this event were not allowed to take place as it has for the past 14 years.

Through careful planning, and through compliance with analytical requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BLM and BITD should be able to identify and mitigate any potential race-related impacts on the environment. The public and stakeholders should also be able to assist in this process, as many of them know where sensitive resources are located and how best to align the racecourse to avoid disturbing those resources.

BITD has a history of hosting world class off-road events. Further, BITD has shown a commitment to preserving and remediating the roads and trails used during those events. There is no reason to expect that BITD will treat the Vegas to Reno race any differently. As you are well aware, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act imposes a multiple use mandate on the BLM. OHV recreation and racing qualify as valid uses of public lands under that mandate. For this reason and the reasons given above, I hope that you will issue a Special Recreation Permit for the Vegas to Reno race.


Sincerely,

Signature
address
__________________
Meg

The Meg/ORBA version...TJ:smokin: