"INYO COUNTY
U.S. Closes Off-Roading Canyon to Vehicles

An area next to Death Valley National Park popular with off-road enthusiasts has been closed indefinitely to motorized vehicles by the federal Bureau of Land Management as part of a settlement of a lawsuit brought by environmentalists.

The agency has ordered Suprise Canyon in the Panamint Mountains closed to vehicles untilit developes a plan for protecting the Panamint Alligator Lizard and various rare birds. The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, which sued the BLM, hopes the closure becomes permanent.

The canyon's riparian habitat has been harmed by 'soil erosion and stream bed altercations caused by off-highway vehicle use,' the BLM said in the Federal Register."

What gets me is that it says nothing about "endangered species", instead claiming "rare" birds and lizards. The trail has been open for probably over 100 years and this has never been a problem until right now? The trouble these environ'MENTAL' people are going to, just to go after off roaders is nothing less than amazing.
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[ 06-01-2001: Message edited by: cowmooflage ]

Fawckin greenies <IMG SRC="smilies/flipoff.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/flipoff.gif" border="0"> It is unbelievable that just a small group (or maybe not so small) can get so many area's closed.

LOL ya, never mind that it used to be a real town and at one time it was a "real" road...

<font color="yellow">It was not "at one time" a real road....IT IS A REAL ROAD... There are many people trying to show this to the BLM and the courts. The greens just want it closed. It has been in use for way too long to not be a road...

We are not hurting anything!! There was a team of scientists up there for Panamint Valley Days. They tested the water before any vehicle even entered the trail, then agian after the run was completed and found NOTHING harmful or any changes in H2O quality even after three roll overs in the canyon.

<IMG SRC="smilies/flipoff.gif" border="0">CBD,SC, and the rest of the Eco-Nazis</font c>

And there are NO 'RARE' birds found in Surprize. Tin Benders have done the canyon many times and were honored to have as a ride-along, a gentleman, who in the early days, drove big rigs up the canyon to deliver the mineing equipment to Panamint City !!!!!
He was amazed at how much land NATURE has removed from the canyon !!!!! "the floor of the canyon used to be 30' higher than it is now !!!" and " you 4 wheelers did not cause the flash floods that scoured the road out of the canyon"- etc, etc-----

<font color="yellow">Krusty, Do you still have contact with this gentleman? and if so do you think he would be willing to work with CA4WDC and BRC to fight this closure?

He at the very least might be able to provide dates and such as to the roads existence....
PSD</font c>

There was an issue on the East Coast. Old (1700's) maps of the original roads were used to stop development.

Panament maps from the old days could be used to prove that most, if not all, roads have been there.. It worked in the East to preserve some of the old towns. It just might work to keep access to this area.

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