Hikers Gain Traction with State Lawmakers While Breaking the Law

[LYIN' KING]

Lawmakers Tell Wildlife Agency to Resolve Feud over Bump and Grind Trail

Panel next week will advance Nestande-Pérez bill reopening trail if deal with hikers is not struck.


State lawmakers are giving the Department of Fish and Game one week to “come up with a plan B” that solves the Bump and Grind controversy before they vote on a bill that forces the trail to be opened.

The state Senate's Natural Resources and Water committee spent more than an hour debating Assembly Bill 880 on Tuesday, questioning the department's refusal to release data and expressing concern about using legislation to meddle with state department-level decisions.

Instead of calling for a vote, Sen. Fran Pavley directed the stakeholders to find a compromise that balances hikers' interests while still protecting Peninsular bighorn sheep.

Without a deal, Pavley warned the bill “may go forward” at next week's meeting.

“I'm not usually in a mood to trump Fish and Game,” said Pavley, an Agoura Hills Democrat who chairs the committee and suggested the agency “come up with a plan B.”

“This is a trail that was there for eight years. People used it and enjoyed it.”

Fish and Game officials last summer closed the top portion of the Bump and Grind — one of the valley's most popular trails — because they argued hikers would negatively affect endangered bighorn sheep living in the surrounding mountains.

In exchange, the department opened other trails.

Their decision immediately sparked outrage across the Coachella Valley, and inspired one avid hiker to sue Fish and Game after the department refused to honor his public records request for bighorn sighting data.

Maps from Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over decades have shown few sightings in the trail area.

In March, the desert's two Assembly members — Republican Brian Nestande of Palm Desert and Democrat V. Manuel Pérez of Coachella — announced legislation that would compel the state to open the trail.

Both lawmakers on Tuesday said they've yet to see data that justifies the closure.

“In the Coachella Valley, we definitely appreciate our natural habitats,” Pérez told the Senate committee.

More and Source: http://www.mydesert.com/article/2012...mp-Grind-trail

[cruzila]

Which State?

[Mad Machinist]

The People's Republic of Commifornia

[Mad Machinist]

The sad part of this is the fact that his trail has been closed since 2006 due to habitat encroachment on the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, an endangered species.

Gates have been put up multiple times, only to be torn down by the hikers.

At this link you can clearly see hikers breaking the law.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/2012...wmakers-AB-880

I especially like this comment.

I’m not usually in a mood to trump Fish and Game,” said Pavley, an Agoura Hills Democrat who chairs the committee. “This is a trail that was there for eight years. People used it and enjoyed it.”

[LYIN' KING]

Here's page 2 . . . http://www.mydesert.com/article/2012...mp-Grind-trail


“By no means are we trying to do anything through this legislation to hurt our environment. We're making a decision to ensure there is transparency, to ensure accountability.”

Fish and Game representatives have defended their decision not to release the location of sheep, saying it is a common practice for protecting endangered species.

Kimberly Nichol, manager of Fish and Game's Inland Desert region, said Tuesday that no study has been done at the site to determine why bighorn lambs aren't thriving like they do elsewhere.

But she said there was “significant literature” that helped guide them.

“We understand that people are unhappy about this decision,” Nichol said.

“We don't know what's occurring, why the lambs aren't surviving in this area. We're trying to do everything possible.”

Valley officials said they've tried negotiating with Fish and Game, but they reached no compromise.

Nestande said he talked with department representatives immediately after Tuesday's hearing to set up more meetings.

“This is not a member or two members coming to you angry about some decision,” Nestande said during the Tuesday's hearing.

“This bill is about a seemingly arbitrary decision by the Fish and Game. This decision was not based on science. That's our concern.”

Tuesday's hearing was the first time a legislative committee had taken up this Bump and Grind bill.

An identical bill, introduced by Nestande last year, died before it got any legislative support.

Although the committee members didn't cast any votes Tuesday, three of the senators' comments indicated they were willing to back the bill.

All three expressed concern that the state department hadn't released their data to two Assembly members or the public.

And one of them, Sen. Doug LaMalfa also questioned why the department's “first reaction” was to close the gate without a study.

“It's starting to sound like executive privilege,” the Richvale Republican said.

If AB 880 passes the Senate's natural resources committee, it will move onto the Senate's appropriations committee.

The trail head for the Bump and Grind, officially named the Mirage Trail, is behind the Target store in Palm Desert. It attracts hundreds of hikers daily during season.

“If there is no data available, we would like to see the trail given back,” Rancho Mirage Councilman Richard Kite told the committee.

Erica Felci is a reporter for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at (760) 778-4644, erica.felci@thedesertsun.com, or @EricaFelci on Twitter.

[Mad Machinist]

We, as a species, have very little effect on the Bighorn. We have them here. I base my decisions on what I see everyday, not on what a particular gov't agency says in order to advance an specific agenda.

The Bighorn here could really care less about us. They walk through the middle of town. Eat grass 10 feet from a main roadway. And even wander through the third largest mining operation in the world without a care in the world.

Of course we also keep the local mountain lion population in check through hunting. Which of course leads to increased survival rates of the little ones.

I'll get some pics next time I see them in the middle of town.

[LYIN' KING]

I'd be happy to export the Mountain Lions on my property (that I am not allowed to shoot) to Palm Desert for control of the illegal hikers!