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This Land Is Our Land
Off-roaders count on federally regulated public lands to enjoy their hobby pursuits. Thankfully, three pieces of congressional legislation have been introduced that will benefit recreational access on U.S. land if enacted into law. The following efforts are currently being supported by the SEMA Action Network:
National Monument Designations: The U.S. House of Representatives passed a SAN-supported bill to require a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study for any National Monument designations over 5,000 acres. Currently, the President of the United States has the unilateral authority to declare a parcel of public land with historic or scientific interest to be a National Monument. Such a designation frequently leads to road closures for motorized recreation. The bill would place limits on that authority. The president could declare a monument less than 5,000 acres, but that declaration would need congressional approval within three years. A larger parcel of land would require a NEPA environmental study along with a congressional study estimating long-term costs to manage the land. The president would also be limited to one declaration per state during any presidential term unless there was congressional approval. The House-passed bill has been sent to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
National OHV Recreation Area: A SAN-supported bill has been introduced in Congress to include the word National within the title Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area. The legislation follows last Decembers success when Congress passed a law ending a six-year clash between the military and OHV users over access to thousands of acres of Southern California desert. More than 96,000 acres will continue to be maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as an OHV recreation area, while 79,000 acres were transferred to the adjoining Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base for military training needs. The area contains a unique mix of open desert, dry lake beds and formidable rock-crawling formations and hosts the famous King of the Hammers Race, which will continue unhampered. Johnson Valley is the nations first federal OHV area and the word addition will acknowledge the lands national significance. The bill was introduced by Rep. Paul Cook (R-CA), who championed last years efforts in Congress to protect the OHV area.
Endangered Species Act Reform: The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee approved four bills to reform aspects of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bills have been sent to the House floor. The bills would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to release data used to make listings of threatened or endangered animals and plants, report how much money is spent on ESA-related lawsuits, and place a cap on plaintiff attorney reimbursement fees. Despite agreeing that the law is flawed, Republicans and Democrats are generally deadlocked on how to comprehensively update the 40-year-old ESA. Millions of acres of land have been set aside to protect threatened or endangered animals and plants, with few tangible results beyond lawsuits and attorney fees. Scores of off-highway vehicle (OHV) roads and trails have been unnecessarily closed as a consequence. The SAN supports an alternative approach that focuses on establishing and managing smaller recovery zones.
For the complete list of Legislative Action Alerts, visit www.semasan.com/Alerts.