Legislation (HR 3668) has been introduced in the US Congress to create five new national off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation areas in the California Desert (Spangler Hills, El Mirage, Rasor, Dumont Dunes, and Stoddard Valley). Under the bill, off-road enthusiasts would have access to over 60,000 additional acres of land. The “California Minerals, Off-Road Recreation, and Conservation Act” would also designate Johnson Valley as a National OHV Recreation Area and expand it by nearly 20,000 acres.

• HR 3668 offers a balanced approach to protecting, managing, and using the desert and forest areas in San Bernardino and Imperial Counties.

• HR 3668 prevents the president from designating national monuments within OHV and Special Management areas created and expanded in this legislation.

• HR 3668 preserves a total of 300,000 acres of the California desert for off-roading and expands OHV recreation areas by over 60,000 acres.

• HR 3668 expands the Johnson Valley OHV Recreation Area by nearly 20,000 acres and provides it National status.

• HR 3688 affords additional protections to OHV users, ensures that OHV recreational areas cannot be closed administratively, and it creates the first system of National OHV Recreation Areas in the US.

Contact your US Representative immediately to request their support for HR 3668.

Or email a copy of your letter to Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org and forward this Alert to your fellow off-road enthusiasts. Urge them to join the SAN and help defend the hobby!