California

Nate Seltenrich

California State Parks may have skirted disaster last summer, but they're not out of the woods yet. The budget crunch that had Governor Schwarzenegger threatening to close more than 200 parks is far from resolved, and there's little doubt that state parks will continue to suffer. What's less clear is what that'll look like. Yet a recent court case involving an East Bay recreation area may offer a hint of what's to come, as budget cuts reduce the state park system's ability to self-police and leave environmental watchdogs to fill in the gaps.

As one of the California State Parks system's eight designated off-highway vehicle recreation areas, Carnegie State Vehicle Recreation Area in Livermore may be an easy target for environmentalists' disdain. After all, it's a favorite haunt for ATV and dirt bike lovers, who have been known to run roughshod over pristine habitats. Situated in one of the East Bay's most remote and rugged locales, Carnegie also is a valuable 1,500-acre swath of public parkland. Located southeast of downtown Livermore, past a smattering of office parks and the Lawrence Livermore Lab, idyllic vineyards and assorted farm houses, and, finally, a five-mile expanse of rolling, cattle-grazed hills, it earns its place as perhaps Alameda County's most isolated environmental battleground.

Phil Klasky

You had to be there to witness the disconnect.

One after another, Morongo Basin residents testified before the Board of Supervisors requesting protection from large stagings of off-road vehicles that result in excessive noise, dust and nuisance and trespass on our private and public lands.

Brandon Muncy

The Kern County Sheriff's Off Highway Vehicle Enforcement Team will be kicking up dust in the coming months, as it focuses on improving OHV-user education and enforcement.

“Over the past couple years that I've been assigned here, we were inundated with calls for service regarding OHV type complaints,” said Sergeant Dean Marshall, “primarily in the Weldon, Onyx, Southlake areas of the valley.”

During the Easter holiday weekend personnel from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, California State Parks, U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management conducted a joint operation targeting illegal OHV activity on the Pacific Crest Trail and on private property in and around the Tehachapi Mountains.

During the three-day operation a group of three OHV riders attempted to evade law enforcement while riding on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit assisted law enforcement personnel in locating these riders.

David Sneed

One lawsuit concerning a contentious 584-acre county-owned parcel within the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area has been settled, but another remains.

At a recent hearing, the group Friends of Oceano Dunes dismissed its lawsuit against the county. The suit by the group of off-road vehicle riding enthusiasts challenged the county’s designation of the so-called La Grande Tract as a no-riding buffer zone.

Glenn Wallace

That noisy ATV in the Santa Ynez riverbed might be joined soon by the sound of police sirens.

Lompoc police, in partnership with the city Parks and Recreation Department, are preparing to ask the state for $176,000 to help enforce rules opposing the use of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) along the city’s bicycle/foot paths and in the riverbed.

Los Padres National Forest is taking public input until 4/5 on its annual plans for nearly $800,000 in off-road recreation funding. The money is doled out by California’s Off-Highway Vehicle grant program, which is providing $27 million this year. The forest has requested $666,000 for general maintenance and improvements and another $79,000 for law enforcement. Explained the forest’s Jeff Bensen, “Most of what we’re trying to do is maintain what we have, upgrade facilities we have, and then do law enforcement patrols and health and safety training.” See ohv.parks.ca.gov or call 961-5744.

Gordon Lull

As conflicts between property owners and illegal off-roaders reach the boiling point, the Kern County Sheriff's Department is increasing efforts to both cool tensions and rein in lawless riders.

Law enforcement agencies nationwide have been performing a delicate balancing act, weighing the property rights of landowners against the rights of recreational vehicle enthusiasts, as they address the issues of criminal trespass, harassment, and violent threats. 

Sophia Kazmi

TRACY — A 32-year-old Lodi man died Sunday after he was struck by an all-terrain vehicle at Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area.

The man was on a Yamaha dirt bike when he stopped and dismounted to help another motorcyclist on a mild-incline dirt trail about 2:50 p.m. Sunday, according to a the California Highway Patrol. A 16-year-old's parked 1996 Honda quad motorcycle, for reasons still unknown, rolled down the steep hill and hit the man, injuring his head, police said.