A federal judge has made 2,200 miles of Western Mojave Desert trails off-limits to off-roading bikers and drivers, in the name of preserving the threatened desert tortoise.
The Bureau of Land Management “is ordered to close all (off-highway vehicle) routes in desert tortoise and (Lane Mountain milk-vetch) designated critical habitat and clearly mark such routes as closed with appropriate signage and fencing as needed,” United States District Judge Susan Illston’s order reads in part.
“BLM shall keep open designated county roads and highways, as well as any and all routes needed to provide access for established easements, administrative access, emergency access, and other permitted uses (but not public OHV recreational use).”
In 2019, the BLM approved 6,000 miles of off-road trails as part of the West Mojave Route Network Project, which includes public lands in San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern and Inyo counties. The trails range from Joshua Tree National Park and Twentynine Palms to Calico and the mountains north of Barstow and to Ridgecrest, near Trona.
A year later, six environmental groups sued, saying the BLM didn’t properly consider the impact the trails would have on threatened species in the area.
The desert tortoise, the state reptile of California, has been listed as a threatened species since 1990. They live up to 80 years, but it can take up to 20 years for them to be old enough to breed.
“OHV use in the (western Mojave) area is a significant ongoing cause of harm to the desert tortoise, and closures to areas of OHVs is beneficial to desert tortoise survival,” Illston’s nine-page order from Jan. 23 reads.
The region affected by the order is also the only known home to the Lane Mountain milk-vetch. The Lane Mountain milk-vetch is a legume, like peas or beans. It’s only found in an area north of Barstow, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Not surprisingly, Illston’s order is viewed very differently by environmentalists and off-roading enthusiasts.
FILE – An endangered desert tortoise sits in the Mojave Desert in 2008. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
“There’s something out of balance out there and we’re losing animals that have been around for millions of years,” said Ed LaRue, a Desert Tortoise Council board member and former BLM biologist. The council was one of the environmental groups that originally sued the BLM.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, populations of Mojave desert adult tortoises dropped by almost 50% between 2004 and 2014, with more than 67,000 tortoises killed during that period.
Part of the reason the off-road routes had to be cleared is that riders drive parallel to them, he said, using them more of a landmark than an actual route.
“If we could snap our fingers and everyone could just remain on the existing routes, that would be great. But what happens is the routes provide access for people who are not willing to stay on them,” LaRue said.
And even with the closures, off-roaders still have plenty of desert to enjoy, according to Joan Taylor, chair of Sierra Club’s California/Nevada Desert Committee.
“We can balance healthy habitats with outdoor recreation, but we need to rein in the incredible damage being done out here,” Taylor wrote in an email. “With more than 271,000 acres for OHV users to enjoy, the least BLM can do is enforce protections for an imperiled species “
After a six-year legal battle, a federal judge ordered the Bureau of Land Management to close 2200 miles of off-road vehicle routes in the western Mojave Desert, a critical habitat for desert tortoises. (Photo by Rodrigo Pena, Contributing Photographer)
Meanwhile, off-roading enthusiasts called Illston’s order “overreach.”
“The West Mojave plan took nearly a decade of public meetings, environmental review, and compromise to develop. When a judge can undo that work based on technical interpretations, it raises serious questions about how public land decisions are being made,” Shannon Welch, vice president of the nonprofit BlueRibbon Coalition wrote in an email.
“This is not just about off road recreation. These public lands support rural economies, small businesses, and families who depend on recreation tourism. When access shrinks, those communities feel the impact.”
In her order, Illston noted “significant closure of OHV routes in desert tortoise critical habitat would still leave 63% of OHV routes” of the 6,000 miles of dirt roads in BLM’s 2019 West Mojave Route Network Project still available for use.
“The percentage alone does not fully capture the impact,” Welch countered.
“Trail systems in desert environments function as networks. Some routes act as connectors that allow access to much larger surrounding areas. When those routes are removed, it can effectively cut off access to large sections of public land.”
And Illston’s decision, she wrote, could actually make things worse for desert wildlife.
“Ironically, concentrating use in fewer places can create more environmental pressure on those remaining routes and surrounding landscapes,” Welch wrote.
The Bureau of Land Management will have to appeal Illston’s order in a matter of weeks, if officials choose to do so. The BLM did not respond to a request for comment.
Local elected officials hope the federal government does appeal.
“It is frustrating to a lot of the locals,” said San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe, whose Third District includes Calico. “I hope the DOJ goes forward with an appeal.”
Restricting access to public lands should only be done in rare circumstances, according to Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia.
“Responsible off-road vehicle recreation supports small businesses, tourism, and jobs throughout our desert communities, and these trails have long been an important part of our region’s culture and outdoor economy,” he wrote in an email.
“While protecting sensitive habitat is important, I believe the court’s ruling goes too far by closing thousands of miles of routes on public lands that families have responsibly enjoyed for decades.”
Like Rowe, Obernolte would like to see the BLM appeal the order.
Without that appeal, Brian Nassif, president of the American Motorcycle Association District 37, worries this trail closure is just the beginning.
“They take it away, little by little, and soon you’ve got nothing,” he said.
“So we’re going to fight for every inch of trail and land that we can recreate in. It’s our land and we should be able to recreate in it, respectfully.”
