WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

California's new desert protection act, we make some gains:

TPC

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L.A. TIMES:
"The desert protection act also makes permanent six existing off-highway vehicle, or OHV, sites covering more than 200,000 acres. The first national network of “Off-highway Vehicle Recreation Areas” includes Dumont Dunes, El Mirage, Rasor, Stoddard Valley, Johnson Valley and Spangler Hills.

Plans call for expanding the boundaries of some of those areas. The Spangler Hills area east of the city of Ridgecrest, about 154 miles north of Los Angeles, for example, will grow by 30,260 acres, or about 49%.

“I’ve been fighting for this for so long it seems almost too good to be true,” said Randy Banis, a longtime advocate of the off-roading community. “The overall health of the desert will improve, and codified OHV recreation will be more sustainable going forward.”

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Those benefits came as a bittersweet surprise for some off-roaders in the rough and rocky Spangler Hills — one of the few places left in the California desert where they can run free anywhere, anytime.

Bill Stratman, 51, of Paso Robles, whose family and friends camp in the area on weekends before the summer's heat bakes the earth, shook his head in disbelief and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“It’s been sad over the years to see more and more signs going up across the desert that warn ‘not for use by off-road vehicles,’ ” he said. “So, this is incredibly good news.”

Spangler Hills:
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Spangler:
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-L.A.Times
 

HotRod82

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Call me crazy but I don't trust this.......wonder what's in the fine print? Usually, they "open" land that should have never been closed in the first place in addition to closing other sections to offset the "new openings". Devil will be in the details. I guess 30 years of watching my favorite riding areas being shut down has made me a bit cynical.....after all this bill is co-sponsored by Feinstein, public enemy #1 when it comes to the off road community.
 

Thunderhead1

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How is this working out for the "SHARED USE" are in Johnson Valley??

I hope there is no BS in the fine print...BUt this day and age nobody is sponsoring anything in the Feinstein camp unless it lines her pocket..
 

TPC

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I may run across Randy Banis in Ransdberg and I'll get some further takes from him.
He's the biggest skeptic of all and seems to be convinced it'll be ok.

Remember when Glamis reopened 45 square miles recently. Left us all stunned.
 

rivermobster

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Everyone has become wise to groups like the CBD and their "bogus" lawsuits...

The Forest Service knows how to deal with these douche bags now, and the tide iS starting to turn.

Long time coming...

Hat's off to the people that stuck out the good fight and made this happen.

THANK YOU!!!!
 

rivermobster

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kiethco

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Call me crazy but I don't trust this.......wonder what's in the fine print? Usually, they "open" land that should have never been closed in the first place in addition to closing other sections to offset the "new openings". Devil will be in the details. I guess 30 years of watching my favorite riding areas being shut down has made me a bit cynical.....after all this bill is co-sponsored by Feinstein, public enemy #1 when it comes to the off road community.

Senator Feinstein is the person who saved Johnson Valley for us when the Marines wanted to steal all of it. Feinstein's heart is in the right place on this one. We worked for 12 years on this bill. Everyone did, including the greenies. They got something, we got something, nobody got everything. Hmmmm, imagine that, the work got done in the middle.
 

kiethco

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I may run across Randy Banis in Ransdberg and I'll get some further takes from him.
He's the biggest skeptic of all and seems to be convinced it'll be ok.

Remember when Glamis reopened 45 square miles recently. Left us all stunned.
Randy was instrumental in getting this bill passed. Super good guy, so smart.
 

rivermobster

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Senator Feinstein is the person who saved Johnson Valley for us when the Marines wanted to steal all of it. Feinstein's heart is in the right place on this one. We worked for 12 years on this bill. Everyone did, including the greenies. They got something, we got something, nobody got everything. Hmmmm, imagine that, the work got done in the middle.

Thank you for not giving up!

There was a guy on gd.com, I only can remember that he had "duck" in his Nick.

He was the first person I remember talking to that wanted to create National off road parks so no one could mess with them again.

Seemed crazy at the time, but it's making sense now.

You know who I'm talking about? Was he part of this deal?
 

kiethco

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Phantom duck, Steve Khuel worked closely with Congressman Cook, without Cook and Feinstein working together this bill wouldn't have happened. In a nutshell 5 designated race areas, over 10,000 miles of green sticker trails and Dualsport routes.
 

HotRod82

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Senator Feinstein is the person who saved Johnson Valley for us when the Marines wanted to steal all of it. Feinstein's heart is in the right place on this one. We worked for 12 years on this bill. Everyone did, including the greenies. They got something, we got something, nobody got everything. Hmmmm, imagine that, the work got done in the middle.

I sincerely hope you're right!
 

TPC

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Soup of the day Bloody Marys:
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Randy was instrumental in getting this bill passed. Super good guy, so smart.
Yeah I’m in the Joint right now and bumped into a few CORVA people.
Randy owns a successful marketing biz and is really deep into keeping riding areas open. Extensive efforts, highly praised
An amazing guy. His wife shows dogs they added.
 
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rivermobster

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Phantom duck, Steve Khuel worked closely with Congressman Cook, without Cook and Feinstein working together this bill wouldn't have happened. In a nutshell 5 designated race areas, over 10,000 miles of green sticker trails and Dualsport routes.

Phantom Duck. Yep. Him and I talked on GD.com Ages ago about this. So glad he didn't give up. Nice to see his dream come true!

Tell Steve Thank You from the bottom of my heart for not giving up on this deal.

I'd love to buy him a drink, or ten! :D
 

Danger Dave

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Good pair of linesman pliers, and a small/smart crew, and you can ride anywhere you want.
 
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