In THE NEWS

July 21, 2008 - U.S. agonizes over whether to kill excess mustangs iht.com, sfgate.com

July 20, 2008 - RGJ - Storm over rangelands still rages 17 years later

July 19, 2008 - RGJ - High noon for Nevada’s wild horses

July 6, 2008 - RGJ - Prepared on the playa?

June 23, 2008 - RGJ - 10 great places that will make you forget more exotic destinations

June 5, 2008 - RGJ - Group wants rule changes for off-road vehicles

• Friends of Black Rock High Rock - June 2008 E-Newsletter

May 30, 2008 - RGJ - Stewardship program helps protect Nevada historical sites

May 10, 2008 - RGJ (google cache) - Black Rock Desert is a unique place in Nevada

May 2008 - Reno News and Review - Bruce Van Dyke's opinion that Fly Geyser ought to be made a state park

• Friends of Black Rock High Rock - May 2008 E-Newsletter

April 23, 2008 - Black Rock takes top pizza prize

April 4, 2008 - Michael B. Stewart sells Empire / San Emidio geothermal plant

• Friends of Black Rock High Rock - April 2008 E-Newsletter

March 14, 2008 - Congress moves closer to preserving Western beauty

3/3/08: Nevada Signs Western States Agreement to Promote Travel and Tourism on Federal Lands (link)

• Friends of Black Rock High Rock - March 2008 E-Newsletter

2/11/08 Nevada Division of State Parks Job Opportunity: Recreational Trails Manager (Conservation Staff Specialist II) (link)

Friends of Black Rock High Rock - February 2008 E-Newsletter

Jan 22, 2008 FBRHR awarded FCC Non-Commercial Educational Radio Station Construction Permit (link)

December, 2007
2007 Outcomes
Friends' accomplishments during the course of 2007.
by Matthew Ebert

2/1/2008 Reno Gazette Journal: Female driver sought for Fossett land speed record

10/15/2007 Reno Gazette Journal: Groups eye growth in Washoe's wild places
By Susan Voyles

9/30/2007 Reno Gazette Journal: Actor Edward Norton helps to preserve Black Rock
by Diana Marrero, Gannett News Service

a link to our newsletter signup page

April, 2007

I Just Want To Ride My Motorcycle

Are you a lover of the Great Basin Desert? More specifically, are you a lover of the Black Rock Desert- High Rock Canyon- Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA)? I am, for sure. My first visit to the area got deep under my skin and any excuse to come back to it has always been on my mind. I go there particularly for the solitude, the vistas, and the unusual flora and fauna. Some times I visit the hot springs, ride the trails on my motorcycle, look at the stars with a telescope, attend the Burning Man event, or just go exploring on foot. I never have lost my interest, and the high desert has never let me down.

There are many desert visitors who represent a variety of interests. There are hunters, campers, hikers, backpackers, recreation vehicle (RV) users, off highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts, rock hounds, astronomers, amateur rocketeers, wildlife enthusiasts, mountain bikers, hot spring lovers, bird watchers, photographers, revelers, emigrant trail followers, pilots, horse back riders, land speed record seekers, commercial event participants, ranchers, people seeking solitude, people seeking the peace of nature’s grandeur, and many other reasons that draw people to this wonderful place. All of these users have something in common-- a love for the high desert and the right to recreate on public lands.

Of these activities, the one that has my concern right now is OHVs. These are any vehicle that can function off the developed roads. This includes motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), four wheel drive trucks, sport utility vehicles, even regular cars. There are many types of OHV recreation-- exploring the land, rally races, X Game-type challenges, trail and off-trail cruising, and camping to name a few. Hunters often use ATVs to seek and gather their game. In fact many of the visitors listed above use OHVs of some kind.

OHV activity is the fastest growing outdoor activity in America. Just ten years ago there were very few visitors to this area, and even fewer had OHVs. Today on most weekends from March to November, you can observe many recreation users with OHVs at the gateway highways to this area. In fact, you’ll find that I am one of them, seeking the ever-diminishing solitary space on my motorcycle, or camping with my SUV or RV. Unlike some users, I do know the rules and follow them carefully. In the NCA, I stay on the designated roads. I’m careful to camp where it’s allowed, and I practice the Leave No Trace (LNT) principles.

Early on in my introduction to the high desert I learned first hand how fragile the plants are, and how vulnerable the animals who depend on them are. I remember driving my SUV ‘cross country’ across the sage brush on some private property just outside the present NCA. My tracks were very visible behind me. In fact, I had made a new trail that killed the plant life-- mostly silver sage, grease-wood, and rabbit brush-- where my tires tread. A great horned toad hopped quickly away from the disturbed brush. These inadvertent trails are still fairly visible today, over ten years later. The same result happens wherever OHVs travel and the fragile desert recovers very slowly.

Today, the NCA protects the land from misuse by regulating where OHVs are allowed to go. Wilderness Areas do not permit any wheeled travel, including bicycles. Outside of the NCA and Wilderness areas, OHVs are allowed to travel wherever they want. With the rapid growth of OHV use it’s easy to predict that the degradation of the fragile desert on public lands in Northern Nevada, outside the protected areas, will be wide spread. Some popular OHV areas are already showing serious damage due to over use. Even in the NCA, areas that are off limits to OHV use are being destroyed. Areas such as Coyote Springs and the dunes along the edge of the Black Rock Desert are being eroded by ATVs and motorcycles operated by users who don’t know the rules and are unaware of the damage they are causing. We need to find a way to stop this illegal activity and to reach out and educate these visitors.  We need to plan now to manage the growing use of OHVs on public lands so that we can insure that the potential future damage is minimized and that OHV activity in not unjustly curtailed. What can we do?

One way to manage use could be the creation of large areas to attract OHVs as destination points for preferred use. The Bureau of Land Management has a management concept called a Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) which are “public land units identified in land use plans to direct funding and personnel to fulfill commitments made to provide specific structured recreation opportunities (i.e., activities, experience, & benefit opportunities) to meet identified demand.” An SMRA is a management tool that can increase the management concept beyond the custodial management function.

I can envision two large areas, one to the east of the present NCA and one to the west, that could be designated SRMAs for the purpose of managing increased OHV use. Each area could have a destination point such as a large primitive campground to allow for focused camping. At these destination points we could have information for the user about the area and interpretive educational displays. Trego Hot Springs, an area that has been overused and badly needs attention, might be an ideal spot for the eastern SMRA campground. Guru Road, off Route 34, could serve the same function on the Western side, and nearby could be the much-needed visitors center for the NCA.

By funneling OHVs to these adjacent areas the destruction caused by illegal (and often unaware, uninformed) vehicle use in the NCA may diminish. Additionally, these focal point areas may provide an opportunity to educate and inform a variety of users in a way that we don’t presently have. The large designated areas for OHV use might mitigate over use elsewhere and allow other recreational users and delicate habitat to be undisturbed.

To manage all this, I suspect that the BLM will need the help of non-profit and volunteer organizations such as the Friends of Black Rock/ High Rock and the Nevada Outdoor School.  I urge you to get involved and help us address the public lands issues of the present and future and have your voice heard. The users that love the high desert need to be proactive to preserve their right to recreate in the way they want, on the land they love.
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