Desert Messenger

December 5, 2018 ww.DesertMessenger.com 7 letters to the editor Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily represent those of the Desert Messenger. HI JOLLY ARENA Nightly Entertainment 4pm-8pm Barry's Breads & Smoking Pops BBQ too MON. Karaoke TUES. Neil Diamond Tribute WED. Gypsy Wagyn THURS. Open Mic FRI & SAT. Alaska Dan SUNDAY Jam Session ACROSS FROM PILOT ON W. MAIN STREET, QUARTZSITE, AZ VFW THANKS Thanks to the Quartzsite VFW Post 769 for serving a free ham and tur- key dinner to all Vets Thanksgiving day 2018. Great meal, great volun- teers! Chuck & Irene KEEPING OUR OHV TRAILS OPEN The BLM is required by various Federal regulations, policies and Executive Orders to develop Trav- el Management Plans (TMPs) for all public lands that they manage. Travel Management Plans are un- der development in Mohave, La Paz and Yuma counties. In order to de- velop plans showing all trails that are open for travel they must fi rst develop an inventory of the tracks by hiring a contractor to identify all tracks or signs of trails in a given area. The contractors identify all marks in the desert including World War II tank tracks, cattle and wild- life paths, foot trails, bicycle paths, duplicate trails going to the same place and old mine roads. Many of these tracks are short dead end trails, typically established as a re- sult of mining operations and are no longer used. There are many of the SAY HI TO PHIL! tracks that have never been used by off-highway vehicles. The inventory is provided to the public for review and comment to insure trails are not missed. The BLM is required to evaluate the total inventory to de- termine which trails are currently used by the OHV community. The draft TMP will show all the trails open that are being utilized and are not dangerous or cross- ing an environmentally sensitive area. Sometimes duplicate trails to the same location are not shown as open. If the duplicate trail provides a unique riding experience it is the riders responsibility to let BLM know what that experience is so it can be kept open. The draft TMP is issued to the public for review and comments. During this review it is the public's responsibility to identify any of the trails that are not indicated as open that they actually ride and provide appropriate comments to the BLM indicating why they ride the trail. We ride trails for many reasons including scenic, loop ride, favor- ite site, hunting, connectivity, etc. The BLM will respond to all positive comments. Based on the experience in Lake Havasu City area as well as Quartzsite area ninety-nine percent of the trails we ride are kept open for OHV use. It is important for the OHV clubs in each area to establish a good working relationship with the BLM in order to make sure positive com- ments are provided to keep the trails they actually ride open. It is also im- portant for OHV enthusiast to join and support their local OHV club. Once the TMPs are completed BLM will sign the trails that are open and provide maps for public use. These maps are essential for safe public rec- reation and search and rescue. The TMPs are living documents and if there is a unique trail that was missed during the inventory or review processes it is possible to have the TMP revised to show that trail as open. J.C. Sanders

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