XJDB.com - Johnson Valley Trails are in Danger

We normally try to post only XJ related topics but this is very important for all those who wheel in general. There is a real possibility that we will lose our favorite Johnson Valley trails in California. The government is considering expanding the 29 Palms Marine base by claiming most of Johnson Valley.

As part of the effort to fight this closure, there is going to be an online rally at Pirate4x4.com to give people the chance to show that they use the area, talk about how we use it, how often we use it, and how important it is to us. The rally will be on Wed, March 12th from 2-6 pm PST. Please post up something during the rally to add to the numbers of people showing support. Here is a link to more detailed info about the rally:

Go to Pirate4x4.com for more information

Help Save our Trails!

The USMC has published a Press Release about their expansion: For Immediate Release Release No: PR080306F1 Combat Center Potential Land Acquisition Study Continues MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Base officials continue to study areas along its boundaries for potential acquisition to meet Marine Corps training requirements. They stressed that no decision has been made on which areas would be most appropriate to the Combat Center’s training mission. Once this internal analysis is complete, the Marine Corps will publicly release the proposed alternatives and study them in full compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Marine Corps is looking at areas contiguous to the base, including the Johnson Valley, but no final decisions have been made regarding what alternatives will be pursued and analyzed through NEPA. When the alternatives are finalized, we will inform the public. The NEPA study process includes soliciting the public’s input on alternatives and issues during a public “scoping meeting” and then undertaking the environmental review and assessment, a process that will involve a great deal of input from the local community and the wide range of stakeholders. The NEPA process is expected to take several years. As reported by the base last summer, the Office of the Secretary of Defense granted approval for the Marine Corps to proceed with a study to analyze land contiguous to the installation’s boundaries for potential acquisition, as well as to study any airspace requirements needed to support training in any new areas. Since then, the Marine Corps has carefully studied potential alternatives that could meet their training requirements. Once completed, a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be published with identified alternatives. The NOI formally begins scoping for the EIS. At this time, the public will be invited to identify and determine the scope of significant issues to be analyzed, and to potentially identify other reasonable alternatives. Those involved with this very lengthy undertaking urge patience as “this process of simply figuring out what land the base might actually need to meet the Marine Corps training requirements and how it affects other interests could take anywhere from three to five years” said Jim Ricker, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-5. It is imperative that Marines receive the most realistic training before deploying into a combat environment that demands split-second life or death decisions. The potential land parcel additions would allow Marines to “train as they fight” as a large-scale Marine Air Ground Task Force, in particular a Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Currently there is no training facility in the nation that can support this training requirement. . For additional questions please contact the Combat Center G-5 Community Plans and Public Affairs Office, SMBPLMSWEBPAO@usmc.mil or call (760) 830-3738. -USMC-