West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

Although the event authorized participation of up to 500 motorcyclists, only 87individuals actually participated (LaRue 1994). Racers were under “yellow flag conditions” thatincluded (a) a well-marked route, (b) speed limits of 40 miles per hour for the eastern sevenmiles of the corridor and 30 miles per hour elsewhere, (c) pace motorcycles every 15 minutesthat were not to be passed by event participates, (d) no passing of other racers while in thecorridor, and (e) participants were timed and could not pass through the corridor in under 40minutes. Additionally, there was light rain and snow immediately prior to and during the race,which likely reduced riders’ tendencies to stray from the route to avoid dust created by theracer(s) that were immediately ahead of them (LaRue 1994).LaRue (1994) found that 22 event-related tracks left the route for a total linear distance of1,074 feet. The average track length was 48.8 linear feet and ranged from 10 to 300 feet inlength. Perpendicular distances between the 22 tracks and the route averaged 3.95 feet andranged from 0.5 to 20.0 feet. Most of the straying (i.e., 16 of 22 tracks, or 73%) occurred alongJensen Pass, which was the narrowest part of the corridor (i.e., 8.1 feet wide), and the remainingsix tracks occurred along wider routes (i.e., widths ranged from 9.7 to 17.3 feet). Although theBLM employed 10 rangers, eight observers, and one helicopter between 24 and 26 November toenforce the closure of 119 square miles of desert that encompassed the corridor, LaRue (1994)still found 23 motorcycle tracks, 13 truck tracks, and 5 quad-runner tracks that were not causedby the racers. He concluded that the tracks were probably associated with monitors orunauthorized use by the general public.Johnson Valley to Parker Competitive Event Corridor: The western portion of thiscorridor coincides with the northeastern boundary of the proposed Ord-Rodman DWMA. Thisis important because the USFWS (2002) reported that during events elsewhere along the route,riders were authorized to travel up to 100 feet from the centerline of the established road, alongthe southern side of the corridor to avoid impacts to the Chemehuevi DWMA in the EastMojave, which occurs north of the road. They (USFWS 2002) concluded that (a) this off-roadtravel was likely to kill or injure desert tortoises, disturb habitat, and could accelerate the spreadof invasive species; (b) some potential existed for racers to cause degradation of habitat in thearea surrounding the western end of the race (in the vicinity of the proposed Ord-RodmanDWMA); and (c) the proximity of the OHV event to the Chemehuevi DWMA posed, at aminimum, an indirect threat to the stability of the area, since tortoises travel beyond reserve areaboundaries, and invasive plants may have more ready access to reserves if adjacent habitats aredisturbed.Dual Sport Events: The USFWS (2002) concluded that organized, non-speed events,such as dual sports rides in the western Mojave Desert, resulted in minimal habitat disturbance, ifany, and that they were unaware of any injuries or mortalities of desert tortoises that haveoccurred during these events. They acknowledged that some level of mortality or injury may beundetected but impacts were anticipated to be minimal because dual sports occurred on existingroads and were usually conducted when most desert tortoises were inactive.Chapter 3 3-136