COMMISSION

Report Requirement 6
Other relevant program-related environmental issues that have arisen
since the last Program report
Bureau of Land Management
Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area
Johnson Valley is a popular Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Area administered by
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Barstow Field Office. In 2008, the United States
Marine Corps (USMC) expressed an interest in acquiring all, or a portion of, the Johnson
Valley OHV Area to meet training requirements for a large-scale training range facility. The
USMC prepared a National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) in support of land acquisition.
The Final EIS was released in July 2012.
On February 11, 2013, the Department of
the Navy issued the Record of Decision
and the transfer request was referred to the
United States Congress for consideration and
possible action.
On December 26, 2013, the President signed
the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) transferring approximately 79,000
acres from BLM to the Secretary of the Navy
Johnson Valley OHV Area OHMVR Commission Tour 2011
for exclusive military use and designating 53,000 acres for shared use with the public.
The Johnson Valley Shared Use Area is open to the public except for two 30-day periods
annually, when the USMC conducts training. The Marine Corps and BLM collaborate to
inform the public of the closure well in advance of military training. The first closure of the
Shared Use Area for military training was August 14-21, 2016.
As part of the 2014 NDAA (H.R. 3304), Johnson Valley was designated by Congress
as the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area under the continued
management of BLM.
2017 Program Report 175