Gyros loosing ground at El Mirage

Tina

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2005
Messages
976
Location
Temecula, California
Total Flight Time
400+ FW 100+ GYRO
It was sad news I heard today from a meeting held by a group called Friends of El Mirage and the BLM "Bureau of Land Management" It seems that the BLM intend to close the west end gates to Calloways, Snows and Moe's ranch.

These are the gates we as new gyro pilots use to taxi on to the lake and practice during our training. We have been using this lake for over 50 years from the time Ken Brock and Marion Springer gave lessons to new gyro pilots. We will have to trailer or gyros to the lake which is a long trek.

The landowners are upset, to say the least, but have no lawyers to help at this time. The BLM is bulling them and saying its to bad we have to control this lake and closing the gates is the only way. These land owners have rights but the BLM is just ignoring them.

I have called around to find out who we need to talk too and who we need to write or e-mail to? No one, at this time, has any real answers or names.

It looks like the only one that can stop this is a lawyer. I called all Three land owners they have no lawyers. They appear not to be united to fight this battle with the BLM. They may loose their right to access the lake, and we gyro pilots will too. I hope this will not happen.

The BLM said they will be closing the gates in two weeks. Will the land owners have time to get their acts together and find a lawyer? I hope they do for their sake and ours.
 
Tina,
I am sad to hear of the BLM’s plan to secure the gates. Did they discuss their reasoning for the closure or enlighten you to their overall plan? Just off the cuff my guess is there is a plan for fee collection which requires control of access. Attorneys and litigation is a very expensive process especially when going against adversaries with council on staff or deep pockets like our government. While it seems right that a simple attorney can help it is a complicated process and will take a lot to find results. If you know an instructor at a law school, you might want to contact them and see if maybe it might be a project which would work within their students. Just an idea.

If it gives you any solace, The lake I have my boat at for the past 25 years which is controlled by the Park Service instituted a temporary fee of $10.00 a year to offset their costs about 5 years ago. That temporary trial must have been a success as this year it is $45.00 per year and a $20.00 additional fee for each boat. My childhood trips to Sedona visiting Oak Creek and Slide Rock now can only be enjoyed with a Red Rock fee of $25.00.

Ask the BLM for their comprehensive plan with El Mirage and I am sure their reasoning’s are there. Maybe after seeing their plan you can find a way to work with them and have your access preserved as an asset to their plan. I’ll try to research some myself as it would be a shame to lose. Keep me posted as to your findings.
 
Bureauocrats, dont you just love um. :(
If they have nuthn to do, they will find sumthn to do, like anoyn everybody else.
Bet they dont have a 'reasonable' reason for stopn you.
They sound no different to the clowns we'v got ere in Oz, but we have special ways of dealing with idle minds like bureauocrats. :)
 
Tina,

Something that struck me when I was at the BBQ at Marie's in 2005...

Why trailer to the lake bed at all? Is there not enough room on those ranches to take off, and just fly over the fence?
 
Paul: Thats exactly what I thought...even if it were a 25 mile flight...

Tina: I sure hope you dont lose these gate accesses......I have always thought El Mirage was a unique fly-in....never been there but would like to someday see it myself.


Stan
 
Tina,

I don't know how I might be of help but if I can help just let me know.

.
 
Tina, have you looked for Property Rights groups, or real estate/property attorneys willing to do pro bono work? I might even try the ACLU. If they decide the government is trampling on personal rights they might help out. A lot of law schools also run free clinics to at least let folks know what sorts of paperwork & procedures need to be followed for legal issues. I might consider the Sierra Club or the Audobon Society on the basis that the rules prohibit people from enjoying nature, but they might not like your motivations, since they tend to frown on any sort of machinery interacting with nature, and could decide to support BLM.

Hope that helps;

Kurt Franz
 
Bureaucrat Menace

Bureaucrat Menace

Tina,
I'm not sure how good California's two US Senators are, but in our neck of the woods they provide significant help in issues with federal bureaucrats.
 
Hearing ?

Hearing ?

There should have been a public hearing published in the newspaper to do something like this esp if private property owners are effected. Most likely if they did have a hearing they hid the public notice to the point where no one knew about it.

the internet is a great resource to find out the names of the higher ups. Get in touch with them first. Let them know legal action is due if they follow thru with this illegal move.

Only 50 years, what was the rush ?

Federal rules can be on a whole different playing field but they have to play by the rules either way. Organization is key and contacting media outlets, political offices and lawyers can get the attention this problem needs.

KUPosted.

Jonathan
 
I found this on the BLM website, guess they want one entrance only.

Note: There is a perimeter fence around the area to limit access to selected routes. The entrance is on Mountain View Road. Boundary maps are available at the Visitor Center on Colusa Road.

Be careful when riding and watch for the boundary fence! There are three basic reasons for fencing the area:

To prevent trespass into the town of El Mirage. This is a major concern for local residents and is the highest management priority in the area.

To aid in the management of the lakebed. When the lakebed is closed due to being wet or muddy, it is easier to notify the public and enforce the closures with the fence in place.

To discourage route trespass. There is only one legal public access to the riding area; Mountain View Road. All others that were used in the past are on private land. A right-of-way was purchased using Off-Highway Vehicle Funds. The perimeter fence encourages the use of this legal route.

I also found that there is a proposed fee of $10-$15 per day with an annual pass being available at $80-$90. Seems like it has been in the works for many years and the only major input has been from The Friends of El Mirage. Might be a little late to change the plans. Tina, You might contact the BLM Office at (760) 252-6000, BLM Specialist, Rose Beardshear, (760) 252-6011 to discuss. You also might want to speak with the president of Friends of El Mirage, Ed Waldheim, [email protected], 1 (800) 422-6782 to get his input. Hope this helps!
 
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If they're trying to restrict the traffic going in and out of the other gates and they say they're trying to prevent people from trespassing on the private owner's properties by people going in and out through the gates how about seeing if they'll grant the land owners access through the gates?

I work for the telephone company. We access eequipment sites that are either jointly used by other companies or have to access through some private land areas. Some of the gates have multiple padlocks looped together. Each company requiring access has their own padlock. Maybe BLM could reach an agreement with the adjacent land owners and allow them to have their own padlock on the gate so they could access the lake bed through the gate and lock it behind them. That would allow you all to keep going through the gates.
 
The BLM wants one access only to make charging a fee for use the most cost effective for them. I have seen this happen in more than one place in the west. They justify it as we (the pubic) are supposed to pay their cost for managing our public lands. With all the money they collect their budgets never go down just increase. Their modis operindi is first make some modest improvements in camping facilities, then some minor fencing to protect something, then more fencing and gateing, then implementing fee use. I have seen it happen over and over.
 
When I came back from Puerto Rico in 1992 and went to Kingston Canyon in Nevada the forest service camp ground was closed - sign said lack of funding for maintenance.

Their new building office in Austin Nevada had all new 4 wheel drive dodge diesel pickups, every one working there had all new latest and greatest computers and the workers there spent most of their time on the computers working on their resumes to get new jobs within the organization. But no money to keep a camp ground open.
 
God, how much money could be saved if the Forest service service and BLM were done away with???

PS That was about the time forest fires were in the news all the time. Was also the time fire management was becoming the major tool of both services. If the records were published the major cause of forest fires is controlled burns that get out of control, then lighting - weather, then campfires and smoking. Ever hear that on your public service announcements from the government.
 
The dual lock system is used quite extensively on lands that border federal property. It is not the local property owners that they are normally trying to restrict, but the drunken teenagers and off road vehicles from tearing up the lakebed at all hours. I would think the the local congressperson for that area could work out a mutual lock system with the want-a be- (BLM) cops.

First the fence, then comes the fees. The funny thing is most people will just go camp somewhere else in the desert and they won't make near the money it will cost to try to collect it. The cost alone of putting in all that fencing around the entire lake bed must have been huge. The only time I will go to El Mirage from now on is for the fly-in, and go someplace else if I want to off- road ride. It is not like there is not another 1,000 square miles of desert to play in, screw them. I want the BLM to try to collect money from me when I fly in, good luck. Isn't hard to believe we all were able to have all those flying,car,motorcycle, rocketeers,windsailors, targetpractice gunners, etc. lake events and Bonneville type speed racing weekends that were held at El Mirage for more than 70 years without the gun toting BLM cops present trying to enforce all those rules that they have made in the last couple of years? What a mess, it was a lot more fun when people took their machine guns out there. Never recall anyone getting robbed or carjacked then. Things had a way of keeping a wild west style peace. Ya never knew if the guy you wanted to argue with had more friends (and guns) than you did. Tends to keep everyone pretty mellow. The picture below was from a lake bed racer in 1949. His top speed was 124MPH, not bad for then. On the other hand, for those of you that did not go last year, the road to the lakebed is paved, so it is not near as tough on the equipment getting in anymore and much faster.

Scott Heger, Laguna Niguel,Ca N86SH
 

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John, I for one is glad we have a BLM & Forest Service to manage our lands. While they are not perfect it is better than loosing the open lands to developers and who knows what. With the budget cuts they endure they have developed plans to fund our National Parks and recreational areas from user fees. While I don’t like it personally it is what they came up with. As in most government funding the basis for fund requisition begins with your previous year usage. As most administrator’s famous line being, “Use it or loose it” becomes a buying game at the end of their fiscal year. I know of one Fire Department locally who has a superb grant getter on staff. They have 5 newer engines to compliment their other 6 and just upped their budget with a $1.5 million grant for a new station to house their engines. Their main problem is they only have a staff of two who work 84 hours each per week and have not had a fire in years. They have had a few EMT calls. I am sure if questioned about their viability they would respond with, “We have done our job in prevention, just look at our record, no fires in 5 years!”

You are right that most forest fires are prescription fires that got out of hand. A Prescription is an area that has excessive fuels which need to be burned to make the area healthy and safe from wildfires. To make it simple and short there is nothing in the budget for doing their prescribed burns and if a simple lightning fire happens to be in a prescribed area the mentality and needs of the agencies is to work the fire to accomplish the prescription goals as it will be funded by Emergency funds and not their budget. I’ll stop here as this has nothing to do with the El Mirage problems.

After calling a few people in the BLM today I found that the Lakebed has been fenced with only one exit for a few years. The closure of the gates and other entrances has just taken a while to complete. Not believing what they told me I googled the area and found they had meetings and have been working on this since at least 2002 with very little opposition from the land owners. The BLM had many public meetings for input before making their decision. The most input from the public came from The Friends of El Mirage and the BLM designed their program with all input provided. There were a few reports I read provided by the range management staff which listed plants and environmental issues which concluded the indigenous plant life is at the edge of the lakebed and by reducing access to a single point it would save the plant life damaged with multiple accesses. I even found a place I can adopt a Joshua tree on the Lakebed.

Tina, Dave, Marion, Teddy and the rest of PRA 1,
I wish you the best although I think this one might be set in stone. Don’t give up with your pursuit and never forget you can build a strip as Stan stated off the Lakebed and still use the area as you need. I look forward to seeing you all in September. Oh ya, and to visit my adopted Joshua Tree!
 
Not just gyros loosing ground

Not just gyros loosing ground

In California we have two options, capitulation or do what the trees do in the spring. Unfortunately all the people who are able to do like the trees and leave, what is left is drafted by the "Civil Service"
 
Tina,

So we are second rate citizens to illegal aliens now.

Seems they are building fences in all the wrong places.

Anyway, didn't you guys just buy a camp there.

Is this the gate your talking about?

If it is, boy this is gonna kill it for a whole bunch of you guys.

You gotta get active and start calling these guys to figure out why they want to close the gates.

Start calling all your political officials from the bottom to the top for info and ideas on how to stop this.

Probably some extreemist lizerd or frog saving fanatics behind this.

I remember when I was into four wheel drivin, everyone wanted to close everthing.

We had to get a reality check on ourselves and start taking better care of the land down here.

One bad apple always ruined it for us all.

Heck call the publishers at Four Wheel and Off Road and let them in on the secret.

Four Wheel and Off Road are big advocates for keep land open.

Call em Tina! This shouldn't be happening to you guys!!!!

I have talked to them on a number of occasions.
 
We at El Mirage have some good news, the 3 landowners appear to be united now.Their are talking with the people at the BLM and talk is right now they maybe able to keep 2 of the west end gates. There is a law that reads if you have access for a through way more then 6 years then you do not loose that right and can be grandfathered in.

The Landowners had this right of passage on the lake for over 50 years. They have friends and family that fly in and land on the lake and then taxi to their properties.

See off the lake it is very sandy so plans that come in for a visit don't want to chance it landing on some of these runways they have out there, to soft and not real good to land on.

So keep your fingers crossed this helps ;)
 
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