Ocotillo Wells, CA - Two environmental groups filed suit in Sacramento on Tuesday
seeking a court-ordered shutdown of open-riding areas at Ocotillo Wells State
Vehicular Recreation Area.
The lawsuit alleges off-road vehicle activity at Ocotillo
Wells has violated environmental protections mandated under state law.
Specifically, the suit describes widespread erosion, damage
to desert soils and plant life, and non-protection of the park's 1,200
archeological and historic sites.
The lawsuit names as defendants the California Department of
Parks and Recreation, the Division of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation, and
the division's deputy director, Christopher C. Conlin.
It seeks a court order "to immediately suspend the
open-riding policy at Ocotillo Wells" and limit off-road vehicle activity to
designated trails in the park.
Ocotillo Wells SRVA is in the process of developing a new
General Plan, which will govern future off-road use at the park. Officials said
the General Plan process requires an environmental impact report and that approval
is not expected for at least a year.
"That General Plan update, promised since 2007, never seems
to get done," said Karen Schambach, president of Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Sacramento-based plaintiff. "We will
not sit back and wait until the park is totally bereft of plants, wildlife and
cultural resources." The other plaintiff is the Desert Protective Council
(DPC), based in San Diego.
In March, PEER issued a demand letter to state parks director
Major General Anthony Jackson, threatening legal action if the open riding
policy was not shut down.
A CBS News 8 investigation revealed a State Parks
environmental scientist first filed a whistleblower complaint in 2011 alleging
environmental damage at Ocotillo Wells.
In that News 8 report, which aired May 17, local off-roading
groups opposed the closing of any areas at Ocotillo Wells.
"Off-roading is a family adventure. The off-road kids,
brought up in the off-road industry, they're taught from the get go, you
protect your environment," said Dennis Nottingham, president of the San Diego
Off-Road Coalition.
Nottingham said off-road
permit fees pay for environmental protection and enforcement at Ocotillo Wells.
"Anybody that has an off-highway vehicle, they pay $52 every
two years. That goes into a green-sticker fund, which helps support the state
park," said Nottingham.
"Sure, there may be a few less plants, but it's an off-road
park," Nottingham said in his earlier
interview. "That's what it was built and designed for. How many millions of
acres do we have in Southern California that
have got plants off over the place?"
Ocotillo Wells' newly-hired district superintendent Garratt
Aitchison told News 8 his rangers do take environmental laws seriously.
"Oftentimes on these busy weekends during the fall and
winter, the skeleton crew of rangers are responding to injuries and accidents,"
said Aitchison. "I don't know if you have noticed, but there are a lot of
new signs that have gone up. Right now, we're down four peace officer positions,
so that affects our ability to enforce."
