[CPEO-MEF] EXPANSION: 29 Palms (CA) ad Johnson Valley off-road vehicle area

[Lenny Siegel]

Marine base targets off-road area for expansion

Joe Nelson
San Bernardino Sun (CA)
December 28, 2008

The Johnson Valley Off Highway Vehicle Area comprises about 188,000 
acres of desert playground off Highway 247 and Camp Rock Road - about 55 
miles southeast of Barstow and 25 miles east of Victorville.

It is an ideal spot for the off-road enthusiast, punctuated by steep, 
rocky mountains, open valleys, dry lake beds and sandy washes.

It's not a place one would typically associate with America's so-called 
"War on Terrorism," but the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground 
Combat Center is pushing to expand its base onto the bulk of this 
shimmering desert landscape for live-fire and manuever training.

The military cites rapidly evolving defense requirements due to the 
"global war on terrorism," "new emerging threats" and the introduction 
of new weapons systems as the basis for neccessitating the Marine base 
expansion. An application for the withdrawal of public lands was 
submitted to the Bureau of Land Management by the Department of the Navy 
in August.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_11324716

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel at cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org