West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

of unguided tours. In these events, participants are given a map and “Roll Chart” thatdepict the tour route turn by turn. There is no element of competition so participants mayarrive at the final destination at their convenience. Often “bail out” opportunities areidentified so that participants can safely leave the off highway portion of the route toreturn to paved roads and the final destination on their own.All Terrain and “Technical” Four Wheel Drive Recreation: ATVs are small motorvehicles with wheels or tractor treads for traveling over rough ground. They often have fourwheel-drivecapability. ATVs are often viewed as being more agile than other four-wheel drivevehicles and can access narrower routes since they are relatively small and handle likemotorcycles. ATVs, however, are only allowed to accommodate one person. ATVs aregenerally not appropriate for dual sport activities, since they are not legal on public highways.Typical four-wheel-drive vehicles (SUVs and jeeps) have fairly similar capabilities,including the capability to travel off-road on rocky terrain. They are significantly larger thanATVs, as they can accommodate several passengers, supplies and equipment. Four-wheel-drivevehicles such as SUVs and jeeps often have “dual sport” capabilities and perform efficiently bothon regular streets, roads, and highways, as well as off-road. SUVs are generally used to traverserelatively flat, yet rough, terrain, while jeeps with their narrower and shorter wheelbase are morecapable of negotiating rougher terrain tnan a typical stock SUV.Technical four-wheel-drive vehicles constitute a class of vehicle that includes jeeps,trucks and SUVs that have been significantly modified from their “stock” condition. Throughthe addition of specialty tires, transmissions, engines and suspensions these vehicles are lessfunctional in open-highway situations, but very effective in traversing otherwise impassibleroutes (e.g. large boulders). “Rock-crawling” is an example of an activity that utilizes vehiclesof this class. Travel is typically very slow (i.e. less than 5 mph) over and around rocks, incontrast to SUV and even jeep touring. Enthusiasts must possess a high level of technical “fourwheeling”skill. They may even employ the use of power winches to pull the vehicle over themore difficult rock formations. The challenge in technical four-wheel-drive use is to apply one’sskills to cross the rocks, rather than tour large regions.Competitive Events: The BLM Ridgecrest Field Office permits about 30 competitiveevents annually. These include about 20 OHV events and 10 dual sport, equestrian, mountainbiking and running events. There are 50 miles of “C” (i.e. competition) routes establishedadjacent to the Spangler OHV Area. The use of these routes for competitive events wasdiscontinued in 2001.The BLM Barstow Field Office permits about 60 competitive events annually. Theseinclude about 50 OHV events and 10 dual sport, in addition to other events. Most of these eventsoccur in the Stoddard and Johnson Valley Open Areas. The best known among these events arethe Barstow to Vegas and Johnson Valley to Parker motorcycle races, neither of which has beenrun in over a decade.Chapter 3 3-248