Via Rob Mrowka at the Center for Biological Diversity, a reminder about the insanely destructive “[Killing] the Best In The Desert” race, and a way you can do something to stop it. Deadline for these letters is Friday, but it will only take a half a minute to send it. Begin alert:
Imagine 400 off-road vehicles tearing across nearly 1,000 miles of your wild public lands in a three-day race. Motorcycles, quads, and full-sized desert racing vehicles rip across the landscape at speeds over 110 miles per hour, destroying the riparian habitat that shelters imperiled Amargosa toads and the desert washes that threatened desert tortoises call home. The off-roaders trample sparse desert vegetation such as creosote bush and sagebrush, and crush globally imperiled squalid milk-vetch, Tecopa birdbeak and Churchill narrows buckwheat.
It’s an appalling scenario — and this nightmare may come to life unless you take action and ask the Bureau of Land Management to stop off-roaders from running roughshod over your public lands. The Bureau is considering a request for a three-day, 986-mile off-road race through the Nevada desert. Please speak up and let the Bureau know you value Nevada’s wild places and the plants and animals that live there by submitting a letter before March 6.
Send your letter by going here.
You can donate to help CBD fight this monstrous event here.
Sample letter is below the fold.
Subject: Protect the Desert - Stop the Race
I am writing to voice my concern over the proposed “Vegas to Reno — The Long Way” off-road race. This type of thrill-speed event has no place on my public lands and I urge you to reject the proposal.
The proposed race will have significant, adverse affects on the environment and the Bureau of Land Management’s intention of permitting it with a simple Environmental Assessment is unacceptable. The course cuts across almost 1,000 miles of pristine desert backcountry, passing through habitat for the federally protected desert tortoise, imperiled Amargosa toad, desert bighorn sheep, and several other globally imperiled species. These considerations alone call for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
Past runs of this race have shown that the Bureau’s permit conditions are not respected, implemented or enforced. Racers ignored the original, flagged course, widening it to more than 200 feet in places; vegetation was destroyed along the course as racers passed each other outside the course boundaries; litter and race debris was not adequately cleaned up; and the course itself was not properly rehabilitated to accommodate the non-racing recreationists who enjoy quiet, undisturbed desert.
The impacts of the race extend far beyond the actual course driven by the participants. Support and pit crews, spectators and media will all significantly expand the footprint of race. The proposed “Camp Adventure” will likewise result in destruction of the fragile desert ecosystem. The dust kicked up by vehicles tearing across the desert crust will spread far and wide, adversely affecting nearby residents and recreationists long after the race ends.
This type of thrill-speed event has no place on federal public lands. It is irresponsible to consider allowing such a precious resource to be forever damaged for the sake of a three-day event enjoyed by only a few. I strongly request that you fulfill your responsibilities as a federal land steward by conducting the proper level of environmental compliance required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and ultimately deny the request to allow this destructive race to take place.
People should still send their e-letters - but might want to supplement with a hard copy, as the guy to whom the e-letters are being sent has his email set to the vacation setting - the bounce message claims that he’s out of the office March 1- March 9th.
Not good.
That is strange Rana. I didn’t get any out-of-office reply. Thanks for the heads-up on that!
That’s weird - I didn’t get the vacation setting when I sent this yesterday either. But a hard copy is never a bad idea.
Maybe we’ve flooded his email box?
I got one of the “vacation” messages as well. I called Rob Mrowka/CBD to give him a heads-up, and he says he’ll be checking out what’s what and will let us know what he finds out.