The Desert Sun Editorial Board

Desert-area officials are seeking shares of a $30 million-plus state grant program that helps cover off-road area management efforts. Not only should these grant requests be approved, but residents should add their voices in support of these efforts.

As reported by The Desert Sun’s Christopher Damien, a handful of desert-area agencies have applied for grants from the 2019/20 Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Program Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program:

Joshua Tree National Park officials are seeking $120,000 to cover some of the cost to develop a treatment strategy for illegal incursions into the park that frequently result in damage to wilderness areas by vehicles or vandals. In their application, Joshua Tree officials say the strategy will help "educate the visiting public, prevent OHV damage in closed areas through routine patrol, signage and outreach, and engineer effective solutions through physical barriers and revegetation techniques."

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department has applied for approximately $200,000 from the program to boost patrol efforts of remote areas of the high desert near the national park. The department handles patrols and enforcement of the areas in cooperation with other agencies, including military police at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.The funds will help pay for three newly outfitted 4x4 patrol trucks (to replace the department’s single, 2000s-era 4x4 patrol vehicle in the region) and help cover staffing costs for the more-robust work. The department’s Morongo Basin Station in Joshua Tree is responsible for covering the region’s popular off-road areas, such as the Hammers in Johnson Valley, and has seen a huge jump in service calls in recent years.

The Bureau of Land Management field office in Palm Springs — which covers 15,000 square miles of desert from the Orocopia and Chuckwalla mountains south of Interstate 10 between Indio and Blythe to portions of the Sand to Snow and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto national monuments — is seeking about $580,000 to pay for enforcement staff and maintenance work at off-road access point campgrounds and kiosks. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s off-road enforcement team — which works closely with BLM Palm Springs enforcement rangers — submitted an additional grant request of $170,000 to help cover costs for patrolling remote areas in the eastern Coachella Valley and along the Salton Sea.

The Hemet station of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is seeking $320,000 to cover equipment and staffing costs related to illegal cannabis grow eradication efforts. In its application, station officials write that the serving of 250 warrants has resulted in seizure of 233 tons of illegal cannabis, as well as scores of off-road vehicles and firearms.

These grants will help protect one of our greatest resources — the beauty of our vast desert.

Protecting these valuable natural areas through better patrol and enforcement efforts is much smarter than having to spend more to try to repair or restore them after they’ve been damaged.

Even those people who don’t choose to hike in our mountains or rock climb in some of these spectacular settings are affected by the degradation of these special places. For example, Joshua Tree National Park boasts 3 million-plus visitors per year. They spend $146 million in that local area, helping to support 1,800 jobs.

That’s just one example of why protecting these vital, remote areas are important to us all. They make our area special for us — and are a big draw for visitors who help fuel our tourism-driven economy.

A gem like Joshua Tree could quickly be lost without efforts like those envisioned in these grant requests to keep it safe for those who enjoy it and protected from others who might seek to leave a lasting, damaging mark.

The California State Parks’ OHMVR Division is accepting public comments on the grant requests through May 4. We urge residents to go to the program website to add their support.