Congressman Sam Farr vowed to bring all sides together to
discuss how to best use the remote Clear Creek Management Area
during his town hall meeting Wednesday.
Congressman Sam Farr vowed to bring all sides together to discuss how to best use the remote Clear Creek Management Area during his town hall meeting Wednesday.
A handful of off-highway (OHV) vehicle users told Farr that the Bureau of Land Management’s planning to reduce trail access has been unacceptable because officials are trying to limit access without communicating with the users. They also said the area isn’t being properly managed.
“Most of the issue has to do with the lack of land use and the planning process,” said Ed Tobin, spokesman for the Salinas Ramblers Motorcycle Club. “People in the Hollister office are doing things without going through the public process… We’re asking you to add your voice.”
Tobin solicited Farr’s help in getting OHV users, representatives of environmental groups such as the California Native Plant Society and Center for Biological Diversity, and BLM staff together to work toward creating a solid plan.
Farr’s vision for San Benito County is to bring people in to recreate and boost the economy, he said.
He promised to sit down with all the groups to create a plan that will accommodate all parties involved.
“There isn’t a plan – you don’t like where it’s going – so let’s make a plan,” Farr said. “I’m here. I’m supportive in trying to find a solution… The buck stops here. I’m the buck and I’m gonna stop it.”
The BLM released a plan last month that could limit the hundreds of miles of routes and trails available to OHV users because of growing environmental concerns and pressures from environmentalists. Environmentalists, including the Center for Biological Diversity, have raised concerns that off-road vehicles harm native plants in the area like the San Benito Evening Primrose. The new plan isn’t strict enough because of the BLM’s lack of resources, law enforcement and staff to enforce the rules, environmentalists have said in the past.
The BLM attempted to implement a management plan in 1998 but didn’t follow through. That non-action prompted both OHV groups and environmentalists to threaten to file lawsuits.
Tobin previously expressed frustration that the BLM has taken so long to release a management plan, and is convinced that the plan it released last month doesn’t satisfactorily accommodate OHV users.
Former BLM employee Teresa Alberts told Farr she worked for the BLM for 10 years and watched staff systematically close more and more of the area to recreators.
“I can tell you that (BLM officials in the Hollister office) don’t want to hear what (the public) has to say,” she said. “I really hope you get involved because it’s a beautiful multi-use area and they’re closing it out.”
