More Madness from Barstow BLM

"The destruction comes down to a lack of funds for adequate personnel to patrol the area, Mike Ahrens, outdoor recreation planner with the BLM, said.-----------BLM is ready to move full speed ahead on refurbishing the area. Restoration of the few hundred acres of the Bonita Vista area would take about a month and cost an estimated $200,000, Ahrens said."

More madness from the Barstow Field Office! This area was refurbished at $250,000 taxpayer expense following the Willow Fire. BLM then (illegally) secretly sanctioned an OHV route through this steep and erosive area. Predictably the restoration effort was destroyed almost immediately.

As a lobbyist for the OHV community, Ahrens made pleas not to allow resource protection to impact the best riding opportunities. After being hired as a Barstow BLM's OHV Coordinator, he was instrumental in putting illegal routes through Cottonwood Springs and Bonita Vista without the required Environmental Assessment. Outdoor Recreation Planner? Don't believe it! He continues to represent a single special interest group and was allowed to dominate WEMO planning, writing out resource protection.

If the problem is lack of enforcement as Ahrens admits, doesn't it make sense to first gain some level of control over his OHV buddies before scattering more taxpayer funds?