It passed the California Senate. It passed the California House. But when the budget bill to cut the entire $21 million OHV Grants program landed on his desk, Governor Brown heard you and agreed it had gone too far.
Despite cutting an additional $195 million in spending from the budget, the Governor managed to restore $14 million to the OHV Grants Program through a line-item veto.
As Highway 14 prepares for another expansion, this time north of Red Rock Canyon, Friends of Jawbone President Ed Waldheim is once again hard at work with BLM & CalTrans to maintain OHV access to the designated routes on both sides of the highway.
About forty members of the public, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) representatives, and Desert Advisory Council (DAC) members met early on Friday morning, the 20th of April, to take a tour of the El Paso Mountains and Jawbone Canyon. The Desert Advisory Council advises the BLM on the management of the nearly 11 million acres which comprise the California Desert District. To be sure that they have an accurate knowledge of the areas on which they are advising the DAC periodically takes tours of various areas of interest, in this case with the BLM leading the tour in conjunction with Friends of Jawbone. For DAC Members it was a chance to see the backroads of the El Paso Mountains and Jawbone Canyon regions. For the public it was a unique opportunity to see the DAC and BLM in action and witness first hand the areas being affected by the WEMO act and various conservation projects.
Read more: Jawbone Canyon Plays Host to the Desert Advisory Council
On March 21 a group of nine Friends of Jawbone volunteers, organized by longtime volunteer George Baland, installed two new desert tortoise information panels in the OHV parking area in Randsburg. It took about two hours of digging and hard work under the already-hot California sun to get the holes positioned and dug deep enough to secure the displays. The new panels give information on tortoise habitat and habits and are now located in front of the FOJ OHV information kiosk.
Read more: FOJ Randsburg Site Gets Two New Interpretive Panels
As we gear-up for Moose Anderson Day and the ribbon cutting of our new building expansion we’d like to remind area riders that you no longer have to choose between camping out in the desert heat or the long drive in from Mojave. The new Best Western Hotel has opened in California City proper, a mere 15 miles from the Jawbone Canyon station!
Read more: New Hotel in California City Offers Easy Access to Jawbone!
Local law enforcement officers are making sure that everyone stays on designated trails. Rangers and deputies are issuing tickets without warnings to people who are not riding on the designated open trails.
When a trail is not signed as a designated open OHV trail, it is closed to all motor vehicles. Only trails with OHV route signs are open for OHV use.
Trails that are signed as closed or barricaded with posts are closed. Do not on that trail. It is your responsible to know how trails are marked and to stay on a designated trail at all times. The use of closed roads poses numerous hazards for motor vehicles, and needlessly damages sensitive natural and cultural resources. Local law enforcement will not tolerate anyone on closed trails.
For maps and information on the designated trails in the greater Jawbone area, please visit or contact the Jawbone Station Visitors Center.