Dumont BLM/ sub group/ public saturday meeting

[FE135]

Looks like I'll be there.

[ynot]

Ken Allen may join us for the trip. I will let you know.

Ken will not be making the trip this sat. has been committed to another task.

[dunefreak]

Looks like I'll be there.

Sweet!

Ken will not be making the trip this sat. has been committed to another task.

So Terry, whats the plan? Meet at your house about 7am or ?

[ynot]

Sweet!

So Terry, whats the plan? Meet at your house about 7am or ?

ThAT WORKS FOR ME

[Adam @ GTP Off Road]

So what's to scoop?

[ynot]

So what's to scoop?

It's all top secret you had to be there to get the info:)

[Adam @ GTP Off Road]

It's all top secret you had to be there to get the info:)

Awww come on... I had to work, I'll buy you a beer next time how about that...

[dunefreak]

I took some notes. I'll post up some info later.

[ynot]

Awww come on... I had to work, I'll buy you a beer next time how about that...

Do you think you can ply me with 1 beer and get me to spill my guts, not so fast it will take at least somewhere between 2 beers and a 6 pack to get me to spill my guts Actually I was busy keeping control of the "mob" to take notes so I will let Pete post his up and cut in on that.

[dunefreak]

So 2 weeks later and I guess I can finally post up the details from the meeting.

Anyways, there wasn't much talked about that we didn't already know.

Fencing: The fencing project will begin sometime in August. There will be two areas they will be putting cable and post fence up to protect vegetation, the lizard, and mostly to designate the boundary of the legal riding area.

Entrance road: Some new asphalt grindings have or will be delivered soon to be layed down on the entrance road. Larry Blaine mentioned there should be a nice firm top layer for the start of next season.

SRP's: With the new guidelines and procedures for processing special recreation permits for events and vendors, permit applications must now be turned in no later than 180 days before the date of the event or vending. The BLM mentioned they would work with some of the vendors for the upcoming season since this is all very new, but this is how the new process must be followed in the future.

Budget: The budget: they went over this in way too much detail thanks to a person from the public requiring an in-depth explanation on every item, but in the end the BLM has a decent amount of carry-over going into next season which means the area is well managed and not in debt like other areas are.

Passes: In an attempt to simplify the pass situation so we don't have 4 different passes, the BLM will be submitting to the RMP committee a new pass idea...$30 for a weekly pass and $120 for a season pass. The pass will be good on ANY weekend, non-holiday OR holiday weekend. There was also mention of trying to come up with a tear-off pass for a second vehicle with no toys. For example, if you go out for Halloween with your motorhome and toys on Thursday, your wife could come out on Saturday with the extra included pass and not have to pay for a weekly pass. This and the new pass fee schedule is still in the early stages and you probably won't see any change for at least a season or two. Things move very slow when it comes to government procedures.

Injuries and fatalities: The number of fatalities and injuries are significantly down compared to past years. This is probably mostly because attendance to Dumont Dunes is way down, but credit was given to the BLM rangers for giving duners warnings and explanations why certain things are not allowed instead of giving tickets (mostly to kids). Additional credit was given to the free child OHV safety classes that are given by the San Bernardino Sherrif's department at the BLM command post on holiday weekends.

I think that is most of everything we talked about other than some stuff about some Amargosa River Wildlife plan for something , but in the end it won't affect us or the dunes no whatever.

If I am slightly off on anything, ynot can clear it up.

[ynot]

I think you covered everything pretty well Pete except to say Thank You to all the members who took a day out of their life to attend the meeting. I know it does not seem like much but I can tell you BLM does pay attention to you guys and I would only ask that more of us show up and especially show up on a Saturday when we can have BLM's full time and attention just for Dumont.

Thanks Pete for the write up, I hate to type!

Terry

[dunefreak]

Cool. Glad I got it right. haha

Thanks again for driving that day and thanks to Woods for the awesome grub and cool place to chill and hang out. Good times!

[Adam @ GTP Off Road]

Thanks for the info.

Its great to hear that the budget is in good shape.

I have only been to Dumont a couple times but the road in having some work sounds good. ---Newby question--- why don't they pave any of it?

The pass change sounds good, but the one main thing i will hope for is a day pass, or something. I don't camp yet, and $30 for one day is pretty steep.

The fencing seems like it might be a little of a waste of money. People will just damage it, and it will require maintanance. hopefully it's well marked so people won't run into it.

[ynot]

Thanks for the info.

Its great to hear that the budget is in good shape.

I have only been to Dumont a couple times but the road in having some work sounds good. ---Newby question--- why don't they pave any of it?

The pass change sounds good, but the one main thing i will hope for is a day pass, or something. I don't camp yet, and $30 for one day is pretty steep.

The fencing seems like it might be a little of a waste of money. People will just damage it, and it will require maintenance. hopefully it's well marked so people won't run into it.

Paving the road in the middle of nowhere would be so expensive that I don't think that we would ever be able to recoup the cost no matter how much we raised the fees. Also having a dirt road keeps some people out who not to sound elitist but who really don't belong there such as tourists who come in because the road is paved and find themselves on the flats, stuck in the dead of summer without proper provisions and no one around. It also keeps the "party/Rave" kids from coming out and causing problems.

I don't think you will ever see a "day" pass. The enforcement of such would be nearly impossible and will never happen IMHO.

The fencing will be marked with reflectors and it is to keep the people who either know the boundaries or the one's that don't from incursions into closed off lands. Dumont is pretty much surrounded by closed areas and anything we can do to keep our little spot of heaven from the envriomaniacs is a good thing. this fence location was changed by the sub group over where the BLM wanted it to start with and is a lot more the way we think it should be, instead od a long fence from the North Pole to the South Pole. We are trying to be ahead of the game in the battle.

Hope that helps.

Terry

[Adam @ GTP Off Road]

Nice info... sounds good.

I'm not sure how enforcing a day pass is much harder then a week pass though. Many other places have a day pass like Coral Pink and the Oregon Dunes. I do think these places are smaller so that might be the difference. Either way, i will still come and pay the $30 fee. I am hoping soon to be able to camp. My bachelor party might just be out there in the next year, so I will be camping then for sure.