Land battle heats up dunes

To that end, the BLM has proposed reopening areas that were closed off to ATVs in 2000.

To show visitors what's at stake if the land is reopened, Patterson takes them on a tour of the southern end of the dunes. He walks over hard plateaus of wind-rippled sand, and sinks calf-deep in near-vertical drifts. Part of the area closed off in 2000, it now includes a football-field-wide swath of green vegetation directly behind the red stakes that define the protected area. Within it grow several patches of delicate, mushroom-like plants as well as healthy patches of an endangered plant called Peirson's milkvetch.

"This green belt has appeared in little over a year since the agreement," says Patterson. "If they allow bikers in here, these plants will not survive."

Patterson and other conservationists say the presence of thousands of off-road vehicles ruins the wilderness experience for hikers who want to pursue a natural habitat free from the sounds and fumes of racing buggies. They say ATV tires tear up the sand where delicate seeds and spores take root, and they churn up the cooler sub-surfaces where endangered lizards reside. When key plants don't take root, the desert creatures that rely on them for shelter and food – like the endangered Colorado desert fringe-toed lizard – lose their habitat, they say.

"We are worried both about endangered species and the endangered experience for nature lovers and bird watchers," says Patterson.

Matthews and Hopkins tell another side of the story. ATVers on these dunes since preschool, they say the subculture of "duners" is vastly misunderstood. "Ninety percent of duners come out here and treat the desert like a home away from home," says Matthews. He and others say ATVers stick to virgin sand – where there are no plants – and go out of their way to avoid hitting lizards and other wildlife.

"Our tires are so expensive that there is no way we want to drive over a root or twig that will puncture it and strand us on the dunes," says Hopkins, president of the Orange County ATV Association.

The two sides are locked in battle over which of four BLM management options will govern the dunes. Officials are considering measures that could include curfews, quiet hours, limited ATV access, and requiring biological education certificates for drivers.

"I feel like they are always trying to limit us, control us," says Hopkins. He says he's never seen a hiker here more than 100 feet from a road. "When they have 250,000 hikers and bird watchers show up on a big weekend ... then they can ask us about closing more dunes," he says.

Right now, the dunes are divided roughly equally between acreage open to ATVs and not (about 70,000 acres each). Of the four new plans the BLM will choose from by fall, it appears that at least 20,000 acres will be re-opened for off-roaders. Because of this, Patterson says the issue is likely headed to court. "The BLM likes to pretend it is caught in the middle of this issue, but if they wanted to be fair, they would keep the current, 50/50 plan in place."

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