Please, all club members, if you haven't already done so, please copy the below letter and paste it into your word processing program and print it out, sign it and mail it to the address at the top of the form.
This needs to be in the mail by Friday, so please do it if you haven't already.
QuoteMr. Joseph Ross
MAGTFTC/MGAGCC
Bldg 1554, Box 788104, Rm 138
Twentynine Palms, CA 92278-8104
RE: Scoping comments for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to study alternatives for meeting the Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) sustained, combined arms, live-fire and maneuver training requirements.
Mr. Ross:
I am writing to you today because my family recreates in the Johnson Valley OHV Area. I am aware that the Marines are proposing to expand their Twentynine Palm base in order to fulfill their training requirements. The loss of this area would be devastating to my family and thousands of others like us that recreate with OHVs in this area.
Because this loss would have such a great impact on my family I would like to suggest that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) study the following items:
1. The DEIS must study the possibility of the Marines expanding to the east. The DEIS must study the possibility that both the recreationists and the Marines could share the Johnson Valley OHV Area.
2. The DEIS must assess the economic impact the loss of the Johnson Valley OHV Area will have on the local community..
3. The DEIS must assess the economic impact the loss of the Johnson Valley OHV Area would have on the larger Southern California region.
4. The DEIS must study where the current 800,000â€"1,000,000 annual visitors will recreate if Johnson Valley is taken.
5. The DEIS must study the possibility of opening up BLM land that is currently closed to OHV use.
6. The DEIS must study the possibility of purchasing privately-owned property to compensate the OHV Community for lost opportunity in Johnson Valley.
7. The DEIS must study the resulting resource damage if the military chooses not to replace the Johnson Valley OHV Area.
8. The DEIS must incorporate a plan that returns the Johnson Valley OHV Area to public use once it has fulfilled its usefulness to the military.
9. The DEIS must explain in detail the USMC’s purpose and need for the proposed expansion of the base.
10. The DEIS must evaluate and disclose the cost of the proposed expansion, including the ongoing, perpetual costs of the contemplated training mission.
I would like to thank you for this opportunity to comment on the scope of the DEIS. I look forward to reviewing a draft DEIS that answers these and all other relevant questions concerning the project impacts on the human and natural environment.
Very truly yours,