The Johnson Valley Shared Use Area will be closed beginning today (2/12) and lasting until Thursday, February 26 for Marine Corps training. According to an email from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, the previously announced temporary closure is being held to “facilitate critical service-level Marine Corps training” to maintain combat readiness and capabilities vital to national security.
The Johnson Valley OHV Recreation area remains open for public use.
The area known as Johnson Valley is approximately 96,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintained land, and approximately half of that is set aside for a “shared use” area with the adjacent Marine Corps. Base. They hold at least two training sessions a year which limits public access to the area. The King of the Hammers off-road race series just concluded on Saturday, making this time of the year some of the busiest for the public lands in the area.
A map detailing the Shared Use Area and Combat Center boundaries, along with the planned August closure dates can be found here.
