Nonprofit says Johnson Valley Shared Use OHV area under threat from proposed Marine airspace expansion
A group of off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts are saying that a proposed airspace use expansion by the United States Marines would threaten the shared use area of Johnson Valley.
The Blue Ribbon Coalition is a non-profit organization that is self-described as “a group that fights to preserve recreation across America’s public lands,” and they are saying a new “Special Use Airspace” (SUA) expansion proposed by the military would effectively take over the entirety of the airspace in Johnson Valley.
The “surface to sky” restriction would block civilian helicopters, drones, and other aviation operations without prior approval from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. They say this will directly affect any medevac flights in and out of the OHV area, as well as the King of the Hammers event which they say would lose viability due to lack of drones, live coverage, safety monitoring, and chase support.
The group says that two areas in other states show what can happen to OHV areas with surface-to-sky restrictions: both Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico have had similar “surface to sky” restricted airspace applied to it, which they say has effectively eliminated public recreation across vast areas even though the land beneath appears open.
The Blue Ribbon Coalition is seeking changes to the proposal before the Special Use Airspace moves forward, exempting the area from medevac restrictions and maintaining buffers between the OHV area and the military base.
