The public learned of our positions on off highway vehicles (OHVs) in Riverside County, a proposed mine south of Temecula, and on traffic fees in San Diego County.



On March 7, 2005, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported on a new state recreation area for OHVs in the rugged Badlands area near Beaumont (“Plans rev up enthusiasm for new off-roading park”). EHL Executive Director Dan Silver pointed out the problems associated with OHVs and the potential value of a well-planned facility: "This is part of a solution," Silver said by phone Friday. "Currently, these off-road vehicles are doing untold damage to the natural environment and wildlife." Explaining that the park would not interfere with the multiple species plan or wildlife movement, Silver was also quoted as saying, "The trade-off is [that] irresponsible riding has to stop."

A proposed aggregate mine next door to the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (see Winter 2005 EHL Newsletter for details) south of Temecula received extensive press coverage. On March 6, 2005, The Californian (“Quarry faces minefield of opposition”) quoted Silver, who explained that the site is key piece in the Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, or MSHCP: "It is clearly the wrong place for this project.” In an Mach 26, 2005 article titled, “A quarrel over quarry,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on deep concerns over mountain lion and other impacts: “This seems like an almost uniquely damaging place to propose . . . a mine," said Dan Silver, executive director of the Endangered Habitats League, a Los Angeles-based ecosystem protection group.

In recent months, EHL has brought to the attention of the County of San Diego the need to properly consider the additive, or “cumulative,” impacts of projects under the California Environmental Quality Act. Comprehensive fees can help solve this problem. Thus, as reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune of April 11, 2005 (“Board will address developer fees again”), “The county's plan is not perfect but a step in the right direction," said Dan Silver, executive director of the Endangered Habitats League. "Having a fee like this is part of good planning," he said.