Off-Roading Advocates Take Legal Action to Restore Access to Western Mojave OHV Routes

Blue Ribbon Coalition, a national motorized recreation advocacy group, filed a Motion for Leave to Intervene on Thursday in the federal lawsuit responsible for the sweeping OHV route closures across the Western Mojave Desert — a legal move aimed at restoring off-road access to thousands of miles of disputed routes.

The intervention targets the case that led the Bureau of Land Management to close approximately 4,400 miles of vehicle routes across 2.5 million acres of public land in the Western Mojave, a decision that took effect earlier this year after a federal court found the BLM had failed to adequately protect desert tortoise habitat and other sensitive resources under the California Desert Conservation Area Plan.

For OHV riders, the stakes are straightforward: BRC wants a seat at the table in litigation that has already eliminated access to a significant chunk of the Western Mojave route network. The organization frames the closures as an overreach that penalizes responsible recreation, and it’s asking supporters to fund the legal fight.

But the closures didn’t materialize from nowhere.

The underlying lawsuit, brought by conservation groups, argued that the BLM’s West Mojave Route Network Project failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The court agreed. The route network had been designated without adequate environmental review, particularly regarding impacts to the federally threatened desert tortoise, whose population has declined sharply across the Western Mojave. The closures also address damage to archaeological sites, wilderness-quality lands, and other desert resources that had been degraded by decades of largely unmanaged vehicle use.

Environmental advocates see the closures as a long-overdue correction — the result of the BLM rubber-stamping a massive route network without doing the homework required by federal law. From their perspective, the court order simply forces the agency to go back and do the environmental analysis it should have completed in the first place.

The practical reality for riders right now: those 4,400 miles remain closed, and the legal process is unlikely to produce fast results regardless of BRC’s intervention. The BLM must complete a new environmental review before any closed routes can be reopened, and that process typically takes years, not months.

Off-roading enthusiasts planning trips to the Western Mojave should consult the BLM’s updated travel management maps before heading out. Closed routes are marked, and enforcement is active. Violations carry federal fines and can further erode the credibility of the OHV community in future land-use decisions — something neither side of this debate wants.

For those who recreate in the Western Mojave — whether on dirt bikes, in side-by-sides, or on foot — this case is worth watching. It will likely shape motorized access policy across the California desert for years to come, and the tension between recreation access and habitat protection isn’t going away. BRC’s intervention ensures the motorized recreation perspective gets formal legal standing. Whether the court finds that persuasive is another matter entirely.

The Western Mojave closure area spans portions of San Bernardino, Kern, and Los Angeles Counties, including land near Ridgecrest, Barstow, and the El Mirage area.