PALMDALE – The Palmdale Sheriff’s Station is currently applying for a grant through the California State Parks, which provides funding to help protect, maintain and enhance Off-Highway Vehicle activity within California. If awarded, grant money will be used for enforcement of current California laws and regulations as they pertain to Off-Highway Vehicle activity (OHV).
The Grants and Cooperative Agreement Program allows for a 30-day public review and comment period. This period provides an opportunity for the public to review the preliminary applications submitted to the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division for consideration during the current grant cycle. The Palmdale Station is encouraging residents to view the application and submit comments and questions.
Palmdale Station’s State Parks and Recreation Off-Highway Vehicle Grant Application can be viewed here.
Comments on the application must be received between March 5 and April 1, 2013. The public may provide comments to both the Palmdale Station and the OHMVR Division by emailing plmohv@lasd.org and copying OHVinfo@parks.ca.gov.
The Palmdale Sheriff’s Station has the largest patrol area of all Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stations. The area covers approximately 1,300 square miles and serves over a quarter of a million community members.
The Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) team patrols the contract cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, and all the unincorporated county areas. The largest area of responsibility lies in rural towns surrounding both cities. Those areas include Acton, Agua Dulce, Antelope Acres, Leona Valley, Elizabeth Lake, Lake Hughes, Littlerock, Pearblossom, Llano, and Wrightwood. These townships make up over 1,100 square miles of rural desert and mountain areas.
The Palmdale OHV team has been active since the year 2000, initially concentrating on the issues within the city of Palmdale. Over the years, the team’s area of patrol has grown to cover a vast area of Northern Los Angeles County. Currently, the OHV team consists of one sergeant and four full time deputies who are assigned to Palmdale Station.
The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Team also assists with OHV patrol needs. The Palmdale OHV team deploys on various weekends and holidays and is required to handle OHV complaints, which are called in by the public.
(Information via press release from the Palmdale Station.)
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Rob says
What’s the big deal developers are going to tear of the vegitation and build track homes anyway.
Bob says
“Palmdale OHV team deploys on various weekends and holidays”
Good to know. I’ll do my illegal off roading weekdays and very early in the a.m. on weekends.
Catch me if you can!
sammy P says
is there nowhere left we can go anymore to just enjoy life without being watched over? Maybe me and my friends want to go riding and have a good time up in the desert and not be bothered.. But no, you know if cops see you in the desert on a bike you WILL get stopped and have your ID and registration checked, then they will tell you what you can and cant do in the desert and pretty much ruin any fun you want to have. Forget about having a beer or pitching a tent for the night or jaming some loud tunes. Anything fun you want to do in the desert I guarantee you some California lawmakers sat around a table and made a law saying you cant do it. This is why I hate California, life is so much better in states like Idaho where you can go riding, camp out, own a switchblade or butterfly knife, sleep in your car, and not have all your rights and privileges taken away because a small handful of idiots abused that privilege. So if you want to have some fun in the desert, go to Kern County where the C.O.P.S. team (Citizens Offroading Prevention Squad) does not patrol.
Fred Gispachio says
This is a huge desert! Why can’t I ride on any part of south side of the valley? Who is really using all that land on k and 110th? Or Bean canyon? Catch me if you can!
Carla says
When you are out riding do have any idea who owns the land? Maybe its private property and the owners don’t want you riding there. The cops are out there because someone has complained.
frank rizzo says
I will be out on my KX 250, try to catch me. LASO is wasting their time, go out there and catch the rapists, child molesters and murderers out there. Arent you still looking for cop killers who have killed your own, wouldnt your time be more usefull there?
frank rizzo says
Not the COPS job to patrol private propery, perverts
Doug Parham says
There are tens of thousands of riders who don’t give a darn about the impacts they make on private property or desert wildlife. They don’t like to stay in the areas set aside for them like El Mirage. we need the OHV team to try to keep these kids in line. did you know riders are not required to display a license plate? the only way they can be cited is when cops catch up to them on their own bikes. Even then the fines are not more than a slap on the wrist…
MARKO says
Yes! Tens of thousands of people who Pay alot of money to have fun watching their kids grow up camping and riding in the Mountains and in the Desert on land that has been put aside for this purpose!
Seems the ones who always complain are the ones who never did any of these things as kids and stayed in the house and watched TV or now Play V-Games and dont know how to be a kid and have FUN!
Get out and RIDE! U will be HOOKED as an Adult how much fun your kids will have and love the outdoors… Keeps them out of trouble! Did me and I started when i was 4Yo and now Im 55! I look back and can THANK my parents for getting us as a family involved in Dirtbikes…
If more kids rode and had things like this to do, just maybe we would not have as many of the kid problems we have today…
PUBLIC LANDS for the PUBLIC!
frank rizzo says
AMEN!
Tim says
Tax money seriously put to the wrong place! So stupid. I ride for fun in the desert doing no harm to anybody or anything and these guys want to shut it down how sad. It’s like saying I should stop staying out of trouble. Can’t catch me N E ways
Fred Gispachio says
Apparently they need more money so they can continue to make my riding area smaller and smaller. There is no place to ride anymore in the AV! Thanks a lot dicks! (I mean that like a private eye).
MARKO says
We have seen our PUBLIC land get shut down all over the state, and it is getting worse every year! Thank ARNOLD & FEINSTEIN for steeling MILLIONS of our GREEN STICKER fund money to help BALANCE the budget and NEVER pay a penny of it back… Jawbone & Dove Springs have NEW Red Stakes all over the place(paid for with OUR GS funds) closing down trails that we have ridden for years… And these are PUBLIC OHV AREAS! All this does when you close down trails in the OHV PARKS is force everyone which could be hundreds of riders on any given weekend to be in danger of headon collisions with other bikes, atv’s and even worse a four wheel buggy of some sorts and risking injury or death…
I ride up in the local hills all the time and close the cattle gates behind me, keep the bike slow in areas around the houses…
Alot of the young kids in my area are the ones that need to be educated on keeping it cool especially around the neighborhoods and not do wheelies up and down the streets! U have the whole DESERT to ride! Why spoil it for everyone by blasting thru or even by the houses! Be stealth and no one will even care ur there! I stop them from time to time and try to tell them to cool it(and they know I ride by the seven bikes in the garage) an hour later on their way home on my street the are going just as fast if not faster! They just don’t get it!
Bikes kept me out of trouble when i was a kid with racing and riding at Gorman and the Desert! Even gave me a Job in the industry for Many Years…… Close everything down and the kids of the future will really be FAT and sit around playing V-Games with nothing to do!
Fight for your rite to ride on our PUBLIC LANDS! Join the AMA! It really does help! I know I have been to Local and to Washington meetings Many, Many times to see it work! Don’t just bitch about it! do something about it or the TREE HUGGERS will shut us down for sure!
RIDE ON!