BLM lands and our "non-politics" rule?

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My original point on fences was that, these things go for miles and miles and miles without access points. Maybe you can legally jump the fence, but not easy to find an accessible boondocking place for camping

For the heck of it I started looking on google maps for fences along highways in the Mohave desert, AZ, SoCal, and NV. There are outlying places without fences, but they are found along all major routes. For example, Hwy 95 north of Quartzsite is heavily fenced. Right across the road from Plomosa is a long fence that clearly cuts off many previous roads going off into the desert to the west. You can see it 180' west of 95, blocking the old Boyer Gap road.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7478996,-114.2175493,183m/data=!3m1!1e3

This site indicates it's BLM.

http://publiclands.org/Get-Books-and-Maps.php?plicstate=AZ

There may be signs along it, but it seems to be arbitrarily blocking a huge nice looking area. It's all a big can of worms.
 
highdesertranger said:
the Livelys,  did you read my post?  a fence means nothing as far as people are concerned you can cross a fence line as much as you want.  if you are trying to say something else I don't understand.  highdesertranger

A fence is "Nothing"? You can't cross a fence with your vehicle so it effectively prevents access. What's so hard to understand about that?
 
Qxxx I don't know how much experience you have at this but yes the road you show is fenced off. but if you look south just a little bit on the 95 the same road you showed has an access point with a cattle guard and a sign. same road. I don't use google maps and I don't feel like looking it up on my mapping programs at the moment but it appears the access road is about 1/4 of a mile south. if I remember I will look it up later. highdesertranger

ah I just figured out how to do distance the access point is 3,117 feet to the south so a little more than 1/2 mile.
 
HDR, I think you left a "not" out. (<; now before everyone gets all huffy I do realize that all hikers, mountain bikers and geo catchers are bad.
Part of the reason some areas are restricted and roads closed is because of the huge increase in off road use. Some areas are being used to death.
 
The fences along highways are there, in part, to keep livestock off the highway. There's a gate somewhere, you just need to find it
 
There is an old folk saying that goes, "Never take a fence down unless you know why it was put up".

I have found that it can be applied to many seemingly disparate areas of life.
 
Yeah, I got about 3500' from Plomosa Rd East to the cattle guard, but it's the only access point I found in the 4 miles down to the first cross street in Quartzsite. But the point is again that you can follow along roads for miles without finding access points, so just seeing BLM land like on publiclands.org doesn't tell much.

I have seen many hundreds of miles of fences, and there must be tens of thousands of miles overall. Of course these fences have been there for many decades, due to various competing interests, and certainly have nothing to do with anything Bob is doing and a few thousand extra RVers are a drop in the bucket. There still are millions of acres of BLM available for camping, but accessibility may be tricky. I don't think people should be overly worried about finding places, but it's not a trivial read.
 
oops you are right Owl it should read,

I do realize that "NOT" all hikers, mountain bikers and geo catchers are bad.

thanks for catching that.

highdesertranger
 
highdesertranger said:
  let me tell you I have never seen more self entitle arrogant people then hikers,  mountain bikers,  Geo catchers,  etc.  

now before everyone gets all huffy I do realize that all hikers,  mountain bikers and geo catchers are bad.

highdesertranger

OH BOY, READ that last line again HDR.....now you are in for it :) too funny, had me laughing good on that flub.
 
Come on HDR tell us how you really feel! LOL!!! You will just get in deeper and deeper just like quick sand.
 
May as well punch another hole in your badge HDR
 
I know the it's considered "cheating", but I've found BLM campgrounds to be quite nice. Right now, I am camped on the edge of a canyon and paying $3.50 a night (with old fart pass). I have water, vault toilet and trash bins. No dump station, but I travel in the van only in the summer.

I understand that paying that much is a hardship for some folk, though. I don't want to be presumptuous, so ignore my post if so.
Ted
 
Elbear1 said:
 It quite literally does. The sale of land is soley on the departments discretion not on congressional approval. Chicken little v head in the sand

43 US Code, Chapter 35, Subchapter II, Section 1713:  Sale of Public Land Tracts
      c. Congressional approval procedures applicable to tracts in excess of 
          two thousand five hundred acres.

Congress has 90 days after notification to disapprove the sale of tracts bigger than 2500 acres.
 
txmnjim said:
this is a pdf link from the BLM themselves and yes they sell the land itself, and
most of the land they sell is in the West where i would like to be some day :(

BLM land is ALL in the west. Even Texas doesn't have any.

http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/special_issues/1995_map_govt._prop..jpg

Different interests have been fighting over land use and water rights in the west for 150 years. It's the MOST politically charged issue there is in the west. There are national organizations that one can join.
 
WalkaboutTed said:
I know the it's considered "cheating", but I've found BLM campgrounds to be quite nice. Right now, I am camped on the edge of a canyon and paying $3.50 a night (with old fart pass). I have water, vault toilet and trash bins. No dump station, but I travel in the van only in the summer.

I understand that paying that much is a hardship for some folk, though. I don't want to be presumptuous, so ignore my post if so.
Ted

that sounds sweet! $1277.50/yr is a steal. you probably can boondock some and don't have to pay for every night
of the year, so this just illustrates how much dinero you can save in a year ;)
 
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