ShareTrails | Meccacopia, California Proposes Increased Recreation Opportunities

The Meccacopia Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) located in California just south of Joshua Tree National Park, is proposing several projects that would increase motorized and recreational opportunities. This area is currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management. From what we understand, this project has been in the works for many years and it was originally put on hold in 2018 due to manpower constraints. We are happy the BLM has picked the project back up. Where this area is surrounded by designated Wilderness as well as Joshua Tree National Park, it is crucial for the motorized community to show their support for these projects and increased access.

Typically, we’ve seen Wilderness focused environmental groups work to designate more wilderness and create “buffer zones” around existing wilderness, and we want to ensure that the BLM hears of our support for this project. This proposal is will provide more recreation opportunities to the motorized recreation communities and we appreciate the work that has already been done to move this project forward. There is a long history of mining and military operations in this valley. Please send in a comment of support along with BlueRibbon Coalition using the tool below. Feel free to add in your own thoughts and experiences to your comment to make it even stronger. Comments are due August 15, 2022.

Meccacopia SRMA is home to several well known and well loved jeeping and OHV routes such as the Meccacopia Trail and Little Box Canyon. It is also popular for dirt bikes and ATV’s. The BLM is proposing to create an open OHV area that you can see in the Southwest corner of the map. There is also a proposed campground and staging area towards the middle of the map. This area is also very popular for dispersed camping which we want to protect and see continued improvement for connectivity and access.

This is currently in the “Scoping” stage of the planning process which means this is the first step in implementing any type of plan where the BLM is gathering broad comments and ideas from the public. BRC will continue to update its members as this project progresses. You can read more about the project on the BLM’s site.