Pentagon Plan Pits Marines Against Civilian Pilots And Off-Road Riders

The Johnson Valley OHV Area is one of California's many impressive off-road parks, and off-roaders in the Golden State are no strangers to battles with environmental groups over the use of public lands. But at the moment, there's a new struggle happening over land use, and the off-road community isn't battling with environmentalists, but with the United States Marine Corps, who operate the nearby Twentynine Palms Air Ground Combat Center.

This isn't the first time the off-road community has squared off with the USMC over the Johnson Valley OHV Area. A decade ago, a fight for the land resulted in half of the OHV area being transferred to the Marines, while the other half remained open for public use, with occasional closures during military exercises. But a new proposal from the Marines is hoping to establish a new, permanent Special Use Airspace over Johnson Valley, jeopardizing the future of the OHV Area and the annual King of the Hammers race that is held there.

Special Use Airspace (SUA) is a designated area that's off-limits to civilian aviation at designated altitudes. In the case of the Twentynine Palms region, the SUA would be used for military exercises with a variety of aircraft, both manned and unmanned. At the moment, there are three proposals up for consideration: one for a permanent, Marine-controlled restricted airspace, one for a modified version with possible allowances for limited civilian use, and a third, which would leave the airspace as it is now. 

While technically the new airspace restrictions would not affect the use of the ground of the Johnson Valley OHV Area itself, in practice, members of the off-road community say that permanent airspace closure would effectively spell the end of the off-road park, and the King of the Hammers event, which relies heavily on helicopters for safety.

Every winter at the Johnson Valley OHV, the normally serene and barren expanse of sand dunes and rock canyons is transformed into a bustling, makeshift city known as 'Hammertown' as 80,000 off-road racing fans and motorcycle enthusiasts gather for King of the Hammers. KOH, as it's known by enthusiasts, is one of America's largest and most popular off-road events with over 500 teams competing, and millions more watching the action unfold online. 

When it's not the site of massive race gatherings, the 96,000 acre Johnson Valley OHV area is one of the largest and most popular weekend off-roading spots in the Western United States. The OHV area is sometimes used by automakers to demonstrate the capabilities of their latest off-road vehicles to the media, such as Chevrolet's test for its rugged 2024 Colorado ZR2 Bison.

Accidents, sometimes serious ones, can and do happen at Johnson Valley. And with the airspace closed, vital medevac flights wouldn't be able to transport injured off-roaders or  recreationists in distress. This would impact not just the KOH event, but also any other occasion when an accident may happen inside the OHV Area. The 'surface to sky' aviation restrictions in the first proposal, would also eliminate the ability for KOH organizers to monitor and support off-road races from the air with helicopters and drones, and cut off access for aerial media coverage. 

The Blue Ribbon Coalition, which advocates for recreational use of public lands across the United States, has established a 'Save the Hammers' campaign in support of keeping Johnson Valley and the skies above it open for public use. The goal for the campaign is, at the very least, to reach an agreement with the Marines that would include, among other things, unrestricted access for medical flights over Johnson Valley, a 1,500-foot flight floor for military operations, and increased access for civilian helicopter and drone operations during the KOH event. 

The United States has plenty of areas with heavily restricted airspace, but off-roaders are desperately hoping Johnson Valley doesn't become another one. Here's hoping the Marines and the off-road community can once again reach an agreement that ensures that King of the Hammers will continue and that public access to this beloved off-road area will not be shut down for good.