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ASA Welcomes Dune Visitors
to ISDRA for the 2010 New Year Holiday
Canyon Country, CA (12/22/2009)
- With the approaching holidays, off-road enthusiasts
look forward to their annual New Year’s
Trip to the sand dunes where nighttime glow-sticks
and campfires greet friends and family alike.
“For our group, the New Years trip is primarily
about family,” stated Jason Duke, longtime
duner and ASA Member. “This is when we collect
our largest group of the year, with many people
arriving who we haven’t seen since the last
New Year’s trip.”
Common sense can keep these good times rolling
too. Lock up the toys in your camp at night with
a chain or cable, keep explosives out of the campfire
and supervise kids while riding. Don’t welcome
a Ranger’s citation into your camp by not
knowing the general rules about trash on the ground,
leashing your dogs, and no glass beverage containers,
just to name a few. A complete list of Laws
and BLM Rules.
As 2009 comes to a close, the ASA recognizes our
community’s successes over the past year.
In the south dunes, the Canal Relining Project
is now nearly complete. And, thanks to the BLM
and volunteers, duners in the north dunes and
Glamis area are enjoying a new access road in
the washes. Another accomplishment this year is
measured by the events that did not occur. The
dunes experienced substantially less injuries
and fatalities in the during 2009 compared to
previous years. While this is partially due to
the decreased visitor-counts that the BLM has
reported, any steward of the dunes can see that
increased safety has also played a key role. In
the past years, the ASA debuted and distributed
several thousand videos titled, "Time Out
for Safety, a User’s Guide for Safe Duning,"
and the State of California enacted enforcement
and penalties for the ATV Safety Certification
program. The compounding effect of all these variables
is the reduced statistics of 2009.
While operating vehicles in the dunes, safety
should always be on the forefront of our thoughts.
Particularly while in and around camping areas
where a maximum speed of 15 mph is to be maintained.
In the dunes, helmets and safety whips are a requirement.
However, it’s best to also include goggles,
gloves, long pants, boots, and a chest protector,
as well as a cell phone, GPS, tow strap and drinking
water. “We always encourage our group to
roll through the dunes with an alert mind, constantly
looking for other vehicles and dangerous dune
features,” Duke stated. “And nobody
should ever ride alone!”
In 2010, the dunes will see some new programs,
as well as a continuation of past programs. Like
an old friend, the 13th Annual Dunes Cleanup will
be hosted by United Desert Gateway (UDG) on January
16th. Scheduled to coincide with the MLK holiday
weekend, this event is one of the most beneficial
ways for volunteers to directly impact the entire
Imperial Sand Dune Recreation Area (ISDRA). For
more information, visit uniteddesertgateway.org.
Emergency Air Lift services are now available
at Glamis with a newly constructed helicopter
landing pad and support trailer. REACH Air Services
will transport any trauma victim from the dunes
to the hospital that is best equipped to serve.
While this can normally cost thousands of dollars,
REACH Air Services offers a group discount to
the ASA membership whereby they will conduct the
same services at no costs above the membership
fee. For more information, visit mediplane.com.
Adjacent to the new REACH helicopter pad, ATV
Certification Courses are being offered in Glamis
by the ATV Safety Institute. ASA Volunteer Mike
Reber recently attended one of the courses. “This
past Thanksgiving Weekend, I took my six year-old
son to the course and, in just a few hours, he
earned his certification. The Glamis location
couldn’t be more convenient to our family!”
Under California State Law, every parent has an
obligation to be certified while supervising their
kids on ATVs. The entire fee for California kids
is subsidized by the state. For more information,
visit www.atvsafety.org.
In closing, the ASA would like to extend a warm
welcome to all dune visitors this season, and
remind fellow enthusiasts that the ASA web-site
has a vast amount of information and resources
related to the off-roading hobby. To access this
information and learn more about the ISDRA, visit
www.asasand.com.
About the American Sand
Association:
The American Sand Association is a non-profit
organization of approximately 32,000 members dedicated
to preserving the use of public lands for sand
sport enthusiasts’ use, improving OHV safety
and promoting responsible land use. Some local
sand sport areas include the Imperial Sand Dunes,
Oceano Dunes (Pismo Beach) and Dumont Dunes in
California, Sand Mountain in Nevada and Hotwell
Dunes in Arizona. The ASA is an all-volunteer
organization with no paid staff. We rely on the
financial support of sand sport enthusiasts and
small businesses. Most of the members are family-oriented,
have a rich family history going back for generations
enjoying the sand sport; and most have a significant
financial investment in their equipment, gear
and campers. Additional information can be found
on our web site at www.americansandassociation.org.
www.americansandassociation.org
P.O. Box 1872
Canyon Country, CA 91386
(888) 540-7263
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