Last Friday, the Bureau of Land Management approved the permits for the 20th anniversary of the Best in the Desert General Tire Vegas to Reno Race with some restrictions through a national landmark.
Race vehicles will cross the Basin and Range National Monument at 35 mph limit, and racers will not be allowed to pass while in the federally protected area.
Russ Turner, spokesman for Best in the Desert, said Best in the Desert President Casey Folks was concentrating on the race course and didn’t have anything to add.
“They (Best in the Desert) were pretty confident this would be the outcome,” Turner said by email.
The off-road race, which involves 350 racers, became controversial when it announced that the proposed course would take it through the newly-established Basin and Range National Monument. A Washington D.C.-based watchdog organization called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) raised some concerns.
This in turn, was followed by support from Congressman Mark Amodei and Cresent Hardy, various Nevada state officials and the Nye County Board of Commissioners.
Best in the Desert is billed as the longest off-road race in the continental United States, a two-stage 645-mile event that starts this year in Alamo this Friday and ends near Reno on Saturday.
“The BLM is proud to provide diverse recreation opportunities on the incredible public lands we manage here in Nevada,” said BLM Nevada State Director John Ruhs. “We have done a careful evaluation of the race and built in specific mitigation measures to minimize potential impacts. I’m pleased that the race will move forward.”
The BLM did an environmental assessment (EA) of the entire route and the part that went through the national monument.
“After consideration of the environmental effects as described in the revised EA, and incorporated herein, I have determined that the proposed action identified in the EA will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required to be prepared,” said Michael J. Herder, Ely district manager for the BLM in the BLM report titled, “Finding of No Significant Impact.”
The race will start on Friday in Alamo at 5:15 a. m. and end on Saturday. Fans wishing to preview the vehicles can do so at the Aliante Casino Hotel on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com.