The Friends of Panamint Valley (FOPV) is a not for profit organization formed in 2003 by a group of individuals concerned about the decrease in vehicular access to points of interest within the Panamint Valley region.
Members of FOPV come from all walks of life with a common goal of educating the public, working with government agencies and elected officials, and promoting responsible motorized access while preserving the historic resources of these public lands.
FOPVs current goal is the support of several landowner groups that have been effectively denied access to their property in the vicinity of Panamint City, within the boundary of Death Valley National Park (DVNP). These parcels of property are only accessible via Surprise Canyon Road, in Surprise Canyon, on the western slope of the Panamint Range. These owner groups are members of the public that were exempted from the closure order that was a result of a lawsuit brought about by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and settled in early 2001. The owners have complied with requests from the BLM and DVNP to submit Right of Way applications as early as 2002, but to date none of these applications have been processed.
The Friends of Panamint Valley is preparing to support these groups in their efforts to access their properties by vehicular means, by use of the existing road, even through litigation if necessary. Future goals will be assessed as threats to public access arise in the region.
The FOPVs only current source of income is donations from multiple-use oriented groups and individuals. These donations are very important as the options for pursuing public access to public lands in most cases end up in the courts.
These lawsuits are unfortunate as they direct management resources and taxpayer funds away from their intended use. Education, law enforcement, and habitat protection all suffer when land management funds are used in defense of these agencies decisions, but these tactics seem to be working for anti-access groups.
Now is the time to consider the options for the future of land access in the Panamint Valley region. Do we all wait for the areas that our families and friends have visited, respected, and maintained to be taken away, piece by piece, through legislation and litigation, or do we make our voices heard and fight for the land that we value so much.
Please join us, and make a donation today!