Nellis Dunes, August 18, 2001 -
Today, the Vegas Valley Four Wheelers spent the morning clearing abandoned vehicles from the area known as the Nellis Dunes. This popular OHV area is located on the northeast rim of the Las Vegas valley, and because of it's relative remoteness, is a prime location for illegal dumping.

Although the area sees a lot of use from the OHV community, the vast majority of trash spread throughout the area comes from items not generally carried in the average 4x4, motorcycle or quad, in this case, abandoned vehicles. The vehicles in question were not put there by off roaders, some were abandoned by persons unknown and some were the victims of some past flash flood that had washed the car away. It doesn't matter how they got there, the point is that one of the local 4 wheel drive clubs decided to do something about it and spent their free time cleaning up after somebody else.

Unlike the so-called environmentalists, who spend their time lying about off roaders and trying to impose their "eco-will" on the rest of the country, 4 wheel drive clubs know that they must take care of the land that they enjoy so much. Land that is theirs to use - just as it is there for all Americans to use. It doesn't matter if you ride a dirt bike, drive a four wheel drive or ride a mountain bike - the land is your to use. I include mountain bikers because they most likely think that the enviro's aren't coming after them. Well, think again - They already have.

Environmentalists do not have the right to tell you which public land you can and cannot use. Where is the law that says they make the rules? These egomaniacs have deluded themselves into thinking that they know what's best for you:

During this clean up event, headed up by Glenn Morgon of the Vegas Valley 4 Wheelers, a front end loader was needed to literally rip a vehicle out of the ground.

When we arrived, the only parts of the car that were showing were the tires. The front end loader, driven by Ron Gagliano, made quick work of removing the car, which had been buried by a flash flood.

An abandoned Toyota was next on the list to be dragged out of the dunes. Various club members used chains to drag pieces and parts, one by one out to the ever-growing pile of abandoned vehicle parts.
An abandoned refrigerator was also pulled from the dunes area and added to the pile of junk to be hauled away.
All in all, there were car parts, furniture, 5-gallons buckets of paint, appliances and debris that were pulled out of the dunes, making the area safer for riders, especially the dirt bikes.

And where were the "environmentalists" when all this was happening? Probably at some green meeting reading a report on how off-roaders are wrecking the planet. Even if they weren't, they sure weren't at Nellis Dunes working arm in arm with the OHV community to help clean up the environment.

Strangely enough, rumor has it that Ron is planning a 4x4 "non-parade" right down the middle of Las Vegas!
That's right, he's working on gathering 4x4 clubs from as far away as possible to join in this "non-parade". I call it a non-parade because in order to have a parade, permits are needed, permission must be granted and much more - an you know the "greenies" would be screaming bloody murder if they saw a 4x4 parade head right down the Las Vegas Strip!
But if 4x4 clubs from around the country just happen to show up at the Nellis Dunes one Saturday morning around, say 9 a.m., then decide to drive home after taking a tour of the famous Las Vegas Strip, that's not a parade, that's just normal weekend traffic that just happens to be several hundred 4-Wheel Drives vehicles. Hmmmmm......(more on this later)

Said Glenn, "I just wanted to add thanks to everybody who showed up and helped out, and a special thanks to Jeff Farmer of AeroTech Specialists who donated flight time of his helicopter to scout out the area to help me organize this activity."

"I would also like extend thanks to Ed O'Sullivan, Volunteer Coordinator of the Las Vegas BLM field office, for working with me and handling final transportation of the items removed to the dump/recycling facilities", said Glenn.

Also, I would like to encourage others wishing to organize such an activity in their local areas to contact their local BLM office. The BLM Volunteer Coordinators can work with them to arrange transportation and disposal of trash to the proper facilities."

Wise words and good deeds. that's a combination that's hard to beat! Be sure to stay tuned to the virtual pages of Off-Road.com for all the latest developments on Clubs and OHV enthusiasts across the world making a difference in the health of their environment.