Members of Delta's Sugarloaf Motorcycle Club are expected to cooperate with the Bureau of Land Management in erecting signs in the Rockwell Wilderness Study area after illegally using the lands for motorcycle races.
A 18-month ban on use of lands within the BLM's House Range Resource area was ordered because of the violation. It may be reduced to 12 months through the club's cooperation, said Lynn Fergus, BLM outdoor recreation planner."What it amounted to was purely a mistake, and that can happen anytime," he said. Fergus added that there were no signs in the area and "the guy who laid out the (racing) loop wasn't aware of exactly where he was."
Signs made by the BLM are ready to be posted, Fergus said. Sugarloafers are willing to participate and will do what is necessary to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, pledged Darren Moody, chairman of the recent Cherry Creek Race.
He also noted that the area was poorly marked, had been used for racing last year, and that the club has been responsible to provide maps and racing information to the BLM 90 days prior to such events. Members were not contacted byfederal officials until about three weeks before the Cherry Creek Race, therefore it was apparently too late to make significant changes in race plans.
The organization's members will honor the ban and have opted to stage their fall Grand Prix Race on private lands and city streets. Races are held semiannually. The first one was on Memorial Day and the second one will be in October.
The use violation was reported to the BLM by Mark Clemens of the Sierra Club, who complained that he found course markers and motorcycle tracks in the wilderness study area. Motorized vehicles are not allowed in such areas.