California Dirt Bikers Battled Against Desert Preservation, Spawning Anti-Environmental Wars

California dirt bikers battled against desert preservation, spawning anti-environmental wars

Guest Commentary written by Julia Sizek Julia Sizek is an anthropologist whose research focuses on conflict over California’s land and natural resources. In 1975, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Phantom Duck of the Desert started his motorcycle engine in Barstow, Calif. in defiance of federal orders. He and his friends were headed to Las Vegas for their first “unorganized” trail ride, off-roading through the desert to protest the Bureau…

The Dirt Bikers Who Went to War on Desert Conservation

In 1975, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Phantom Duck of the Desert started his motorcycle engine in Barstow, California, in defiance of federal orders. He and his friends were headed to Las Vegas for their first “unorganized” trail ride, off-roading through the desert to protest the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The U.S. agency had recently denied a permit for the 10th annual Barstow-to-Vegas, the “granddaddy” of dirt bike races. The…