How often do you hear about land closures being reversed? Not in your lifetime. Well that’s what most of us thought after decades of having areas we had driven or rode our 4x4s, motorcycles, ATVs and dune buggies in for years upon years taken away for reasons that just seemed unjustified.

That’s how it was with a huge tract of land in the Glamis Dunes region. Fourteen years ago, a 49-acre section of the Glamis Dunes was closed down for off-road use, primarily siting the protection of an endangered plant called Peirson’s Milk-Vetch. The closure of this area within the Glamis Dunes was brought on by a lawsuit filed by a number of political action groups.

These groups were the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and it began what was a long and hard fought battle to fight the closure and re-open the 49-acre section by members and supporters of the The American Sand Association (ASA), along with many other off-road enthusiast organizations, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Eventually with a great amount of hard work and a stalwart attitude, the tug-o-war for the closed area went in the right direction, and as seen in the video above, on the morning of Saturday May 3, 2014, hundreds of off-road enthusiasts volunteered their time to pull up the stakes that had for almost two decades marked the borders of the closed area. Droves of volunteers were handed shovels and stake pullers, and then sent out into the dunes to begin pulling up the boundary markers, officially opening up the closed area to off-roader enthusiasts.

Organized by the ASA in conjunction with the BLM; Polaris Industries, Coyne Powersports, Mamma Jeannie’s Pizza, Fullerton Powersports, and The Glamis Beach Store all donated water, food and free t-shirts to volunteers.

Re-opening this 49-acres of sandy playground in Glamis Dunes is one of the most historical events off-road advocacy in recent history. It once again provides off-road enthusiasts access to treasured riding spots such as The Wall, The Ledge, and the Airplane Crash Site. Off Road Xtreme reminds you to ride and wheel responsibly, be safe, and above all, send us photos and video!