OPINION - OHV AND CONSERVATION GROUPS CHALLENGE SOLAR
PROJECT SITE LOCATION
By Don Amador
August 31, 2025
On August 28, representatives from OHV and conservation
organizations gathered at the Wilton Community Center to voice strong concerns regarding
the siting of a 2,704 acre solar project
directly adjacent to the California State Parks Prairie City Off-Highway Motor
Vehicle Area (SVRA) near Folsom, CA. The
public meeting was hosted by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), an energy
development firm.
DESRI highlighted several proposed mitigation measures
developed in response to concerns raised during the public comment period that
ended on May 5 for the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch Project Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to address significant and unmitigatible impacts
to public access, scenic vistas, wildlife corridors, destruction of oak woodlands,
well water supply, and park operations.
With new energy projects being proposed adjacent to other
State Park units such as Ocotillo Wells and Heber Dunes SVRAs, a question was raised
about an apparent policy change by State Parks to shift away from its historic
strategy of protecting SVRAs and other parks units with open-space buffers vs. accepting energy facilities or solar farms becoming the Department of Parks and
Recreation’s new industrial facility buffer strategy.
An environmental group representative with decades of
CEQA experience reviewing solar and other industrial projects said this is the
1st solar project the conservation community at large has opposed in the state because
it is in the top 1 or 2 of the worst projects they have ever seen.
As former Chair of the CA State Parks Off-Highway Motor
Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Commission, I
think Sacramento County Planning made a huge mistake by failing to notify the
OHMVR Commission about this solar project sited next to Prairie City SVRA per Public
Resources Code Section 5090.24 that requires the commission to (a) Be
fully informed regarding all governmental activities affecting the program.”
In addition, the project proponents committed a major
planning error by not reaching out to the OHV community and competition
organizations in 2021 pre-scoping efforts and during the 30-day public scoping
comment period that started on January 19, 2022. That omission of outreach continued until
late April of this year when OHV organizations got an alert by a 3rd
party about this project just a few days before the DEIR May 5 public comment
deadline.
The next step in this process is for OHV groups, local
businesses, conservation, and competition organizations to attend in-person or
virtually the September 4, 2025 OHMVR Commission meeting in Redding, CA where
this issue is on the agenda as an ACTION ITEM.
It is important for the OHMVR Commissioners to hear from
the greater OHV stakeholder community about their concerns regarding the project’s
short and long-term impacts to public access, park operations, and even
questions about the SVRA’s future.
If this project is withdrawn by the county, it will be
because they failed to do the initial pre-scoping of key stakeholder groups who
would have most likely supported the project at a more suitable site away from this
deeply treasured State Park unit with its high quality off-road trail and track
network, safety training programs, nationally recognized powersports
competition events, and scenic views of nearby oak forests and native
grasslands.
DEIR COMMENTS FROM OHV, CONSERVATION, AND AGENCIES
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 OHMVR COMMISSION MEETING
https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27160
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Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy
and recreation management profession for over 33 years. Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing
LLC. Don serves as the Western States Representative for the Motorcycle
Industry Council. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post
Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. Don served as a contractor to the BlueRibbon
Coalition from 1996 until June, 2018. Don served on the California Off-Highway
Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He has won numerous awards
including being a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and
the 2018 Friend of the AMA Award. Don served as the government affairs lead for
AMA District 36 in Northern California from 2019 – 2023. Don is a Core-Team
member on FireScape Mendocino. Don is a
contributor to Dealernews Magazine. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.
