Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Marines warn bikers to stay off Miramar

The confusion over who's allowed in the area where the northwest part of Mission Trails meets the east end of U.S Marine Corps Air Station Miramar will now be cleared up by armed Marines taking bicyclists, hikers and other trespassers into custody, the Marine Corps confirmed Friday.

"We will take their bikes and hold them as evidence," said Lt. Gabriel Adibe, a Miramar Public Affairs officer.

The base met with San Diego Mountain Biking Association President Kevin Loomis this week and went over the Marines' concerns with open space users who knowingly or unknowingly trespass on the base land north of Highway 52 in the area known as East Elliot.

"The problem is there's people who are going on the base land, cyclists, runners, high school kids who are trespassing," Loomis said. "There's a rifle range and people are using the trail across the top of the hill, which means the Marines have to stop what they're doing at the range."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The rifle range in question certifies about 9,800 Marine Corps shooters each year, according to military documents. When cyclists pop up at the business end of the range, all shooting stops.

"When trespassers show up there it impedes training," Adibe said. "There are definitely signs out there that say don't go any farther — on patrol, I've seen folks stop, read them and then keep on going where they want anyway."

Loomis said he was invited for a tour because the Marines want to get the word out to the community that, from now on, there will be consequences.

"If you're caught up there, they're going to arrest you, handcuff you, take whatever equipment you have as evidence, write you a federal citation, and drop you at the gates. So, you'll need a ride back to your car," he said. The Marines told him that last week they arrested some high school kids at the missile silo on the northeastern part of the base.

People hiking and biking in the East Elliot area has been a sore issue with the Marine Corps, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the parks for a long time. The land is home to sensitive habitat, and the Marine Corps often uses its land in the area for environmental mitigation for projects done elsewhere on the base. Although there are no official trails, open space users carved out a network of trails, only to have them all closed under threat of prosecution in January 2014.

Park users are now working with the land agencies (excluding the Marines) to hammer out an updated trail master plan.

After the tour, Loomis posted the information about the Marines getting ready to enforce on their land through the group's social media and email lists.

Loomis blamed the alleged trespassing onto base property on the lack of legal trails in the adjoining land. The trails nearby are not well thought-out, he said.

"For example, the Castle Rock development has a trail that goes right up to the Marine base and ends," he said. "People end up creating 'social' trails if there are no trails."

The mountain bike association and Mission Trails user groups have been working on an updated master plan for the open space's trails, he said.

"We have two alternate trails that will alleviate the need to go on the base," he said, noting it is taking a long time. The process began 1-1/2 years ago. "The sooner we can get this, the quicker the problems on the Marine base go away."

The maximum penalties for trespassing on a military base is six months in jail or a $5,000 fine.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?

The confusion over who's allowed in the area where the northwest part of Mission Trails meets the east end of U.S Marine Corps Air Station Miramar will now be cleared up by armed Marines taking bicyclists, hikers and other trespassers into custody, the Marine Corps confirmed Friday.

"We will take their bikes and hold them as evidence," said Lt. Gabriel Adibe, a Miramar Public Affairs officer.

The base met with San Diego Mountain Biking Association President Kevin Loomis this week and went over the Marines' concerns with open space users who knowingly or unknowingly trespass on the base land north of Highway 52 in the area known as East Elliot.

"The problem is there's people who are going on the base land, cyclists, runners, high school kids who are trespassing," Loomis said. "There's a rifle range and people are using the trail across the top of the hill, which means the Marines have to stop what they're doing at the range."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The rifle range in question certifies about 9,800 Marine Corps shooters each year, according to military documents. When cyclists pop up at the business end of the range, all shooting stops.

"When trespassers show up there it impedes training," Adibe said. "There are definitely signs out there that say don't go any farther — on patrol, I've seen folks stop, read them and then keep on going where they want anyway."

Loomis said he was invited for a tour because the Marines want to get the word out to the community that, from now on, there will be consequences.

"If you're caught up there, they're going to arrest you, handcuff you, take whatever equipment you have as evidence, write you a federal citation, and drop you at the gates. So, you'll need a ride back to your car," he said. The Marines told him that last week they arrested some high school kids at the missile silo on the northeastern part of the base.

People hiking and biking in the East Elliot area has been a sore issue with the Marine Corps, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the parks for a long time. The land is home to sensitive habitat, and the Marine Corps often uses its land in the area for environmental mitigation for projects done elsewhere on the base. Although there are no official trails, open space users carved out a network of trails, only to have them all closed under threat of prosecution in January 2014.

Park users are now working with the land agencies (excluding the Marines) to hammer out an updated trail master plan.

After the tour, Loomis posted the information about the Marines getting ready to enforce on their land through the group's social media and email lists.

Loomis blamed the alleged trespassing onto base property on the lack of legal trails in the adjoining land. The trails nearby are not well thought-out, he said.

"For example, the Castle Rock development has a trail that goes right up to the Marine base and ends," he said. "People end up creating 'social' trails if there are no trails."

The mountain bike association and Mission Trails user groups have been working on an updated master plan for the open space's trails, he said.

"We have two alternate trails that will alleviate the need to go on the base," he said, noting it is taking a long time. The process began 1-1/2 years ago. "The sooner we can get this, the quicker the problems on the Marine base go away."

The maximum penalties for trespassing on a military base is six months in jail or a $5,000 fine.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader