Finding a course...

[F104A]

I've driven from one end to the other at Diamond Valley and found it to be about the same firmness as Edwards AFB. Much better than BR.
There is about 15.2 good miles at DV. The total length is 17 miles but to much repair needs to be done to get the full 17. Andy and Richard
may prefer South Africa for several reasons. Rosco has stated that he has found a good track somewhere in Australia. At this point in time
the NAE will be focused on Diamond Valley. I found no ski jumps or dunnies on the DV lakebed. It looked like my tire tracks were the only
ones layed down in over a year.

[F104A]

The bureau of land management at Battle Mountain has decided not to issue our permit for 2011. I've been meeting with them in person,
via conference calls and emails for a year and a half and it looked like we were going to get a permit to run this fall. Last week I was told
that they didn't have the manpower to work with us. I've spend many many hours and allot of resource preparing my environmental assessment,
project plan and they decided to put it all on hold until next year. My gut feel is, if my name was Fossett or Noble (rich and famous) I'd have
the permit in hand. The NAE team is made up of grass roots racers without big bucks to throw around so it gets real difficult to get cooperation
from our govenment. I guess I'm just sower grapes at this time. We're looking at two other venues to run this fall so, 550-600 MPH is still
quite possible and putting Leslie in the cockpit is still a go. We're no longer tenacious, we're now just plain stubborn!

[Seldom Seen Slim]

A firm tip of the hat to you and your entire team, Ed.  I'm sorry that I don't have the necessary cubic dollars to help turn your efforts into one of the major players (i.e. rich guy) - but I think that just about everyone on this forum is on your side - and we'll all do whatever we can to get your moving ahead at flank speed.  Tell us again -- how can we donate some $$ to the project?

[Blue]

... My gut feel is, if my name was Fossett or Noble (rich and famous) I'd have
the permit in hand. ...

Ummm, no.

The DV permit process was long for us too, and we didn't get one.  It was very frustrating to Steve that he had everything in for 2007 and was put off for a year as well.  There was no promise it would be granted for 2008 either.

What Steve did spend money on was the environmental assessment, archeological and wildlife surveys.  BLM and NDW works as their resources permit, money and personal effort can shorten the process by months but not years.

Talk to the LSR guys who have been looking at getting the playa east of Lovelock approved.  They've been working on it for years and are still at it.

[SPARKY]

We "Westerners" need to get the Federal Govt. out of the Public Land business!! Turn over the public lands to the states!!

[mvwolfe]

 Public land is an oxymoron if there ever was one.  It wont be long until El Mirage is no longer available for use.  Once the government is involved it is only a matter of time.  It seems like they only want the meager fees and don't want exposure to lawsuits.  The accident at Lucerne valley has these people running scared.  Sparky is right except that not only westerners should be involved.  Unfortunately we are a small community.

Monte

[F104A]

If anyone wants to donate to the NAE project, go to www.landspeed.com. At the top is the DONATE button. Hit that and
theoretically you can donate through paypal.

[joea]

...Blue...THANK YOU for sharing some facts with us regarding other endeavors....so
that they and others aren't stereotyped and or demonized possibly inadvertently...
....

[Blue]

Anytime.

BTW, Richard Noble went to Bonneville in 1982 with Thrust 2 and slid all over the place.  He heard from someone attending that BRD would be better.  Went up there, (at the time it was pristine, pre-Burner) and promptly was told that he had months of permitting to go through.

And that's why the 633 mph record was set in 1983 instead of 1982.

I've talked to a lot of BLM people in the last 10 years and they are all good, hard working people.  They have their jobs, they have a rule book, and they have to follow it.  If we want real change, then write your congressman and senators.  There are 9 potential LSR playas in Nevada and a good one in Utah as well that are all on federal (not "public") land.  Check Google Earth, they're easy to see.  Jurisdiction needs to be given over to the states and permits need to go forward on a "we will grant this unless someone can show serious harm" vs. the current "we will only grant this if you can prove there won't be any harm" basis.

We could say the same about all government permitting...

[F104A]

The BLM in Burns Oregon, has decided they will not approve a permit for this year. No Alvord Desert! Their excuse is that the
normal requirement 60 days is different because we are "special" so it takes 180 days. We gave the folks at Diamond Valley
540 days and that wasn't enough. Maybe going to South Africa is the only way to go!? Very frustrating..........!