{"id":1171,"date":"2026-06-07T07:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T07:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1171"},"modified":"2026-06-07T07:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T07:06:18","slug":"appalling-video-captures-driver-wrecking-ancient-national-park-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1171","title":{"rendered":"‘Appalling’ video captures driver wrecking ancient National Park forest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

San Francisco Gate reports employees are searching for someone who appears to have illegally driven a car through the delicate bristlecone pines ecosystem of the Inyo National Forest.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump so \u2018detached from reality\u2019 he may not even know how wrecked he is: report<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Leidy, Inyo National Forest\u2019s off-highway vehicle and over-snow vehicle program manager, posted two videos to his Facebook account in late May \u2014 one flagging tire marks on the wrong side of some \u2018no motor vehicles\u2019 signs and another one showing a Subaru on the move,\u201d reports SF Gate. \u201cLeidy asked anyone with information about the driver to contact Inyo\u2019s dispatch at 760-873-2405.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScientifically, I\u2019m appalled,\u201d said Jeff Holmquist, a researcher for the White Mountain Research Center, told SFGATE. \u201cIn my view, it\u2019s obscenely damaging and extremely unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Home to some of the oldest trees on earth, the alpine region of the Inyo National Forest has remarkably vulnerable soil. Between the revered, ancient trees lies a fragile biocrust, a thin layer of living material consisting of algae, moss and lichen that binds the topsoil and protects it from harsh highland wind and sparse rain. <\/p>\n

\u201cVehicle tires can compact soils and damage root systems \u2014 making it more difficult for plants to absorb water and nutrients \u2014 and also leave behind seeds of invasive species, according to a park spokesperson. \u201cIn high-elevation settings \u2014 especially in Bristlecone Pine forests and alpine tundra \u2014 this damage is particularly severe,\u201d Inyo National Forest personnel told SFGATE. \u201cThese plants grow extremely slowly. A single vehicle driving just a short distance off-road can kill or damage hundreds of small plants and shrubs. Recovery of soils in these ecosystems can take decades or even centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Feeble GOP rebellion won\u2019t save them in November: analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

Car tires carousing though restricted sections can damage slow-growing seedlings, or blast roots that would sooner rot away than recover. They certainly damaged the fragile biocrust, said the park spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy guess is that the tracks that this vehicle left will be there for the rest of my life and probably yours, too,\u201d Holmquist told the paper. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s a horrible thing, and I say that both as somebody who has a real reverence for the natural world and as a scientist. We\u2019re ants compared to these ancient trees, in terms of size but particularly in terms of longevity. It\u2019s such a peaceful, serene place. You have a sense of deep time as you sit at the base of these trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the destruction, SF Gate reports the citation for driving a vehicle off the road in a way that disturbs land, wildlife or vegetation only comes with a $250 fine. The agency\u2019s main tool for against degrading the precious environment and filling it with invasive bramble is education, starting with clear signage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also install physical barriers \u2014 rocks, bollards, and other structures \u2014 to discourage off-road driving,\u201d the spokesperson told SFGATE. \u201cAnd we invest in public education, because most visitors want to recreate responsibly; they just need clear guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Americans are on the brink of losing it all \u2014 and good people know it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Francisco Gate reports employees are searching for someone who appears to have illegally driven a car through the delicate bristlecone pines ecosystem of the Inyo National Forest.\u201cAdam Leidy, Inyo National Forest\u2019s off-highway vehicle and over-snow vehicle program manager, posted two videos to h…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n'Appalling' video captures driver wrecking ancient National Park forest - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1171\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Appalling' video captures driver wrecking ancient National Park forest - 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