{"id":533,"date":"2026-06-07T04:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T04:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=533"},"modified":"2026-06-07T04:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T04:03:40","slug":"obscenely-damaging-video-catches-off-roader-in-californias-ancient-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=533","title":{"rendered":"‘Obscenely damaging’: Video catches off-roader in California’s ancient forest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0bristlecone pines of Inyo National Forest, considered some of the\u00a0oldest trees on Earth, are royalty even among California\u2019s myriad ecological treasures. Now, an Inyo employee is searching for someone who appears to have illegally driven a car through this ancient ecosystem.<\/p>

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Adam 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 \u201cno motor vehicles\u201d signs and\u00a0another one showing a Subaru on the move. Leidy asked anyone with information about the driver to contact\u00a0Inyo\u2019s dispatch at 760-873-2405.<\/p><\/div>

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In the Ancient\u00a0Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains, some of the gnarled, twisted trees might have lived for about\u00a05,000 years.\u00a0The footage of the car so near the majestic pines\u00a0drew scorn from some.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cScientifically, I\u2019m appalled,\u201d Jeff Holmquist, a researcher for the\u00a0White Mountain Research Center, told\u00a0SFGATE. He added: \u201cIn my view, it\u2019s obscenely damaging and extremely unfortunate.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

Holmquist, who watched the videos after his research center was tagged in the Facebook post, could not identify the exact location but believed it was near the crest of the White Mountains within Inyo National Forest.<\/p><\/div>

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Leidy did not respond to emailed requests for comment from SFGATE, and other Inyo National Forest personnel did not disclose information about the specific incident before the time of publication. But a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson told SFGATE by email that there are regular incidents of visitors driving off designated roads and trails, particularly in high-elevation areas as people try to navigate around the late-spring snow.<\/p><\/div>

Vehicle 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 the spokesperson. \u201cIn high-elevation settings \u2014 especially in Bristlecone Pine forests and alpine tundra \u2014 this damage is particularly severe,\u201d they wrote to 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><\/div>

Gary Ananian, the founder of the Kern River Conservancy, told SFGATE that he was glad that Leidy tagged his organization in the posts, too.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cWe want people to see that this is wrong, and we want to know if anybody recognizes this vehicle,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to reach an audience that the Forest Service can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>

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A citation for driving a vehicle off the road in a way that damages and disturbs land, wildlife or vegetation only comes with a $250 fine, according to the Forest Service. The agency\u2019s main approach is education, starting with clear signage.<\/p><\/div>

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

Holmquist explained that while the videos might appear to show the car in an \u201copen moonscape\u201d rather than a dense forest, this alpine region is remarkably vulnerable. In between the trees, there\u2019s a fragile\u00a0biocrust, or a thin layer of living material such as algae, mosses and lichens that binds the topsoil. When vehicles drive through the area, there are consequences for the whole ecosystem.<\/p><\/div>

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