OFF-ROAD PATROL JUMP SOUGHT.

Byline: CHARLES F. BOSTWICK Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- Palmdale sheriff's officials want to step up their use of off-road motorcycle patrols around rural communities but say they lack the money.

So sheriff's officials are seeking $109,000 in a grant from the money collected by the state from off-road-vehicle registration fees, which would pay to send out deputies on motorcycles and four-wheel-drive vehicles 50 days a year to look for motorcyclists riding illegally.

``Where we really need to concentrate is in the unincorporated areas,'' Palmdale sheriff's station spokesman Deputy Dave Jennings said. ``The issue always is open space doesn't equate to free riding.''

Hundreds of complaints come in annually from residents of rural communities, most from the Acton and Agua Dulce area, officials said. Many complaints are of off-road vehicles driving recklessly on the dirt roads used by the residents.

The Mount Emma and Barrel Springs Road areas of Littlerock and the Ana Verde and Ritter Ridge areas outside Palmdale also get complaints, officials said.

Deputies on motorcycles began patrolling Antelope Valley's unincorporated areas this year using $55,000 from Los Angeles County.

Inside the Palmdale city limits, deputies began in 1999 using motorcycles bought with a federal grant to look for illegal off-road riding, particularly among the hills along the city's southern edge.

``It's been very effective. Our calls for off-highway-related vehicle problems have gone down dramatically since we've been out there,'' Jennings said of the city patrols.

During the first year in Palmdale, the motorcycle deputies just gave out warnings. They directed riders to legal off-road areas, such as El Mirage in San Bernardino County, Jawbone Canyon and Dove Springs in Kern County, and Rowher Flats and Hungry Valley in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Last year, they gave out 160 citations, most to riders trespassing on private property but also for riding on public highways, lacking spark arresters and making too much noise.

In the unincorporated territory, officials want to deploy a sergeant and three deputies on motorcycles and in four-wheel-drive vehicles for eight hours a day 50 times a year, concentrating on weekends and holidays.

The motorcycle officers are also expected to patrol around Antelope Acres, Lake Los Angeles and other areas where illegal off-roading has been a problem in the Lancaster sheriff's station jurisdiction.

The public review process for the grant began Friday. Community members can view the grant request online at www.avheros.com, or at the Palmdale sheriff's station, 750 E. Ave. Q.

More information is available from Jennings at [phone] or at [e-mail].