Neil Hamada steps into new role as Off-Highway Vehicle Travel Management Lead for BLM California

Story by Julia Mogen, Public Affairs Specialist. Photos courtesy of Neil Hamada and Patricia Jeffries, Budget Analyst.

With just under 30 years working with the BLM, Neil Hamada recently accepted a new position as the off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel management lead for the BLM California State Office. Neil has been a champion for OHV management in southern California, serving as the longtime manager of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA), one of the nation's premier OHV destinations within the El Centro Field Office.

He has held many different positions and exhibited outstanding leadership as the following: outdoor recreation planner; dunes manager; recreation chief; assistant field manager for Recreation; and assistant field manager for Support Services. 

Neil grew up in Gardena, California, and fell in love with the California desert by spending weekends riding his dirt bike and camping. On one of those trips, in 1988, BLM staff from El Centro came to his campsite and talked to him about BLM careers. Six years later, after graduating from CSU Dominquez Hills, with a degree in geography, Neil called them up. Within a month, he was hired as a Park Ranger and living at the Cahuilla Ranger Station in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, working his dream job. He cleaned toilets, operated heavy equipment, held interpretive and OHV safety training events, and responded to emergency calls day and night from 1994 through 2000.

After he and his wife had their first child, Neil moved out of the dunes, but his love of OHV recreation kept him working for the El Centro Field Office. Neil has served as the Incident Commander for the ISDRA National Law Enforcement Events and King of the Hammers, worked on recreation programs across the U.S. and started the ISDRA fee program. He is particularly proud of being part of the team that negotiated a 16-year challenge to reopen OHV access to about 40,000 acres in the dunes. 

What stands out to Neil when reflecting on his career, are the relationships and partnerships built over the years, which have led to successful projects and kicked off many long-term BLM careers.

“It is an honor to work with the entire BLM team, from across the country, that give up every holiday weekend to serve our public land visitors,” Neil said. “I have spent more holidays with this team than my own family. It’s a hard commitment to fulfill, but also deeply rewarding for me since I love OHV recreation.”

Visitation at the ISDRA peaks October through April with spikes on Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Years, and Presidents' Day. The area can receive 100,000 visitors in a week during peak season. Neil has managed a tenacious team of OHV Park Rangers and Law Enforcement staff. This task force offers extensive support to visitors, including emergency medical assistance and contributes to the smooth operation of the dunes.

Neil thought he’d be a “lifer” in El Centro but hopes this new position will allow him the opportunity to have a positive impact on the BLM’s OHV program. That one BLM camp contact in 1988, and those weekends camping and riding his dirt bike, changed his life. He aspires to build and maintain a high quality, sustainable OHV program for BLM California, as well as inspire BLM staff to do what is important for each of their programs.

During his free time, Neil still heads out to the desert and mountains with friends and family to hunt, target shoot, and ride on BLM-managed lands across the western U.S. He recently gave up his dirt bike and has been driving his jeep because as he says, “with age, come cage!” (a reference to a roll cage for protection). Neil is happily married and his wife works for the San Diego County Library. They are very proud of their daughter who is a land surveyor in training (she recently graduated from San Diego State University with a Geography degree) and their son who serves our country as a combat medic in the U.S. Army.