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| Recreational Access and Conservation - Conservation and Public Service Activities | Short Cuts | ||||
| | Introduction | News | Notices | Activities | | Education | Forums | Columns | Links | Edited by: John Stewart |
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NEW BLM ACTIONS IMPACT OHV AREAS
On Saturday, February 26, 2000, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California Desert District Advisory Council (DAC) met in Palm Desert to review and discuss several issues regarding the California desert areas. The DAC is an advisory board to the BLM and is composed of representatives of various desert user groups. Members are appointed by Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior. Some of the issues discussed will have an immediate impact on Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) activities in the desert. Others have a potential future impact. The following paragraphs summarize items on the agenda which involve OHV areas or OHV activity and actions taken by the DAC:
Mr. Tim Salt, BLM District Manager indicated that the BLM is currently reviewing the management of OHV areas to see if changes are needed. Direction from the Clinton administration is that “less emphasis should be placed on expanding OHV areas and more on the quality of the existing areas and concern for protection of natural resources.” On Monday, January 10, 2000, the BLM announced that they will be developing a national strategy for ensuring environmentally responsible OHV use on BLM-managed lands. The BLM home page (http://www.blm.gov) has the entire press release.
An item on the agenda, “Standards and Guidelines,” addressed a report titled “Standards and Guidelines for Grazing Management.” “Standards” are conditions necessary to assure “Public Land Health” in the areas of soil condition, diverse habitats for native plant and animal species, properly functioning wetland systems, and state and federal water quality compliance. “Guidelines” are management practices necessary to meet the required “Standards.” As the presentation unfolded, it became clear that the ultimate plan is to adopt the Public Land Health Standards for grazing lands initially and eventually apply those same standards to all areas of the California desert. Of course, different “Guidelines” will be necessary to meet the “Standards” in other areas – such as OHV areas – but the standards would be the same. This would lead to the requirement that land disturbances within concentrated OHV areas should be no more severe than impacts caused by range cattle on the huge open grazing areas. Areas that could not be made to meet the “Standards” would be reduced or closed down.
A report was given on the status of the NECO, the Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert Management Plan. The NECO area consists of the California desert area from Yuma to Needles and westward to a line well west of Desert Center. (It does not include the Imperial Sand Dunes area.) This plan addresses the desert tortoise, burros, management of species, designation of routes of travel, and land ownership. Concern was expressed about vehicle activity in the Chuckwalla Washes. Finalization of this management plan is expected in the near future.
On Friday, February 25th, the BLM provided the DAC with a tour of the Santa Rosa Mountains Scenic Area which is just east of the Palm Springs Tram area. On March 31, 1990, the Secretary of the Interior (Babbitt) designated the Santa Rosa Mountains as America’s fourth National Scenic Area (NSA). The area encompasses approximately 194,000 acres of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. At the February 26, 2000 DAC meeting, the DAC voted to support the Secretary’s request to make this area a National Monument expanding the NSA by about 80,000 acres. Most environmental interests support the Monument while private landowners and the Building Industry Association have voiced concerns. Approximately 30% of the property within the NSA is privately owned. No consideration is given to OHV interests in the area. It is presumed that no OHV activity will be allowed within the National Monument.
The BLM Field Manager for the ISDRA gave an update report on activities within the Imperial Sand Dunes including law enforcement activities, the fee program, and the update of the ISDRA Management Plan. The old plan has been in effect for over 10 years and is being updated to meet current administration requirements. The Pearson’s Milk Vetch Plant has been listed as an endangered species since the original plan and this plant is found throughout the ISDRA. Any action taken to further protect this plant can only have a negative impact on OHV activity in the area.
The DAC approved a resolution supporting the BLM’s participation in this plan which covers 1.2 million acres of land in the Coachella Valley area.
A document titled “California Desert District Business Plan,” subtitled “Recreation Fee Demonstration Pilot Program” was presented to the DAC for final approval. A Technical Review Team (TRT) composed of DAC members and BLM representatives has been working on this Plan for some time. The TRT requested that the DAC approve the Plan as written. No desert recreation user groups have seen the Plan or provided any input or comments on the final version.
This Plan proposes to initiate user fees in the BLM controlled recreation areas throughout the California desert areas. Fees would be collected in a manner similar to those already being collected in the ISDRA. Five sites are proposed as pilot sites for this program, two of which are OHV areas. There were not enough votes from the DAC to approve this Plan since several DAC members had concerns about the Plan and since major user groups had not reviewed the Plan. The TRT was reconstituted and members will consider input from DAC members and user groups. The DAC voted to approve three pilot sites for implementation of the fee program without approval of the Business Plan. The three sites are: (1) Dumont Dunes, (2) El Mirage OHV Area, and (3) Fossil Falls. Two of the three sites are OHV areas. Fees are already being collected at three Imperial Sand Dunes OHV areas.
The data above is offered to desert recreationists as factual information regarding ongoing activities within the California desert area managed by the BLM. An apparent fact, obvious throughout the Desert District Advisory Council meeting that was not addressed by the Council, is the fact that nowhere, not in any of the programs discussed, was any consideration given to the protection, or expansion, of OHV programs. Every desert program or plan has a method to monitor impacts to the environment from OHV use with provisions for curtailing that activity if impacts are determined to be significant. Mitigation measures are provided for impacted endangered or threatened species.
When all of the programs and business plans are in place many methods will be available to reduce the level of OHV activity in the California desert. Not one method is suggested for mitigating the impact on OHV recreationists or for opening new OHV areas.. Thus, it is obvious that OHV recreationsists are the only absolute guaranteed-to-become-extinct species in the California desert – and since the BLM is a Federal Agency, this impact, when proven successful, will surely be implemented nationwide.
For more information on the programs described above, or to offer your comments and/or criticism, interested parties should contact, District Manager at the below address:
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Mr. Tim Salt |
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