| Recreational Access and Conservation - News and Information | Short Cuts |
| | Introduction | News | Notices | Activities | | Education | Forums | Columns | Links | Edited by: John Stewart |
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| Recreational Access and Conservation - News and Information | Short Cuts |
| | Introduction | News | Notices | Activities | | Education | Forums | Columns | Links | Edited by: John Stewart |
|
West Mojave Management Plan Update: 14 May 2000
Ron Schiller,
High Desert Multiple Use Coalition
The next meeting of the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition will be held 7:00 PM on Wednesday, May 17, 2000 at the Kerr McGee Center, 100 West California Avenue in Ridgecrest. The primary topic of discussion will be how to address the currently pending management activities of the Federal agencies in charge of public lands. Anyone interested in working to preserve recreational opportunities and access to public land is welcome to attend. For additional information, contact Mary Grimsley at 760-446-3458.
The last Ridgecrest BLM Steering Committee Meeting included an update of the West Mojave Management Plan (WEMO). However, very little new information was provided. There was some discussion regarding how the Ridgecrest BLM Steering Committee and the public could officially work with the WEMO Supergroup to develop a reasonable road system on public land within the planning area. However, there was some obscure reason given by the BLM to justify the contention that there is no way that Ridgecrest BLM Steering Committee and the public can work directly with the WEMO Supergroup on this process. The BLM did say that the Ridgecrest BLM Steering Committee could send a delegate to the Supergroup Meetings in Victorville. That suggestion was quickly rejected because the steering committee is so diverse that no one individual could adequately speak for the opposing viewpoints represented within the group.
As part of the WEMO update, Ridgecrest BLM Field Office Manager, Hector Villalobos, read parts of the panel report for the proposed expansion of the Fort Irwin National Training Center. The bottom line is that the 182 square mile expansion would trigger a jeopardy opinion under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. This in turn would require 2500 square miles (1.4 million acres) to be managed for the exclusive do main of the tortoise. Hector did not, however, mention Bill Haigh's official comments regarding the "reasonableness" of the panel report. As reported in the last e-mail update, both documents are available on line at the California Tortoise and Turtle Club website http://www.tortoise.org/wmp/ftirwin.html.
Further discussion of the WEMO plan revolved around the proposed route designation map, how it was developed, and what criteria was used to designate the specific routes. From the discussion at the meeting it appears that there is no real basis or criteria established for the designation of each route. When asked how many miles of existing routes are currently in the planning area, BLM personnel admitted there was no inventory and they do not know. Furthermore, BLM personnel acknowledged that the maps had not been ground proofed for accuracy and that washes and other land forms could have been mistaken for nonexistent roads on the aerial photographs.
It appears that the Barstow BLM Field Office is breaking rank with the West Mojave Planning Team. Recent information indicates that the Barstow Field Office is planning a route designation process for the Ord-Rodman Mountains separate from the WEMO plan. Because the Ord-Rodman Mountains are within the WEMO planning area, this directly contradicts information provided at the March 27th BLM meeting in Ridgecrest. At that time BLM personnel indicated that the route designation process required by the California Desert Conservation Plan and would be included in the WEMO Plan.
When recently asked why the Barstow BLM Field Office is planning route designations outside of the WEMO planning process, WEMO Project Manager Bill Haigh indicated that they were trying it to see how it would work. An Internet search of BLM websites and the Federal Register has yielded no further details regarding the planning process for the Ord-Rodman Mountains. A message left for Barstow Field Office personnel has yet to be returned. Further information will be provided as it is received.
For quite a few years the army has proposed the expansion of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin. Because of the enormity of the project, habitat loss, competition for the use of public land caused by ever increasing restrictions on recreational activities, and other factors, the public has aggressively opposed the expansion. It now appears that the Army is making an end run around the public by going directly to Congress for authority to expand the training center. An Internet search of the Congressional website did not identify any pending legislation dealing directly with the expansion of Fort Irwin. However, Section 2101(a) of H.R. 4205, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, would appropriate $31 million dollars for the Army at Fort Irwin to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects. Legislative authority for the Army to expand Fort Irwin would circumvent public participation and most assuredly result in the implementation of excessively restrictive management actions on the remainder of the WEMO planning area.
This information is provided by Ron Schiller, Chairman of the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition. As usual, feel free to pass this information on to anyone interested in land management issues and access to public land.
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Ron Schiller, Chairman |