Recognizing the need to balance critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise with high-quality visitor experience, the Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office will hold two virtual information forums to involve the public in the early stages of a Draft Management Plan for the Piute-Eldorado Valley Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).

Piute-Eldorado Valley ACEC is the most extensive area of high-density desert tortoise habitat known in Nevada and it provides habitat for a host of other species including bighorn sheep and populations of rare plants. Hunting, birdwatching, camping, hiking and Off Highway Vehicle travel are popular recreational uses within the 330,000-acre ACEC.

Virtual information forums will be held on Tuesday, June 22 and Thursday June 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. PST. To register for the June 22 information forum, please visit https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/150836918083066640 and to register for the June 24 information forum, please visit https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7735564994621509648. The meetings will be recorded and posted on the ACEC’s webpage.

More information, including the Draft Management Plan and fact sheet is available at https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-development/nevada/piute-eldorado-acec.

Management activities recommended in the draft plan include installing roadside fences to guide wildlife toward culverts for safer travel beneath the roadways, repairing and improving signs that mark official routes designated in 1998, restoring disturbances caused by vehicles driving off designated routes, increasing monitoring and control of invasive plants, improving areas around natural springs that have been damaged by feral cattle and cleaning up trash dumps. The management plan will not recommend changes to the routes designated as open or closed in 1998. Additionally, changes to the boundaries of the ACEC, speed limits, mineral extraction and special use permit limitations will not be addressed in this ACEC plan.

Each information forum will include brief presentations on the Draft ACEC Management Plan followed by a question and answer portion and finally a comment period. Comments will be accepted until July 11, 2021 and will be incorporated into the final plan slated for completion in July 2021. An analysis of the environmental effects guided by the National Environmental Policy Act planning process will include another opportunity for public input in fall 2021.

“This plan proposes to improve and enhance critical desert tortoise habitat in Piute-Eldorado Valley Area of Critical Environmental Concern while maintaining access to designated routes,” said Shonna Dooman, Las Vegas Field Office Manager. “Funding for these restoration efforts plan comes from compensatory mitigation fees paid by solar facility developers in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone located northeast of Las Vegas. Since 2017, BLM has collected data and developed ideas to improve the condition of multiple resources including vegetation, wildlife, soil and visual quality while maintaining high quality tortoise habitat and recreational experiences for public land users.”

Those unable to attend the meetings, or who wish to provide comments outside of information forums, may email BLM_LV_PiuteEldoradoACEC@blm.gov until July 11, 2021.

Before including your address, phone number, email, address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

This year, we invite everyone to reimagine your public lands as we celebrate 75 years of the BLM’s stewardship and service to the American people. The BLM manages approximately 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Reprinted from: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/bureau-land-management-hold-public-information-forums-draft-management-plan-piute

30-day scoping period ends July 6

The Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Field Office is seeking the public’s help with designing an off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail network and other potential recreation improvements, including staging areas and campgrounds, at the Williams Hill recreation area in southern Monterey County. The 30-day scoping period ends on July 6.

Using a planning grant from the California State Parks’ Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program, as well as public input, the BLM California will evaluate existing OHV trails and explore opportunities to expand routes. The state program supports OHV recreation in California by distributing more than $35 million annually collected from gas tax, entrance fees and OHV sticker registrations.

Williams Hill encompasses approximately 8,500 acres of BLM-managed public lands ranging from gentle hills to mountainous terrain at more than 2,700 feet in elevation. In addition to OHV recreational opportunities, the lands are also popular for hunting, hiking, wildlife watching and stargazing. Camping is available and offers seven developed overnight campsites with level parking pads for small to moderately-sized recreational vehicles, fire rings, shade structures, picnic benches, as well as vault toiles and an informational kiosk. There is no electricity, potable water or trash collection. Dispersed camping is also available. To learn more about Williams Hill, see the Visit Us webpage at http://www.blm.gov/visit/williams-hill.

Information about the planning effort can be found on the ePlanning website at https://go.usa.gov/x6TWt. Written comments may be submitted electronically to ePlanning; via email to BLM_CA_Web_CC@blm.gov; or by mail: BLM Central Coast Field Office, Attn: Williams Hill OHV Planning EA, 940 2nd Avenue, Marina, CA 93933-6009. For specific questions, contact the Central Coast Field Office at 831-582-2200 or BLM_CA_Web_CC@blm.gov.

Before including mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other personal identifying information in a comment, commenters should be aware that the entire comment, including personal identifying information, could be made publicly available at any time. While the public may ask the BLM to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

This year, we invite everyone to reimagine your public lands as we celebrate 75 years of the BLM’s stewardship and service to the American people. The BLM manages approximately 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Reprinted from https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-seeking-public-input-williams-hill-ohv-trails-recreation-improvements

The Bureau of Land Management appointed six new members to serve three-year terms on the Central California Resource Advisory Council. The members were selected based on their interest and expertise in public land management.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management has released a draft environmental impact statement and plan amendment for the three plans that underlie the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). The public comment period will end on April 15, 2021.

The Bureau of Land Management El Centro Field Office invites the public to provide written comments on additional off-highway vehicle (OHV) routes in the Vinagre Wash Special Management Area, near Palo Verde, Imperial County.  The public comment period will end on May 21.

This Special Management Area, designated under the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) in March 2019, allows for the consideration of additional routes that would provide significant or unique recreational opportunities and are consistent with the purposes of the Management Area. 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

On its current trajectory, the BLM headquarters in Washington, D.C. will be liquidated, decentralized, and relocated by the end of March in 2020.