- Location
- Desert Beach So Cal
West Mojave Route Designation Process Established
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will soon be proposing
route designations for the nine-million acre West Mojave planning
area and will include opportunities for public review and comment
before final decisions are made.
BLM is concurrently preparing an environmental assessment (EA)
to designate routes of travel within the West Mojave planning area,
and a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the West Mojave
Plan Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The route designation portion
of the West Mojave planning area must precede the West Mojave HCP to
satisfy legal timeframes.
The BLM is facing a court-approved deadline to complete the
route designation portion of the West Mojave Plan Amendment by June
30, 2003, as part of a settlement agreement resulting from a lawsuit
filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and
the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Consequently,
BLM will release the EA for a 30-day public review in mid March. The
decision record will be signed by June 2003 and will amend the 1980
California Desert Conservation AreaPlan.
The Draft West Mojave Plan HCP is scheduled for release in
mid-May for a 90-day public comment period. The vehicle route
designations will be incorporated into the Plan. BLM anticipates a
Record of Decision for the West Mojave Plan by February 2004. It
will also amend the California Desert Conservation Area Plan. The
public will be provided an opportunity to comment on all aspects of
the Plan.
This route designation process, which will update a network
designated in 1987, has been underway in the Mojave Desert since
1997. In 2001, local agencies, off-highway vehicle groups, and other
interested constituencies began working with BLM to better identify
and "ground-truth" all the existing routes as well as recommend
critical access needs in this large area. The interagency planning
team has used all this data in preparing the new draft route network
that the public will be invited to comment on.
For more information contact Bill Haigh, BLM West Mojave Plan
Lead, at (760) 252-6000.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will soon be proposing
route designations for the nine-million acre West Mojave planning
area and will include opportunities for public review and comment
before final decisions are made.
BLM is concurrently preparing an environmental assessment (EA)
to designate routes of travel within the West Mojave planning area,
and a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the West Mojave
Plan Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The route designation portion
of the West Mojave planning area must precede the West Mojave HCP to
satisfy legal timeframes.
The BLM is facing a court-approved deadline to complete the
route designation portion of the West Mojave Plan Amendment by June
30, 2003, as part of a settlement agreement resulting from a lawsuit
filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and
the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Consequently,
BLM will release the EA for a 30-day public review in mid March. The
decision record will be signed by June 2003 and will amend the 1980
California Desert Conservation AreaPlan.
The Draft West Mojave Plan HCP is scheduled for release in
mid-May for a 90-day public comment period. The vehicle route
designations will be incorporated into the Plan. BLM anticipates a
Record of Decision for the West Mojave Plan by February 2004. It
will also amend the California Desert Conservation Area Plan. The
public will be provided an opportunity to comment on all aspects of
the Plan.
This route designation process, which will update a network
designated in 1987, has been underway in the Mojave Desert since
1997. In 2001, local agencies, off-highway vehicle groups, and other
interested constituencies began working with BLM to better identify
and "ground-truth" all the existing routes as well as recommend
critical access needs in this large area. The interagency planning
team has used all this data in preparing the new draft route network
that the public will be invited to comment on.
For more information contact Bill Haigh, BLM West Mojave Plan
Lead, at (760) 252-6000.