For Release: June 11, 2008

      Contact: Pamela A. Mathis (623)580-5509 or (602)402-7690

 

(PHOENIX, AZ) – As a 30 day public notice period concludes, officials at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) prepare this week for a large scale public lands restoration project that results in a temporary closure of some roads in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, southwest of Phoenix.

 

The road closure begins this Friday, June 13, 2008, and encompasses 88 miles. BLM is now gating entry points and posting signs and maps along these routes, which are scheduled to be closed to all forms of motorized vehicles for a two-to-three restoration period. Thirty-five alternate recreational sites are identified in a map on the Arizona State Parks web page at: http://www.azstateparks.com/OHV/wheretoride.html

 

The temporary road closure is timed to coincide with the hottest days of the year when the sensitive desert is most susceptible to continued vehicle abuse. By September, the BLM and its volunteers will begin to repair damaged roads and create undeveloped camping and parking sites, reseed vegetation, install information signs, maps, and visitor information stands. As each area is restored, the temporary road closures will be opened in stages starting in two-to-three years.

 

The temporarily road closure became necessary when increased popularity and abuse by some users led to persistent damage of the vegetation, and the natural and cultural resources for which the monument was designated in 2001. 

 

Motorists or OHV users who violate the closure will be cited by law enforcement officials; a violation carries a fine up to $1,000 and/or a year imprisonment, or more when public lands are damaged.

 

All monument access remains open for hiking and equestrian use.

 

--BLM--