For Immediate Release: January 26, 2001                   CA-610-01-12
Contact:  Doran Sanchez (909) 697-5220; E-MAIL: dasanche@ca.blm.gov

Court To Accept Objections on Lawsuit Settlement Agreements

The Federal judge presiding over the lawsuit settlement negotiations of the lawsuit filed against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility today ruled that the Court will accept objections until February 5, 2001, to the fourth and fifth settlement agreements.

Affected parties may submit a brief up to 25 pages to the Court.  The plaintiffs, parties to the settlement agreements, and BLM, through the Department of Justice, will provide responses to the objections to the Court by February 12, 2001.  The Court has set a hearing at 2 p.m. on February 14 to consider the objections.  Objections should be submitted to the United States District Court, Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102.

The Court met today to consider the third settlement agreement signed by BLM and the plaintiffs regarding restrictions on sheep and cattle grazing in critical and additional desert tortoise habitat.  The Court did not rule on the livestock settlement agreement, but indicated a ruling would be issued soon.

The fourth stipulation of the settlement addresses restrictions on motorized access and the use of hiking trails within the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains to protect Peninsular Ranges Bighorn sheep and its habitat.  Current and additional BLM staff will be utilized to ensure voluntary public compliance to the interim restrictions.  BLM will not approve any new  lands or minerals authorizations or modify existing authorizations within Peninsular bighorn sheep habitat pending the completion of consultation on the CDCA Plan.

 The fifth stipulation includes more than 45 separate measures and addresses a wide range of interim actions BLM will initiate/implement during the following months to further protect threatened and endangered species throughout the California Desert Conservation Area, including additional vehicle route designations to protect desert tortoise habitat, limits on expansion of mining activities in critical habitat, and protection of riparian areas in the habitat of listed bird species.  These interim actions will be in effect until BLM consults with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the CDCA Plan.

The lawsuit includes five settlement agreements agreed to by BLM and the plaintiffs. The Court approved the first settlement agreement in August 2000 that BLM would  initiate consultation with FWS on the CDCA Plan by January 31, 2001.  The Court approved the second settlement agreement in November regarding the four interim closures on off-highway vehicle use in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area to protect essential habitat of the Peirson's milk-vetch (a Federally listed plant species).

The plaintiffs filed the suit against BLM in March 2000 for violating the federal Endangered Species Act by not initiating Section 7 consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on the effects of the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan on a number of threatened and endangered species.

For more information on the five settlement agreements, including Q&As, visit our website at www.ca.blm.gov.

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