News Release    

For Release:  April 16, 2003

Contact:  Doran Sanchez (909) 697-5220 or Jan Bedrosian (916) 978-4616

 

CA-CDD-03-40

 

Interim Restrictions Remain at Imperial Dunes Pending Completion of Management Plan

 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today that the interim restrictions imposed at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) in November 2000 that closed 49,300 acres to off-highway vehicle use (OHV) are still in effect until the BLM completes the land use plan and signs a record of decision.

 

BLM recently received the biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the proposed preferred alternative analyzed in the ISDRA draft environmental impact statement (EIS) and draft Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) Plan that was released for public review and comment in March 2002.  BLM will utilize the biological opinion in accordance with the Endangered Species in making its final decision.

           

"The interim restrictions and the closures remain in effect per the settlement agreement until a final decision on the plan is signed," said BLM El Centro Field Manager Greg Thomsen. "BLM appreciates the past compliance with the interim closures and asks for continued cooperation from all those who visit the Dunes while we complete our planning and decision-making processes."    

 

The interim restrictions involve five areas within the 160,000-acre Imperial Sand Dunes.  The restrictions were implemented in November 2000, as a result of a settlement reached with several environmental groups that had sued BLM regarding the Peirson's milkvetch, a listed species under the Endangered Species Act.  The settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility was determined necessary by BLM to avoid the potential of an injunction sought by the groups to close the entire Dunes to OHV use until consultations with the FWS could be completed as required by the Act.

 

Thomsen said it is BLM's intention to complete the plan as soon as possible.  The BLM is required by law and regulation to publish a Final Environmental Impact Statement and a final proposed plan for a 30-day public protest period.  All protests received will be carefully evaluated and considered in the final Record of Decision. 

 

The proposed final plan is scheduled for completion by late May, and BLM anticipates a record of decision will be signed by late summer 2003.

 

                                                                        -BLM-

 

California Desert District Office
22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, California

 (909) 697-5220