SANTA ROSA AND SAN JACINTO MOUNTAINS NATIONAL MONUMENT

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
 Meeting 3
June 1, 2002

United States Department of AgricultureUnited States Department of the Interior

MEETING LOCATION

PALM DESERT CITY HALL
73-510 Fred Waring
Palm Desert, CA 92260

DATE AND TIME

Saturday, June 1, 2002
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 pm

LIST OF THOSE PRESENT:

MONUMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MAC):

GARY WATTS, District Superintendent, California Department of Parks and
Recreation

TERRY HENDERSON, Councilmemeber, City of LaQuinta

ROBERT BROCKMAN, Planning Director, City of Rancho Mirage

BUFORD CRITES. Councilmember and former Mayor, City of Palm Desert

ALLAN MUTH, expertise in natural science and research, University of California, Riverside, Deep Canyon Research Center

LARRY GRAFTON, Senior Planner, City of Indian Wells

BARBARA GONZALES LYONS, Vice Chair, Tribal Council, Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuillia Indians

BILL HAVERT, Director, Cochella Valley Mountains Conservancy

JEFFREY MORGAN, Sierra Club, Local Conservation Organization

EDWARD KIBBEY, Building Industry Association

BOB LYMAN, Regional Office Manager, County of Riverside

RUTH WATLING, Chair Pinyon Community Council

BOB PARKINS, General Manager, Winter Park Authority

Absent:

BARY FREET, Palm Springs Fire Chief, resident of Cathedral City

FRANK BOGERT, former Mayor, City of Palm Springs

STAFF AND PRESENTERS:

DANELLA GEORGE, Designated Federal Official and Santa Rosa and San
Jacinto Mountains National Monument Manager

CONNELL DUNNING, BLM Community Planner

JIM KENNA, BLM Field Manager, Palm Springs -South Coast Field Office

WANDA RASCHKOW, Cultural Resources, BLM Palm Springs

GINGER RIDGEWAY, Archeologist

BONNIE ADKINS, BLM Visitor Services

PAM HUDGENS, Mercury Post

ROBERT LEE, Mercury Post

DANIEL MCCARTHY, USFS

AGENDA

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION-Ed Kibbey

Welcome and introduction of BLM and USFS staff present.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

ALVINO SIVA

REVIEW OF LAST MEETING MINUTES

Minutes from prior meeting were reviewed. Review of working groups and their purpose.

Questions and Answers

HOUSEKEEPING, REVIEW OF APRIL MEETING

PROPOSAL FOR A DOCUMENTARY, Pam Hudgens and Robert Lee, Mercury Post

Pam Hudgens and Robert Lee provided each committee member with an outline of what their proposed documentary video was to include. They requested the support of the committee via a recommendation in pursuit of a grant needed to produce the video.  The video would include the history of the monument and how it came about.  Their proposal was to include an interview with the Indian tribes within the monument.  They also stated they would like to capture some of the stories and history of the people and what the lands within the monument have meant to them.  The purpose of the video would be to educate the public on the life and environment within the monument.  It could also be used as a marketing tool to promote the monument.

Questions and Answers

COMMITTEE ACTION: Support of a video documentary concept.

CULTURAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT AND ETHNOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT, Daniel McCarthy, USFS

Provided an overview of the existing Ethnographic Assessment of the National Monument.

Questions and Answers

MORNING BREAK

COOPERATIVE CULTURAL WORK WITH THE AQUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANDS, Ms. Wanda Raschkow and Ginger Ridgeway

Provided a summary of fiscal year 2001 cultural resources training with the Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the BLM site stewardship training fiscal year 2002.

Questions and Answers

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME PLANNING NEEDS, Dee Suddut

Dee Sudduth provided an overview of California Department of Fish and Game land ownership within the monument.  The objectives for the ecological reserves and the wildlife area were presented.

Questions and Answers

LUNCH BREAK

DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT PLAN AND PUBLIC SCOPING MEETINGS, Connell Dunning, BLM

Connell Dunning presented an overview of the five Public scoping meetings for the monument plan.   Four of the five meetings were very informal and included a brainstorming session.  The fifth meeting included a court reporter present. Each comment from the public was entered into a spreadsheet and separated into general categories to aid in the review of the comments. There were a total of 406 individual comments entered.  Those comments included those both written and spoken from MAC meetings, mailed to the BLM, and those from the Public Scoping meetings.  Some of the categories mentioned were, access, management and process, interpretation, private land, visitor increase, and dogs.  The next steps of the planning process will include public workshops for alternative development to be conducted in September, October, and November.

Questions and Answers

UPDATE ON THE MUTI-SPECIES PLAN AND THE PLAN AMMENDMENT, Jim Kenna, BLM

An update on the June 7th release of the, California Desert district Conservational, CDCA, plan amendment and the status of the trails plan amendment was provided by Field Manager, Jim Kenna .  Most of the difficult species issues should be handled in this plan amendment making the Monument plan easier to complete. The Trails Plan is now separate from the CDCA Plan amendment and is on the same time track with the multi-species plan amendment. The plan must be completed by the end of 2002. The Designated Federal Official requested the committee provide review comments regarding the drafts the next Advisory Committee meeting.

Questions and Answers

COMMITTEE WORK GROUP DISCUSSION, Committee Work Groups

The committee discussed how working groups would report back to committee with recommendations regarding National Monument Plan, CDCA Plan and Cultural Plan and the Trails Plan.

Questions and Answers
 PUBLIC COMMENTS (5 minute maximum per person)

 GAYLE CADY
 DALE HODGES

SUMMARY OF MEETING-Ed Kibbey

The August 3, 2002 meeting will have a focus on Highway 74 and working committee making recommendations for the National Monument Plan and working on committee recommendations for the National Monument.

MEETING ADJOURNED-Ed Kibbey

Complete minutes and all submitted written comments are available for public review at the Palm Springs/south coast Field Office during business hours: P.O. box 581260, 690 West Garnet Avenue, North Palm Springs, CA 92258; 760-251-4800