BLM Extends Comment Period for Draft Imperial Sand Dunes Plan

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is extending the public comment period for the Draft Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), for 45 days, giving the public until August 9, 2010 to provide input on the plan.

Teri Raml, BLM Desert District Manager said the BLM had received a number of requests for additional time to comment.  "Given the complexity of this plan and the broad public interest in its outcome, we decided an extension of the original 90-day comment period was warranted," she said.
 
The draft RAMP/EIS outlines future management of public lands administered by BLM in the 160,000-acre Dunes in eastern Imperial County. The public assisted BLM in identifying key land-use issues in this area through a formal scoping process conducted in 2008.  The draft RAMP/EIS was issued in last March and public meetings on the draft plan were held in April in San Diego, El Centro, and Phoenix.

The draft analyzes the environmental impacts of many land management issues, including recreation, renewable energy, and species listed under the Endangered Species Act, including the threatened Peirson's milk-vetch. A range of alternatives are analyzed in the RAMP/EIS, including closure to off-highway vehicle use of areas designated as critical habitat for the threatened plant by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The draft is available online at http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro.  Copies are available upon request from the Field Manager, El Centro Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243 or the BLM California State Office at 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W 1834, Sacramento, CA  95825.  Comments can be provided via email to caisdrmp@ca.blm.gov or by mail to the El Centro address above, attention:  Carrie Simmons.  For further information, please contact Erin Dreyfuss, RAMP team leader at (916) 978-4642.

California Desert District   22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553