U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Twin Falls BLM
Twin Falls BLM
| Contacts: | Heather Tiel-Nelson (208) 736-2352 |
BLM Cautions that Off-Roading Can Cause Serious Damage to Riparian Area
BOISE, ID – The Twin Falls District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Shoshone Field Office would like to remind off-road vehicle users recreating on public land to avoid “mudding” in wet meadows and riparian areas. Recently, a sensitive meadow in Martin Canyon near Bellevue, ID was found to have deep tire tracks and spin-outs next to a designated roadway, destroying the meadow complex, compacting soils and opening the area to accelerated erosion and infestation of weeds.
"Riparian areas are important habitat for wildlife," said BLM Shoshone Field Office Manager Ruth Miller. "When an area is disturbed like this, noxious weeds will take root, replacing good vegetation with bad."
Miller said BLM works diligently with its partners and livestock permittees to manage and maintain riparian areas in a way that supports wildlife habitat. "It is expensive and time-consuming work to restore areas destroyed through irresponsible behavior in the name of recreation," she said. "It could take years to restore the riparian area that took minutes to destroy."
In instances like these, it is easy to overlook the majority of recreationists who are good stewards of public land - and BLM is grateful for their vigilance. If anyone has any information related to the destruction of this land, please contact Ruth Miller, Shoshone Field Office Manager at 208-732-7200.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.