Vehicle Use is Restricted on Some Sand Mountain Trails

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carson City Field Office, published vehicle use restrictions for Sand Mountain Recreation Area in the Federal Register on March 15, 2007. Effective immediately, vehicles are restricted to approved routes of travel when on the vegetated portions of the dune system. The main sand dunes, where 95% of vehicle use normally occurs, will remain open for cross-country travel.

These restrictions on motorized use are a significant element of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Conservation Plan, a public planning effort initiated by the Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance (LVEA) in August 2004. It is vital that the plan be successfully implemented to avoid more restrictive listings of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly (currently listed as a sensitive species).

Participants in this effort included representatives from the LVEA, BLM, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, City of Fallon, Churchill County, Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, Friends of Sand Mountain, California Off-Road Vehicle Association, Naval Air Station-Fallon, and private citizens.

The designated routes of travel in the vegetated portions of the dune system will be marked with vertical posts; maps of the restricted use areas will be posted at Sand Mountain and copies of these maps will be available at the BLM offices in Carson City and Reno.

For further information contact the Sand Mountain Coordinator at the Carson City District Office, (775) 885-6000.

Map of Trail Restrictions in Areas Adjacent to the Main Dunes at Sand Mountain (pdf format)

USFWS 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens ssp. arenamontana) as Threatened or Endangered with Critical
Habitat (21 pages in pdf format), May 2, 2007.