The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is scheduled on July 29, 2005, to begin a 120-day public comment period for the BLM Ely Resource Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The comment period will continue through November 28, 2005.

The Resource Management Plan will guide BLM Ely District decisions addressing all BLM activities on approximately 11.4 million acres of agency-administered public lands in Lincoln, Nye and White Pine counties.

The plan will also help to implement the Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project, a major component of the Great Basin Restoration Initiative. The Great Basin has fallen victim to devastating wildfires and invasion by noxious weeds and non-native annual grasses, e.g., cheatgrass that have gained a foothold partly because of the wildfires. The initiative is a long-term effort to restore the Basin’s native plant species and halt the spread of invasive species.

Among activities to be addressed by the Resource Management Plan are livestock grazing, mining, recreation, wild horses and wildlife. The comprehensive long-term plan will also help determine which lands are to be made available for disposal, what lands would be open to fluid mineral leasing, what actions should be taken to achieve healthy ecological conditions and what routes are considered appropriate for Off-Highway Vehicle use.

The BLM is developing the Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement with input from other federal agencies, tribal, state and local governments and the general public. Following is a list of cooperating agencies, or agencies helping the BLM: Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, Ely Shoshone Tribe, Great Basin National Park, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Lincoln County, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada Department of Transportation, Nevada Department of Wildlife, White Pine County, Moapa Band of Paiutes and Yomba Shoshone Tribe.

The BLM will in October 2005 conduct six public comment meetings, statewide. Meetings will be held in Caliente, Ely, Las Vegas, Mesquite, Reno and Tonopah with dates, times and locations to be announced.