FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        May 10, 2005
CONTACT:   Kirsten Cannon       (702) 515-5057

Wilderness Management Plan Available for Comment

Las Vegas -- The Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office announces the availability of the draft Wilderness Management Plan for the South McCullough and Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness areas.

The draft plan developed four management schemes and analyzed the affect each alternative would have on the wilderness.  Public comment will be used to establish the final management decision.  The 45-day public comment period begins May 10, 2005 and ends June 27, 2005. 
To obtain a copy of the plan, please call 702-515-5000

Comments should be sent to BLM, Las Vegas Field Office, Wilderness Plan, 4701 North Torrey Pines, Las Vegas, NV  89130.

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Congress has designated 20 wilderness areas in Clark County since 1989.  The South McCullough and Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness areas were designated in November 2002 with the President's signing of the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002.  In Clark County BLM manages part or all of 15 wilderness areas which encompass 245,103 acres.

Wilderness is an area retaining its natural influence and without human habitation.  Wilderness is an area affected primarily by the forces of nature; man’s imprint is mostly unnoticeable. BLM Nevada’s
wilderness areas provide outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined form of recreation..