El Centro Field Office Restoration Team protects Peirson’s milk-vetch in Imperial Sand Dunes

Story by: Julia Mogen, BLM California Desert District Public Affairs Specialist

Photos by: Camilo Gonzalez, BLM El Centro Field Office Acting Assistant Field Manager for Recreation

In the arid sand dunes of southern California, where temperatures peak over 120 degrees Fahrenheit and winds gust over 30 miles per hour, the resilient Peirson’s milk-vetch plant thrives.

Peirson's milk-vetch blooms purple flowers in the spring and has a silvery hue with fine silky hairs on its stem. In the United States, the plant can only be found in the Algodones Dunes of the California Desert Conservation Area in Imperial County.

The Algodones Dunes, otherwise known as the Imperial Sand Dunes, is managed by the BLM El Centro Field Office, where they oversee 1.4 million acres of public lands. Their mission is to provide sustainable recreation opportunities, while balancing the conservation of natural resources.

The Field Office monitors approximately 9,000 acres of designated critical habitat for Peirson's milk-vetch that are closed to motorized vehicle use, including off-highway vehicle (OHV) use within the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, to protect critical habitat for Peirson’s milk-vetch. The restoration crew staffed by BLM Park Rangers, post fiber glass closure signs around the dunes and educate the public about motor vehicle closures.  

Spearheading the efforts is Normandie Landeros, Restoration Team Lead and Park Ranger for four years at the BLM El Centro Field Office. He is retired from the U.S. Army with 21 years of active-duty service. Next is Damian Montano, with three years as a Park Ranger under his belt. He previously worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is trained in Emergency Medical Services. Other restoration members from the Field Office include Arturo Casarez, Park Ranger for the last two years and Adrian Hernandez, serving his first year as a Park Ranger. Arturo and Adrian both served in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years.

This dedicated crew also maintains the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness as closed to motorized use along with Picacho Peak, Indian Pass, Fish Creek and many more wilderness areas.

“This team supports the BLM’s mission through their education and maintenance efforts,” Camilo Gonzalez, Acting Assistant Field Manager for the BLM El Centro Field Office said. “During the cooler season the crew members walk more than 100 miles and drive more than 3,000 miles on challenging sandy terrain. In the summer they switch to OHV route and wilderness signing for the Field Office.”

The precious but hardy Peirson’s milk-vetch was listed as a threatened species by the federal government in 1998 and is listed as endangered by the state of California. Peirson’s milk-vetch can live up to five years but will often germinate, flower, produce seeds and die in one year. Its main pollinator, the digger bee, is a desert bee that builds nests underground and can withstand high temperatures.

Direct threats to Peirson's milk-vetch are off-highway vehicle trespass within designated critical habitat (closures) which may result in destruction of germinating seeds and seedlings, reduction in seed bank, and change in soil conditions. Other threats to Peirson's milk-vetch are low reproduction, loss of genetic diversity and potential impacts of climate change. Their growing season is from the months of October through December.

As stewards of land conservation and recreation, the El Centro Restoration Team plays a pivotal role in protecting this critical habitat and maintaining sustainable activities for families. The restoration crew continues to educate the public about areas closed to motorized vehicles, ensuring Peirson’s milk-vetch withstands the shifting sands of times.