BLM seeks public comment on resource management plan amendment for the Sonoran Desert National Monument
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PHOENIX — The Bureau of Land Management’s Lower Sonoran Field Office has released for public comment a draft resource management plan amendment and related environmental assessment for the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Maricopa and Pinal counties. The purpose of the amendment is to establish management guidance for recreational target shooting within the monument and to fulfill the requirements of an April 2022 court settlement.
More information on the planning process, including draft documents, maps and information on how to submit comment, are available on the BLM’s National NEPA Register. The BLM will host two virtual public meetings via Zoom on June 30 and July 6 to provide information and answer questions about the draft resource management plan amendment and related environmental assessment. The public comment period will be open until July 21, 15 days after the last public meeting.
The BLM completed a resource management plan for the Sonoran Desert National Monument in 2012. Under a March 2015 court order, the BLM was required to reanalyze the impacts of recreational target shooting in the monument. In 2018, the BLM amended the resource management plan to allow dispersed recreational shooting certain areas of the monument; that plan is available for review at the National NEPA Register. That decision was challenged in 2019, and a settlement agreement in that case led to this new planning effort.
Following this comment period, the BLM will consider public comments in developing final documents and issuing a decision on appropriate management direction for the monument.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.