One way or another, they get their closures......
San Bernardino County Sun
Roads closed to protect tortoise
October 20, 2001
CHUCK MUELLER
BARSTOW A federal agency and a coalition of conservation groups have
launched a series of measures, including temporary road closures, to protect
the habitat of the threatened desert tortoise.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Friday issued orders temporarily
closing various roads and trails to off-highway vehicles on public land in
the High Desert.
The order, issued as part of a federal settlement between the bureau and
three environmental groups, immediately closes various back roads in four
subregions of the western Mojave Desert.
The roads are in:
"The Newberry and Rodman mountains wilderness area east of Barstow and south
of Interstate 40.
"The Red Mountain subregion southeast of Ridgecrest.
"An area encompassing the Superior Valley northwest of Barstow.
"The Helendale subregion west of Barstow.
The roads, part of a network of off-road routes under study by the BLM, will
be closed until the bureau consults with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
as required by the federal Endangered Species Act, and an inter-agency West
Mojave wildlife conservation plan is completed, BLM spokesman Duran Sanchez
said.
"This decision, which grew out of an agreement approved by federal court
last March, protects imperiled wildlife and public lands they inhabit," said
Daniel Patterson, desert ecologist with the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for
Biological Diversity. "We're glad to see that the Bush administration has
quit stalling and decided to follow the court order to protect wildlife."
The BLM also has ordered the temporary closing of:
"Off-highway vehicle routes in the lower Chemehuevi Valley near Needles.
"All driveable washes on public lands in eastern San Bernardino, Riverside
and Imperial counties that have not been identified as specific motorized
vehicle routes in the bureau's Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert Plan.
"Vehicle routes on 3,200 acres of public land in the Edwards Bowl area B1
north of the El Mirage Recreation Area near Adelanto.
"Camping areas on 25,600 acres of public land east of the Imperial Sand
Dunes in Imperial County. Areas will be open to vehicles traveling on
existing routes.
"About 49,300 acres in five areas in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation
Area, replacing a year-old order to protect the habitat of the threatened
Peirson's Milkvetch.
The BLM decisions can be appealed until Nov. 26 to the Interior Board of
Land Appeals, Sanchez said.
San Bernardino County Sun
Roads closed to protect tortoise
October 20, 2001
CHUCK MUELLER
BARSTOW A federal agency and a coalition of conservation groups have
launched a series of measures, including temporary road closures, to protect
the habitat of the threatened desert tortoise.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Friday issued orders temporarily
closing various roads and trails to off-highway vehicles on public land in
the High Desert.
The order, issued as part of a federal settlement between the bureau and
three environmental groups, immediately closes various back roads in four
subregions of the western Mojave Desert.
The roads are in:
"The Newberry and Rodman mountains wilderness area east of Barstow and south
of Interstate 40.
"The Red Mountain subregion southeast of Ridgecrest.
"An area encompassing the Superior Valley northwest of Barstow.
"The Helendale subregion west of Barstow.
The roads, part of a network of off-road routes under study by the BLM, will
be closed until the bureau consults with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
as required by the federal Endangered Species Act, and an inter-agency West
Mojave wildlife conservation plan is completed, BLM spokesman Duran Sanchez
said.
"This decision, which grew out of an agreement approved by federal court
last March, protects imperiled wildlife and public lands they inhabit," said
Daniel Patterson, desert ecologist with the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for
Biological Diversity. "We're glad to see that the Bush administration has
quit stalling and decided to follow the court order to protect wildlife."
The BLM also has ordered the temporary closing of:
"Off-highway vehicle routes in the lower Chemehuevi Valley near Needles.
"All driveable washes on public lands in eastern San Bernardino, Riverside
and Imperial counties that have not been identified as specific motorized
vehicle routes in the bureau's Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert Plan.
"Vehicle routes on 3,200 acres of public land in the Edwards Bowl area B1
north of the El Mirage Recreation Area near Adelanto.
"Camping areas on 25,600 acres of public land east of the Imperial Sand
Dunes in Imperial County. Areas will be open to vehicles traveling on
existing routes.
"About 49,300 acres in five areas in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation
Area, replacing a year-old order to protect the habitat of the threatened
Peirson's Milkvetch.
The BLM decisions can be appealed until Nov. 26 to the Interior Board of
Land Appeals, Sanchez said.
