BLUERIBBON COALITION LANDUSE UPDATE!
St. George BLM Revising Travel Management Plan - Public Input Needed
Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) St. George Field Office has
formally kicked off the planning process that will result in a
Comprehensive Travel and Transportation Management Plan. This plan
will include specific route designations for motorized and mountain
bike use. Meaning - if its not on the map - its closed!
The BLM will also finalize the designation of the High Desert Trail
System and identify a Northern Transportation Route bringing OHV users
from BLM lands to the OHV trail systems on the Dixie and Fishlake
National Forests.
This planning process is being conducted on a parallel track with the
development of Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for the newly
designated 63,500-acre Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area
(NCA) and the 45,000-acre Red Cliffs NCA, as well as Amendment of the
St. George Field Office 1999 Resource Management Plan. In addition,
the BLM is planning to designate additional Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs) for the conservation of biological
resources and natural communities.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to analyze
the impacts related to all of the above. Public input is essential and
the public is invited to:
Provide route inventory data (e.g., maps, digital files, GPS data)
Identify routes important for facilities access, recreation,
commercial activities, etc.
Identify areas where existing routes create impacts to sensitive
natural and heritage resources,
Identify routes that could be included in the High Desert Trail
System
Identify alternatives for the Northern Transportation Route
The public scoping period started on May 10, 2010, when the Notice of
Intent was published in the Federal Register. Scoping comments will be
accepted through July 19, 2010.
The public is encouraged to come to one of the scoping meetings to
ask questions and provide input. Open house meetings will be held June
14-17 at the locations listed below. They will begin at 6:00 pm and
last until 8:00 pm. Representatives from BLM\'s St. George Field Office
will be available at the meetings to answer questions. The open houses
will have several information stations to present information on key
issues and on the planning process.
Scoping Meeting Schedule
Monday, June 14, 2010
Dixie Center
1835 Convention Center Dr.
St. George, UT
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Mesquite Community and Senior Center
102 West Old Mill Road
Mesquite, NV
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
City of Hurricane Office
147 North 870 West
Hurricane, UT
Thursday, June 17, 2010
SLC Public Library, Conf. Room - Level 4
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City, UT
There are many ways to provide comments during the scoping period. In
addition to the scoping meetings, the BLM will receive comments
through the following methods:
Scoping comments may be mailed or delivered to Bureau of Land
Management, Attention: Planning Project Manager, St. George Field
Office, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84770 or e-mailed to
utsgrmp@blm.gov
. Scoping comments will be most helpful if they are specific and
received by July 19, 2010.
Please include \"Planning Process for St. George Field Office\" in your
correspondence. Following the close of the scoping period, a scoping
report will be available at the BLM\'s St. George Field Office website.
The report will summarize public comments collected during the scoping
period.
To learn more, visit the new St. George Field Office website at:
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/st__george.html
BRC will be looking the planning documents over in detail and should
have an Action Alert out in the next week or two. Be sure to tell your
friends and family to subscribe to our Action Alert list:
https://www.sharetrails.org/secure/lists/?p=subscribe&id=2
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact BRC.
Thanks in advance for your support,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national (non-profit) trail-saving
group that represents over 600,000 recreationists nationwide The
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) season is beginning. Federal
employees, please mark BlueRibbon Coalition and Check #11402 on your
CFC pledge form to support our efforts to protect your access. Join us
at 1-800-258-3742 http://www.sharetrails.org
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