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May 5, 2008
Bureau of Land Management to
Revise Management Plan for Federal Lands
Rewrite of
Caliente Management Plan Would Affect Federal Lands Adjacent to
Carrizo Plain and Los Padres; ForestWatch Demands Strong
Protections
Earlier this year, the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it would revise
the Caliente Resource Management Plan, a blueprint that guides
the management of approximately 400,000 acres of public lands
and another 450,000 acres of underground mineral rights on
private land. The plan revision could pave the way for increased
protections of wildlife and open space on federal lands adjacent
to the Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plain National
Monument in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and western
Kern counties.
The Carrizo Plain National
Monument will not be included since a separate plan is currently
being prepared for the monument. The Los Padres National Forest
is not included in this plan either, as it is managed by a
separate agency - the U.S. Forest Service - and underwent its
own management plan revision in 2005.
The federal lands surrounding
the forest and monument are used for recreation, oil and gas
development, livestock grazing, and other uses that are
currently guided by the 1997 Caliente Resource Management Plan.
According to the BLM, revisions to this plan are necessary in
light of California's rapid population growth, increased
interest in oil and gas production, new requirements for rare
plants and wildlife, and changes in public land ownership.
Many of the lands in the
Caliente Resource Area provide habitat for threatened and
endangered wildlife, such as lands in the Upper Cuyama River
valley and lands adjacent to the Hopper Mountain National
Wildlife Refuge, the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, and
the Wind Wolves Preserve. Other critical BLM lands are adjacent
to roadless and wilderness areas in the Los Padres National
Forest, or provide linkages between the Carrizo Plain National
Monument and the Los Padres National Forest.
After announcing the revision,
the BLM launched a public "scoping" process to identify relevant
issues to address in the plan revision and its accompanying
Environmental Impact Statement.
ForestWatch submitted comments
on May 5, 2008, the final day of the public scoping period.
ForestWatch also signed on to a more detailed letter submitted
by a coalition of conservation organizations, including The
Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife, California Wilderness
Coalition, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity,
Californians for Western Wilderness, and Sequoia ForestKeeper.
Both letters urged the BLM to adopt stringent protections for
these ecologically critical lands.
What's Next
The BLM anticipates releasing a draft of the revised RMP and EIS
in September 2009, and expects to release a final RMP in January
2011. ForestWatch will continue working with its coalition
partners to ensure strong protections for our region's wildlife
and wilderness landscapes. |
