Judge leaves Mojave Desert off-road routes in doubt
Source: The Press-Enterprise
By DAVID DANELSKI
The status of more than 5,000 miles of off-road vehicle routes in the western Mojave Desert was left in doubt this week after a federal court ruling took issue with the way routes were chosen.
Judge Susan Illston’s 92-page ruling set an Oct. 30 conference to determine what should be done.
The Monday ruling faulted the methods the U.S. Bureau of Land Management used when it mapped 5,098 miles of routes for off-road vehicles in its West Mojave Plan, made final in 2006 after more than a decade of meetings and compromises. The plan, encompassing 9.3 million acres, addresses wildlife, off-roading, mining, cattle grazing and development concerns.
About a year after the plan was adopted, the Center for Biological Diversity, The Wilderness Society and several other environmental and property-owner groups sued the BLM. They said the plan didn’t do enough to protect natural resources, such as wildlife, and cultural resources, such as archeological sites.
Illston found that the BLM, in choosing the off-road routes, did not follow rules intended to minimize effects on waterways, soils, plants, animals and nearby private property.
The court order did not take issue with any particular routes and does not call for any route closures, said Sky C. Stanfield, a San Francisco attorney who represented Alliance for Responsible Recreation, The Wilderness Society and five other groups.
Randy Banis, an off-road enthusiast who served on a work group that helped develop the plan, said the designated off-road routes were an improvement over what already existed.
“The decision-making was a collaborative process, and it built a route network that avoided sensitive habitat and cultural resources,” Banis said.
BLM officials responded to the court decision with a statement, “The West Mojave plan was one of the most collaborative and extensive planning efforts ever undertaken in California.”
The statement added that most of the plan was upheld and that the BLM was pleased that the court found no Endangered Species Act violation.
Category: Access Issues
