MORENO VALLEY, Calif. - The Bureau of Land Management Barstow Field Office is seeking public comment on the Environmental Assessment released today for the proposed withdrawal of 10,094 acres of BLM-managed lands in the Coolgardie Mesa and West Paradise Conservation areas. The 30-day comment period ends July 14, 2016 (comment card [PDF]).
The purpose of the withdrawal is to protect the Lane Mountain Milkvetch, an endangered federally listed plant. The Coolgardie Mesa and the West Paradise Conservation area represent two-thirds of the plants’ known range.
A Notice of Proposed Withdrawal was first published in the Federal Register on Aug. 27, 2014 [PDF]. With the publication of the notice, the public lands were separated from United States mining laws, but not from mineral or geothermal leasing laws, or from disposal under the Materials Act of 1947.
In October 2014, a public meeting was held within a 45-day comment period. A moderate amount of comments were received from the public supporting the withdrawal.
The Coolgardie Mesa and the West Paradise Conservation area is a popular recreational mining location. BLM has established casual use mining guidelines to monitor and prevent unnecessary or undue degradation to public lands. Recreational mining is allowed under 43 CFR 3809.5, if defined as “casual use." Recreational mining cannot involve the use of mechanized earth moving equipment or explosives. This activity may only cause negligible disturbance to be considered casual use. No impact to this activity is expected from approval of the withdrawal.
Recreational access in the Coolgardie Mesa and West Paradise areas is restricted to designated open routes of travel. Further details can be found at the BLM web page: www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/barstow/Coolgardie_Mesa.html
For more information or to provide comments, please contact: Joan Patrovsky at (760) 252-6032, 2601 Barstow Rd, Barstow, CA 92311, or via email at: jpatrovs@blm.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
