Below is a release from the Bureau of Land Management that may have a
direct impact on land speed reacing with respect to how the Bonneville
Salt Flats and the Black Rock Desert may be used. While I do not see any
immediate dangers, there is a 30-day "public comment period" and I
strongly suggest that all serious land speers take this oppotunity to
pens at least a few lines as to why these two sites should remain
accessible to land speed racing.
This is great chance for us to be "pro-active" and not "reactive."
I will be reviewing all the associated draft documents and urge all of
you to do the same in the interest of the sport.
Speedy Regards,
"LandSpeed" Louise Ann Noeth
LandSpeed Productions
Telling stories with words and pictures
------------------------o0o--------------------------
The Bureau of Land Management
Last updated: 12/04/00
Bureau of Land Management
For Release: Monday, December 4, 2000 Contacts:
Larry Finfer
(202) 208-6913 Tom Gorey
(202) 452-5031 Jim Keeler
(202) 452-7771
BLM Publishes Draft National Off-Highway Vehicle Strategy, Opens 30-Day
Public Comment Period
The Bureau of Land Management today released a Draft National
Off-Highway Vehicle Management Strategy that is intended to promote
environmentally sound Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use on BLM-managed
public lands. The Draft Strategy, which reflects extensive public input,
is now available for a 30-day public comment period that begins today
and runs until January 3, 2001.
"This Draft Strategy is aimed at recognizing the interests of OHV users
while protecting environmentally sensitive areas on the public lands,"
said Henri Bisson, the BLM's Assistant Director for Renewable Resources
and Planning. "It also seeks to focus the agency's scarce funding and
staffing resources on OHV management rather than on OHV-related
litigation."
Bisson added, "The BLM was very encouraged by the public's participation
and input at the 49 OHV 'listening' meetings that we held this past
summer. In addition, the public submitted nearly 5,000 written comments
that 10 BLM specialists have been categorizing and analyzing since
September. These comments have guided our agency in writing this Draft
Strategy."
The Draft Strategy offers management guidance and recommends numerous
actions aimed at creating a local framework for reviewing and resolving
OHV-related issues. These issues include current OHV designations;
signs, maps, and other public information; existing OHV regulations;
route inventory needs; OHV impacts on resources; road and trail design,
maintenance, and restoration; management of Wilderness Study Areas;
monitoring; education (both public outreach and staff training); law
enforcement; and the BLM's budgetary needs.
The Draft Strategy recognizes, consistent with the BLM's existing
policy, that Off-Road or Off-Highway Vehicle use is a legitimate
activity on public lands wherever compatible with the Bureau's resource
management objectives and when in compliance with the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. The Draft Strategy notes that
under FLPMA, the BLM is required to manage the public lands in a way
that accommodates multiple uses while protecting public land resources.
"The BLM believes that this Strategy can provide guidance to promote the
balance between these sometimes competing principles," the 64-page
document says.
The Draft Strategy says that, if fully implemented, it can promote
consistency of OHV decisionmaking and management within the agency;
highlight the additional funding and staffing needed by the BLM to
manage OHV use effectively; lead to an updating of existing OHV
regulations and policy guidance; clarify for BLM land managers their
legal authorities in managing OHV use; reduce conflicts among public
land user groups; promote responsible OHV use and reduce habitat
degradation; and provide an opportunity for long-term involvement by the
public in OHV management on public lands.
Any member of the public who submitted comments or signed in at an OHV
"listening" meeting will receive by mail a copy of the Draft Strategy
early this month. In addition, the BLM has posted the Draft Strategy on
its Internet Home Page (http://www.blm.gov); paper copies of the
document will be available from the Bureau's State Offices and its
Washington, D.C., Office by December 8. Comments on the Draft Strategy
should be submitted in writing by regular or electronic mail. The
mailing address is: BLM OHV Strategy, U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.
Comments may be sent electronically by clicking on the OHV Strategy link
on the BLM's Home Page (http://www.blm.gov) or by sending e-mail
comments to a BLM electronic address (ohv_comment_manager@blm.gov).
After the conclusion of the 30-day public comment period, the Bureau
plans to review all comments and to issue its final National OHV
Management Strategy on the Internet on January 19, 2001. Printed copies
will be mailed out on January 26.
The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more
land - 264 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. Most
of this public land is located in 12 Western States, including Alaska.
The Bureau, with a budget of about $1.8 billion and a workforce of some
9,000 full-time, permanent employees, also administers 700 million acres
of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM preserves
open space by managing the public lands for multiple uses, including
outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, and mining, and by conserving
natural, historical, cultural, and other resources found on the public
lands.
|