Two items need your immediate attention and input; huge Nevada Resource Management Plan; Cleveland National Forest road closures
March 16, 2015
by Scott HarnEditor/Publisher
ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal
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BLM Proposes Closing 1,235,000 Acres in Nevada and Parts of California
The Bureau of Land Management will host a public hearing on the Carson City District Draft Resource Management Plan on Thursday, March 19, and the Churchill County Administration Building, Chambers, 155 N Taylor Street, Suite 145, Fallon, Nevada. Doors open at 5pm for public interaction with BLM staff; the formal public hearing will begin at 6pm with speakers limited to three minutes each.At stake is a plan to "manage" approximately 4.8 million acres in eleven counties. This includes eight counties in Nevada (Washoe, Storey, Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Churchill, Mineral, Nye) and reaches into three counties in California (Alpine, Plumas, Lassen).
As we reported in our February 2015 Legislative and Regulatory Update column, BLM wants to place 1,235,000 additional acres off-limits to prospectors, miners and other public land users.
Written comments on the proposed plan will be accepted through March 27.
The Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement total 1,872 pages.
BLM says its preferred alternative provides an “intermediate” level of resource protection. Areas closed to mineral entry in the district would increase from 564,200 acres to 1.8 million acres.
The proposed management plan is available online at http://on.doi.gov/1uYBNGT
Constructive comments can be emailed to blm_nv_ccdo_rmp@blm.gov or mailed to: Carson City RMP, BLM Carson City District Office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, Nevada 89701.
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Cleveland National Forest: "Unauthorized Route Decommissioning Project"
The Cleveland National Forest has announced plans to close "unnecessary" roads in what the agency calls a "Forest-wide Unauthorized Route Decommissioning project."
This will obviously impact those who have mining claims or exploration sites in the Cleveland National Forest. Please let your voices be heard by submitting comments.
Also, if you have friends or associates involved in other forest activiites in this area—hiking, fishing, off-roading, etc.—please pass along this information and get them involved too. Be sure to point out that mining cannot be prohibited, and that includes the right of access. If the mining routes remain open, then other forest users will also benefit from that access.
The agency states they intend to design management activities to meet their "Scenic Integrity Objectives."
It took some hunting on the Internet, but here are maps that show their "Scenic Integrity Objectives":
Cleveland National Forest - North Final Land Mangement Plan Scenic Integrity Objectives Map (PDF 423kb)
Cleveland National Forest - South Final Land Mangement Plan Scenic Integrity Objectives Map (PDF 1078kb)
Here is a link to the "Scoping Letter" which includes who to contact for more information and where to direct your comments: Scoping Letter
And finally, a link to the general information page.
