May 2, 2003

Eddie Guerrero

Jarbidge BLM

2620 Kimberley Road

Twin Falls, ID 83301

Dear Eddie,

I am writing again about the uncontrolled Brackett pipeline digging
situation. As you are aware, on April 13, I reported pipeline digging
north of the Rogerson --Murphy Hot Springs road. I re-visited the site
on May 1. The orange behemoth is gone, but the trailer with pipes
remains. Cattle are now turned into the pasture, creating an ideal
situation for weed infestation and spread over the large areas of bare,
unstabilized soils disturbed by Brackett digging.

I had spoken to you on Tuesday afternoon, and you said that Bert
Brackett had finally come into your office, and that he had agreed to
halt work. You said that he had said that part of what was occurring was
maintenance, and part was completing a project. Preceding this, on
Monday and Tuesday, I had several discussions with you and Fred Pence
concerning this pipeline digging. You had said that it was covered under
an older EA. I asked that you FAX me that EA. You did. I then again
contacted your office after observing that the pipeline digging was
occurring north of the road, in an area not shown on the ancient EA map
as being the route of a pipeline. I asked that you make Brackett stop
work, as this was not covered under the old EA, and that at any rate, a
1983 EA could not be used to cover a project in 2003.

On the evening of May 1, walked south of the Rogerson- Murphy road
towards Horse Hill, directly across the road from where the Pence Butte
pipeline digging was occurring to the north. This area south of the main
road lies within the Horse Hill pasture of the Poison Creek East
allotment. I followed an obscure path which looked like someone had
driven and smashed sagebrush down a couple of times over the years. This
is by no means a road, or a way. Vehicle tracks were visible from this
spring. You can detect vehicle passage by the linear band of pale grass,
and less dense shrubs.

I followed this band of grass and mostly dead sagebrush to make sure
there was no existing pipeline south of the main road. Indeed there was
not. Heavily lichenized rocks along this path show that **no previous
ground disturbance** has occurred. This obscure path appears to be a
result of crosscountry driving by Brackett to put out salt. After
approximately 1 mile, I came to a weed-infested salt lick site, full of
exotic mustard (*Chorispora*). This weed is spreading out into
surrounding sagebrush, following intense livestock disturbance at the
salt site. I then followed Brackett's apparent salt lick path south
another half mile or so. Then to my surprise, I suddenly came upon signs
of new heavy equipment boulder and earth ripping activity. This appeared
to be very recent. I then followed the path of this activity to an
existing trough. Please note that the area where this ripping had
occurred was obscured from view from the main road by the sidehill slope
of Horse Hill.

As a storm cloud was rapidly approaching, I cut back to the main road
across the top of Horse Hill. There I came upon a D-8 Caterpillar parked
with tracks indicating very recent activity (tracks appeared to have
been made within the past 3 or so days). Extensive digging had occurred
here, in association with a pipeline. This activity does appear to have
been "reconstruction". However, it has disturbed a very wide area, which
is far in excess of that needed to deal with a 2" plastic pipe. I will
e-mail you photos this afternoon. This site is accessed by a 2-track
that ascends Horse Hill.

This also accentuates the colossal problem of pioneering of new roads
and ways in the Poison Creek allotment -- nearly all in association with
livestock facilities. There are a myriad of roads and trails that have
sprung up over the years, following each new project pipeline or fence
project that has been installed, and each new salt site where these
permittees choose to ramble crosscountry. BLM has never addressed this
in any NEPA analysis. In fact, NEPA analyses that have been conducted
falsely claim that pipelines will be "restored". Instead, their paths
become new roads.

We ask that you have Brackett remove the D-8 Cat from public lands. We
also believe that cattle should not be grazing in areas with bare
exposed soils which are highly vulnerable to weed invasion, as along the
route of the illicit pipeline north of the road in the Pence Butte
pasture. These animals should be removed. They are now trailing along
the disturbed mounds of soil, further increasing likelihood of weed
spread.

This situation highlights the need for a clear and honest inventory and
accounting by BLM of all livestock facilities in the Poison Creek and
Juniper Butte allotments. It also illustrates just how the whole
proliferation of pipelines have occurred. Some have had NEPA clearances,
others have very likely just been done under the guise of "old EAs",
when really there has been no authorization, and no clearances have been
done. A clear and honest accounting of this Field Office-wide needs to
be done. The proliferation of pipelines is part of the basis for the
outlandish AUM increases that Bracketts are promoting. We believe that
large segments may be the result of unauthorized activity as we have
just documented, and need to be removed. Their removal must be part of
an EIS addressing the very complicated situation surrounding livestock
grazing in these lands.

I called you this morning and reported my recent observations. You said
that it might be hard to find. As I then explained, it is very easy to
find. Here is further clarifiation. Drive 1.1 miles west of the Bruneau
Desert road intersection along the MHS-Rogerson road. Park. Look north
towards Pence Butte. See digging. Turn around, and look south across the
main road. See obscure yellow grass and dead sagebrush trail. Walk along
this trail. Portions of T16S R 10E sections 2,3,4,5. Alternatively drive
in the two track road shown on the BLM 1:100,000 land status map over
the top of "Horse Hill". Walk east.

Please contact me if you need any clarification. We ask that you
immediately visit the site, and document what has occurred. What action
will your office take against the permittee responsible for this? Please
respond in writing to this letter.

Please also recall that since April 13, I and also Miriam Austin of WWP
had contacted your office seeking an answer to the crosscountry pipeline
digging, and you waited to investigate the situtation. While BLM was
doing nothing, Brackett was apparently out ripping up sagebrush and
large boulders just to the south of the pipeline activity I had
reported.

Sincerely,

Katie Fite

Committee for the High Desert

PO Box 2863

Boise, ID 83701

208-429-1679