**El Centro Field Office**

**District Advisory Council Report**

**March 20, 2009**

**Geology**

**Geothermal:** A Record of Decision was signed on July 2, 2008 to lease
all BLM lands, totaling 14,373 acres, within the Truckhaven Geothermal
Leasing Area. BLM received 2 appeals on this ROD. One appeal came from
EcoLogic and its four member organizations - the American Sand
Association, San Diego Off-Road Coalition, the American Motorcycle
Association District 37, and the Off-Road Business Association. The
other appeal came from Geo-Energy Partners-1983 Ltd. and Jack McNamara.
BLM has provided responses to the protests to the IBLA and we are
awaiting their decision

.

On East Mesa, we continue to conduct periodic compliance inspections in
support of on-going lease operations.

**Mineral Materials:** We are continuing work on plans of operations and
environmental assessments for competitive mineral material sales at 3
different sites for 2 commodities (sand and rock). In addition, we are
working with operators to complete reclamation of past mining areas.
Since our last report, we have continued to conduct inspections to
verify production and ensure compliance with established reclamation
plans, including several inspections conducted jointly with the Imperial
County Planning Department.

We are beginning work on a new environmental assessment for sand and
gravel operations in the Shell Canyon area with the Ocotillo Miners
Group.

**Locatables:** Western Goldfields is continuing full-scale mining
operations at the Mesquite Mine. The Mesquite Mine is the largest gold
producing mine in California.

We are currently analyzing a mine plan of operations from US Corp for
test drilling on their mine claims near Picacho.

**Wildlife**

Last year, we entered into an agreement with U.C. Davis to conduct an
insect inventory of the Imperial Sand Dunes. The ongoing study involves
a variety of trapping techniques conducted at different times of year
and at numerous habitat types in an effort to identify as many species
as possible and to gain more information about the invertebrates. UC
Davis has submitted a report for this past season's work. A few of the
interesting findings:

-   Approximately 50,000 specimens collected

-   Not all specimens have been identified, but already over 900 species
    have been identified of the specimens collected

-   42 suspected endemic species identified

-   Possibility of discovery of several species new to science

> BLM intends to continue the assistance agreement with UC Davis this
> season. UC Davis staff will be out in the Imperial Sand Dunes to
> continue collecting and provide consecutive years of data to the BLM.

The El Centro Field Office is working with the California Desert
District Office to acquire lands to protect the Flat-Tailed Horned
Lizard using funds collected for habitat compensation. We are preparing
for this summer's Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard monitoring project.

We completed an environmental assessment with the California Department
of Fish and Game and the Marine Corps Air Station analyzing locations
for 8 guzzlers in the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range. These
guzzlers will serve as mitigation for impacts to wildlife related to the
lining of the Coachella Canal. We are also working with Imperial
Irrigation District on an Environmental Assessment for 5 deer guzzlers
at the south end of the Cargo Muchacho Mountains as mitigation for
impacts to deer related to the lining of the All American Canal. We are
also considering a right of way for IID to install a fence to prevent
deer from entering the canal.

**Botany**

This year's work on Pierson's Milkvetch in the Imperial Sand Dunes
consisted of a pollinator study. BLM has worked with UC Davis (through
an assistance agreement) to find out which insects are the main
pollinators of Peirson's Milkvetch. UC Davis submitted reports on an
insect census and the PMV pollinator study in February. The report on
the PMV pollination study indicates that the main pollinator of PMV is a
type of large apid bee, *Habropoda pallida* Timberlake. Several
subterranean nest sites of this species were found north of Highway 78
in the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness area.

Several other insects were found associated with PMV, including two
species of exotic aphids: the pea aphid and bean aphid.

A large scale tamarisk removal project is being planned for the fall
season in the San Felipe Wash near the Fish Creek Wilderness Area.

**Rangeland Management**

There is one active grazing lease in Eastern San Diego County (McCain
Valley -- Tierra Blanca). As of completion of the ROD for Eastern San
Diego County, all allotments are now unavailable for livestock grazing.
Inspection of allotments will continue to occur each year to evaluate
continued management of these areas.

**Wilderness Program**

**Desert Hikes:** We have updated our desert hike program to focus our
attention on a local school district that has requested our assistance.
We have taken up to 15 or so students out on 3 separate hikes so far
this year with a couple more planned for the future.

**Wilderness Monitoring:** We are scheduled to monitor 150,000 acres of
wilderness this year. Since October, we have completed 80,000 acres of
monitoring. We have also monitored several natural water tanks within 4
wilderness areas on the east side of our resource area.

**Tamarisk Removal:** We had a contract for 1,300 acres of tamarisk
removal along the east side of the Fish Creek Mountains Wilderness area,
from the Carrizo Impact Area to the San Sebastian Marsh. This project
occurred in November of 2008 and should help alleviate the need for
Border Patrol incursions into the Wilderness Area in pursuit of
immigrants hiding among dense vegetation. It will also help protect the
watershed for the San Sebastian Marsh. We have also monitored for
additional infestations within 2 wilderness areas on the west side of
our resource area.

**Cultural Resources**

We have formed a partnership with local members of the Native American
Community, archaeologists, Border Patrol and others to protect sensitive
geoglyphs in the Yuha ACEC.

Archaeological surveys are underway to locate cultural resources in the
East Mesa and the Yuha in preparation for route restoration activities.
These surveys not only allow for restoration crews to avoid sensitive
resources but also provide updates and monitoring reports on the
conditions of existing sites in that area.

BLM is developing an audio tour for the cultural resources of the Yuha
Desert as part of the Take-It-Outside program in which users can
download pod-casts or CDs with educational information for visitors to
the Yuha.

In partnership with Imperial County and various racing organizations,
archaeological surveys are also underway to add additional mileage to
BLM's existing OHV race corridors in the Plaster City and Superstition
Mountain Open Areas. The BLM has established a strong working
relationship with the local and regional racing organizations to
designate approved racing routes resulting in a much more efficient
permitting process.

**Lands & Realty**

**Solar Projects**: We continue to receive applications for solar energy
development. Sterling Energy Systems has met minimum data requirements
for CEC and BLM on their Application for Certification/POD for their 750
megawatt Solar Two project in Imperial County. The CEC found the AFC
data adequate on October 8 and BLM's Notice of Intent was published on
October 17 initiating the scoping period. Joint Informational Site
Visit/Scoping Meetings were held in November and December, and work is
currently underway to prepare a joint Preliminary Staff Assessment/Draft
EIS for the project.

We are currently reviewing POD's for Sun Peak Solar, Iberdrola (PSI),
and OptiSolar.

**Wind Energy**: Applications for wind energy testing facilities include
proposals from Clipper, RENEWergy, and Wind Hunter. In addition, two
testing rights-of-way have been issued to Iberdrola and RENEWergy.
Iberdrola has requested installation of 3 additional wind monitoring
devices for their Tule Wind Project and work on an Environmental
Assessment for this is underway. Iberdrola has revised the POD for the
Tule Wind Project to be consistent with the new Eastern San Diego County
RMP and anticipates submitting it to BLM in the near future.

**Transmission Lines:** SDG&E Sunrise Powerlink Project -- On January
20, 2009, the State Director signed a record of decision (ROD) approving
the southern route alternative for the Sunrise Powerlink transmission
project proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) designed to help
met state renewable energy goals. The State Director also approved an
amendment to the agency's Eastern San Diego County Resource Management
Plan regarding the power line.  SDG&E agreed to the offer of a
right-of-way grant and temporary use permit with extensive mitigating
terms and conditions, including those in the biological opinion issued
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in compliance with the Endangered
Species Act, and BLM subsequently issued the grant and permit for the
power line.

 

BLM\'s decision authorizes issuance of right-of-way grant to SDG&E for
the final environmentally superior southern route alternative as
analyzed in the final EIS/EIR, issued in October 2008. The approved
route crosses 48.9 miles of BLM land, 19.2 miles of U.S. Forest Service
land, 2.0 miles of Department of Defense land, and 0.4 miles of state
land. The approved route is described in detail and shown on maps in the
final EIS/EIR, available at CPUC's website:

<http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/aspen/sunrise/sunrise.htm>.

A notice of availability of the ROD was published in the Federal
Register on February 20, 2009 beginning a 30-day appeal period. 

**Other Lands Actions:**

Mesquite Regional Landfill -- The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles
has proposed to amend the Conditional Use Permit for the Mesquite
Regional Landfill to allow delivery of waste by trucks as well as by
rail. The County of Imperial is the lead agency. BLM has submitted
scoping comments and will participate in the CEQA review of the proposed
amendment.

The United States Gypsum Company Expansion/Modernization Project Final
EIR/EIS was released to the public late last year. The County of
Imperial is the lead agency. BLM's involvement is a right-of-way
application to replace the existing water pipeline from Plaster City to
U.S. Gypsum's water well near Ocotillo. A Record of Decision is pending
completion of Section 7 consultation.

BOR/IID All American Canal Realignment Project - Most of the project
occurs on BOR withdrawn lands, however, BLM worked with BOR/IID to
identify access, material and mitigation needs on BLM administered lands
outside of the withdrawn lands. Construction is well underway and with
minimum impact to recreational use in the area.

BOR and BLM entered into an interagency agreement to provide habitat
compensation for the Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard for the Drop 2 reservoir
project. This project is entirely on BOR withdrawn lands and
construction is underway.

**Land Use Planning**

Last year, the Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental
Impact Statement for Eastern San Diego County was released for public
review and comment. The 30-day protest period ended on January 7, 2008.
All protests were resolved and the Eastern San Diego County Resource
Management Plan and Record of Decision were signed on October 10, 2008.

**Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area**

**RAMP:** Initial public scoping has been completed and the BLM is
currently in the process of preparing the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation
Area Management Plan (RAMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as
an amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan. The draft
is scheduled for release in late April, 2009.

**Trash Service:** Imperial County has provided \$125,000 from in-lieu
tax dollars to cover the cost of trash service in the dunes for the
remainder of the 2008/09 season. The contract is between Imperial County
and Allied Waste. BLM is looking for alternative ways to pay for trash
service in the future, which may mean raising fees.

**Fees:** This year, gross sales are down 7%. Last season, we also
experienced a 7% reduction. This year, permit sales are down 17%,
however, compliance is 84%, a 4% increase from last year. 50% of permits
were sold off-site, an increase of 36% from last year. Visitation is
down 4% and medicals are down 38%.

ECFO is looking into raising fees for next season to cover operating
costs. The 2003 Business Plan is being revised in house and will be used
to determine how much to raise ISDRA fees for the 2009/2010 season. ECFO
is planning on presenting to the RRAC in May.

**Vendor Permits:** There have been 109 vendor applicants this season,
compared to 140 last season. This is most likely due to the economy.

**Wash Road:** Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR) has been installing a
fence just inside their property line which extends 100' from the
centerline of the rail road tracks and encompasses essentially all of
Wash Road. This project started in mid-November and will extend from
approximately Highway 78 to the south; ending-point at this time is Wash
28, a stretch of about six miles.

BLM met with UPRR representatives on February 4th to discuss their
project and their concerns about allowing continued public access to
this area. UPRR agreed to allow continued public access through the end
of this use season, but expressed their intent to close off access by
next season (2009/10).

The wash road currently provides access to flat sandy areas west of the
new fence. The areas north of wash 8 will still be accessible by driving
through the flat sandy areas south and west of the fence. A dune arm
extends across the flat sandy area to the new fence between washes 8 and
9 blocking. At this time, the Wash Road is the only way around this sand
dune area for RVs. BLM has already begun to explore options which could
provide new means of accessing the flat sandy areas to the south of wash
8 that historically have been used for camping.

**Law Enforcement**

**ISDRA:** With cooler winter temperatures, visitation in the desert has
increased, and even with a 4% decrease in visitation, the dunes are
still seeing quite a bit of use. We have had several small to medium
size gatherings in the area in the North Dunes. The El Centro Field
Rangers still have a strong positive relationship with the Imperial
County Sheriff.

**West Side:** Illegal alien trafficking is still on the increase and
drug smuggling has increased dramatically in the last several months. We
have also seen an increase in the amount of border-related litter and
off route driving. We have consequently increased law enforcement
patrols on the West Side and are working resource cases including thefts
of reptiles and other species. Our increased patrols have also resulted
in the discovery and eradication of several cultivated marijuana
gardens.

**East Side:** Increased Border Patrol presence and the new border fence
have caused a reduction in smuggling in these areas. Route proliferation
continues to be a concern for Law Enforcement. We are increasing signing
to make it easier to educate and take appropriate enforcement actions
with individuals who are off approved routes of travel.

The ECFO Law Enforcement staff has changed from 12 to 15 full time
employees. We are currently at 11 and in the process of completing the
hiring and backgrounds on the remaining staff. This new level of staff
will help with the increasing visitation in the desert areas. Kynan
Barrios has reported for duty as the new Chief Ranger in place of
Michael Boxx, who accepted a new position as Special Agent.

**Administrative**

In addition to Law Enforcement Officer positions, we are currently
working to fill several other vacancies on our staff. Selections are
being finalized for a public contact rep, a natural resource specialist,
and a geologist. We are also working on recruitments for an Admin
Technician, an engineering equipment operator, and an Outdoor Recreation
Planner. A 60-day detail has been arranged with an employee from BLM New
Mexico to temporarily fill behind a realty specialist who recently
retired.

The administrative staff recently completed an inventory of all
accountable property in the field office in conjunction with the
implementation of the new Federal Budget Management System in BLM.