[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29163-29164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13538]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-650-01-1220-JG-064B]


Closure Order for Motorized Vehicle Use, Surprise Canyon Area of 
Critical Environmental Concern BLM Route P71, Panamint Mountains, Inyo 
County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of the 
Interior.

ACTION: Notice of vehicle closure on BLM Route P71 in the Surprise 
canyon area of critical environmental concern, Panamint Mountains in 
Inyo County, California.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that BLM Route P71 is closed to 
motorized vehicle use within the Surprise Canyon Area of Critical 
Environmental Concern (ACEC).
    Order: The public lands from a point located in the vicinity of 
Chris Wicht Camp approximately four miles east of the intersection of 
BLM Route P71 and the Indian Ranch/Wingate Road to the boundary of 
Death Valley National Park within the Surprise Canyon ACEC is hereby 
closed to all motorized vehicle use. No person may use, drive, 
transport, park, let stand, or have charge or control over any 
motorized vehicle in the area located east of the closure signs and the 
BLM locked gate. Exemptions to this order may be granted to law 
enforcement and other emergency vehicles in the course of official 
duties. Exemptions to this order may be granted to the holders of 
private property in the vicinity of Panamint City in Death Valley 
National Park for reasonable access after receiving a written agreement 
and a key from the Ridgecrest Field Office Manager.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This closure is effective upon publication in the 
Federal Register and will remain in effect until rescinded by the 
authorizing official which will occur when a final decision on the 
disposition of the road will be made after the National Environmental 
Policy Act and California Desert Conservation Area Plan amendment 
processes are completed. BLM will implement the proposed action 
effective the date of publication in the Federal Register, without 
prior notice and opportunity for public comment, because of the 
imminent need for regulatory authority to prevent illegal/unauthorized 
vehicle intrusion into the Surprise Canyon Wilderness and potential 
risk to aquatic/riparian resources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Field Office Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 South Richmond Road, 
Ridgecrest CA 93555, (760) 384-5405.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In March 16, 2000, the Center for Biological 
Diversity, et al. (Center) filed for injunctive relief in U.S. District 
Court, Northern District of California (Court) against the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) to immediately prohibit all grazing activities 
that may affect listed species. The Center alleges the BLM was in 
violation of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing 
to enter into formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (FWS) on the effects of adoption of the California Desert 
Conservation Area Plan (CDCA Plan), as amended, upon threatened and 
endangered species. On August 25, 2000, the BLM acknowledged through a 
court stipulation that activities authorized, permitted, or allowed 
under the CDCA Plan may adversely affect threatened and endangered 
species, and that the BLM is required to consult with the FWS to insure 
that adoption and implementation of the CDCA Plan is not likely to 
jeopardize the continued existence of threatened and endangered species 
or to result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical 
habitat of listed species.
    Although BLM has received biological opinions on selected 
activities, consultation on the overall CDCA Plan is necessary to 
address the cumulative effects of all the activities authorized by the 
CDCA Plan. Consultation on an overall plan is complex and the 
completion date uncertain. Absent consultation on the entire plan, the 
impacts of individual activities, when added together with the impacts 
of other activities in the desert, are not known. The BLM entered into 
negotiations with plaintiffs regarding interim actions to be taken to 
provide protection for endangered and threatened species pending 
completion of consultation on the plan. Agreement on these interim 
actions avoided litigation of plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief 
and the threat of an injunction prohibiting all activities authorized 
under the plan. These interim agreements allowed BLM to continue 
appropriate levels of activity throughout the planning area during the 
lengthy consultation process while providing protection to the desert 
tortoise and other listed species in the short term. By taking interim 
actions as allowed under 43 CFR 8364.1, BLM contributes to the 
conservation of the endangered and threatened species in accordance 
with 7 (a)(1) of the ESA. BLM also avoids making any irreversible or 
irretrievable commitment of resources which would foreclose any 
reasonable and prudent alternatives which might be required as a result 
of the consultation on the CDCA Plan in accordance with 7(d) for the 
ESA. In January 2001, the parties signed the Stipulation and Proposed 
Order concerning All Further Injunctive Relief.
    This closure order is issued to provide interim protection of 
riparian habitat, water quality, sensitive wildlife resources, and 
wilderness values within the Surprise Canyon ACEC until such a time 
when the BLM completes a thorough review and analysis of various 
methods of access in Surprise Canyon and complies with the processes 
required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the California 
Desert Conservation Area Plan. This interim closure will allow BLM to 
properly evaluate and arrive at a final decision on environmentally 
acceptable methods of access in Surprise Canyon while protecting the 
canyon from further impact caused by the operation of off-

[[Page 29164]]

highway vehicles. Concerns over the effects of off-highway vehicle use 
in Surprise Canyon on environmental quality and natural resources have 
been raised in a lawsuit filed against the BLM, and these concerns need 
to be addressed through the processes required by the National 
Environmental Policy Act and the California Desert Conservation Area 
Plan.
    The canyon riparian zone currently does not meet the BLM's minimum 
standards for a properly functioning riparian system due to soil 
erosion and streambed alterations caused by off-highway vehicle use. 
The Surprise Canyon ACEC supports several California BLM and California 
State sensitive plant and animal species that are dependant on a 
properly functioning riparian system.
    The canyon will remain open for human use that does not entail the 
use of a motorized vehicle within the area closed by this order. Maps 
showing the affected area are available by contacting the Ridgecrest 
Field Office, California Desert Conservation Area, Ridgecrest, CA. A 
gate will be erected at the closure points and the affected area will 
be posted with public notices and standard motorized vehicle closure 
signs. The BLM will issue a final decision on allowable methods of 
public access in Surprise Canyon following completion of public 
scoping, and a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance 
document. The NEPA compliance document will evaluate a full range of 
options for management of human access to Surprise Canyon within the 
area affected by the interim closure.
    Authority for this closure is found in 43 CFR 8364.1. Violations of 
this order may be subject to the penalties provided according to 43 CFR 
8360.0-7.

    Dated: May 23, 2001.
Gail Acheson,
Acting Deputy State Director for Resources.
[FR Doc. 01-13538 Filed 5-25-01; 8:45 am]
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