Judge nixes hopes to reopen 49,000 acres of dunes, for now By DARREN SIMON, Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 2:35 PM PST
SAN FRANCISCO Forty-nine thousand acres of the Imperial Valley Sand Dunes Recreation Area will remain closed to off-road use, at least for now, following a federal judge’s ruling here Tuesday.
In a 67-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found the U.S. Bureau of Land Management failed to address the threat caused by off-road vehicles to Peirson’s milk-vetch, the plant at the center of debate. Concern for the harm off-roading has on Peirson’s milk-vetch led to an interim action in 2000 to close 49,000 acres to off-roaders while the BLM developed a dunes management plan.
The judge ruled the BLM management plan and an environmental impact statement both fall short in protecting the milk-vetch. The judge ruled that a biological opinion prepared by the BLM in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is flawed.
“Relatedly, the court concludes that the biological opinion is flawed because it fails to explain how continued and expanded habitat degradation of almost half of the designated critical habitat for the Peirson’s milk-vetch does not result in adverse modification to milk-vetch critical habitat,” the judge wrote in her court order.
Unclear from the action Tuesday is what permanent effect the judge’s ruling against the BLM will have on the future of the 49,000 acres.
Sacramento-based BLM spokeswoman Jan Bedrosian said for now the land will remain closed to off-road use. However, she said BLM legal staff is going to have to review the court’s findings to determine what action needs to be taken.
Bedrosian said all she can say for certain is the judge criticized the biological opinion and environmental reports and that the land will remain closed for now.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a Tucson-based environmental group that along with other environmental organizations challenged the BLM’s environmental report, said the judge’s ruling is a victory. Daniel Patterson, ecologist and desert program director for the CBD, said the judge’s opinion protects the land for multiple uses.
In a press release, he states: “This is a huge win for wildlife and people who care about the desert. The court wisely told BLM to wake up, follow the law and treat the dunes with some respect.”
Karen Schambach of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said in the release: “Once again BLM has been chastised for its criminal negligence of a national landmark.”
Patterson said Tuesday the judge’s ruling provides an opportunity for environmental groups to work with the BLM, off-roading groups and Imperial County to reach a permanent agreement on managing the dunes. He said he thinks “there will be a lively discussion about what our options are.”
Patterson said the ruling places environmentalists “in a very strong position.”
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