(Note: Please consider that this one 'plan' covers a 'mere' 9.3 MILLION ACRES. "The plan, being developed by a group of 28 federal and state agencies and county and city governments, would cover plants and animals considered threatened or in danger of extinction ... " This should be sufficient proof that the FACT that resource providers and generational land stewards are being deliberately moved from the face of America by a tangled web of deceit, woven by word-phrases like 'considered threatened' or 'in danger of extinction.')

March 8, 2003

By Jim Skeen, Staff Writer

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Palmdale, California - A decade-long undertaking to set environmental management rules for the western Mojave Desert will reach two milestones this spring with the release of draft environmental documents evaluating off-road vehicle routes and habitat conservation plans.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is planning to release its draft environmental impact statement for the West Mojave Plan in mid-May and have the plan finalized by February 2004.

"The main goal is species and habitat protection and the refining the permitting process," said BLM spokesman Doran Sanchez. "It's been a tremendous collaborative process. We're moving forward. It's on track."

The plan would cover 9.3 million acres including the Antelope Valley, from Owens Dry Lake in Inyo County to the San Gabriel Mountains and east to Twentynine Palms.

The plan, being developed by a group of 28 federal and state agencies and county and city governments, would cover plants and animals considered threatened or in danger of extinction, such as the Mohave ground squirrel and the desert tortoise.

As part of that plan, the BLM plans to release later this month a draft environmental assessment of proposed routes for off-road vehicles within BLM-managed desert lands.

The BLM is facing a court-approved deadline to complete the route designation portion of the West Mojave plan amendment by June 30, as part of a settlement agreement resulting from a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

The groups filed a lawsuit alleging the BLM was failing to protect 24 threatened or endangered species, in part because it allowed off-road vehicles in sensitive habitat.

Of the 9.3 million acres that will be covered by the plan, 1.5 million are within Kern County and another 684,000 are within Los Angeles County.

Most of the desert to be covered by the plan is government controlled lands. About 34 percent is public lands managed by the BLM, 28 percent is owned by the Defense Department, and 32 percent is privately held.

The rest of the land is under the control of various state and federal agencies.

The plan's proposals have not yet been released, but biologists have recommended it set aside four areas totaling 1.5 million acres for desert tortoise habitat. Three are in the area between Edwards Air Force Base to the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base and another in the Pinto Mountain along the San Bernardino and Riverside county line.

An area inside San Bernardino County would be designated as a Mohave ground squirrel habitat.

"Other areas will be open for development," said Brian Ludicke, director of community development for the city of Lancaster. "The intent is to have Lancaster, Palmdale and the more urbanization areas, like Victorville, be the areas allowed to be developed."

For the Mohave ground squirrel, biologists have suggested establishing a zone in the far eastern Antelope Valley in which existing zoning would stay the same for at least 30 years. Landowners in that area are already upset by a county study that suggests limiting development to one home every 10 acres.

The biologists' proposal calls for the zone to be bordered by Big Rock Creek, at about 150th Street East, and by the the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county line, the San Gabriel Mountains and Edwards Air Force Base's southern border.

In that area, zoning could be changed to lessen density, but not to raise it, officials say.

Biologists have also recommended establishing a study zone in Kern County in which trapping would be conducted to determine whether the Mohave ground squirrel is present. If the mammal is present, a 30-year freeze on zoning changes would also be imposed.

If a plan is approved, participants say it will provide consistency for those seeking permits for development projects.

"The idea is for Fish and Game to be able to write a single take permit -- a permit that would cover all activity and remove the need for jurisdictions or people to come to us individually," said Darrell Wong, a senior biologist with California Fish and Game. "It's an ambitious plan, but the parties knew that going in."

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20943~1230604,00.html