Logandale resident Elise McAllister, founder and head of Partners in Conservation (PIC), right, discusses areas to be included in the Bureau of Land Management’s travel and recreation plan with, from left, Hillerie Patton, BLM spokesperson, Marilyn Peterson, BLM project lead, and Sky McClain, a representative of the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership.

By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

Fewer than 15 Moapa Valley residents turned out to an Overton open house last week to offer opinions and/or suggestions on what they would like to see included in a new travel and recreation plan the Bureau of Land Management is developing for Clark County.

The scoping meeting, the last of five scheduled throughout the county, sought citizen input on issues, concerns or recreational opportunities they would like to see addressed in the upcoming “Las Vegas Travel and Recreation Implementation Plan,” said Marilyn Peterson, a BLM outdoor recreation planner who is the project manager for the plan. The local meeting was held on Thursday, March 10, in the Overton Community center.

“Virtually all BLM land in Clark County, some 3.4 million acres of public land, will be affected by the new plan with the exception of Red Rock Canyon, Sloan, any wilderness areas and other areas of critical concern,” Peterson said. “Since the focus of the plan is on recreational use, we wanted citizens to tell us what they would like included in the plan such as development of facilities, enhancement of any off-road vehicle routes and improvements of any biking, hiking or equestrian trails.

Additionally, the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area and the Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge are excluded.

Peterson said that before the first open house was held at the first of March, BLM researchers inventories nearly 9,450 miles of routes, trails and sites to be included in the plan. Every attempt was made to identify and list any areas that people may have wanted to see included.

“The Las Vegas Resource Management Plan will provide a guide for recreational and travel uses and individual RAMPS (recreational area management plan) will be developed for specific areas,” Peterson said.

RAMPS will identify specific actions and decisions on individual areas including:

• Route evaluation for individual motorized and non-motorized routes;

• Visitor services and facilities to be provided;

• Locations for competitive races and events;

• Updates to the special permit process;

• Enforcement and monitoring of recreation activities;

• Development of educational and interpretive information and materials;

• Use restrictions and fees, and

• Potential partnerships.

Areas selected for RAMPs include Clark County North, Clark County West, Clark County South including Searchlight and Laughlin, Gold Butte, Jean and Roach lakes, the Las Vegas Valley including the Nellis Dunes and Sunrise Mountain, the Muddy Mountains and Logandale Trails.

“We’ve already established the plan for Logandale Trails and that will automatically be adopted into the overall management plan,” Peterson said. “A major goal of this project is to come up with a travel map that will cover Southern Nevada and will show all the recreational facilities and trails encompassing all federal agencies including the BLM, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

She said the final management plan will have input from all these other agencies.

Another important goal is to develop a Comprehensive Transportation and Travel Management (CTTM) plan for all the uses of all the routes including recreational, traditional, casual, agricultural, commercial and educational. In addition to motor vehicle use, the CTTM includes non-motorized travel such as hiking, horseback, livestock and bicycles among others.

Those interested can submit comments up to April 11, 2011, by mailing a letter to Marilyn Peterson, BLM project lead, Bureau of Land Management, 4701 Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV, 89130; by FAX to 702-515-5023; email to LVFO_RAMPS@blm.gov, or online at www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo.html.

Before the management plan is completed by the BLM, the process includes compiling and reviewing existing data; conducting alternative development workshops; describe the affected environment and analyze impacts and identify mitigation; prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS); conduct another pubic review; respond to the public and prepare a final EIS; conduct another public review period, and then prepare and issue the record of decision (ROF).