The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold open house meetings in four locations to seek public comment and encourage public participation in the development of a management plan for Lime Canyon and Jumbo Springs wilderness areas, located within the Gold Butte Complex. The meetings are held as part of a comment period that will end on August 12. Meetings will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the following locations:

• June 27 – Bunkerville Community Center – 200 Virgin Street, Bunkerville.

• June 28 – Overton Community Center – 320 North Moapa Blvd, Overton

• June 29 – Mesquite City Hall – 10 Mesquite Blvd., Mesquite

• June 30- BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines, Las Vegas

Meetings will begin with a 30-minute presentation. The remaining hour will be available for public discussion and comments regarding management and planning options. Subsequent steps for public involvement include review and comment on proposed actions within the preliminary environmental assessment and draft wilderness management plan.

Interested individuals may also communicate ideas about management of these areas by sending a letter to Mark Tanaka-Sanders, wilderness planner, Bureau of Land Management, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130 or to lvwilderness@blm.gov.

The 23,233-acre Lime Canyon Wilderness was designated by Congress in 2002. The wilderness area contains rugged drainages, gently rolling hills, two paralleling ridges, a narrow canyon and several wide, sandy washes. Faulting and erosion have exposed a variety of sediment deposits throughout the area. The highest elevation in the area is 4,406 feet. Vegetation is typical of the Mojave Desert and includes cacti, creosote bush and scattered communities of Joshua trees and yucca.

The 4,631-acre Jumbo Springs Wilderness was also designated by Congress in 2002. The wilderness area contains the upper canyons of three major washes that drain from the edge of a plateau (Jumbo Basin) east toward Lake Mead. Elevations range from 2,700 feet along the southern boundary to the 4,700 foot ridge on the northern end. The area also contains identified habitat for desert tortoise and Gambel’s quail.