xs7hy9e06w?redirect_to=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/blm_library/tech_notes.Par.29872.File.dat/TN_444

The Gold Butte ACEC was
selected from several potential
regional mitigation candidate
locations for the following reasons:
• The Mojave Basin and Range REA
(NatureServe 2013) suggests that
creosote-bursage vegetation in
the Gold Butte ACEC may persist
longer under climate change
than the other nominated
ACECs.
• Niche modeling, completed by
the National Park Service for the
Lake Mead National Recreation
Area, suggests, under future
climate change, high-quality
desert tortoise habitat will
remain in the Gold Butte ACEC
while most of the adjacent
desert tortoise habitat in the
national recreation area will
decline and disappear.
• Road decommissioning and
restoration is proposed as a Dry
Lake SEZ regional mitigation
activity. The Gold Butte ACEC
has already completed road
designations. Road designations
have not been completed on the
other ACECs.
• Reseeding burn scars is
proposed as a Dry Lake SEZ
regional mitigation activity.
The Gold Butte ACEC suffered
multiple wildfires in 2005 and
2006 and could benefit from
restoration. The other ACECs
have had fewer fires.
• The Gold Butte ACEC is an
important landscape corridor
between Lake Mead and the
Virgin Mountains for game
species managed by the Nevada
Department of Wildlife.
The recommended regional
mitigation actions are as follows:
1. Prevent further degradation
of the ACEC, and ensure the
durability of the conservation
investment by:
a. Augmenting BLM law
enforcement capacity
sufficient to maintain
ranger patrols in the ACEC.
b. Providing a monitor to track
activities in and impacts to
the ACEC.
c. Building the capacity to
respond in a timely manner
to activities that threaten
resource values.
d. Providing treatment
for noxious weeds and
maintaining fuel breaks to
protect the area.
2. Restore creosote-bursage
vegetation on closed roads,
burn scars, and other
anthropogenic impacts.
Included in this goal is the
procurement of genetically
appropriate native seed to
complete these restoration
activities.
Any authorized mitigation
activities will likely occur over a 30-
year period, the expected lifetime
of a solar facility lease in the Dry
Lake SEZ. This extended time period
is critical for implementation and
to provide durability. Vegetation
management in the Mojave Desert
takes time; the conditions for seed
germination and establishment
typically occur once every 8 to 10
years. It takes time to develop the
capacity to build and maintain a
restoration program; it can take
up to 5 years to collect or procure
the genetically appropriate native
seed needed for restoration and
rehabilitation. By implementing
the mitigation over 30 years, funds
can be used to prudently respond
to current and future needs. The
proposed mitigation location
and actions will allow the BLM to
provide for sustainable use by the
public and conservation that will
benefit future generations.
All of the recommended actions
and the location are consistent
with the current Las Vegas RMP. The
Las Vegas RMP is currently being
revised. It is recommended that the
team developing the RMP revision
consider incorporating a regionallevel
strategy for mitigating the
unavoidable and cumulative
impacts that may occur as a result
of land use authorizations executed
under the revised RMP.
In order to increase the
probability of success in achieving
and maintaining the mitigation
goals and to facilitate effective
adaptive management (including
action to protect the resources
identified as having the potential
to be impacted), the project team
recommends the development and
implementation of a monitoring
and adaptive management plan.
In order to fund the
recommended mitigation
actions, monitoring, and adaptive
management, the project team
recommends a regional mitigation
fee be assessed to the developer(s)
similar to the example provided
in Section 2.6. This fee will be in
addition to the Endangered Species
Act Section 7 fee (currently $824/
acre). It is recommended that a
third-party entity be retained to
manage mitigation funds.
The findings and
recommendations offered here
are intended to inform the
decisionmaking process associated
with leasing land in the Dry
Lake SEZ for utility-scale solar
development. At the discretion of
the BLM authorized officer, all or
part of these recommendations
could be included in the
decisionmaking process.
44 • REGIONAL MITIGATION STRATEGY FOR THE DRY LAKE SOLAR ENERGY ZONE • TECHNICAL NOTE 444