West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

AREA LOCATION PRIMARY DESTINATIONS ANDRECREATIONAL ACTIVITIESJohnsonValley SouthCopperMountainWestCleghornNorth PintoSouth CoyoteEast AvawatzSouth of Johnson ValleyOHV Area and North ofBighorn sub region.North of Joshua Tree NationalPark and northwest of theCity of Twentynine Palms.West of the Cleghorn LakesWilderness and bounded byTwentynine Palms MarineBase to the north and west.North of the BLM Pinto subregion and south of theCleghorn Lakes Wilderness.About 30 miles east ofBarstow, south of AftonCanyon Natural Area andnorth of the Sleeping Beautysub region.About 12 miles north of theCity of Baker on Highway 15.Wilderness Study Areas,which surround this area arethe Soda Mountains to thesouth and Avawatz to thewest.Johnson Valley South is moderately consolidated BLM ownershipof approximately 50 square miles in size, mixed with State Landsand private lands. The area offers access to Johnson Valley OHVArea and the BLM Bighorn sub region and Soggy Lake &Creosote Rings Special Management Areas.The Copper Mountain area is a greatly dispersed BLM ownershipof about 100 square miles. The Twentynine Palms Marine Basebounds the area on the north, and Joshua Tree NationalMonument forms the south border. The area offers OHV touringand dual sport activity.The West Cleghorn area is a 30 square mile area of consolidatedBLM ownership offering access to the Cleghorn LakesWilderness.The North Pinto is a moderately consolidated BLM areaapproximately 60 square miles in size, offering OHV touring,mining and rock hounding.The South Coyote BLM area is a checkerboard ownership and iscomprised of about 250 square miles. The Cady Mountains arelocated in the center of the area. The area serves as access to theKelso Dunes Wilderness and Afton Canyon Natural Area andSleeping Beauty sub region.The East Avawatz BLM area is about 100 square miles in size andis largely consolidated ownership offering access to WildernessStudy Areas. OHV touring and mining opportunities are availablein the area.BLM’s CDCA Plan has designated several areas within the West Mojave as “OpenAreas.” Within open areas, unlike limited vehicle access areas, there is no “route designation.”Motorized vehicles may travel anywhere, so long as the vehicle is operated responsibly inaccordance with regulations, and subject to the permission of private landowners.The OHV Open Areas receive high levels of dispersed OHV riding. Many repetitiveOHV routes have been created in these areas that riders generally follow. In areas where the useis particularly concentrated, the density of routes can be very high. Table 3-53 briefly describeseach open area, visitor use levels and the principal recreation activities that occur there.Chapter 3 3-242