West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

Utility Maintenance: Many powerlines, pipelines and fiberoptic cables cross the desert;microwave and other sites are located on public lands. Although many of these sites are not inextremely mountainous terrain, they may not be accessible by major paved highways. Accessusing unpaved desert routes may be necessary to allow routine maintenance of these facilities tooccur.Mining Production and Exploration: Many mineral production sites cannot beaccessed by paved road, and the terrain where they are located may be rather rough. Motorizedvehicles may be necessary, however, both to haul supplies and equipment in, and to bringminerals out.3.5.2.2 Off Road Vehicle Designations Prior to 2002Off-road vehicle designations have been completed by BLM in the West Mojaveplanning area, although they have not yet been adopted as a component of the CDCA Plan.These designations occurred through a West Mojave-wide effort in the middle 1980s, during thepreparation of ACEC plans, and during a late 1990s pilot project at Ord Mountain, and identified3,266 miles of open routes within the planning area.1985-87 Off-Road Vehicle Designations: BLM conducted a field and map inventory ofoff highway vehicle routes throughout the planning area in the mid-1980s and, based upon thatinventory, identified a network of open motorized vehicle access routes. BLM personnelinventoried and evaluated existing routes of travel. Information from existing maps and aerialphotos was supplemented by field checks. This information was then utilized to create a knownroute inventory that primarily consisted of known “two-track” routes (i.e. “single-track”motorcycle routes were generally not part of the inventory). Public meetings were conductedand members of the public also reviewed these route inventories. Criteria for determining whichroutes were to remain open was based upon public access needs, recreational values and resourceconflicts. Following public meetings, decisions to designate the route network were announced.On August 21, 1985, BLM published a Notice in the Federal Register titled Off-RoadVehicle Designation Decisions; Ridgecrest Resource Area, CA (Federal Register, Vol. 50,No.182). Two years later, on June 19, 1987, BLM published Federal Register notice titled Off-Road Vehicle Route Designation Decisions for the California Desert District, Barstow ResourceArea (Federal Register, Vol. 52, No.118, p.23364); and, on September 22, 1987 BLM publishesa Federal Register notice titled Off-Road Vehicle Route Designation Decisions for the CaliforniaDesert District, Barstow Resource Area (Federal Register, Vol. 52, No. 183, p. 35589). Thesenotices opened 2,949 miles of off highway vehicle routes.Other Off Road Vehicle Designations: Since 1980, many BLM ACEC and other localmanagement plans identified identified motorized vehicle access networks, collectivelyidentifying 317 miles of open routes. Table 3-57 lists these plans, together with the date theroute network in each was developed.Chapter 3 3-269