The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Problem Statement Reiteration:
- “If the above narratives regarding A. Peckii, Bull Flat Road and Land Ownership are true, then BLM has certain unmet obligations set out in the UDRMP. Issues we believe need addressing include:
- Reports and Planning
- Map Updates
- A. Peckii Habitat Management
- Travel Management Plan Creation and Management”
References:
What is the Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan (UDRMP)? The formal name of this compendium of information is called the: “Record of Decision & Resource Management Plan of 2005” otherwise known as the UDRMP. The official version is located at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/36346/510. Click HERE to see an archive if the website is down.
Reports and Planning:
A “2018 RMP Evaluation Memo” was posted on the BLM website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/36346/200043934/20048402/250054585/2018%20RMP%20Evaluation%20Memo.pdf with the subject line: “Prineville District resource Management Plan Evaluations and Recommendations”. The third bullet under “Summary of Key Findings” states:
- “The 2018 plan evaluation found that travel management planning within the Upper Deschutes RMP’s planning area has not occurred at the pace and scale envisioned by the plan. The completion of these plans could address the management of new types and levels of recreational travel and effectively alleviate many of the existing user and resource conflicts within the planning area.”
Prineville BLM Project Update. The latest update this author can find is at https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/orwa-plan-update-pri-apr19.pdf. Local Copy is HERE: None of the 37 NEPA projects impact the greater Bull Flat Area.
Plan Monitoring:
- The UDRMP sets out reporting/evaluation requirements beginning on page 11. A Freedom of Information Act Request was made to see these evaluations. The response was “No Records Were Found”:
- “The BLM planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.4-9) call for the monitoring of resource management plans on a continual basis with a formal evaluation done at periodic intervals. Implementation of the Upper Deschutes RMP will be monitored over time. Plan evaluations will occur on about 5-year intervals. Management actions arising from activity plan decisions will be evaluated to ensure consistency with RMP objectives. This is described in more detail in the monitoring section of the attached RMP.”
Map Updates:
RMP Map 1: Planning Area and Special Management Areas
- The Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) should extend south to the reservoir.
RMP Map 3: Travel Management Designations and Seasonal Use Periods
- The two parcels already reclaimed and the two that will be reclaimed should be displayed on the map.
- Note that the area is designated “Closed Year Round”; Bull Flat Road should be gated and closed to all but administrative purposes as it passes through an ACEC (above). See comments on RMP Map 24.
RMP Map 4: Wildlife and Recreation Emphasis
- The two parcels already reclaimed and the two that will be reclaimed should be displayed on the map.
RMP Map 24: Interim guidance for Motorized Use of Existing Roads and Trails for the Tumalo Recreation Area
- Tax Lot 1611000008300 should be displayed as BLM
- Bull Flat Road is not a Highway or County Road
- Snow Creek and Kohfield roads are not Highway or County Roads
A. Peckii Habitat Management
Four Objectives in the UDRMP deal specifically with A. Peckii. They are: V-3, SMA-1b, TU-1 and TU-6.
Special Status Plants (Page 38)
Objective V – 3: Manage special status plant species such that BLM actions do not contribute to the need to federally list as threatened or endangered.
Rationale:
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 the BLM has legal responsibilities and policy requirements to protect and provide habitat for species listed or proposed to be listed as threatened or endangered.
Guidelines:
- Management will include a combination of protection, restoration and enhancement depending on individual species, population condition and dynamics, and larger scale treatment opportunities.
- Where practicable, vegetative treatments will incorporate active habitat improvement for the conservation of special status plant species. Experience and research findings will help dictate appropriate vegetative treatments to improve habitat for the specific special status species within the planning area.
- Prior to implementing any projects with the potential to affect special status plant species, surveys will be conducted and documented, including any site-specific management mitigations.
fTWC Comments: To our knowledge, these general guidelines have not been applied to the Tumalo Natural Area by the BLM let alone to the habitat mapped on the Astragalus Peckii page.
Objective SMA – 1b: Manage land uses and other activities so as to not impair Peck’s milkvetch (Astragalus peckii) populations or its habitat. (Page 72)
Rationale:
The ACEC encompasses the central known habitat for Peck’s milkvetch (Astragalus peckii), a federal candidate plant. The high levels of public use of the area pose potential threats to this species.
Allocations/Allowable Uses:
- ACEC Area: 14,075 acres are designated as an ACEC.
- Fire Management: Unless life or property is threatened, off-road use of fire suppression vehicles will not be allowed and fire lines will be limited to hand lines only. Prescribed burning will be allowed.
- Vegetative Treatments: Treatments designed to maintain or enhance Peck’s milkvetch populations or its habitat will be allowed.
- Forest and Range Products: Generally, harvesting of wood products will not be allowed except in conjunction with restoration treatments or if it does not impair the values of this ACEC.
- Minerals: Rockhounding and the collection of decorative stone will not be allowed. Mineral material mining, development of mining claims, and geophysical exploration will be restricted as necessary based on site-specific analysis to protect the special values of this ACEC. Approved plans of operation will have stipulations to protect special values. Surface occupancy for fluid mineral leasing will not be allowed.
- Livestock Grazing: Livestock grazing will continue to be allowed under a deferred rotation system, but deferment will be until Peck’s milkvetch dormancy (usually mid-August) at least every other year.
- Recreation: See Recreation sections for additional area guidance.
- Firearm Discharge: No allocations/allowable uses specific to this ACEC. See Public Health and Safety sections for area guidance.
- Rights-of-Way: New rights-of-ways (ROWs) will be granted only if no other reasonable route is available.
- Where new ROW cannot be reasonably accommodated outside of ACECs, consider first along existing utility corridors, county roads, or BLM system roads.
- A vacated ROW will be considered for conversion to compatible trails prior to obliteration.
- Land Ownership: Recreation and Public Purposes Act (R&PP) leases will not be issued for lands within the ACEC unless such leases are non-patent leases that will not impair the values of the ACEC.
fTWC Comments: With the identification of additional A. Peckii habitat, we believe Use Guidelines #1 and #7 needs to be revisited. The “Recreation” section (#7) for the Tumalo Recreation Area begins on Page 134 and is below.
Objective R – 2 would be reasonably implemented in a Travel Plan and is covered in the Travel Plan page. Click HERE for a discussion about BLM Travel Planning and its applicability to the Tumalo Recreation Area under the UDRMP.
Objective R – 4: Provide identifiable non-motorized recreation opportunities to provide visitor satisfaction, protect natural resources, and minimize conflicts among public land visitors and adjacent land owners.
Allocations/Allowable Uses:
The Tumalo area is closed to motorized use. See RMP Maps 3 and 24 referenced above.
Guidelines:
- The Tumalo area is designated as Non-motorized Recreation Exclusive.
- Trail system goals for the area include:
- Roads will be retained in this area only to the extent necessary to create or access parking areas and trailheads.
- Roads not needed for administrative access will be either closed or converted to designated trails.
- Trails will be available for year-round use.
- Provide links to trail systems on adjacent lands.
- Provide a variety of loops that offer a diversity of trail experiences and serve to disperse users and reduce user conflicts.
- Trails will take advantage of scenic and interpretive opportunities.
- Designate a system of non-motorized trails in both the main Tumalo Block and the area south of Tumalo Reservoir.
- Work with Deschutes National Forest, Deschutes County and others to provide regional trail link opportunities between Bend and Sisters, and between Tumalo and Cline Buttes.
fTWC Comments: The first and second bullets of Section 2 apply to revisiting Bull Flat Road’s designation and usage since it traverses A. Peckii habitat.
Transportation and Utilities – Begins on Page 135
Objective TU – 1: Provide new or modified rights-of-way for transportation/utility corridors and communication/energy sites to meet expected demands and minimize environmental impacts.
Allocations/Allowable Uses:
- All transportation/utility corridors identified by the Western Regional Corridor Study are designated as transportation/utility corridors. Existing communications sites in the planning area are identified.
- Areas of critical environmental concern, wilderness study areas, and Wild and Scenic Rivers are designated as right-of-way exclusion areas.
- All areas identified as having special status plant or animal species are designated as avoidance areas.
- Designate all existing right-of-way routes as local corridors for future collocation of compatible projects.
fTWC Comments: Bullet #3 is relevant to reconsidering the status of Bull Flat Road.
Objective TU – 6: Provide motorized access to facilitate reasonable entry and operations for administrative purposes. (Page 139)
Rationale:
To meet BLM administrative needs for land and resource management activities,
public access restrictions may not apply or may be temporarily modified (see RMP Map 3 for Travel Management Designations). Administrative access will be required
in cases of access required by law or regulation, to provide a more cost-effective means of protecting, restoring, or studying natural resources, and to construct, maintain, and access private property or facilities. Examples of such administrative and management activities include but may not be limited to: emergency access (i.e., fire suppression, hazmat clean-up, law enforcement), rights-of-way and facilities construction/ maintenance and ingress/egress to private in-holdings, research/education, monitoring/ inventory, military training, land treatments, authorized mineral material sites, traditional cultural uses, and other activities allowed under written authorization.
Allocations/Allowable Uses:
Vehicle use off of designated roads/trails is not allowed:
- In WSAs and ISAs (Instant Study Areas) at any time of the year (access on designated roads in the Badlands WSA only for approved activities).
- In the Peck’s Milkvetch ACEC during March 1 – August 15.
Guidelines:
- Groups and personnel granted administrative access will be guided by provisions and requirements in the specific contract, permit, or agreement which will stipulate what types of activities and travel will be allowed, and under what conditions.
- Administrative access includes but is not limited to:
- Access to designated Closed areas (seasonally or year-round).
- Access on designated or existing road systems that are closed (seasonally or year-round).
- Access off designated roads and trails.
- Administrative access authorization will include mitigation measures to protect resources and to rehabilitate impacts caused by temporary motorized access or activities. Some of these mitigations could include, but are not limited to:
- Closure and rehabilitation of temporary access routes.
- Activities/travel over snow or frozen ground.
- Activities/travel limited by season or soil moisture conditions.
- Use of low-impact equipment and techniques.
- Use of gates and signs to preclude general access.
- Decisions regarding access authorization and special requirements will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The authorizing officer will consider the resource values involved, potential effects of the activity, cost vs. benefit, and appropriate/ reasonable mitigation measures to be applied. Access recommendations will normally be made during project planning through an interdisciplinary team process and with the appropriate level of NEPA analysis.
- Grazing permittees/lessees must apply for a permit to provide supplemental livestock feed, salt, or nutrients, or to construct new fences or other range improvements. The BLM will decide during the permit process whether or not off-road vehicle use will be allowed for these activities. If allowed, written authorization and conditions will be included in the permit/lease. The annual grazing billing process will also provide an opportunity to include or change written access authorizations prior to turnout. Motorized vehicle use off of designated roads/trails will generally be approved when:
- Moving cattle in to or out of a pasture, and checking for stragglers a day or two later.
- Checking/repairing fences prior to turnout.
- Checking for breaks in fence or open gates after finding strays.
- Checking all perimeter fences/gates once per month (special authorization will be required for more frequent access).
- Hauling water to troughs that are off-road.
- If road closures eliminate access to sites used for traditional cultural uses, tribal members may be granted administrative access for purposes of those uses.
fTWC Comments: The second bullet under “Allowable Uses” specifically precludes vehicle use in the A. Peckii’s habitat March 1 to August 15. Guideline 3e allows the installation of a gate as a mitigation measure. We request the erroneous designation of Bull Flat Road be reevaluated and that it be gated closed except for administrative purposes from December 1 (RMP Map 3 seasonal closure) to August 31 (1b above).
Summary of the requested reevaluation:
- We recommend use of periodic public newsletters to set out the accomplishments and challenges facing the Prineville District.
- Update the Maps
- Close and gate Bull Flat Road except for administrative purposes.
- Collaborate with Deschutes Nat’l Forest to explore alternatives, if any, for access to FS 4606.
Travel Management Planning
An argument that has been advanced by BLM administration is that the above actions would require a Travel Plan as defined in MS-1626: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/Media%20Center%20BLM%20Policy%20Manual%20MS%201626.pdf . We advance the hypothesis that Section 6.4A (Page 33) of that manual sets out the circumstances wherein closure Bull Flat Road could be implemented promptly. Click HERE for that section. We also advance the hypothesis that the UDRMP is so specific regarding the A. Peckii that an EA (Environmental Assessment) and FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact) for the gating of Bull Flat Road should be a simple solution. The criteria for choosing this option can be found online at https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/Media_Library_BLM_Policy_Handbook_h1790-1.pdf. Click HERE for the local copy.