Land closures

[Wildcard-2]

ARRA Obtains Remainder of Leaked DOI Document Detailing BLM Agenda that Leaves Little Room for Motorized Recreation

[COLOR="White"]ARRA alerted you to a leaked Department of Interior memo earlier this year that outlined that the Administration is considering restricting access to public lands by declaring as many as 17 areas in 11 western states as National Monuments. The leaked pages were part of a bigger “Treasured Landscapes” document. Since the leak, the House Natural Resources Committee passed a Resolution of Inquiry (H.Res. 1406) directing DOI to turn over the full document. The full House has yet to act on the inquiry; however, ARRA has obtained a copy of the full document, which can be found here.

In addition to the pages we knew about addressing National Monuments there is an attachment that highlights wilderness bills that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) believes “may be appropriate for Wilderness or National Conservation Area designation,” including potential designations in NM, NV, OR, CO, CA and UT. Particularly troubling is the inclusion of the Hidden Gems proposal in CO, which has yet to be formally introduced and has faced significant opposition from motorized and other organizations in Colorado.

The document also lays out BLM’s intention to “…transition from the current land management system, which is based on jurisdictional boundaries, to a modern landscape-level management system…” Part of this transition includes supporting Congressional efforts to designate Wilderness, National Conservation areas and other special designations, and the designation of new National Monuments, which are outlined in the attachments. The document also makes it clear that BLM intends to use its own “land-use planning process to manage for conservation values” in areas where legislative or Monument protection is unlikely.

All of this is likely to have a negative impact on motorized recreation on BLM lands. All OHV use is forever banned in wilderness areas, and will almost certainly be banned in areas that receive other special designations. Further, the document lays out a clear desire to elevate managing for conservation over BLM’s mandate to manage for multiple uses. While conservation is certainly important, there is no reason that lands managed for all forms of recreation, including motorized, cannot be conserved.

ARRA has also alerted you about the Administration’s “America’s Great Outdoors Initiative (AGO),” and has notified many of you about AGO listening sessions in your area. DOI Secretary Ken Salazar has made it clear that he envisions implementing the Treasured Landscapes agenda laid out in the leaked documents as part of the AGO recommendations.

This makes it especially important for all OHV users to get involved and participate in any local AGO listening sessions and/or submit comments on the America’s Great Outdoors website here: America's Great Outdoors IdeaJam

[Senator]

Motorcycle USA finally did anstory about Obama's western "land grab"...

Courtesy of the AMA
Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Recently revealed documents show that a federal land management agency has been talking about changing land-use designations on public land that could close from 35 million to 140 million acres to off-highway riding, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

In a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar dated Aug. 9, Ed Moreland, AMA senior vice president for government relations, noted that an internal government document indicates the Interior Department may have "a finely detailed plan to exclude Americans from accessing public lands despite the bureau's assertion that these documents are simply the result of 'brainstorming sessions.'"

Moreland asked Salazar to explain precisely what the language means in the internal memo produced by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is part of the Interior Department.

"According to a news report on Aug. 5 from Salt Lake City-based KLS-TV, a recently obtained BLM document outlines how the federal government is seeking to manage federal lands through more restrictive land management practices," Moreland wrote. "The AMA seeks assurances from you that all dispositions of public lands will be publicly debated before new designations are made."

The internal memo states that some 130 million to 140 million acres -- an area roughly the size of Colorado and Wyoming combined -- are under consideration for special land-use designations that could further restrict off-highway riding. This is about half of the 264 million acres of public land managed by the BLM.

At another point in the document, the BLM states that about 35 million acres of the land it manages "should be considered for a new and/or heightened conservation designation."

The BLM memo spells out a proposed plan for public land-use designations that could ban off-highway vehicle riding by supporting certain congressional land-use designation proposals, having the president pull an end run around Congress by unilaterally naming areas as national monuments "should the legislative process not prove fruitful" and to use the agency's internal land-use planning process to accomplish the bureau's goals for managing "conservation values" when those other two efforts fail.

"This memo doesn't read like a draft document," Moreland said. "It reads like a playbook for shutting the public out of land-use decisions."


source: BLM Letter Reveals OHV Land Closures - Dirt Bike OHV Legal Issues - Motorcycle USA