BLM to hold public hearings

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Hearings set for West Mojave Plan
Meetings to educate public on project that will safeguard more than 100
wildlife species

By CHRISTINA L. ESPARZA/Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE; The public will soon get to comment on the controversial West Mojave Plan when the Bureau of Land Management and the county hold several public meetings to address the issue.

Seven meetings, starting July 15 in Victorville, are designed to educate the
public as well as take ideas and information that may have been overlooked
when drafting the plan, said Doran Sanchez, spokesman for the BLM.

People review and make comments, Sanchez said. The public will get the
opportunity to provide additional information that may not have been
available ... and we can use it in further development of the plan.

The West Mojave Plan would safeguard more than 100 wildlife species,
including the desert tortoise and the Mojave ground squirrel, and their
habitats. It would also streamline the permitting process that applies to 9.3
million acres in San Bernardino, Kern, Los Angles and Inyo counties.

Environmentalists, miners, ranchers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts are
among the groups that have questioned parts of the West Mojave plan.

We're in favor of the West Mojave Plan, but it needs to be in full cooperation with (all) the entities affected by it, said Anthony Adams, district director for First District Supervisor Bill Postmus. There's a whole
host of people wanting to protect the Mojave, and our office is one of them.

Victorville City Councilman Mike Rothschild said the council has not yet
decided whether to support the plan. Personally, he disagrees with it.

I'm not in support of the plan as it is, Rothschild said. It is very restrictive.

Interested?

To review the draft of the West Mojave Plan, log onto www.ca. blm.gov.
Printed copies are available at the BLM's Barstow field office, 2601 Barstow
Road. The first meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 15 at the Green Tree
Inn-Best Western, 14173 Green Tree Blvd. in Victorville.

Christina L. Esparza can be reached at christina_esparza@link.freedom.com
or 951-6233.