Ranger Nelson, Mike Castro & Katrina

The closure of historic Moss Mill Rd. is a critical issue. BLM assured that safe public access to the hot springs was provided by the WEMO route designation process, as presented at the Green Tree meetings. Clearly, it does not. Katrina attended those meetings and claims to have filed an early protest of the Moss Mill Rd. closure in her comments to BLM.

BLM has limited their legal responses to those who responded to the first calls for WEMO comments. (The Green Tree meetings were not well publicized and BLM unfairly shut the door on others who only later became aware that WEMO was authored by special interests.)

Perhaps Katrina should have attended the Comment Clarification meetings that followed to ensure that her point had been clearly made. Although she did not attend these meetings, she informs us that the Barstow Field Office has assured her of response. (Mike Castro did attend those meetings.)

Incidentally, Ranger Nelson was in attendance at every single Comment Clarification meeting. He was unethically open and belligerant in his favoritism towards the OHV community. He attempted to dominate the meetings and intimidate those objecting to the routes he illegally created after the Willow Fire. At the conclusion of the meetings, the current Field Manager stated that the public had been heard and J1299 would not be opened. Ranger Nelson was apparently able to overide her pledge, as OHV routes through the cultural sites and riparian areas are now proposed to be open.

Threats made by Ranger Nelson at those meetings were the subject of a complaint to a Congressman and later in an expanded complaint to the Inspector General, Department of Interior.

Since Mike Castro has benefitted grandly from BLM favoritism, he wisely kept a low profile during these meetings and was not heard to make a single vocal comment.

There are a number of groups that will likely file lawsuits as a result of the ethical and legal violations that occurred during WEMO. Rather than file a separate lawsuit at this point, it would be better to wait for BLM's response to the WEMO comments. In this case, we will be waiting for you to share your BLM response, Katrina.