BLM Director Pool's 23 Aug letter to FOJF

Anyone with familiarity with the desert is well aware that the distance between plants precludes trails from being hidden. This is apparent from an inspection of the pre-Willow Fire satellite images. However, in apparent support of the illegal creation of these routes, Director Mike Pool writes:

"The 1985/1987 route network has been updated in large part due to the benefits that can be provided by geographic positioning systems (GPS). Route designation processes in the WEMO planning area and elsewhere have repeatedly found that, by incorporating GPS into the process, routes simply not detected nearly 20 years ago can now be readily added to new route inventories. That is the case with the October 2003 update. The aftermath of the 1999 Willow fire also exposed trails previously not inventoried. Additional routes that have appeared since 1985/1987, although not put in place by official means, have been discovered. The Bureau applied its "decision tree" to all the routes in its inventory to arrive at the proposed route designation network that would be implemented under the WEMO plan. That accounts for "so many new routes appear(ing) on the maps" that have been distributed for public review."-------Until route designation is finalized with issuance of the West Mojave Plan, the existing 1985/1987 network is the current route network.

The public input provided during the CRMP planning process was similarly negated:

"Although the CRMP planning process was an important step in that direction, a careful review of the draft "plan" indicates that there were actually very few natural resource management goals and objectives in the document, whereas there were numerous recommendations for monitoring of off-highway vehicle (OHV) use and impacts of the various users upon riparian areas, and for baseline surveys of the planning area. Monitoring, when applied correctly, is critical to determining if management actions are moving land managers toward their management goals and objectives; however, monitoring, in and of itself, is not a management objective."

An examination of the CRMP refutes Director Pool's claim that it recommended only monitoring and did not set management goals and objectives.

Director Pool's claim that BLM adhered to the "decision tree" is also easily refuted. The route network was defined by former OHV lobbyist Mike Ahrens and the OHV Volunteers. It invades every cultural and riparian resource on Juniper Flats and in Arrastre Canyon. Starting with the CRMP planning effort, public input continues to be negated, as evidence by this letter. (I can post the entire content of Director Pool's letter if there is interest.)

In answer to your question, it seems futile to present hard evidence such as satellite photos to BLM in view of this recent letter.

Any suggestions?