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Jane Hendron, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office ? 760/431-9440 ext. 205

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Completes its Review of Recreation Plan for Imperial Sand Dunes

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it completed its review of the Bureau of Land Management?s draft Recreation Area Management Plan for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, and determined that the proposed plan would not jeopardize Peirson?s milk-vetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii) or the desert tortoise (Xerobates agassizi) ? two federally threatened species that occur within the dunes. The Service also concluded that implementation of the recreation plan would not adversely modify Peirson?s milk-vetch designated critical habitat.

            Federal agencies are required to consult with the Service if an agency determines that an action it is proposing to undertake, authorize or fund may affect federally listed species or their designated critical habitat. A biological opinion summarizing the effects of the proposed recreation plan on Peirson?s milk-vetch and desert tortoise was prepared by the Service and provided to the BLM.

            Completion of this consultation will allow the BLM to move forward with its efforts to finalize the Recreation Area Management Plan for the Imperial Sand Dunes, including the lifting of temporary closures on approximately 49,300 acres of the dunes.

            The biological opinion covers the 15-year life of the proposed recreation plan. A copy of the biological opinion is available on the Internet at www.ca.blm.gov.

            ?Although the Service acknowledges that increased off-highway vehicle use in the dunes can impact Peirson?s milk-vetch, there are flexible management options available to ensure the natural resources in the dunes - including Peirson?s milk-vetch and the desert tortoise - will be conserved,? said Steve Thompson, the Service?s Manager for California and Nevada.

            There are 8 Management Areas identified in the proposed RAMP, one of which is the 26,202-acre North Algodones Dune Wilderness which is closed to recreational OHV use. The other areas are classed for varying degrees of OHV use. The majority of critical habitat for Peirson?s milk-vetch occurs in the wilderness area and the Mammoth Wash area which receives limited OHV use. About 5,335 acres of critical habitat is designated within the 21,710-acre Ogilby Management Area.

            The Service determined that little degradation of critical habitat would occur, given that no OHV use is proposed in the wilderness area and only limited use is anticipated in the Mammoth Wash management area. Even in the Ogilby area, which is expected to receive moderate use, potential adverse impacts to critical habitat would be neither detectable nor measurable within the 15-year life of the recreation plan.

            A baseline has also been identified for Peirson?s milk-vetch to allow for the detection of changes in the population of reproductive plants. If a decline of more than 50 percent below the baseline is detected, the BLM can exercise its authority to manage a particular area to ensure the plant is not jeopardized.

            Both the Service and BLM are also cooperating in the development of monitoring and research programs to obtain additional scientific data about OHV use patterns and effects of OHVs on Peirson?s milk-vetch. Other species in the Imperial Sand Dunes will also be monitored, including flat-tailed horned lizard, desert tortoise, microphyll woodlands, and avian species.

            The Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area is not located within the Northern and Eastern Colorado and Mojave Desert regions of the California Desert which are the subject of a separate consultation between the BLM and the Service. That consultation is expected to be completed in late February.

            The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://pacific.fws.gov

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