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BLM LIFTS DESERT WASH RESTRICTIONS IN
CALIFORNIA
517,000 acres of public lands near
Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties affected by
new order
Effective immediately, the Bureau of Land
Management's (BLM) California Desert District has terminated
the restriction order prohibiting off-highway vehicle (OHV)
use in wash zones associated with the designated Desert
Wildlife Management Areas within the Northern and Eastern
Colorado desert bio-region in parts of Imperial, Riverside
and San Bernardino counties.
A Federal Court in San Francisco issued an
injunction on Dec. 30, 2004, prohibiting OHV use in wash
zones within 571,000 acres of public lands in the Northern
and Eastern Colorado Desert region of the California Desert
to protect the threatened desert tortoise. The Court ruled
the injunction would remain in place until the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) prepared and issued a new biological
opinion.
The BLM received a new
biological opinion
(1.45mb) from the FWS on March 31, 2005, and pursuant to the
restriction order of January 4, 2005, and the Court's order,
the restrictions are terminated. The FWS biological opinion
is available online at
www.ca.blm.gov
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