Travel Management Plan U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management
Land Status by County Mesa Garfield Montrose Rio Blanco Total BLM Surface Lands 721,700 322,600 17,100 0 1,061,400 Federal Minerals 857,700 355,900 17,300 400 1,231,300
Resource Management Plan Overview Long-range master plan, vision for the future Initiated in 2008, with significant public and cooperator involvement Determines appropriate multiple uses for over one million acres on BLM managed lands mostly in Mesa and Garfield counties for the next 20 years Creates a balanced plan that provides for resource use and resource conservation Includes travel plan decisions
Public/Community Involvement RMP Public scoping meetings Grand Junction, Collbran and Moab Hosted travel management workshops Delta, De Beque, Colbran, Gateway, Fruita, and Grand Junction, with over 200 participants Two separate travel management comment periods Extended comment period for draft plan of 60 days for a total of 150 days (hosted 5 open houses) Travel management community meeting in Grand Junction Travel management training for community leaders Hosted information on website Presented information in google earth Provided presentations at user group meetings Mesa County hosted training videos Mesa County hosted listening sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays following release of Proposed RMP on route designations
Cooperating Agency Involvement Cooperating agencies since 2008 (Mesa County, Fruita, GJ, Palisade, Collbran, Debeque, CPW, BOR, USFWS, USFS, Ute Tribes) Cooperators provided BLM with data through the scoping process and as needed to help inform decisions. Cooperators attended 5 weeks of draft route designation meetings and 7 weeks of final route designation meetings
Authority & Guidance for Travel Management Planning 43 Code of Federal Regulations Part 8342 All designations shall be based on the protection of the resources of the public lands, the promotion of the safety of all the users of the public lands, and the minimization of conflicts among various uses of the public lands National Management Strategy for Motorized Off-Highway Vehicle Use on Public Lands (BLM 2001) Travel and Transportation Management Manual (BLM Manual 1626, 2011) RS 2477 Travel Management planning is not intended to address the validity of any RS2477 assertion. RS2477 rights are determined through a process that are entirely independent of the BLMs planning process. Travel and Transportation Management Handbook (BLM Handbook H- 8342-1, 2012) National Environmental Policy Act
Travel Planning is a Tool To achieve RMP Goals and Objectives Carefully considered nearly 1,500 public comments Balance access with resource protection, safety and recreational enjoyment On-going process
Gateway Slide
Travel Plan % of total Travel Plan followin g mitigati on Travel Plan mitigati on % of total Travel Designation Plan Open (in open areas) 290.2 7.3% 290.2 7.3% Limited to Administrative and Permitted Uses Only 256.1 6.4% 378.7 9.5% No Legal Access 334.7 8.4% 0.0 0.0% Closed 852.8 21.3% 894.8 22.4% Total Open to Non-motorized Only 177.8 4.4% 195.4 4.9% Total Open to Motorized 2,375.3 59.4% 2,527.7 63.2% Total 3,996.6 100.0% 3,996.6 100.0%
Next Steps Signed Record of Decision for RMP and Travel Plan Starts the appeal process for the route designation decisions (30 days) Appeals are resolved by IBLA (fact sheets available) Deferred Routes will undergo another analysis process (National Environmental Policy Act) which will result in an EA or EIS BLM will continue to seek cooperating agency participation in providing information on future revisions to the Travel Management Plan RMP Implementation; new trail proposals; continued commitment to working with community on trail based recreation
Mesa County Routes of Importance Mesa County Maintained: 6/2010 245 miles with 245 miles open to the public 100% of those will remain open to motorized use Mesa County Vested Interest Routes: 6/2010 167 miles with 162 miles open to the public 97% of those will remain open to motorized use Mesa County recreational routes of importance: 6/2013 1484 miles with 1091 open to motorized use 74% of those will remain open to motorized use
Mesa County Recreational Routes of Concern 393 miles of routes were proposed to be closed or administrative in the final Travel Plan 209 of the 393 miles will be deferred 184 of the 393 miles will not be deferred and are within No legal public access - 79 miles Cultural importance - 58 miles Areas of Critical Environmental Concern - 29 miles Sarlacc Trail - 11 miles Wilderness Study Areas - 7 miles
Tools for Reviewing the Travel Plan Decisions