The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft management plan for a swath of public lands located in northern California. The Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement guides management for 382,200 acres of public land and about 295,100 acres of subsurface minerals. The entire planning area covers about 14.5 million acres.
“Public input is critical to develop this plan that will guide our management into the future,” said Dereck Wilson, manager of the BLM’s Northern California District. “We encourage the public to reflect on the importance of these public lands in northwest California and their significant natural and cultural resources.”
The plan covers public lands in Del Norte, Siskiyou, Shasta, Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity, Tehama and Butte counties and will guide their management over the next 15-20 years. The King Range National Conservation Area, California Coastal National Monument, Headwaters Forest Reserve and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument are not included in the plan, as their management is guided by the National Conservation Lands System.
The planning area includes lands ranging from beaches and dunes to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. A wide array of uses are supported on the lands, including livestock grazing, habitat for fish and wildlife, mining and timber production.
Management alternatives
The updated plan will replace the plan published by the Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office in the mid-’90s. BLM said a new plan is necessary due to increasing population and changing use patterns, the need to protect areas of environmental concern, and to consolidate lands to conserve resources while providing public access.
The plan offers four management alternatives. The first option, Alternative A, continues current management operations. Alternative B emphasizes habitat connectivity and resilience; Alternative C prioritizes recreation, travel and utility opportunities; and Alternative D, the preferred alternative, “strikes a balance for resource uses” such as recreation and livestock grazing.
“Alternative D aims to create opportunities for resource uses, such as recreation, motorized and mechanized travel, and livestock grazing while maintaining ecological function and meeting land capability to protect habitat connectivity,” BLM wrote in the draft plan.
Conservation groups see the new plan as an opportunity to expand conservation measures and increase climate resistance in the state.
“Among the many areas of land the BLM manages in Shasta and Tehama counties, protection and restoration of waterways and wild rivers are critically important to expanding spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead trout in this region and restoring wildlife habitat, especially for migrating fish and birds,” said David Ledger, president of the Shasta Environmental Alliance.
The Western Watersheds Project said BLM should emphasize the use of lands for wildlife connectivity, and provide large, interconnected pathways for large predator movement and dispersal. This includes wolf movement, which the groups say is spreading westward and southward from northern packs.
“While balancing multiple uses, like grazing, recreation, energy, BLM must ensure that wildlife, fishes, and plants get the protection they need,” said Laura Cunningham, California director at Western Watersheds Project.
Public input opportunities
To view the notice in its entirety, visit tinyurl.com/yuhaz6x5.
Public comments may be submitted through Dec. 28 by email to BLM_CA_Redding_Arcata_NCIP@blm.gov, online at tinyurl.com/433ek8pk, or by mail to BLM Arcata Field Office, 1695 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA, 95521-4573.
BLM is hosting several virtual and in-person meetings to review the proposed plan. The meeting schedule is the following:
• Oct. 23, 6-8 p.m. PST: Virtual meeting, register via Zoom at tinyurl.com/yc47wz2h.
• Oct. 30, 6-8 p.m. PST: Bear River Community Center, Lolita, CA.
• Nov. 2, 6-8 p.m. PST: Sheraton Hotel, Redding, CA.
• Dec. 13, 1-3 p.m. PST: Virtual meeting, register via Zoom at tinyurl.com/yc47wz2h.
Each meeting will include an informal presentation and an open house format for attendees to meet with BLM staff members. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
