Full Text
United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Southern Nevada District Office 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive La.s Vegas, NV 89130 http:/Iwww.blm.gov/Nevada In Reply Refer To: 6300 (NVSO 1000) NOTIFICATION OF PROPOSED ACTION LANDS OF THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM WEE THUMP JOSHUA TREE WILDERNESS Dear Interested Party: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is required to inform all affected or interested persons or organizations about any proposed action or unauthorized activity occurring within BLM Wilderness(es). Dr. Webber, an evolutionary ecologist and tenure-track instructor at the College of Southern Nevada, is proposing a scorpion inventory in the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness. Back2round The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. § 1701-1785) and the Wilderness Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. §1131-1 136; Sept. 3, 1964) direct the BLM to manage wilderness for the public’s use and enjoyment in a manner that will leave these areas unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness; by providing for protection of these areas, preservation of their wilderness character, and gathering and disseminating of information about their use and enjoyment as wilderness. The BLM must ensure the preservation of wilderness character in management of all actions within wilderness. The Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C 113 1-1136; Sept. 3, 1964) identifies research as a supplemental purpose in Section 4 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, each agency administering any area designated as wilderness shall be responsible for preserving the wilderness character of the area and shall so administer such area for such other purposes for which it may have been established as also to preserve its wilderness character. Except as otherwise provide in this Act, wilderness areas shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historic use. BLM Manual 6340- Management of BLM Wilderness provides guidance on managing BLM lands designated by Congress as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The manual states: Wilderness offers important and unique opportunities for biophysical and social science research in areas that are relatively unmodified by modern people; these studies may ---PAGE BREAK--- improve wilderness stewardship and benefit both science and society. Educational benefits derived from such research can be significant. All research in wilderness will be managed to minimize impairment of wilderness character through the use of the MRDG and applicable NEPA analysis. BLM Wilderness Regulations in 43 CFR 6303.1(c) allows BLM to authorize research in wilderness areas to carry out the purposes of the Wilderness Act. The South McCullough Wilderness and Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (September 22, 2005) provides management and guidance direction. The plan states “the Wilderness areas will be identified as one of the priority areas in the Las Vegas Field Office area for conducting basic and specific inventory, monitoring and research. Data will be collected in a manner consistent with section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act. Proponents will be required to provide a copy of the findings to BLM. Those research proposals that do not contribute to improved management of the area as wilderness will not be permitted if they can be accomplished outside the Wilderness areas.” In public Law 107-282, Nov. 6, 2002 congress designated Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness. Congress found that the areas contained unique and spectacular natural resources including priceless habitat for numerous species of plants and wildlife.” Location Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness -Based on the uniqueness of the proposal, the random transects may be dispersed throughout the entirety of the wilderness area. Proposed Action Dr. Webber, proposes to conduct a field-based scorpion inventory in the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness. The Wilderness is an old-growth Joshua Tree forest and is unique in it is an isolated patch of habitat. Scorpions are dispersal-limited organisms, with small home ranges. These attributes make Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness an ideal location for study. Dr. Webber will be testing his hypothesis that the scorpion species inhabiting the Joshua Tree forest may differ from species in the surrounding more typical Mojave Desert ecosystem and may contain a scorpion species endemic to the area. His proposal includes an inventory of transect surveys using ultraviolet light; and for verification and recording purposes, collecting up to two representative species. The proposed action utilizes no prohibited uses in wilderness defined by 43 CFR 6320.20. Access to the sites will be by foot travel, and no motorized and mechanized tools are proposed for use. Data collected will be conducted by two researchers. The proposal has the potential to assist the BLM with an understanding of the scorpion species within the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness and may assist in protecting the areas wilderness character and associated habitat. Please submit comments to the District Manager for consideration and use in evaluating and processing the proposed action at the address below. Alternately, comments may be sent to lvwilderness(,nv.blm.gov. All comments must be received by the closing date of this comment 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- period on October 15, 2019. Environmental and minimum requirement analysis will be conducted for these activities and a decision on the proposed action and implementation is anticipated for fall of 2019. If you have any questions regarding this notification please contact Braydon Gaard, Wilderness Specialist at [PHONE REDACTED]. Sincerely, Attachment: 1 - Location of Proposed Action fe UD1t (acs r-c Timothy Z. Smii District Manager Bureau of Land Management Southern Nevada District Office 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive Las Vegas, NV 89130 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Research W.®E o 0.5 1 MHes — _1 l.egeed ere SeaeLmdm.t(,, &eamsrr.art earaaee-ara Na Waeaety is made by the Bureau at Laed Maeagemeet as ta the amuracy, tubahitrty, ee eerepteteeees at these data tae edMdual use er aggregate see wdh ether data