The lawsuit would have led to the closure of the Glamis Dunes until such time as
the BLM could obtain a biological opinion from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service regarding potential impacts of the CDCA management plan upon species
like Peirson's Milkvetch. Several months of intense negotiations and legal
maneouvers followed and a coalition of OHV enthusiasts and related
businesses fought the prohibition, eventually arriving at a
compromise closure of 49,000 acres in October of 2000. Among these OHV
groups are the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition, the
Desert Vipers, the San Diego
Off-Road Coalition, the California
Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs and the BlueRibbon
Coalition of Idaho.
The Center for Biological Diversity, PEER, and the Sierra Club
have been targeting flaws in the Endangered Species Act as a way to
closed down our access to the Imperial Sand Dunes.
The Endangered Species Act specifically states that the term
“species” includes any subspecies of fish, wildlife, or plants. With this
broad definition, environmentalist target local subspecies at many dunes
throughout the western United States, even when the species as a whole is
thriving.
The Endangered Species Act allows anyone to petition the Fish
and Wildlife Service to have a species listed or reclassified as endangered or
threatened. Unfortunately, the ESA allows these petitions to be based solely on
“best available science” rather than requiring science that stands up to
critical peer review.
One thing is for sure. If you would like to see future
generations in the dunes, the Endangered Species Act must be reformed.
Please contact your representative and let them know ESA reform is important to
you.
Peirson's Milk Vetch:
Peirson's Milk Vetch
Peirson’s milk vetch is one of 400 varieties in the milk
vetch family.
Peirson's Milk Vetch - A lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological
Diversity, Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
in March 2000. The suit alleged BLM violated the federal Endangered Species
Act by not initiating Section 7 consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) on the effects of the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA)
Plan on a number of threatened and endangered species. BLM agreed to the
interim actions in the settlement agreements to avoid an injunction on the
CDCA Plan, which would have resulted in a complete closure of all activities
on BLM-managed public lands within the CDCA. BLM implemented interim
measures to further protect threatened and endangered plant and animal species
throughout the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) as agreed to in the
negotiated settlement. Restrictions on vehicle use in the Imperial Sand Dunes
Recreation Area, which have been in place since November 2000. BLM implemented
the second stipulation with the interim closures at the 134,300-acre Imperial
Sand Dunes Recreation Area beginning in October 2000. The four closure
areas encompass approximately 49,300 acres and protect essential habitat of
the Peirson's milk-vetch while allowing off-highway vehicle recreation to
continue in the more heavily used areas of the Dunes. The Peirson's
milk-vetch was listed as a threatened species by the FWS in 1998.
On December 12, 2002, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition
with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Andrew's dune scarab
beetle as an endangered species.
