Bouse and Cactus Plain Travel Management Plan – 41% Closure – All you need to know.

Bouse and Cactus Plain Travel Management Plan

The Bureau of Land Management wants to hear from you! They want to hear from those who use these trails. They are giving the public an opportunity to voice their opinion. The public scoping commentary period has been extended and we have limited time. August 13th, 2018 is the deadline. You can use the interactive map in the window below. You can choose a trail on the map and submit a comment regarding that specific Trail. On this page, you also find detailed documents regarding studies and other information about the closures.

We ask that you respectfully contact the Bureau of Land Management and voice your opinion concerning these two travel management plans. Otherwise, Ranchers, Prospectors, fishermen, off-road enthusiasts, Hunters, mountain bikers, photographers, the handicapped and so many others will lose access to our public lands and the places or things we enjoy the most. The Bureau of Land Management wants to close 60 to 80% of the dirt trails on our public lands to motorized access. This will prevent access to many areas that outdoor enthusiasts, local Ranchers, and others rely upon.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an off-road enthusiast, mountain biker, hiker, mountaineer, angler, hunter, gold prospector, rancher, cultural explorer, equestrian enthusiast, photographer or if you just enjoy seeing photos of our gorgeous landscapes. THIS WILL AFFECT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

The Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service is mandated to create travel networks and designate certain Trails for travel and limit or close others. BLM is recommending an 80% closure to all motorized access. Other Trails will be designated for equestrian, hiking, and mountain biking. Others will be closed altogether. The Bureau of Land Management is required to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinion. Your opinion matters and will dictate the outcome of the Bureau of Land Management’s travel management plans. Please take the time to follow the links below and submit your comments via email, THE COMMENT MAP, or US Postal Service. Contact information is included in each of the links I have provided.

Current proposed Arizona road closures by BLM and what to do about them:

Most of these lands are used by miners, recreationists, hikers, campers, hunters, and off-roaders. What BLM is doing is proposing changes to these currently accessible roads, or basically……..restricting your access to your lands.

First of all, RS2477 (revised statute 2477) is a part of the original 1872 mining grant. In a nutshell, it states the roads and travel routes must remain open for exploration, mining, and usage. In 1976, Congress passed FLPMA, the Federal Lands Policy Management Act, and claim they now can close all the roads willy-nilly at their discretion. Well, not so fast BLM and USFS. Under RS2477, they cannot close any roads which predate 1976. If it is a road “created” after 1976, they can, prior to that, no they can’t, it’s really that simple.

Just two years ago, Utah took this issue all the way to their Supreme Court and the court ruled unanimously that RS2477 is valid and their roads must remain open and accessible for public use and for mining.

Like Utah, the Arizona Congress and the political body decided to protect their public roads and took it a step further than Utah. They passed a bill telling the Federal Government they cannot close roads under RS2477. So in clear language, Arizona told the United States government, any roads in Arizona which predate 1976, will not be close by the Federal Government under the FLPMA period. End of story

Arizona House Bill 2175 passed in April of 2015 and signed by Arizona’s Governor states just that. It prohibits the closure of these trails CLICK HERE to download HB2175

It means the Federal Government (BLM) has just given the middle finger to the state of Arizona, the residents, claim owners, and folks who like to use these roads and is saying we don’t care what you say, that you passed a bill and we are going to ignore a “grant” passed by Congress in 1872 and are proposing to close your roads anyway.

So what do the folks in Arizona do?

Call the sponsors of HB2175, the bill which was passed telling the BLM they can’t close these roads, and ask these Congress folks what they are going to do about it. Make them stand up for you again. I would assume these politicians are going to be pretty upset the BLM is ignoring the laws they pass in this great state.

Here are the sponsors of HB2175 (the good guys who passed the bill on your behalf), call them today:

Rep Mark Finchem District 11 – (602) 926-3122

Rep Bob Thorpe District 6 – (602) 926-5219

Rep Brenda Barton District 6 – (602) 926-4129

Senator Sonny Borelli District 5 – (602) 926-5051

Rep Regina Cobb District 5 – (602) 926-3126

Rep Vince Leach District 11 – (602) 926-3106

Senator Steve Smith District 11 – (602) 926-5685

The Arizona Attorney General reasserts these roads will remain open. It’s a great read and goes further than any other state we have ever seen in protecting your public lands and road access.

CLICK HERE to read the statement from the attorney general.

There it is………….don’t sit there and be silent, Call

E-planning Portal

In the frame below you can navigate the BLM E Planning website. This is the portal to the Bouse and Cactus Plain Travel Management Plan. You will find documents, contact information, meetings, maps, and other data. It’s important to take note of the Environmental Assessment we have also embedded on this page below.

Please navigate through the E-planning portal and browse through the documents before submitting your comments through the comment map at the end of this page. Educate yourself on the proposed closures and documents.

Environmental Assessment

The Environmental Assessment document below is publicly available for download in the E Planning window under the “documents” section. The environmental assessment was conducted by a California-based company called Advanced Resource Solutions. According to GovTribe, a $500,000 contract was awarded to Advanced Resource Solutions for their performance.

The Environmental Assessment is drafted for the travel management plan to show the current OHV impact on the environment. Likewise, it shows the expected reduced impact after the Travel Management plan is implemented. Read the Environmental Assessment Before submitting your comments. 

COMMENT MAP

Using the comment map below you can submit comments on individual trails. The map Shows the PROPOSED ACTION to be taken by the Bureau of Land Management. This is BLMs recommendation on what trails should be closed. This PROPOSED ACTION is 1 of 4 Travel Management Plan options given. 

In the box below, you can choose between each of the 4 Travel Management plan maps. You can click on each trail and choose to submit a comment. Submit comments to each trail you believe should remain open or decommissioned. Make sure your comment makes sense, is straight to the point and contains factual information.

While submitting your comment be sure to mention your interest in the land. Do you fish there? Do you camp there? Does your family go on camping trips in the area? Do you know a rancher who leases or owns land in the area?

Site the federal and state laws that are being broken by the BLM.