Just go my CORVA paper for January and it says that

The California Desert Advisory Council Is No Longer Green

just starting to read the article but it sounds pretty good so far.

Here is a link for you that discusses the outcome of the meeting:
http://www.crowley-offroad.com/Snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=72

For those of you that enjoy the So. Cal Desert, it is very good news. People like Roy Denner should be applauded for their tenacity.

Crowdog

More good news....

BLM desert official sent to Washington

PUBLIC LANDS: Tim Salt helped negotiate a lawsuit that curbed grazing, off-roading and mining.
01/26/2002


BY JENNIFER BOWLES
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE


The federal agency that oversees much of the California desert reassigned its top manager after months marked by change and controversy.
Tim Salt, Desert District manager for the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, played a key role in negotiating a sweeping lawsuit filed by environmentalists that curbed grazing, off-roading and mining.


He has overseen 11 million acres of public lands -- from the Mexico border to the Sierra foothills -- from an office in Riverside.


Salt will now work in renewable resources and planning with the bureau's Washington office, BLM officials said Friday in a statement.


Salt, of Moreno Valley, did not return phone calls seeking comment.


During his three years as manager, Salt helped negotiate a lawsuit filed in 2000 by the Sierra Club and the Center For Biological Diversity that sought stronger protections for plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.


The negotiations ended with restrictions on grazing in the Mojave Desert, closures of off-roading areas, and limits on new mining projects.


Environmentalists blamed a Republican administration for his reassignment.


"I am really disappointed that politics got the best of him," said Daniel Patterson of the Idyllwild-based Center for Biological Diversity. "We didn't always agree with Tim Salt, but we respected him and he did the best he could to balance the interests in the desert."


Off-roaders were angered by the closure more than a year ago of 49,000 acres, about one-third, of the Imperial Sand Dunes in Imperial County because of an endangered plant.


"He didn't stand up (to environmentalists) as much as we certainly would have liked," said Vicki Warren of Corona, a spokeswoman for the American Sand Association. The group filed a lawsuit to reopen the dunes.


Because of the environmentalists' lawsuit, the BLM also closed more than a half-million acres of the Mojave Desert to cattle ranching to protect the desert tortoise.


In response, San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod canceled an agreement that allowed BLM rangers to enforce state and local laws against such things as drunken driving and vandalism. And county Supervisor Bill Postmus yanked a permit that allowed the BLM to use a county landfill.


"BLM management were not acting responsible in their efforts . . . to come up with a compromise and actually working with the local ranchers," Postmus said. "I think that this is the new administration's attempt at finally cleaning up the Bureau of Land Management and making them more accountable within our region."


Linda Hansen, field manager for the BLM's Eagle Lake office in Northern California, will become acting Desert District manager on Feb. 4.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/10024393_PE_NEWS_salt26.html

BLM Cal. Desert Manager Gets Political Axe


From Center for Biological Diversity
Wednesday, January 30, 2002

WASHINGTON DC — CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
EARTHJUSTICE
SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA/NEVADA DESERT COMMITTEE
NEWS RELEASE: For Immediate Release: Wednesday, 1/30/02

BLM REASSIGNS KEY SO. CAL. MANAGER AFTER POLITICAL PRESSURE BY OFF-ROAD AND LIVESTOCK INTERESTS

Contact:
Daniel Patterson, Desert Ecologist, CBD 909-659-6053 x 306, 520-906-2159 (cell)
Jay Tutchton, Earthjustice, 303-871-6034
Karen Schambach, California Coordinator, PEER, 530-333-2545

WASHINGTON DC -- The US Department of Interior is reassigning a key Southern California Bureau of Land Management land manager because he angered ranchers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts when he settled a lawsuit with environmental groups to protect endangered species including the desert tortoise and peninsular bighorn sheep. That settlement curbs grazing, off-road vehicle use, and mining on BLM desert lands.

Tim Salt, Desert District manager for the Bureau of Land Management oversaw the 11.5 million acres California Desert Conservation Area, which includes California desert's most environmentally sensitive areas in San Diego, Los Angeles, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Inyo, and Mono counties. A BLM statement issued Friday said he is being pulled out of the district manager job and transferred to renewable resources and planning for the bureau's Washington office.

Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) strongly condemn the retaliatory move against Mr. Salt. They believe the reassignment is part of an emerging trend by the Bush administration to get rid of public lands officials who bring balance to land management decisions.

"Tim Salt is no tortoise hugger, but he got a political axe for doing his job to move BLM into compliance with the law. Ms. Norton's removal of Salt signals a disturbing return to the day when the agency ignored its legal responsibility for public lands conservation," said Daniel Patterson, Desert Ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity.

In December, Kate Cannon, manager of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, was reassigned after ranchers and a Republican congressman complained about lack of grazing access for cattle in the monument. In California, the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region head, Brad Powell, was reassigned after approving a management plan for Sierra Nevada national forests 10 years in the making that didn't satisfy logging interests. His replacement has taken steps to reopen the management plan to allow more logging.

"The Interior Department's action against Salt followed a months-long campaign for his dismissal by so-called 'wise use' groups," said PEER California Coordinator Karen Schambach. "Ranchers and off-roaders have become accustomed to BLM going to the mat in their defense. Tim Salt knew they could not win a case against species protections and negotiated the best deal he and BLM attorneys could for these folks."
The environmental organizations are concerned that other field managers who anger wise-users will share Salt's fate. The same groups who sought Salt's dismissal are taking aim at BLM's Arcata Field Manager, Lynda Roush. They are angry at the closure of Black Sands Beach to off-road vehicles.

The lawsuit Salt helped settle was filed in 2000 by Earthjustice attorney Jay Tutchton and co-counsel Brendan Cummings representing the Sierra Club, PEER, and the Center for Biological Diversity. It sought stronger protections for plants and animals under the Endangered Species Act including the desert tortoise and peninsular bighorn sheep. The negotiations produced restrictions on grazing in the Mojave Desert, closures of off-roading areas, and limits on new mining projects.

"Tim Salt urged BLM to settle because it was going to lose the case, the settlement was reasonable and approved by the court, but it angered off-roaders and ranchers," said Earthjustice attorney Jay Tutchton. "They called for Salt's head and got it. Interior Secretary Gale Norton's message to her staff seems to be, 'comply with the law at your peril.' We had our differences with Salt, but at least he was trying to follow the law," said Tutchton.

"It is a shame when a man's being open, honest, and trying to uphold the law makes him subject to dismissal or punitive transfer." said Elden Hughes, Chair of the Sierra Club's California/Nevada Desert Committee.

http://209.209.54.75/direct/display-release.asp?id=6114