The Inyo National Forest released their Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Draft Record of Decision for the proposed Mammoth Base Land Exchange on August 28. The Forest Supervisor proposes to exchange 35.7 acres of National Forest System lands at the base of Mammoth Mountain for 1,213.2 acres of privately owned lands. Between scoping and the FEIS, federal lands were reduced by 104.9 acres due to the loss of a parcel in Lundy Canyon (20.6) and in Dexter Canyon (84.3 acres), while Mammoth Mountain’s acreage increased by 5.1 acres. Although the exchange would result in more environmentally sensitive lands coming under public ownership,…
Updates
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California’s State Mining and Geology Board (SMGB) is under pressure from the mining industry to weaken regulations that could pave the way to expanded open pit mining—including industrial-scale cyanide heap leach mining at Conglomerate Mesa. Current California mining laws are some of the strongest in the nation and include stringent backfill requirements which result in many mining proposals being economically infeasible. The SMGB (which has no environmental representative), has issued a “Notice of Pre-Rulemaking Workshop and Public Comment period” to “review, and possibly revise, state policy pertaining to Performance Standards for Backfilling Excavations and Recontouring Lands Disturbed by Open Pit Surface Mining…
Exploratory Drilling Approved at Conglomerate Mesa The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a decision allowing exploration for gold at conglomerate mesa, a remote and wild corner of Inyo county adjacent to Death Valley National Park. This decision endangers the area’s recreation- and tourism-based economy, delicate water supply, and uniquely important ecosystem and cultural resources. Click here to read our .pdf press release or see the text version below, and sign up on our mailing list to receive updates from us on Conglomerate Mesa and the Perdito project as they develop. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 18, 2018 Contact: Wendy Schneider, (310)…
Urge your Representative to Oppose the House Farm Bill H.R. 2 The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2) is brimming with attacks on America’s bedrock environmental laws and our national forests. The House Farm Bill includes numerous Congressional exemptions for up to 6,000-acre forestry projects, including exemptions from public input and other critical environmental review. Such exemptions would prioritize logging over clean water, recreation, and wildlife. Please call your Representative and tell them you oppose H.R. 2 This bill promotes logging over other uses of public lands and creates backward incentives that would shift emphasis and funding from…
Please Attend the State Mining Board’s Workshop on May 9th in Riverside, CA to Support Responsible Mining Practices The State Mining and Geology Board is holding a public hearing on possible revisions to backfill regulations that require companies to backfill their open pit mines once a mine has closed. These regulations ensure companies complete reclamation. California currently has strict mining standards that place the responsibility for effective reclamation where it belongs: on mining companies. The mining industry would like to see these standards weakened or eliminated so it can expand industrial scale, open pit mines across the state, while avoiding expensive reclamation…
Senator Diane Feinstein’s latest desert protection bill (the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act of 2017) received a hearing on July 26th. Friends of the Inyo and our partner, the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group, are gathering letters of support for the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area portion of this bill. The bill also contains additions to Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks, designates new wilderness and wild and scenic rivers, closes loopholes to provide true permanent protection for conservation-designated lands in the Desert District, and provides protections from Cadiz and other water export projects (see AB1000 below for more…
The West Mojave Route Network Project (WEMO) Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and draft Land Use Plan Amendment was released on March 16, 2018. The plan aims to manage dispersed recreation visitation over an extensive area in the Mojave Desert. In the Eastern Sierra this includes BLM lands near Olancha, Keeler, Darwin and Owens Lake. The draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement evaluates routes in the planning area and proposes a comprehensive route network that attempts to balance access with the protection of sensitive resources. Unfortunately, the new draft plan falls short- designating a spaghetti network of 6,300 miles of OHV…
In March, 2017 the Trump administration released its proposed budget, including substantial cuts to agencies that protect and manage public lands: Environmental Protection Agency (31%), Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service (21%) and Department of the Interior (12%).
On March 13th 2017, the Trump administration signed Executive Order 13781 requiring development of a plan to reorganize the executive branch including recommending agencies, programs, and functions for elimination. Friends of the Inyo submitted detailed comments in support of maintaining or increasing funding for those agencies that manage and support our public lands, including the Forest Service, the Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.