Letter to BLM's John Kalish

[Ellen]

Ellen Coleman
6601 Lassen Ct.
Riverside, CA 92506
951 684-3460
EcolemanRD@aol.com

October 14, 2010

Via electronic mail

John R. Kalish
Field Manager
Bureau of Land Management
1201 Bird Center Drive
Palm Springs, California 92262
John_Kalish@blm.gov

Regarding:
CACA-42965
2200
(CA-066.62)

Dear Mr. Kalish,

I strenuously object to the BLM’s plan to sacrifice over nine square miles of the National Monument in a land exchange with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. This land is connected with popular trails including the Garstin, Thielman, Araby, Shannon, Bern, Lykken and Wildhorse Trails. It is an essential park in the City of Palm Springs that is used by residents and visitors for hiking, jogging, bicycling, riding horses, and walking their dogs.

The land swap also includes part of the Skyline or Cactus to Clouds Trail, an exceptional route to the San Jacinto aerial tramway from the Desert Museum. Skyline is a national treasure – an arduous and stunning climb through several life zones that attracts hikers through out the nation. It is considered one of the most difficult hikes in the United States and is appreciated for its challenge and exquisite beauty.

The Garstin, Araby and Thielman trails begin in Palm Springs and connect with the Shannon, Bern, and Wildhorse trails. They are paths into a peaceful wilderness with stunning desert and mountain views. These trails lead to Murray Hill which overlooks all of the Coachella Valley. The Thielman trail is the only western access to this area for people riding bicycles.

In the exchange, the BLM will receive 2.3 square miles of other land. However, this land is too remote for most people to enjoy. The value of that remote land to the public is insignificant compared to what the BLM plans to remove from public hands. These trails are the jewels of the National Monument and it is inconceivable that the BLM would give them up. They are irreplaceable.

There is also the question of access. The management agreement between the BLM and Tribe does not specify what the access to the land would be and whether or not the public could be charged. The agreement is cancelable in one year and contains no public remedies in case access is limited.

While the BLM has authority to enter into this land deal, it does not have the authority to make an unequal exchange or to eliminate an important public benefit. Indeed, federal laws dictate that BLM should complete this deal only if it benefits the public and only if the lands exchanged have equal value.

In the past decade, the GAO, Inspector General and other federal government oversight agencies have criticized the way the BLM handles land exchanges. Specifically, the BLM does not assure public gain, gives up land with substantially greater value than it receives, does not sufficiently involve the public in its decision-making process and does not follow federal guidelines. The BLM is now doing the same thing again here in our National Monument.

The National Monument land the BLM is sacrificing has great value to the public. These trails help us to stay happy, healthy and preserve the wilderness.

On a personal note, I only come to Palm Springs to hike. When I am in town, I patronize the local businesses, including restaurants, hotels, and the Palm Springs aerial tramway. In this toubled economy, why would the BLM (or anyone else) discourage tourism, a major source of income for Palm Springs.

From the heart with miles of smiles,

Ellen

Ellen Coleman MA, MPH, RD, CSSD
Sports dietitian, exercise physiologist, author and avid hiker

cc: Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
Rick Green
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack

[Hikin_Jim]

Wow. VERY well written. You really are an author.

HJ

[Ellen]

Howdy HJ

Thanks to Scott2 and Cynthia for bringing up the salient points of the land snatch (er...exchange). I cannot take credit, just followed their lead.

I was very tempted to offer to take Mr. Kalish on a hike

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Florian]

Great letter. I wish mine was half as eloquent.

°Florian

[Hikin_Jim]

I think just sending the letter counts far more than the eloquence thereof. They probably just skim it and mark it as "opposed" on a check box on a computer somewhere.

HJ

[Florian]

This is the letter i mailed to the BLM a couple weeks ago. I'm less concerned about Skyline access and more concerned about possible future commercial development.

======================================

I'm am writing in regards to Environmental Assessment No. CA-060-0010-0005, the proposed land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (ACBCI). The proposed land exchange occurs within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument near Palm Springs, California.

I am a lifelong resident of Palm Springs and I have two primary concerns regarding the proposed exchange that I would like to address as follows:

My first concern is the lopsided nature of the exchange. The BLM will give up 5799 acres in exchange for just 1470 acres from the ACBCI. All of this land is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument. Why is the BLM giving up so much public land in this exchange?

My second, and most pressing concern, regards section 36 T4S R4E adjacent to the Araby and Andreas Hills neighborhoods of Palm Springs. This section so close to Palm Springs is a perfect gateway to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument. Seven named trails either wholly or partially traverse this section; the Araby, Berns, Garstin, Henderson, Shannon, Thielman and Wildhorse trails. These are all popular well-used trails. This section is a perfect area for the BLM to provide public access and perhaps interpretive signage for entrance into the national monument. Furthermore, beside the obvious value to the monument, my deep concern is that the ACBCI wishes to develop this land commercially in the future. Does the ACBCI have a long-range desire to build a casino or hotel on this property? I ask that this section be removed from the current land exchange proposal. If removal from the proposal is impossible, I ask it be clearly defined as a binding component of the land exchange that section 36 T4S R4E will not be commercially developed in any way and will be preserved in perpetuity.

[cynthia23]

GENIUS LETTER! Ellen, this is good stuff. I was unaware of the GAO investigation, and I'm so glad you brought this up. I think this is something we should feel free to bring up as well, in our letters to public officials. I also think we should all write the Desert Sun letters section. I'm sitting here with Christopher Manes, aka the ex, the author of the well known deep ecology tome Green Rage, and he's told me some of his war stories about the BLM. He's offered to help in whatever way he can.

[cynthia23]

I forgot to mention that Florian's letter is also a good model for us. I really think he's right on about there being some plan to develop the Araby area. I think this is something to bring up your letters as well. I fail to see how the public good is served by giving more developable land to the AC.

[halhiker]

Those are wonderful letters and everyone on the board, including myself, should write similar letters. This is a blatant ripoff of the public and should not go through.

In addition to letter writing, the reporters who blew the lid off the City of Bell might be able to do an interesting story about this lopsided land exchange.

I do not want in any way impugn the Agua Calientes because they have been very good stewards of the land and, from what I have seen, have worked very well with the local hiking community. However, the BLM should not do this exchange because it is inequitable and lands of such valuable hiking resources should not be turned over to a private entity in which the public has no say over future use.

[Ellen]

Howdy Hal,

I do not want in any way impugn the Agua Calientes because they have been very good stewards of the land and, from what I have seen, have worked very well with the local hiking community.

Absolutely agree -- I've had positive experience with the Agua Calientes

Miles of smiles,
Ellen