land swap news

[cynthia23]

Don't worry, somebody will soon post the old thread and you will get the story ...or in the meantime, you can look at the thread by scrolling up to Hal's post ...

[bluerail]

trying to find out more on putting the last memo back up, apparently the situation will be tied up in enviromental impact studies for awhile anyway...i hope.

[magikwalt]

The short of the story is that the AC Tribe has worked a quiet deal with the local BLM Manager Mr. Foote and was about to proceed with a BLM/AC Tribe land swap. The tribe would get land including behind the Rimrock Shopping Center (think just above Bob Hope's property back to the base of Murrary Peak and wrapping around into the South Canyon - Bogart & Wildhorse Trail area) in addition to land above the Palm Springs Musuem. In total it is just shy of 9 square miles while give the BLM back 2.5 square miles of pitiful unusable land in the middle of nowhere that no one uses. That is just about 5,700 acres of prime hiking, biking, horse riding land ajoining Palm Springs for 1,600 acres of barren waste area located beyond use.

It has been 6 months since I was on the cut of trail leading from the base of Murrary over to the saddle to Dunn Rd but there were survey stakes already placed marking out the boundaries. Mr. Foote has been hiding this deal for several years now. I spoke with the staff of Mary Bono Mack's office and they are involved in having this brought out into the open. More emails to her office will help. Our local Palm Springs council and Mayor decided this was an issue not worth their discussing...might not be given a new firetruck by the tribe if they listen to their voters!

[cynthia23]

Right on MagikWalt. I didn't know about the survey stakes. I will have to make a little trip out there. But I'm gonna guess that the wind will have blown them all away by now. Wouldn't the AC just love to get their hands on all that fat and juicy high end real estate in the Santa Rosas? Bighorn and La Mirada are nothing to the megagold they could get out of developing that land. No, it wouldn't happen right away--ten or even twenty years out--but you can bet your last casino dollar that if the AC get that land, it will eventually be built on. Meanwhile they will leverage the future value of the land (think hundreds of millions of $) to finance more casinos near the 10 and perhaps Chino Cone--let's not forget they still want to do that, too. This sleazy deal is so massively lucrative that I seriously think that someone, somewhere, sometime, got paid off. If that seems implausible, remember that this deal goes back to the Abramoff era.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch: the BLM is going for an Environmental Impact Report. When that happens, we need to flood them with comments and public protest. There will be further posts, I'm sure. Keep eyes peeled ... for survey stakes....

[Wildhorse]

The next stage in the land exchange can be expected to begin soon when the BLM officially announces that it plans to prepare a draft environmental impact statement to assess the effects of the land exchange. At the same time as, or shortly after, that announcement (which is officially called a Notice of Intent) the BLM will contact everyone who has previously written to the BLM about the land exchange to let us know what this step involves and how to participate. The local BLM office will likely have a couple of public meetings to identify issues that it needs to cover in the draft environmental impact statement. All of us will have a chance to participate in those meetings and to write letters identifying issues.

For those who may not be familiar with this land exchange, here is a brief summary.

The BLM has proposed exchanging a little over 9 square miles of land in the National Monument for 2.3 square miles of land that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians acquired for the sake of making the exchange. The land the public would give up in the exchange includes Garstin, Theilman, Skyline and numerous other popular trails. In addition, the land that the public would give up is home to several endangered and threatened wildlife species, including bighorn sheep. The public would lose the ability to protect the species and the trails, unless terms of the exchange allow it.

About 18 months ago, the BLM issued a draft Environmental Assessment report that included a conclusion that the land exchange would have no significant effect on the environment, including trails and wildlife. The public responding with a highly unusual number of letters and comments that challenged that conclusion. Then the BLM decided it would be necessary to prepare a draft environmental impact statement. That is where we are today.

To complete the land exchange, the BLM needs to complete an appraisal and establish that the public will benefit overall from the land exchange. Although the BLM does not need to conclude that the land exchange has no significant environmental impact, consideration of environmental effects is part of their assessment of the public benefit.

After the BLM approves an exchange, if it does do that, the public has some rights of appeal within the BLM and the courts.

It is possible that the land exchange could be approved by the end of this year. It is also possible that the environmental impact study will take some time and delay the ultimate decision beyond the end of this year.

Public expressions of disapproval of the land exchange and its effects on the environment may prevent it or affect its ultimate content and terms. It is worth participating in this political and legal process. In the near future, that participation will involve attending public meetings that the BLM will conduct and writing letters about environmental concerns, including effects on trails and wildlife.

[Ellen]

Howdy Wildhorse

Thanks for the update In 2010, I wrote letters and only heard back from Bono-Mack. This time, I'll make sure I attend a BLM public meeting.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen