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BLM updates: contested airstrip designations and travel-plan reassessment open for comment
Summary
BLM staff told the trails committee they have released environmental assessments and proposed decisions that would redesignate or reopen routes and airstrips, including a controversial Kegnold airstrip EA that has drawn thousands of protests; reassessments of the San Rafael Desert and Swell travel plans will also be posted for public review.
At the May 5 meeting the Bureau of Land Management provided updates on travel management actions affecting the San Rafael Swell and Desert and on airstrip designations that have prompted public protest.
A BLM representative told the committee that the Kegnold airstrip EA — proposed to designate an airstrip near Five Hole Arch inside the wilderness boundary — was released for protest and appeal and had already generated thousands of protest comments. "We released that EA to designate that airstrip...and we've got a lot of protests so far. I think we've got, like, 6,000 people protesting that," the official said.
The representative also described a broader reassessment of travel management: staff will post drafts and interactive maps on ePlanning that show proposed route changes. "In the desert, we're looking at opening or limiting an additional 20 miles. And in the swell, we're looking at opening or limiting an additional, like, 220 miles," the official said, and invited committee members to review the interactive map and submit comments during the public period.
The BLM noted the agency is experimenting with streamlined postings (drafts to ePlanning followed by decisions) rather than formal long public-comment cycles in some SRP (special recreation permit) or wilderness-related cases. Committee members asked about where to submit comments for specific land-exchange or direct-sale notices; BLM staff advised the Price Field Office or the headquarters contact listed in the federal-register posting.
The committee did not vote on the travel-management items; staff said the reassessments will appear on ePlanning and that some matters may proceed to appeals or litigation depending on public responses.
