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BLM urges caution when traveling on public lands in the springtime 3/24/2008 View article on original page (PDF format) TWIN FALLS, ID – Springtime means many things to many people. For the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Jarbidge Field Office, it means being able to see the results of last fall’s fire rehabilitation efforts as plants begin to emerge in the area that was burned in the Murphy Complex Fire of 2007. With the warming weather, it also means muddy conditions for would-be recreationists. “For the public’s safety, we would like to remind people to use caution when traveling in the area so as to avoid creating large ruts and spreading weeds,” BLM Jarbidge Field Manager Rick Vander Voet said. “Already this spring, we’ve heard reports of people getting their vehicles stuck out in the more remote reaches of the Jarbidge Field Office.” To provide that additional protection for the emerging plants, BLM has implemented an emergency temporary closure to cross-country motorized travel on about 500,000 acres that were burned by the Murphy Complex Fire. All motorized vehicles must travel on existing roads within this area. Existing roads are those that generally appear on a standard map and are capable of being traveled by full-size vehicles, such as trucks and automobiles. Vander Voet said the purpose of the closure is to restrict cross-country vehicle use while providing continued public access to and through the area. “Vehicles traveling cross-country in a burned area can damage reemerging plants, increase erosion, and spread noxious weeds.” The Jarbidge Field Office will analyze the effects of the closure in the fall of 2009 and extend, modify or rescind the order at that time. Under section 303(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1733(a) and 43 CFR 8360-7), if one violates this closure on public land within the boundaries established, one may be tried before a United States Magistrate and fined no more than $1,000 or imprisoned for 12 months, or both. Such violations may also be subject to the enhanced fines provided by Title 18 U.S.C. 3571. According to BLM Twin Falls District Manager Bill Baker, “It is important for the public to know they can still travel the existing roads within this area. However, it is critical that they not venture cross country to protect the significant investment of time, resources and money that were spent to rehabilitate the area last fall.” The closure does not apply to authorized, rescue or fire vehicles. Nothing in this closure is intended to affect legal hunting, as consistent with Idaho Department of Fish and Game regulations. This order affects public lands in Owyhee and Twin Falls counties in Idaho and Elko County in Nevada. For more information and a map of the closure area, please visit: www.blm.gov/id/st/en.html or call the Jarbidge Field Office at (208) 736-2350. |
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