Inyo National Forest

Projects & Plans - Furnace Creek Road EA

GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION

The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are jointly conducting an environmental assessment of the Furnace Creek Road near Fish Lake Valley, Nevada. The road is currently closed approximately 2.5 miles from Highway 264 under an interim closure order. The interim closure was placed on the Furnace Creek Road in March 2003 and is the result of a 2001 settlement agreement between the Bureau of Land Management and the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

The Environmental Assessment (EA), which was distributed for public comment in January 2005, analyzed several alternatives to the current road alignment. In response to comments received at that time, a number of minor editorial changes or clarifications were made to the EA. The current version of the EA was made available in November, 2006. Although the formal public comment period is now closed, comments on the EA are welcome any time before a decision is made.

Please check this page for the most current project status, to view documents generated from this effort, and for information on how you can be involved.

CURRENT STATUS OF THIS EFFORT

Project Update: Summer 2007

On May 10, 2007, the Bureau of Land Management announced the availability of the proposed plan amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) plan for the long-term management of a 3.75 mile portion of Furnace Creek Road. The proposed plan amendment includes a "Finding of No Significant Impact" and designates the 3.75 miles of Furnace Creek Road on BLM-administered lands as approved for vehicular access for casual public use. Publication of the availability initiated the 30-day protest period of the land use plan amendment process.

The proposed plan amendment, "Finding of No Significant Impact", and the Environmental Assessment can be obtained at the BLM California Desert District Office or Ridgecrest Field Office. The documents are also available on BLM Ridgecrest's website at http://www.ca.blm.gov/ridgecrest/.

The Forest Service has not yet made a decision for management of the segment of the Road on National Forest System lands.

PROJECT DOCUMENTS

Furnace Creek Road EA Content Analysis (pdf 350kb)

Furnace Creek Road EA - (pdf 1.6Mb)

Appendices D and E (3.1Mb)

Appendices D and E are very large files. Appendix D contains the project map and a typical cross section of the proposed work. Appendix E contains photographs and descriptions of the fourteen water crossing discussed in the Environmental Assessment.