Draft Resource Management Plan / Draft Environmental Impact Statement

The BLM Tucson Field Office is currently developing a Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Ironwood Forest National Monument (IFNM). The 90-day public review and comment period on the Draft RMP closed on May 30, 2007. BLM is currently analyzing comments for incorporation into the Proposed RMP.

The Draft RMP is available on the web (link above). A limited number of printed copies and CDs are also available. You may request a copy by contacting Mark Lambert, Project Lead, at BLM Tucson Field Office, 12661 E. Broadway Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85748, by calling BLM at 520-258-7200, or by e-mail at AZ_IFNM_RMP@blm.gov. Please specify which media type you prefer.

The DRMP presents four different alternatives for management of the Ironwood Forest National Monument (IFNM), which take into consideration comments received by other governmental agencies, public organizations, tribal entities, and interested individuals. Also included in the DRMP is a Draft Environmental Impact Statement which analyzes the potential impacts from the management strategies that would be employed under each alternative.

The IFNM was established by Presidential Proclamation in June 2000. The 129,000-acre monument, located about 25 miles northwest of Tucson, encompasses several desert mountain ranges including the Silver Bell, Waterman, and Sawtooth ranges, and possesses one of the richest stands of ironwood trees in the Sonoran Desert. The monument contains several archaeological districts and a significant system of cultural and historical sites covering a 5,000-year period. The monument also features a wide diversity of vegetation and wildlife.