[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 14 (Friday, January 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3473-3474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-1447]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-660-00-1220-HA]


Restrictions on Use of Public Lands and Facilities

AGENCY:  Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Palm 
Springs-South Coast Field Office, Desert District, California.

ACTION:  Notice--Temporary closure of public lands and facilities to 
dogs.

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SUMMARY:  In compliance with Title 43 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), Subpart 8364.1(c), notice is hereby given that the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) prohibits persons bringing dogs onto certain 
public lands within the Santa Rosa Mountains National Scenic Area 
(SRMNSA), Riverside County, whether leashed or free-roaming, except 
when said dogs remain inside a motor vehicle. The public lands hereby 
closed to dogs include all such lands within Section 36, Township 4 
South, Range 4 East, San Bernardino Meridian (SBM) and Section 36, 
Township 5 South, Range 4 East, SBM, and public lands within the SRMNSA 
that lie east and southeast of, but not including, Township 5 South, 
Range 4 East, SBM. Public lands excepted from the closure are all such 
lands within NW\1/4\ Section 24, Township 6 South, Range 6 East, SBM, 
and public lands within E\1/2\ Section 5, Township 5 South, Range 5 
East, SBM that lie north of Dunn Road and below an elevation of 800 
feet above sea level. This closure shall be in effect year-round from 
February 1, 2000, until completion of a comprehensive trails management 
plan which addresses all aspects of trail and trailhead use in the 
Santa Rosa Mountains National Scenic Area, including any restrictions 
pertaining to dogs. Persons requiring accompaniment by a seeing-eye dog 
and those using dogs to facilitate search and rescue or law enforcement 
operations are exempt from this order.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On March 18, 1998, the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service declared through publication of a final rule (63 FR 
13134) that the

[[Page 3474]]

distinct vertebrate population segment of bighorn sheep occupying the 
Peninsular Ranges of southern California was endangered pursuant to the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The current population of 
bighorn sheep in the United States' Peninsular Ranges approximates 335 
animals distributed in eight known ewe groups (subpopulations) from the 
San Jacinto Mountains south to the Mexican border.
    The Peninsular bighorn sheep is restricted to the east facing, 
lower elevation slopes (below 1,400 meters) of the Peninsular Ranges in 
the Sonoran desert life zone. Bighorn sheep are wide-ranging animals 
that require a variety of habitat characteristics that relate to 
topography, visibility, water availability, and forage quality and 
quantity. Steep topography is required for lambing and rearing habitat 
and escape terrain from predators. Open terrain with good visibility is 
critical because bighorn primarily rely on their sense of sight to 
detect predators. In their hot, arid habitat, water availability in 
some form is critical, especially during the summer. A wide range of 
forage resources and habitat types are needed to meet annual and 
drought-related variations in forage availability. Limiting factors 
apparently vary with each ewe group but are not well understood in all 
cases. The range of factors appears to include predation, urban-related 
sources of mortality, low rates of lamb recruitment, disease, habitat 
loss, and human-related disturbance.
    A review of pertinent literature reveals that various prolonged 
disturbances to bighorn sheep may result in abandonment of lambing 
areas. Further, the stresses induced by dogs as exhibited by increases 
in bighorn sheep heart rates generally exceed the levels of stress 
caused by other factors. Whereas there is a recognized need to act 
swiftly to minimize the potential for abandonment of lambing areas by 
bighorn sheep during the lambing season, which occurs between January 1 
and June 30, a temporary closure to dogs pending completion of a 
comprehensive trails management plan is appropriate. A year-round 
rather than a seasonal closure is instituted to avert associations by 
bighorn sheep of this area as occupied by dogs. Such closure reduces 
the potential for abandonment.
    The comprehensive trails management plan is an element of the 
Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP). 
The CVMSHCP is currently in development. Those desiring to participate 
in the planning process should contact the individual cited below.
    Any person who fails to comply with this order may be subject to 
the penalties provided in 43 CFR 8360.0-7.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
     Jim Foote, BLM, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, P.O. Box 
1260, North Palm Springs, CA 92258, telephone 760-251-4836.

    Dated: January 12, 2000.
James G. Kenna,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 00-1447 Filed 1-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P