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[Sanduners View Member Profile]

I received 4 notices in the mail yesterday...

Notice of Public Meetings:

The BLM has scheduled a scoping meeting to gather public comments regarding the South Dunes Ranger Station.  In the Recreation Area Management Plan a Ranger Station was to be constructed in the Buttercup Management Area of the Imperial Sand Dunes.  It will include a vistior service area, a medical room, and a law enforcement office/holding area.  The proposed action is to construct a 2000 sf building is a fixed building with parking for the public, law enforcement, and BLM staff/maintenance.  Your participation will help BLM write an Environmental Assessment to look at alternatives for a ranger station in this area and to better analyze the potential effects.

The meeting will be held on the following dates, times and locations:

Date:  July 21, 2005  (Thursday)
Time:  5:00p.m. to 7:00p.m.
Where: IID Auditorium,  1285 Broadway,  El Centro,  CA

BLM will accept written and electronic comments on the scope of the South Dunes Contact Station until August 15, 2005, electronic comments received by August 15, 2005 and written comments post marked by August 15th and received by August 25, 2005.

You may submit comments by the following methods:
+  Mailed to Neil Hamada, South Dunes Contact Station EA, 1661 South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243
+  Electronic: nhamada@ca.blm.gov

For general information including information on how to comment, you may contact Gary Taylor, Bureau of Land Management, and El Centro Field Office, 760-337-4400

Thank you for your participation.

[Chummin View Member Profile]

Here is one I might actually be able to make..

A few questions though.. Is this the Visitor center or part of it? Will the border patrol work out of this building also? Where in buttercup could you place such a building??

On the horizon..
Perm Buildings
Visitor center
Medical staff
Sherrif and BLM officers


Thats alot of stuff coming down the pipe in the future.. Along with water holding areas from the AM Canal. Whats in store for Glamis if its the trouble maker of the dunes when the S. Dunes gets all this attention. ??

[The Pastor View Member Profile]

I see alot of spending and haven't seen one thing removed/deleted to reduce cost.

[Chummin View Member Profile]

Season Pass and Weekly pass..

[Bansh88 View Member Profile]

Sounds like a great place! Who is going to man this thing during the summer? Off weekneds? Sounds like a Million dollar building that will be useful about 30 days a year. Sounds like the BP, Rangers and Sheriffs are getting a very nice breakroom!

[Sanduners View Member Profile]

Sounds like a great place!  Who is going to man this thing during the summer?  Off weekneds?  Sounds like a Million dollar building that will be useful about 30 days a year.  Sounds like the BP, Rangers and Sheriffs are getting a very nice breakroom!
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Exactly my thoughts too. I don't see the need myself for a permanent building for a dune season that mainly happens for 7 months and mainly on weekends... that WOULD be paid from our permit fees

And this is exactly what I will say in my comments I send to both the BLM and the TRT.

[LoBuck View Member Profile]

If any of you missed this meeting you were not alone....

I WAS.

Yep that's right. I was the lone dune user to attend this PUBLIC meeting.

Well there was one other person who came, saw his name on the sign in sheet. He left before I got there. I got there at 5:30pm. The BLM folks waited patiently for interested dune users until 6:15pm to start the presentation.

I sure am glad that I left work early, drove to El Centro from Yuma, attended the presentation for this "highly controversal project", drove back home and finished the hour & a half of work I still needed to finish today.

Sorry for the sarcasism, but today just was not one of the most productive days I've had.

[HozaykwAIRvo View Member Profile]

Thanks Glenn

[SailAway View Member Profile]

Summertime, weeknight/schoolnight meeting, I can think of all kinds of reasons there was a poor turnout.

In all the drama of the last week (or so), this could have even just gotten lost in the shuffle.

Not giving excuses... it was an important opportunity.

It's good you were able to go.

Vicki

[LoBuck View Member Profile]

Summertime, weeknight/schoolnight meeting, I can think of all kinds of reasons there was a poor turnout.

In all the drama of the last week (or so), this could have even just gotten lost in the shuffle.

Not giving excuses... it was an important opportunity.

It's good you were able to go.

Vicki
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Yes I agree there are lots of reasons for a poor turnout. One that was left out was apathy. With all of the drama last week, this project got its share of it.

I wasn't expecting people to drive for 3+ hours (one way) to attend this meeting. I did figure there would be a few more there though.

I know what you're saying Vicky, and you've probably had something like this happen with meeting you've been to. It was good that I went, but I really wasn't able to. I made the time to do it.

[BeachHead View Member Profile]

glenn...thank you for making time to go to this. Do you have anything you could tell us about it? I'm going to assume that against all odds, what with the large turnout, they are going to go forward with this?

[LoBuck View Member Profile]

Do you have anything you could tell us about it?
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I've asked for the presentation and will upload it to the ISDRA TRT website document section when I get it.

[swark View Member Profile]

Thanks Glen !!.

I dont know what all the negativity is about regarding this south station. Could be very useful to watch the border and you crazy's down there

Seems to me that the BLM is looking at a long term plan that doesnt include any more closures !!!. Thats a good thing in my book !. Sorry if you South duners dont like the idea !... WAAAA!.

I have a feeling that there will be some pretty big changes this next season.... provided the 9th court rules in the duners favor in late Sept.

.

[azsandrider View Member Profile]

Most people I know think a South Dunes Ranger station is a good idea and are glad to finally get it, especially since the funding is coming from a different source than the operational budget.

Of course, most people I know mainly go to the south dunes and will benifit the most by having this station.

If the south ranger station doesn't get built, that money will not be given to the BLM for operational costs. The government doesn't work that way. Either the ranger station gets built or nothing happens with that money.

The more infrastructure that is built in the ISDRA the better chance we have of keeping it open.

[The Pastor View Member Profile]

The more infrastructure that is built in the ISDRA the better chance we have of keeping it open.

The more infrastructer that is built in the ISDRA the higher the annual budget becomes.

[Rick Bowen View Member Profile]

Although I've only been to the south dunes a couple of times I question building it in the Buttercup area. Seems there are more people (correct me please) duning on the north side of I8 that would benefit?

[jhitesma View Member Profile]

Although I've only been to the south dunes a couple of times I question building it in the Buttercup area. Seems there are more people (correct me please) duning on the north side of I8 that would benefit?
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More people duning...but not as many "visitors" necessarially.

Buttercup gets the tour busses, several a day in the winter, and the lookie loos off the I-8 who just stop because it looks more inviting than the rest stop in the middle of the highway. There's also the Plank road at Buttercup which a lot of people stop by to see (and I know from experience last year that if you say you're just going to check out the plank road and are in a sedan they'll let you through with no pass to see it....)

Gordon's may be more dune use but Buttercup most likely sees more "visitors" due to it's easy highway access.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of it but I'm not a huge detractor either. I can see good and bad to having and not having a new station at Buttercup. Overall I'd rather not see the BLM spending any money until they get their budget under control - but at the same time if it opened the door to separate management of Buttercup/Gordon's from Glamis they it could potentially have some upsides to it. Then again with the talk of an interpertative area in the RAMP and Pattersons comments about wanting a "South dunes wilderness area" there are a lot of things that could worry me as well.

I guess the big thing is at this point I just don't have enough information about it to make an informed decision. There are a number of knee-jerk reactions I could have to it...but I prefer to make my decisions on all the facts rather than just jumping to conclusions so for now I'm staying wedged firmly undecided on this situation.

[Chummin View Member Profile]

Thanks Glen for making the meeting. My trip to the East was moved up a week.

ALSO NOTE - you can still email them.

BLM will accept written and electronic comments on the scope of the South Dunes Contact Station until August 15, 2005, electronic comments received by August 15, 2005 and written comments post marked by August 15th and received by August 25, 2005.

You may submit comments by the following methods:
+  Mailed to Neil Hamada, South Dunes Contact Station EA, 1661 South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243
+  Electronic: nhamada@ca.blm.gov

As far as the building being built - who will maintain is and where will that money come from? Parking lots, lights, electricity, water, personal, cleaning.... the list goes on.