Table Of ContentBLM LIBRAHRYI
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>. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
J 0 C eau of Land Management
U006£ O
Lakeview District Office
1000 Ninth Street South, P.O. Box 151
Lakeview, Oregon 97630-0055 September 1991
Lakeview District Planning Update
As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and
natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the
environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation.
The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interest of all our people.
The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in Island Territories under
U.S. administration.
BLM-OR-ES-91 -41 -1792
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U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Lakeview District Office
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Lakeview, Oregon
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September 1991
This is the Lakeview Resource Area’s first Annual Planning Update. Its purpose is to
let you, the public, know what we have accomplished during the past year and what
we hope to accomplish this year. It’s an undertaking we will repeat annually from
now on.
As each year passes, management of the public lands becomes increasingly complex.
More and different users place additional and often conflicting demands on the lim¬
ited resources we have and new legislation and court rulings add to the complexity of
land management. Public awareness of environmental issues continues to grow and
you the public insist on being kept informed of and involved in what we do. We hope
this update is a positive step towards meeting those needs.
There are a number of things you will find in the Lakeview Planning Update. We
have included a summary of what was accomplished last year, an environmental, or
EA register outlining our project plans for the remainder of this year and a highlights
section to let you know about some of our more interesting projects. We have also
included summaries on topics of concern or interest in the resource area such as a
cooperative venture to rescue the threatened Warner Sucker.
Again, this is the first planning update we have prepared. We hope it will be useful
and informative. If you have any suggestions on how to make it better please, let us
know.
LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDATE SEPTEMBER 1991
Warner Sucker Recovery Efforts
The streams and
shallow lakes of the
Warner Valley in
southern Oregon are
the only place on
earth the federally
threatened Warner
sucker can be found.
With the combined
efforts of the BLM,
The Nature Conser¬
vancy, the Oregon
Department of Fish
and Wildlife, the
U.S. Fish and Wild¬
life Service and the
University of California at Davis that has
deeper reaches of perennial streams such
changed for a time. Rescue operations are as Honey Creek, Snyder Creek and
underway to capture at least 300 of the Twelve-mile Creek. The streams are still
fish to transport to a temporary holding
flowing but this time they are starting out
pond for an unknown length of time.
with many fewer fish to survive until the
water returns.
Eastern Oregon is suffering the effects of
a prolonged drought which has caused The decline in the number of suckers can
the water level in the lakes and channels,
be attributed in great measure to the
which are home to the Warner sucker, to
introduction of crappie into the lake
drop to the point they will probably be during the late 1960’s. The introduction
completely dry by the end of this sum¬ of crappie for a sport fishery was so
mer. This phenomena is nothing new to successful they have been preying on the
the Warner Valley, which has undergone young suckers, or fry, for food to such an
wet and dry cycles throughout its history. extent the Warner sucker was declared a
In fact it is the periodic wet and dry cycle threatened species. The combination of
which helps make it such productive the severe reduction in the number of
habitat for waterfowl. suckers, the prolonged drought and the
urgency of the rapidly drying lakes led to
In the past the Warner sucker has sur¬ a decision to try to capture enough fish to
vived the dry spells by retreating to the
be used for breeding.
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SEPTEMBER 1991 LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDATE
This spring the BLM in partnership with
Cultural Resources
The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish
Field Schools Benefit
and Wildlife Service, the Oregon Depart¬
ment of Fish and Wildlife and the
Many
University of California at Davis began
trapping operations. The captured fish are
being held in temporary holding ponds at
The Lakeview Resource Area’s cultural
the Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge. Later
resources program benefited greatly last
this summer they will be transported to
year through the signing of cooperative
the National Fish Hatchery in Dexter,
agreements with the University of Or¬
New Mexico, where they will remain
egon, the University of Nevada-Reno and
until the day the water level in the lakes
the South Dakota School of Mines.
rises enough to support them again.
There are signs of success. The Summer
The cooperative agreements provided a
Lake suckers spawned in the holding
mechanism for a work/research program
ponds this year and biologists found
to provide training in cultural resource
thousands of tiny larval suckers.
management for university students. The
program exposed students to real-world
The extreme measures which are being
cultural resource management in which
taken this year to insure the survival of
they completed survey work and excava¬
the Warner sucker are a temporary fix at
tions on BLM project areas and evaluated
best. Work will continue in the Warner
known and newly located archaeological
Valley to improve the habitat, particularly
and historical sites. It is estimated the
in the perennial streams which feed the
financial benefit to the BLM for the work
Warner Valley. With perseverance and
completed is about $200,000.
cooperation from everyone this will be
the last time we will need to come to the
The arrangement benefited all of the
rescue of the Warner sucker.
parties involved. In addition to the finan¬
cial benefit to the Bureau, the students
got firsthand knowledge of BLM’s cul¬
tural resources management program and
the universities acquired research data
The Lakeview from the sites.
Resource Area
manages 123 grazing
allotments for a total
of about 161 flOO
AUMs.
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LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDATE SEPTEMBER 1991
Work Proceeds in the Warner Wetlands
After completion of the Environmental
Once the pump was installed at the over¬
Assessment and Plan Amendment for the
flow at Hart Lake Bar the water began to
Warner Wetlands and Associated Up¬
flow.
lands in 1989, the Lakeview Resource
Area finished a management plan for the
Last year’s work was just the beginning.
Warner Wetlands Area of Critical Envi¬
The irrigation system will be expanded
ronmental Concern (ACEC) in April of
and upgraded. Blueprints have been
1990. Activity plans were also completed
drawn up and the initial constmction is
for wildlife habitat, geology, recreation,
done for a visitor contact and information
cultural resources, vegetation and graz¬
point at Hart Lake Bar.
ing.
Botanical studies have begun this sum¬
The completion of the activity plans
mer to classify the plant communities.
ended three years of intensive public
These studies will be used as baseline
involvement and planning to determine
information to understand how the veg¬
the future uses for the 51,000 acre
etation responds to changes in
Warner Wetlands ACEC. They outlined
management and fluctuating water levels
the specific work the BLM will under¬
and to interpret the interesting variety of
take to implement the management
plant communities to the public.
objectives in the land use plan amend¬
ment such as building fences, drilling
water wells, constructing campgrounds,
designing interpretive facilities, and
The Lakeview Resource Area is re¬
improving the existing irrigation system.
sponsible for managing two wild
horse herd management areas, the
Once the planning was done field crews
Paisley Desert and Beaty’s Butte. The
went right to work. Badly needed repairs
most recent inventories showed the
were completed on the network of dikes
following numbers for those areas
which make up the irrigation system
and the minimum and maximum al¬
through nearly 8,000 acres of private land
lowable numbers for the herd size.
the BLM acquired with the help of The
Nature Conservancy. A $35,000 grant
Herd latest max min
from Ducks Unlimited enabled the BLM
Paisley 60 110 60
to convert a high volume irrigation pump
Beaty Butte 150 250 100
capable of pumping 15,400 gallons per
minute to run off of commercial power.
SEPTEMBER 1991 LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDATE
Challenge Cost Share Programs
Again this year, strong emphasis has been placed on the use of challenge cost share
agreements. Challenge cost share agreements are agreements by which an individual or
organization supplies money, labor or materials if the BLM does the same. The
Lakeview Resource Area would like to recognize the assistance of the the following
organizations and agencies in furthering our resource management goals.
The Oregon Department of Fish and The Nature Conservancy and the Oregon
Wildlife provided matching funds of Department of Fish and Wildlife contrib¬
$5,000 for a peregrine falcon study. uted a total of $30,000 for inventories of
the snowy plover, white-faced ibis and
Frank Shaw, a grazing permittee, contrib¬ the Warner sucker.
uted $1,500 towards a prescribed bum on
Bridge Creek to reduce juniper encroach¬ The Oregon Department of Fish and
ment and remove brush overstory thus Wildlife contributed $5,000 for a fence
improving forage for wildlife and live¬ reconstruction project in Twelve-mile
stock. Creek to protect riparian values and
Warner sucker habitat.
With the help of a $1600 in matching
funds from The Nature Conservancy, the A mule deer water guzzler was built near
Lakeview Resource Area is completing a Big Juniper Mountain with the help of
special status plant survey in the Warner The Mule Deer Foundation and the
Basin. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDATE SEPTEMBER 1991
Lakeview Resource Area Program Highlights
The Lakeview Resource Area is responsible for the management of about 3.2 million
acres of public land in Lake and Harney Counties in Oregon. Management of these
lands covers a broad spectrum of resource programs making it challenging and at the
same time exciting. Following is a summary of some of the highlights of Fiscal Year
1990.
Recreation Management Noxious Weeds Control Program
The use of the public lands administered In 1990 an amendment was prepared to
by the BLM has increased in numbers the Lakeview Resource Area Noxious
and diversity each year. This past year Weed Environmental Assessment. Work¬
saw the advent of a new recreation initia¬ ing in cooperation with the Lake County
tive in the BLM, the Back Country Weed Board, five infestations, covering
Byways Program. The resource area has about fifty acres were treated.
two designated Back Country Byways,
the Christmas Valley and the Lakeview to Lands and Realty
the Steens Byways. In June of 1990, the
Lakeview Resource Area hosted the A sale of 80 acres to Lake County for the
Eastern Oregon Kickoff Dedication for site of the new North Lake County
the Back Country Byways program. School was completed.
In 1990 projects were completed with A special use permit was issued to Fuji
volunteer assistance from the Pacific Television, based in Japan, to film an
Northwest Four-Wheel Drive Association episode of “To Oregon with Love” in the
to post off-road vehicle restrictions in the Christmas Valley Sand Dunes.
Lost Forest Research Natural Area and to
repair a vehicle barrier in the Black Hills. Minerals Management
Wild Horse and Burro Program The focus for the minerals management
program in the Lakeview Resource Area
To foster more public awareness of the continues to center around the sale of
Bureau’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, sand and gravel and the inspection of
Sweet Pea, the wild burro mascot for the existing mining claims. Fourteen sand
Susanville, California Wild Horse Cor¬ and gravel sales were completed amount¬
rals, was brought to the Lake County Fair ing to nearly 53,000 cubic yards.
and Roundup Parade in Lakeview over
Labor Day Weekend.
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SEPTEMBER 1991 LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDATE
Cultural Resources
One of the highlights of the Lakeview
Resource Area cultural resources pro¬
gram continues to be its use of
volunteers.
Through volun¬
teer agreements
with individuals
and cooperative
agreements with
the University of
Nevada-Reno, the
University of
Oregon and the
South Dakota
School of Mines,
the Lakeview
Resource Area
was the benefi¬
ciary of work
valued at about
$200,000.
Fire Management
Fire Statistics
The Lakeview District Fire Management
Activity Plan was signed and approved
last year. The plan outlines how land
In 1990 there were a total of 46 wild-
management planning decisions will be
fires in the Lakeview Resource Area
applied on the ground. Specifically this
totalling 2563 acres.
plan identifies: 1) fire management ob¬
jectives and constraints, 2) necessary
40 Lightning 250.0 acres
personnel and equipment and 3) the cost
5 Human Caused 63 acres
of meeting management objectives.
1 Other 0.0 acres
46 Fires 2563 acres
LAKEVIEW DISTRICT PLANNING UPDA TE SEPTEMBER 1991
Annual Work Accomplishments
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Each year the Lakeview Resource Area commits to a certain amount of work it
plans to accomplish. The resource area then tracks its progress in accomplishing
this work over the course of the year through a units of accomplishment
accounting system. The following table presents a summary of what units were
completed in fiscal year 1990 and the planned work program for fiscal year
1991. We hope this will help you keep track of the wide variety of multiple use
management activities which the Lakeview Resource Area undertakes each year.
Units Units
Done Planned
Measure FY90 FY91
Description
Minerals Management
Surface management notices # reviewed 14 12
Surface mgt. inspection # inspected 25 23
Pre-lease notices # processed 0 2
Inspection and enforcement # lease inspections 0 6
Material sales/permits # processed 18 9
Compliance of mineral # inspections 0 14
material sales/permits
Lands and Realty
Rights-of-way # grants 13 8
Private exchanges # acres 0 4,790
FLPMA sales # acres 80 320
Leases, permits, easements # cases 3 2
Range Management
Grazing plans # plans completed 4 5
Monitoring # allotments monitor 88 70
Lease & permit admin. # issued 119 100
Weed control # projects 1 1
Cultural Resource Management
Inventory # acres 800 500
Site management # sites managed 0 200
Resource stabilization&protection # projects 5 3
Wilderness Management
Plan amendments # completed 0 13
Interim management # acres 0 46,100
Recreation Management
Permitting # permits issued 2 2
Resource protection # projects completed 2 3
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