Blm

Federal officials frustrated by ongoing destruction at a historic cave site in northern Nevada announced a $1,000 reward to help catch the vandals. The reward will go to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the vandalism at the Lovelock Cave recreation site southwest of Lovelock, Bureau of Land Management officials said.

A coalition of a dozen national conservation groups is fighting the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's plan to open all but a small portion of the Imperial Sand Dunes to recreational vehicle use, continuing a protracted legal battle over access to the 160,000-acre dunes east of San Diego.

As more than 30 armed federal agents stood by Sunday, Bureau of Land Management officials seized 227 head of cattle they say two Western Shoshone sisters were grazing illegally on public land in northeastern Nevada. Mary and Carrie Dann, who have been at odds with federal authorities for nearly three decades over grazing and land ownership, sharply criticized the operation in Pine Valley, about 60 miles southwest of Elko.

Drawing heavily on its experience in California, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has prepared a broad set of guidelines for mountain biking to help agency officials manage the burgeoning sport on the BLM's 263 million acres of public land. The plan is the first of its kind since 1992 and acknowledges the national popularity of mountain biking on public land, where officials say more than 13 million enthusiasts ride every year.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, already under fire for attempting to open much of the 150,000-acre Algodones sand dune system to off-road vehicles, has rejected the warnings of a sister agency about the future of a rare plant there. Moreover, the bureau is seeking to deflect concerns for the plant's survival by urging biologists at the U.S.

Since Michael Cantilla was a boy, a buckskin steed has been galloping through his imagination. He dreamed about catching the mustang and taming it for riding. On Sunday, Cantilla, now 34, circled the corral at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, looking for the animal of his dreams among the wild horses and burros that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management had put up for adoption.

The Denver office of the Environmental Protection Agency is threatening to give the Interior Department a failing grade for blessing a massive methane drilling project in northeastern Wyoming, according to draft documents. EPA and Interior documents obtained by The Times provide a rare view into the internal discord sparked by President Bush's mandate to expedite and increase energy production from federal lands.

Tim Salt's removal as manager of the California Desert District office of the Bureau of Land Management will not, I am sure, result in actions more favorable to mining, livestock grazing and recreational interests (Feb. 1). There is little wiggle room for BLM when decisions involve plants and animals listed under the Endangered Species Act. To top this, the BLM Desert District office is under court order to restrict activities that might have an impact on the desert tortoise and a number of other listed species.

A key federal official assigned to referee land-use disputes in the California desert has been removed from his post amid protests from environmentalists that the Bush administration is bowing to pressure from miners, ranchers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Tim Salt, a 27-year veteran of the Bureau of Land Management, had been a lightning rod for criticism from all factions over federal policy in the 11-million-acre desert.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee endorsed Kathleen Clarke to lead the Bureau of Land Management, sending her nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote. If confirmed, Clarke would be the first woman to run the bureau, which coordinates oil and gas drilling, mining, timber, grazing and conservation on 264 million acres of federal land across the West.