COYOTE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS MONITORING FOLLOW-UP REPORT - MAY 9th, 2003

IMPERIAL COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

BLM MANAGED WILDERNESS AND LIMITED USE AREA

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These photos were taken by Craig Deutsche on his May 5th, 2003 follow-up monitoring trip.  For larger views click on the picture. (Most are about 100K) 

Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 09:18:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: deutsche@earthlink.net
To: Gregory_Thomsen@ca.blm.gov, CRolholt@ca.blm.gov
Subject: Off road activity in Imperial County

May 9, 2003

Mr. Greg Thomsen, Manager
Bureau of Land Management
1661 South Fourth Street
El Centro, CA 92243

Mr. Chris Roholt
BLM CDCA Wilderness Director
22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos
Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046

Dear Sirs:

On April 16, 2003, I sent a report of observations which I had made concerning illegal off-road activity in the western part of Imperial County. I was gratified to receive notice of several actions which the El Centro BLM region had taken to close off entry into the Coyote Mountains Wilderness Area. On May 6, 2003, I returned to these areas with several friends (Kelly Fuller, Edie Harmon, and Ron Gaul) to document this work and to also survey several other areas in which illegal off-road activity was suspected. These more recent observations follow here. I have also sent each of you a hard copy of this report and the original photos. I realize that this report is lengthy, but my intention in this is to indicate that the problems are truly pervasive. Please consider that this report does not constitute a list of specific incursions that need only rehabilitation, but rather this documents the need for a wide-ranging policy of enforcement, of public education, of signing, and of assumed responsibility. These actions have always been the goal of the Bureau of Land Management, but the report which follows indicates that the efforts to date have been ineffective.

The GPS waypoints in what follows are in UTM coordinates, the datum used is NAD27 CONUS. The bearings at which photos are reported are in degrees from MAGNETIC north.

The trip began by driving the Painted Gorge Road north from the frontage road along I-8 and east of Ocotillo.
 

(CONSTRUCTING A MAP OF THE WILDERNESS AND THE WAYPOINTS - NOT YET COMPLETE)

Waypoint 001  E 0597 385  N 3628 899

This location is along the Painted Gorge Road. This road had no signs indicating a BLM number designation to correspond to the map labeled Western Colorado Route of Travel Proposed Action. Neither were there any signs along either side of the road to indicate whether the area was a closed area, an open area, or a limited use area. At the location of this waypoint I believe the west (left) side of the road was a limited use area. There was a great deal of ORV activity in the open spaces and on hills to the west of the Painted Gorge Road. This is seen in the two pictures taken here.

Picture #1, taken with bearing 275 degrees ===>
 

Waypoint 001  E 0597 385  N 3628 899

Picture #2, taken with bearing 265 degrees  ===>

Waypoint 002  E 0596 641 N 3630 328

At this location along the Painted Gorge Road there was a rusted out vehicle on the west side. This appears to be the vehicle that the BLM removed from wilderness in the Notice of Event dated April 24 and 25. In any case, this is visible trash along the roadside, and is shown in the picture.

Picture #3, taken with bearing 240 degrees  ===>

Waypoint 003  E 0596 199  N 3630 646

This location is the same one that was named and pictured in a previous report which I submitted and dated April 17. The picture # 4 shows the posts which still have no signs and have vehicle tracks going between. There ARE newly installed wilderness boundary signs to the left of this entrance road, and there are new wilderness signs on either side of this road into the picture here. It appears that this road has been cherry stemmed into the wilderness area behind these two posts.

Picture #4, taken with bearing 220 degrees  ===>

Waypoint 004  no coordinates or observations

About 100 yards beyond the posts shown in Picture #4 there is a new post-and-cable barrier across this road. This is, I assume, one of the barriers named in the notice of event dated April 24, 25. I very much appreciate this effort to close off the area. It should be noted however that the cable is sufficiently loose that it can be easily lifted to a height of 5 feet, more than enough to let an ATV or motorcycle underneath. It appears that this barrier is WITHIN the wilderness area, although the map which was previously referenced is insufficient to determine this with certainty. I believe that it would have been no more difficult to close off the area at Waypoint 003 (which seems to be the boundary of the WA) than at the location where the post and cable barrier was actually constructed.

Waypoint 005   E 0596 181  N 3630323

This is another post and cable barrier that has been newly installed since the visit of April 6. This barrier is certainly intended to prevent vehicle entry to the area from another direction at the back of the large open area. Picture #5 clearly indicates that the cable is so loose that it can be easily lifted to allow entry of a vehicle of any size. The barrier serves to indicate that entry is illegal, but as a physical barrier to entry it is entirely ineffective. The picture also shows motorcycle tracks around the barrier on the right.

Picture #5, taken with bearing 130 degrees  ===>

Between the waypoints 003 and 005 and within the wilderness area there is a fire ring with some trash as shown here.
Picture #6   ===>

From left to right in the picture are burned wire, melted lead (probably from a car battery), and a tube that is labeled high explosive military shell. This may qualify has a hazardous material site. It is a bit perplexing that barriers were constructed both before and behind this fire ring, but this trash was either not seen or else ignored.

Waypoint 006   E 0595 666  N 3630 806

This waypoint is at the major post-and-cable that seasonally blocks the Painted Gorge Road to protect bighorn sheep habitat. The pictures clearly show an open space in the barrier with ATV tracks going through the space. The post at the right of the opening has a horizontal bar that is intended to prevent entry, but as the pictures show, the post can be easily rotated in its hole, and anyone who wishes can easily pass by this barrier.

Picture # 7  ===>

Picture # 8  ===>

Picture # 9  ===>

Waypoint 007   E 0596 226  N 3631 272
Monitoring continued along a road north of the previous waypoints. All along the west side of the road were newly installed (since April 6) wilderness boundary signs. There were vehicle tracks behind these signs but it was not possible to determine if these were made before or after the installation of the signs. I again acknowledge and appreciate the effort made by the BLM in marking the boundary of the wilderness area. This waypoint marks several of these new signs.

Waypoint 008  E 0596 941  N 3631 708
This location was also reported in the previous report from April 6. The three, red closed route signs are still in place as they were then, and there are tracks behind the signs. There is no way to tell when the tracks were made.

Waypoint 009  E 0597 048  N 3631 725
Picture #10, taken at bearing 320 degrees ===>
This shows trash behind a downed sign. This location is perhaps 100 yards beyond the Waypoint 007 where there is a newly installed wilderness boundary sign. It seems a bit odd that this trash was not noticed and removed at the time the signs were installed.

Waypoint 010  E 0596 156  N 3631 278
Picture #11, taken at bearing 320 degrees  ===>
The location from which this picture was taken is within the wilderness area as it is behind the newly installed signs. The picture shows vehicle tracks in the foreground, and it also shows a large 55 gallon barrel which has many bullet holes. Again it seems odd that when the signs were installed this obvious trash was not noticed and removed.
 

The forgoing observations clearly document the efforts of the BLM to respond to my previous report. The effort is acknowledged and is appreciated. These observations also suggest that the efforts were in some cases quite ineffectual and were quite limited. The three post-and-cable barriers are simply not able to exclude vehicles. The visible trash so close to the recently installed signs is also puzzling. It would seem that the recently completed work in response to previous comments rather missed the goal of protecting the wilderness area. Very little time or effort would have been required to make the barriers effective or to remove the visible and nearby trash.  It is my understanding that the position of Wilderness Resource Specialist is unfilled in the El Centro Field Office. It is not enough that maintenance personnel post signs at the boundaries. These photos demonstrate that there needs to be a person who is explicitly responsible for the integrity of the designated wilderness areas. May I urge that funding for this position be sought and that a suitable candidate for this position be hired.

The documentation of May 6 continued by driving several roads to the southern boundary of the Coyote Wilderness area.

Waypoint 011  E 0592 928  N 3626 702
At this location a dirt road left pavement and leads north toward the Coyote Mountains. The sign in the picture is one of a number of puzzles that we encountered. The words printed on this sign are: Vehicle use allowed only on routes signed open. NO CROSS COUNTRY TRAVEL It is significant that the words signed open were darkened so as to be nearly invisible. This alteration entirely changes the meaning of the sign, and with this wording it is implied that it is legal to travel anywhere that a track is visible. Since this is a limited use area, and since there are only a very few open routes shown nearby on the map labeled Western Colorado Route of Travel Proposed Action, the sign is an open invitation for illegal riding. It is not clear who was responsible for the alteration. In any case, there are hill climbs visible in the picture behind the sign and in the limited use area.
Picture #12, taken at bearing 310 degrees  ===>

Waypoint 012  E 0592 000  N 3627 500
This site is within a limited use area and is very nearly at the southern boundary of the Coyote Mountains WA. It is also within the critical habitat for bighorn sheep. For the entire distance between waypoint 011 and 012 there were no signs on the road, in spite of the sign in picture #12 which limits use (or should limit use) to roads signed open. There are also no BLM numbered roads so that a person might know whether they are actually on a legal route appearing in the map labeled Western Colorado Route of Travel Proposed Action.
Picture #13, taken at bearing 330 degrees  ===>

The picture shows a very imposing pile of trash. Three days previous to this trip, on Friday, May 2, Edie Harmon and Ron Gaul visited this site. They are absolutely certain that the yellow sign had been moved in the intervening three days, the propane tanks had been moved, and some wood blocks had been scattered. This site had been visited and abused over the weekend of May 3-4. The problems are not historical. The trash was moved within days of this picture.

As a matter of record the trash included rifle shells, shotgun shells, copper wire, several electronic circuit boards, a computer keyboard, a computer monitor, an upright Hoover vacuum cleaner, several propane tanks, a road sign, and an assortment of auto parts.

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