By: Bryan Lollich
Panamint Valley Days is fast approaching. Like last year the run up Surprise Canyon will not be a part of this year’s Panamint Valley Days. Hopefully Panamint Valley Days will rekindle the memories of many members who have made the memorable trip to Panamint City over the past 12 years. The fight to open Surprise Canyon Road is continuing to be waged by many clubs and organizations including the Bakersfield Trailblazers, On the Rocks 4 Wheelers, The Tin Benders, Friends of Panamint Valley, CORVA, the Off Road Business Association, High Desert Multiple Use Coalition, Cal 4 Wheel and many others.
Surprise Canyon Road was designated an open route by the BLM in 1985. With the help of Cal 4 Wheel, Sidekick Offroad and the Bakersfield Trailblazers, Surprise Canyon Road was made passable to 4x4 vehicles in 1989. The Trailblazers continued maintaining the route and became the official “Adopt a Trail” club in 1995.
Surprise Canyon Road was closed in May 2001 as the result of a lawsuit filed by extreme environmental groups against the BLM. Shortly after the BLM agreed to the closure, CORVA undertook the task of challenging BLM's decision to close Surprise Canyon. CORVA, along with the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition, filed an administrative challenge to the Department of Interior's Board of Land Appeals. The administrative challenge was unsuccessful, but paved the way for a future case to be brought against the Surprise Canyon closure in a U.S. District Court.
In May of 2002 the BLM issued a notice that they would amend the California Desert Conservation Area Plan and perform an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for BLM’s portion of Surprise Canyon. The EIS would ultimately decide the fate of vehicular access on Surprise Canyon Road. Public scoping meetings were conducted in July and August of 2002. The public scoping meetings allowed the public to give comments to the BLM on issues that should be included in the Environmental Impact Statement.
In December of 2002 the Northern and Eastern Mojave Plan (NEMO) was signed by the BLM. The NEMO plan included an appendix T which found two portions of Surprise Canyon Creek eligible for Wild and Scenic River designation.
To continue any further a quick lesson in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is necessary. Under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act there are three classifications a river can be classified as.
The first classification is Wild, which are rivers that are generally inaccessible except by trail, with shorelines and watersheds that are generally primitive.
The second classification is Scenic, which includes rivers that may have roads that cross the river, but are generally not in close proximity to the river.
The final classification is Recreational, which are rivers that are readily accessible by road and may have had some development of the shoreline.
Now that you have a brief understanding of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act we can proceed. The first portion of Surprise Canyon Creek, from the mouth of the canyon to Chris Wicht’s Camp, was found eligible for a recreational classification. The second portion, from Chris Wicht’s Camp to the border of Death Valley National Park, was found eligible for a scenic designation. The scenic designation, if we remember our quick lesson of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, requires that a road NOT be in close proximity to the river. For those that are unfamiliar with Surprise Canyon Road the road travels up Surprise Canyon and crosses the creek in many places and is ALWAYS within a few feet of the creek bed. However, Surprise Canyon Road and the outstanding 4x4 opportunities in Surprise Canyon were completely omitted from the eligibility report. The BLM is now required to administer Surprise Canyon Creek as though it were designated until Congress decides weather or not the creek should be included in the national Wild and Scenic River system.
In March of 2003, members of the Bakersfield Trailblazers, BLM, National Park Service (NPS) and environmental groups hiked up Surprise Canyon. The purpose of the hike was to stake out the road and educate the BLM and NPS on how a 4x4 vehicle traverses the road. The hike also allowed 4x4 groups to present the realities of traveling up Surprise Canyon in a 4x4. Environmental groups provided much of the information that was given to the BLM and NPS before this hike. This information was un-balanced, and lacked scientific evidence.
June of 2003 was a busy month for the team that is preparing the EIS for Surprise Canyon. A new team member, Death Valley National Park, was added in June. The new team member became a cooperating agency and allowed the EIS to be expanded to include all of Surprise Canyon. June was also the major month for collection of data. Water samples, land surveys and animal inventories are just a few of the many pieces of information that were collected. The EIS for Surprise Canyon also made the front-page of the LA Times in June 2003 when a group from the Bakersfield Trailblazers purchased a private inholding in Panamint City and requested a key to the gate over Surprise Canyon Road.
So here we are two and a half years after the closure of Surprise Canyon and were do we stand. According to the BLM the administrative draft will be done in November 2003. Once the administrative draft is reviewed a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be released for public comment and review. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is due in mid-January 2004, with the final EIS due in December of 2004. The signing of a Record of Decision would most likely occur in early 2005.
The EIS will contain two decisions. The first decision is on routes. Route designation would apply to the general public, not to private property owners. Route designation would not affect any RS2477 claims by Inyo County or individuals. The route decision will specify one of three types of routes. Either the route would be designated open for all motorized vehicles, closed for all motorized vehicles or limited for all motorized vehicles. The limited option would require a permit from the BLM, issued from September 15- March 15. This permit would require at least two vehicles and a maximum of 20 (25 for November) per trip. One trip per month would be permitted and all vehicles would be required to travel in a single file line. The limited option allows for the hand removal or stacking of rocks and vegetation pruning.
The second decision of the EIS is on the suitability of Surprise Canyon Creek for Wild and Scenic River designation. The Wild and Scenic River study process requires that a river must first be found eligible, remember this has been done through NEMO, and then a suitability study is done. The BLM manual requires that at least three alternatives be studied in the suitability report.
The first alternative is a “No Action” alternative, which keeps two portions of Surprise Canyon Creek eligible and BLM would continue to operate Surprise Canyon as though the two portions were designated.
The second alternative designates all eligible segments as suitable.
The third alternative designates all eligible segments as unsuitable. Keep in mind that only Congress can make additions to the nations Wild and Scenic River system. The BLM can only find a river suitable and recommend to Congress that it be added to the national Wild and Scenic River system.
Now remember that the two portions of Surprise Canyon Creek that have been found eligible for Wild and Scenic River designation are entirely within the BLM’s portion of Surprise Canyon. For those that are unfamiliar with Surprise Canyon, the BLM manages the lower portion of the canyon and Death Valley National Park manages the upper portion of the canyon including Panamint City.
At the Desert Advisory Council meetings in September of 2003 the public was informed that two segments of Surprise Canyon Creek within Death Valley National Park had been looked at and eligibility and suitability for these two segments would be included in the list of alternatives.
So all that being said the BLM currently has six alternatives.
The first alternative is the No Action alternative. Under this alternative the route would be designated open, two segments of the BLM portion of Surprise Canyon Creek would be eligible for Wild and Scenic River designation and two temporary closures would remain in effect.
The second alternative favors vehicle access. Surprise Canyon Road would remain an open route and Wild and Scenic River studies would be conducted for both the BLM and NPS portions of Surprise Canyon with a decision of unsuitable for WSR designation. The protective management required under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act would end with the signing of the record of decision.
The third alternative favors conservation. Under this alternative Surprise Canyon Road would be re-designated a closed route and all eligible WSR segments would be recommended to Congress as suitable.
The fourth alternative is a compromise between access and environment. Under this alternative Surprise Canyon Road would be re-designated as a limited route and all eligible WSR segments would be found unsuitable. The protective management required under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act would end with the signing of the record of decision.
The fifth alternative encompasses a compromise on access, environment and WSR designation. Under this alternative Surprise Canyon Road would be re-designated a limited route and WSR suitability would be recommended for both BLM segments and one Death Valley National Park segment. Vehicle access would be subject to the protective management requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and would end once Congress acted on the suitability recommendation.
The final alternative is a compromise on access, environment, WSR designation and protection of the cultural values in Panamint City. Under this alternative Surprise Canyon Road would be re-designated limited and would be closed near the Death Valley National Park border. All eligible WSR segments would be recommended as suitable and vehicle access on BLM’s portion of the road would be subject to protective management until Congress acts on the suitability recommendation.
Other alternatives could still be added including rebuilding the road to its pre-1984 condition.
To find out more about Surprise Canyon or Panamint Valley get in contact with one of the clubs or organizations that are working to re-open Surprise Canyon.
Friends of Panamint Valley