Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Public meetings confirmed on Marine Corps expansion

The Bureau of Land Managment and the U.S. Marine Corps have announced the details of two public meetings in Twentynine Palms and Victorville to "inform the public about the legislative withdrawal process for consideration of the proposal to expand the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center."
The proposal seeks to withdraw approximately 366,000 acres of federal public land and, if eventually acquired, approximately 72,000 acres of non-federally owned property within the proposed withdrawal area.

In Twentynine Palms two meetings will be held on Thursday, October 23, at the Twentynine Palms Junior High School gym at 5798 Utah Trail. Additional meetings will be held on October 24 in Victorville.

Two meeting times are scheduled at each location from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. (CORRECTION: THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE MEETING IN TWENTYNINE PALMS, AND IT WILL RUN FROM 4 TO 9 P.M. - ED.) to provide the public the broadest opportunities to attend, according to Roxie Trost, BLM Barstow Field Manager.

A notice published Monday, Sept. 15 segregated the public lands involved for two years, making them unavailable for settlement, sale and location of claims under the mining laws. However, the lands remain open to public access and recreation use. A 90-day comment period will closes Dec. 15.The notice, available online at www.blm.gov/ca, also explains the withdrawal process.


Read more in the Desert Trail.


MORE INFO ON THESE ISSUES: On the Land Use/Development and Communities pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Johnson Valley, Marine Base, Wonder Valley.