Assessment available for Ash Springs closure

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Once again, the Bureau of Land Management Ely District, Caliente Field Office is asking the public to review and provide comment on the Ash Springs Temporary Closure
The Ash Springs Temporary Closure Preliminary Environmental Assessment comment period ends Jan. 27. (Dave Maxwell photo)

Once again, the Bureau of Land Management Ely District, Caliente Field Office is asking the public to review and provide comment on the Ash Springs Temporary Closure Preliminary Environmental Assessment. The 15-day public comment period ends Jan. 27.

A public meeting was held in Alamo Dec. 5 at the Alamo Annex building for the purpose of taking comment that would be put into the preliminary environmental assessment.

One of the main comments that came from that meeting was Ash Springs suffers from ?not enough management.?

BLM closed the popular local tourist attraction hot springs in July 2013 because of what they called ?unauthorized modifications? and for ?public safety purposes.?

The Ash Springs Temporary Closure Preliminary EA analyzes the potential impacts that could result from implementation of the proposed action and examines the need to ensure the protection and viability of natural resources and the public need for recreational opportunities.

The document is available for public review at: https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_register.do. Select Nevada, Caliente FO, EA, 2013, then scroll down to DOI-BLM-NV-L030-2013-0032-EA to display the project webpage.

For persons who would like to submit written comments, please address them to BLM Caliente Field Office, P.O. Box 237, Caliente, NV. 89008, Attn: Lisa Domina. Or comments may be faxed to Domina at (775) 726-8111.

Comments may also be submitted to email address: [email protected].? Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment ? including your personal identifying information ? may be made publicly available at any time.

While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

For more information, contact Lisa Domina, at the BLM Caliente Field Office, at (775) 726-8116 or [email protected].

Some of those who attended the December meeting said because there is no management at the site, or little effort to pay attention to what rules are posted, cleanup after heavy usage has been an ongoing problem. Trash, in the water and on the ground, both paper, glass, and/or tin cans, continues to be of major concern

Following the public review period of the environmental assessment, additional public meetings may be held.