Monday October 9, 2023
Chico Enterprise-Record —
For the first time in 30 years, plans on managing federal public lands in northwest California are being updated, and one among many recommendations include eligibility for Butte Creek forks to get “Wild and Scenic River” protections.
The Bureau of Land Management published Sept. 29 the first draft of its resource management plan encompassing northwestern California, from the “north coast beaches” to the “foothills of the Sierra Nevada,” the agency announced in a press release. The draft is open for public comment until Dec. 28.
It is called the Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan, and its planning size is about 14.4 million acres. The bureau owns 382,200 acres that may be affected by new protections.
The plan gives options for management of “areas of critical environmental concern” and recommends protection status for rivers — amongst several recommendations in its four volumes.