HIGHLIGHTS EL CENTRO FIELD OFFICE. District Advisory Committee Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Subgroup. December 11, 2014

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1 HIGHLIGHTS EL CENTRO FIELD OFFICE District Advisory Committee Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Subgroup December 11, 2014 BLM Action: Plank Road Visitor Area Upgrades Status: Preparations are underway for the Feb. 21, 2015 Centennial Celebration for the Historic Plank Road within the Imperial Sand Dunes. The United Desert Gateway (UDG) and BLM recently installed a new road intersection and a parking lot. A new interpretive kiosk is in the works and should be ready in time for the upcoming celebration. New road intersection construction at the Plank Road BLM Action: Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) Emergency Medical Services/Search and Rescue (EMS/SAR) Contact: Brian Puckett, Park Ranger Status: Park Ranger staffs, both permanent and seasonal, have completed required trainings for search and rescue operations in addition to regular park ranger training. This training included wilderness and remote area search and rescue, vehicle extrication, technical rope rescue, and swiftwater rescue. In addition to the rescue qualifications, all park ranger staff are certified and licensed at the Emergency Medical Technician level, with some at the Advanced EMT and Paramedic levels. Continued training and education has been set up with 1

2 partnering agencies including the US Border Patrol, California Highway Patrol, California State Parks, Imperial County Sherriff s Office and Reach Air Ambulance. ISDRA Park Ranger Search and Rescue Training Ranger Stations opened October 17 th and have been staffed by these park rangers since. Between the station opening, and November 2 nd, park rangers have responded to 44 EMS/SAR calls within the ISDRA. This represents a 13% increase in call volume when compared to the same timeframe last year. EMT Park Ranger Dan Scott and Paramedic Park Ranger Brian Puckett provide medical treatment to an injured OHV rider in the ISDRA 2

3 BLM Action: Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Fee Program Update Status: The ISDRA free period began on April 15 th and ended September 30 th, 2014 Permits are required from Oct. 1 st through April 15 th, During FY14, 46,472 permits were sold and compliance was at 91% after checking 6,433 vehicles. The fee report below is the preliminary FY14 data. FY 2014 ISDRA Fee Revenue $ 2,229,917 Total FY 2014 Funds $ 2,229,917 FLREA SECTION 2014 Maintenance $380,000 Visitor Services $564,000 Law Enforcement $760,000 Fee Program Management $317,000 Overhead $115,000 FY2014 expenditures TOTAL $2,136,000 Total FY 2014 Expenditures Overhead 5% Fee Program Management 15% Maintenance 18% Law Enforcement 36% Visitor Services 26% The new fee contractor is working closely with BLM. There have been issues with the quality of the season permit and a work around has been developed to address customer needs in the field immediately. The weekly permits have been working great with the new scratch off system. There are currently over 60 retail locations where most permits are being sold. 3

4 BLM Action: ISDRA Education and Outreach Status: The El Centro Field Office continues to work in partnership with the United Desert Gateway (UDG). This year the Dune Guard program will receive a facelift by offering newly designed t-shirts, can cozies, safety flags and safety googles to safe riders. These items are given to visitors for Doing the right thing. A new welcome sign and foundation were installed by the UDG at Greys Well Access Road. The sign was strategically placed so visitors could stand next to the sign and take cell phone photos to post on social media. Over 100 visitors did that the first weekend. BLM Action: Maintenance Status: El Centro Field Office Maintenance staff has accomplished multiple projects over the past few months. Signing the critical habitat in the dunes to implement the new RAMP is one of their main duties. Currently, two staff are signing the closures 30 to 40 hours per week. Sand removal continues to be a challenge to keep the roads open due to periodic high winds. Emergency sand removal occurred during the Halloween weekend and watering occurred on the road to Ogilby Camping Area over Saturday night and Sunday morning during the Thanksgiving Weekend. Grays Well Road was closed the week after Halloween due to sand and a few visitors were stuck in the dunes. 4

5 Restroom maintenance continues with one seasonal employee, volunteers, and assistance from EMT Park Rangers. 63 sites cleaned four times a week normally and daily or more during holidays. Graffiti removal, painting, door, and lock repairs are also completed weekly. Before and After Work has started on preparing the Plank Road for the centennial. Barriers have been damage from vehicles and have been repaired. All old dilapidated signs have been removed. Display sections of the road have been uncovered and made visible to the public. 5

6 Before and After BLM Action: Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) Update Status: A combination of law enforcement, maintenance staff, park rangers, and resource staff have been signing and educating visitors on the new closures. In the picture below, BLM Park Ranger Daniel Baca makes contact with visitors and distributes maps at the closure boundary in the BLM Rescue Buggy. A Closure Task Force was developed for the Thanksgiving weekend to increase efficiency and education efforts. 6

7 The BLM has also launched new Geo-referenced maps available on the BLM website or on cell phone applications like Avenza pdf maps. This allows visitors to navigate real time on their phones and comply with the new closure locations. BLM Action: Volunteers Contact: Daniel Baca, Park Ranger Status: Homer Himes has begun his 4 th season as Campground host for Buttercup Campground. Homer has lived at Buttercup Campground year round for the past three years. Homer volunteers on average of 3600 hours a year making visitor contacts providing information about Imperial Sand Dunes, and educating visitors about rules and regulations in the dunes. Homer also assists Park Rangers and Maintenance staff with keeping the campground restrooms clean and stocked with toiletries, as well as keeping Buttercup Ranger Station and its facilities clean, and in working order. For the Dunes season the Campground host positon at Gecko Campground has been filled by Thomas Gell. Thomas is a retired heavy equipment operator, and has in Class A Commercial Driver s License. Thomas contacts visitors providing them with information about the dunes as well as rules and regulations. He also assists park rangers and maintenance with keeping restroom facilities clean. On the major holiday weekends Thomas assists maintenance by driving their water truck to water Wash Rd in an effort to minimize dust on the highly traveled road, and to satisfy the EPA. We are continuing to recruit camp hosts to fill vacant positions at Ogilby and DuneBuggy Flats camping areas within the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. For more information about campground host positions or volunteering please visit the following link: 7