Input sought for new station
EL CENTRO – The Bureau of Land Management El Centro Field Office is seeking public input for a proposed replacement of the Cahuilla Ranger Station at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.
The proposed 12,500-square-foot ranger station would include a visitor services reception area, restrooms, first aid area, maintenance workshop, an administration staff area, break rooms, showers and lockers, and an employee sleeping area, among other facilities.
It would better serve the needs of the public as well as BLM emergency medical staff, law enforcement, and park rangers, and also provide enough open space to brief up to 150 people in a climate-controlled environment while providing space to adequately serve the public, a BLM press release stated.
The current 2,200-square-foot facility, located at 4500 Gecko Road and which also serves as an ISDRA visitor center, was built in the 1980s and has experienced increased visitation, creating a need for more space for safety personnel and staff.
The proposed project includes the removal of all current structures and debris at the existing site of roughly 120,000 square feet, and replacement with a new Americans with Disabilities Act compliant facility better suited for current and future needs.
The proposed project’s 30-day public scoping period will close on July 31. Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in the summer of 2021, while the station is not heavily used, and it is expected to be ready in time for the off-road season in early fall 2021, BLM reported.
Seeking the public’s input is an important part of the National Environmental Policy Act process and will help the BLM determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, the BLM stated.
Public comments received will be considered during the preparation of an environmental assessment, which will analyze the site-specific impacts of the proposed action on various resources which may be affected.
“The Cahuilla Ranger Station plays an important role in ensuring the safety and well-being of the public who visit the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area,” said El Centro Field Office Manager Ryan Chatterton in a written statement.
“We look forward to the public participating in a new facility that will better meet the needs of our visitors and our employees.”
Questions and substantive public scoping comments may be submitted by email to aswilliams@blm.gov; or by fax to (760) 337-4490, Attn: Alexia Williams; or by mail to: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Alexia Williams, 1661 S. Fourth St., El Centro, CA 92243, no later than July 31, 2020.
More details about the project can be found at https://go.usa.gov/ xwuZH.
Before including addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other personal identifying information in a comment, commenters should be aware that the entire comment, including personal identifying information, could be made publicly available at any time.
While the public may ask the BLM to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee it will be able to do so, the agency stated.