Arizona: Lake Havasu Travel Management Plan Will Affect Motorized Access for Hunters

The Bureau of Land Management is developing a Travel Management Plan (TMP) to designate the routes that will remain open to the use of motorized vehicles by the public.  The Federal lands involved in the TMP are located below I-40 in Arizona and California, north, east, and south of Lake Havasu City, including parts of the California shoreline and south within 5-7 miles of the Bill Williams River.   The public comment period on the TMP closes February 28^th.  Comments may be emailed to [email protected] or by filling out the comment form on BLM’s Arizona State website at www.blm.gov/az.  Click on Lake Havasu.  For further information you may call Myron McCoy at 928-505-1216 or write to [email protected].

The TMP lays out four alternatives for motorized access:

Alternative A: No Action. Alternative A describes the current management of BLM-administered public lands in the planning area. The current management would continue to occur if no new decisions are made to alter them.

Alternative B: Protection. Alternative B emphasizes minimal human use and influence, and enhanced protection of remoteness and primitive recreation.

Alternative C: Proposed. Alternative C would provide an optimal balance between authorized resource use and the protection and long-term sustainability of sensitive resources within the planning area.

Alternative D: Access. Alternative D places an emphasis on maximum resource use and a more flexible, permissive resource management approach.

In addition to the effects the TMP will have on recreational access, the BLM does not intend to allow the use of vehicles for game retrieval off designated routes.  If you hunt or enjoy other recreational activities on these lands, it is important that you review the maps and comment on how the alternatives will affect your access and ability to retrieve downed game.