§460ooo–5 Management Plan

Summary

Within 2 years after December 6, 2000, the Secretary, working through the Bureau of Land Management, must make and begin a long-term management plan for the public lands inside the Conservation Area so the area’s purposes are met. The plan must be made with Arizona state wildlife and land agencies and with full public input. It must be based on the October 2000 draft Empire‑Cienega Ecosystem Management Plan/EIS for federal lands or lands with conservation easements, and must follow the resource goals developed by the Sonoita Valley Planning Partnership, giving full consideration to the Partnership’s preferred approach where it applies. The plan must protect the area’s resources and values, include an ongoing program of public education and interpretation, and propose only minimal visitor and administrative facilities needed to meet resource goals. It must set out cultural resource protection and use strategies in consultation with Arizona agencies, giving priority to enforcing the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and the National Historic Preservation Act. It must include wildlife management, livestock grazing and sustainable livestock use rules, recreation management (including motorized and nonmotorized dispersed use), and cave protection in line with the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988. If roads or trails are removed, the plan must consider similar alternative access. To carry out the plan, the Secretary may make cooperative agreements with other agencies and may allow research on environmental, biological, water, cultural, agricultural, recreational, and other features of the area.