LVEA in Action                                                                                                                                                              Winter  2004    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________   
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SAND MOUNTAIN BLUE BUTTERFLY WORKING GROUP
MOVES FORWARD ON DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION PLAN

At a recent Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Working Group meeting, coordinated by Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance, Rick Benson, Bureau of Land Management, Carson City Field Office informed the working group that there are five BLM livestock grazing allotments in the Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) surrounding Sand Mountain.

They are: 
·         Salt Wells – Winter use – largest allotment in ACEC – north of highway next to Sand Mountain

·         Frenchman’s Flat –  Winter use – East side of ACEC

·         Bucky O’Neal – Winter use – South side of ACEC

·         La Beau Flat – South/East side of ACEC and East of Bucky O’Neal – only small portion in ACEC

·         Mount Well La Platta – only 40 acres in ACEC 

He also explained that at the time cattle are in the area, plants are dormant and can tolerate grazing to some extent.  Rabbits and ground squirrels severely graze the Kearney Buckwheat and concern was expressed by others regarding the spread of cheatgrass and Russian thistle.  BLM will be conducting vegetation studies in the Sand Mountain area next year. 

Rochanne Downs, Cultural Resource Director and Council Member, Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe,gave a presentation on the Fallon Tribe’s viewpoint of Sand Mountain and surrounding areas and presented several conservation strategies for the working group to consider. 

Claudia Funari, BLM, Carson City Field Office, discussed the financial aspects of Sand Mountain explaining that yearly passes to Sand Mountain are sold by the BLM for $45, and weekly passes for $20.  Visitation has been reported to average 44,450 annual visits from 1999 to 2004.  There are as many as 5,000 visitors on holiday weekends. It was found that 80% of the visitors to Sand Mountain were from California and 90% pay the

 

                
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use fee while 10% are short-term visitors who stay for only a short time and are not charged a fee.  

Revenues collected by the BLM are used only for Sand Mountain expenses.  Fees are spent on maintenance technician to clean and repair facilities, customer service, law enforcement presence, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).  Sand Mountain fee collections for 2003 were $109,000 (March-September) and expenditures for 2003 were $140,000 for the same time period.  Fee collections for 2004 (October-July) were $108,000 and expenditures for 2004 were $115,000 for the same time period.                         

 Rick Gray, Fallon Convention & Tourism Authority discussed a survey conducted on Labor Day weekend 2003 indicated that:

§         The average per person, per day expenditure in Churchill County by visitors to Sand Mountain is $37.

§         BLM estimates 50,000+ visit Sand Mountain Annually.

§         The average length of stay is four days.

§         $7,400,000 is spent in Churchill County yearly by visitors to Sand Mountain.

§         This is not an indication of total economic benefit to the area as it does not reflect multipliers or other economic linkages associated with visitor spending.

§         76% of visitors were from California.

§         37% of visitors reported staying in a motel.

A more through analysis is needed and will soon be conducted.

The Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Working Group continues to work on the identification of risks to the butterfly and on the development of conservation strategies.  The public is encouraged to participate in the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Working Group.  For more information please call 775 423-0525.

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