BATTLE MOUNTAIN – The public comment period is underway for a draft Mill Creek Campground and Shoshone Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Facilities Improvement Environmental Assessment (EA).
The draft EA is open for public comment through March 29th and can be viewed on the BLM National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Register website at https://go.usa.gov/xzPav.
The Mill Creek and Shoshone Off Highway Vehicle areas are located approximately 30 miles south of Battle Mountain on Highway 305. The goal of this project is to improve and reestablish the recreational value in the areas.
The Mount Lewis Field Office proposes activities that include maintenance and upgrade of the Mill Creek Campground and improving the Shoshone OHV Trail System. This would include constructing a permanent fence around the perimeter of the campground to accommodate additional tent sites, establishing a 2.4-mile pedestrian loop interpretive trail within the campground, and designating a 9.7-mile OHV connector trail to link the campground to the existing Shoshone OHV Trail System.
The two pedestrian footbridges lost during the Mill Fire would also be replaced, and an existing OHV route that crosses Mill Creek would be upgraded. Seeding and planting are also proposed within the campground and along stream banks to help restore native vegetation and riparian areas destroyed in the fire.
Written comments will be accepted until March 29 and can be submitted online at the NEPA Register site; mailed to the BLM Tonopah Field Office at P.O Box 911, Tonopah, NV 89049; or emailed to: rssmith@blm.gov.
