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The U.S. District Court signed a final judgment and order on Dec. 18 on the Eagle Mountain Land Exchange in Riverside County, ending litigation that has been ongoing since 1999.

The Court's order, mutually agreed to by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Kaiser Eagle Mountain, Inc. (Kaiser) and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), will result in a reversion of lands conveyed to Kaiser in 1999 through a land exchange (the Eagle Mountain land exchange) back to the BLM. The order also confirms that lands conveyed through the exchange to the BLM from Kaiser will remain in federal ownership. Certain mining claims and mill sites which Kaiser relinquished as part of the land exchange were reinstated in the Court's decision.

The Court's action removes the need for BLM to complete the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement associated with the Eagle Mountain Landfill and Recycling Center initiated by the BLM in August of this year.

The lands acquired by the BLM through the 1999 land exchange contain high resource values for endangered species habitat and riparian habitat mitigation. The lands support several management efforts of the BLM including providing continuous critical habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife species such as the desert pupfish, Yuma clapper rail, flat-tailed horned lizard, California black rail and desert tortoise.

"We are pleased that the parties involved were able to come to a resolution that supports BLM's conservation goals," said John Kalish, BLM Palm Springs Field Manager. "The Court's decision allows us to move forward with the effective management of critical wildlife habitat for important species such as the desert pupfish, Yuma clapper rail and desert tortoise."

Additionally, some of the lands acquired by the BLM in the exchange are identified as existing conserved lands in conservation areas designated in the 2007 Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP). Under a 2006 Memorandum of Understanding, the Dos Palmas Area of Critical Environmental Concern is now the primary focus area for mitigation required for the loss of desert riparian habitat from lining of the Coachella Canal. The water conserved from lining of the Coachella Canal is key component of the Quantification Settlement Agreement enabling California to abide by its allocation of 4.4 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River and the water allocation agreement associated with the San Luis Rey River Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement.

For more information and details about the land exchange, please visit the BLM's web page: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Eagle_Mountain_Land_Exchange.html