It was standing room only for the meeting, which gave the public an opportunity to discuss revisions to the BLM's Resource Management Plan.

The amount of interest in the desert and its proper management was obvious by the packed house of concerned citizens who wanted their input heard.

The initial Resource Management Plan was adopted about 10 years ago but has faced increasing demands on a number of different issues.

The BLM officially started the revision process last month with the first step being public input on relevant issues that will determine proper use of desert resources.

After completing the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), the revised plan will replace the current Resource Management Plan.

Bob Ross, Field Manager for the Las Vegas Field Office of the BLM, started off the scoping meeting by explaining the procedures of revising the plan and said citizen input was very important to the process.

He said there are now many new demands on the desert environment, such as ATV use and renewable energy projects that did not exist 10 years ago.

He opened the meeting to questions, and the first subject was the use of Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) in the desert, with several persons stating that the BLM had closed off areas that should have been open to ATV's and other off road vehicles.

"The problem is that we have to be in compliance with the current land use plan," Ross said. "The original plan designated areas to be closed and we have to comply with that until the plan is changed by this revision."

"Revisions to this plan have to be focused and issue driven," Ross said. "Your input now will help determine allowable use of the desert while still protecting the resources."

The meeting then broke up into groups where several BLM staff members were on hand to answer questions.

The next issue posed from the audience was renewable energy projects, such as solar, on BLM land.

"We have a great deal of interest in renewable energy projects in Southern Nevada, however, at this time there have been no decisions made on renewable energy applications," Ross said.

BLM staff members at the meeting confirmed what Ross had said, that there had not been any decisions made on any projects in Mesquite regarding renewable energy.

Citizens now have until Feb. 28 to submit their input for BLM consideration.

The final plan will have the desired outcomes as well as future uses of the desert lands that are allowed, restricted or prohibited.