California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Patton Military Camps
BLM found a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 3 rights of way inside the line today, and a grazing allotment covers part of it. It covers 20,410 acres and was designated September 14, 2016, in the CDCA Plan, as amended by Plan 52. In the plan's name, CDCA stands for California Desert Conservation Area.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
The rights of way
3 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under non-energy facilities and 1 under other energy facilities.
- NEW TOWERS LLC1right of way
- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON CO1right of way
- RIVERSIDE COUNTY (California)1right of way
Grazing allotments
A grazing allotment covers part of this line. Its permittee isn't named here yet.
- Rice Valley78,418acres
The nearest areas
- Cadiz ValleyCalifornia · 211,428 acres · at least 231 active mining claims, 5 rights of way9miles
- Turtle MountainsCalifornia · 51,980 acres · 1 right of way18miles
- Mopah SpringCalifornia · 1,922 acres · nothing placed inside20miles
- ChemehueviCalifornia · 924,200 acres · at least 17 active mining claims and 28 more BLM lists as Filed, 36 rights of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it21miles
- Chuckwalla to Chemehuevi tortoise linkageCalifornia · 372,965 acres · at least 1 mining claim BLM lists as Filed, 32 rights of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it22miles
Next to it
Chuckwalla To Chemehuevi Tortoise Linkage Area of Critical Environmental Concern and Chemehuevi Area of Critical Environmental Concern touch the line.
More from BLM's California office
Every area BLM's California office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Patton Military Camps. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026