California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Plank Road
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a natural process and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 3 rights of way inside the line today. It covers 416 acres and was designated December 12, 1980, in the CDCA, as amended, ISDRA. In the plan's name, CDCA stands for California Desert Conservation Area and ISDRA for Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation 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.
- IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT1right of way
- CA DEPT PUBLIC WORKS1right of way
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
The nearest areas
- Pilot KnobCalifornia · 868 acres · nothing placed inside8miles
- East MesaCalifornia · 94,183 acres · 4 geothermal leases, 14 rights of way17miles
- Singer GeoglyphsCalifornia · 1,853 acres · at least 1 active mining claim20miles
- Indian PassCalifornia · 1,887 acres · nothing placed inside20miles
- Lake Cahuilla - CCalifornia · 5,595 acres · 1 right of way21miles
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 Plank Road. 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