The Buttermilk Project Area has emerged as an iconic destination in the Eastern Sierra Region and has seen increasing numbers of visitors in recent years, straining existing recreation infrastructure while presenting opportunities to improve the visitor experience and conserve natural resource assets through engaged recreation management. The Buttermilk Infrastructure and Recreation Planning Initiative (BIRPI) is a two-phase Project to address current resource impacts and plan for sustainable recreation in the Buttermilk area.

The first phase included installation of a double-vault toilet at the popular Buttermilk area. The second phase was a conceptual recreation planning initiative focusing on the interconnected nature of recreation activities in the Project Area and the documentation of needs and gaps for future recreation infrastructure improvements. This planning effort was a stakeholder driven collaborative process to identify concerns, gaps, and infrastructure needs through public input from a spectrum of user groups and stakeholders. Given the interrelated nature of recreation in the Buttermilk Project Area involving multiple management authorities, this effort represents an initial public process to inform future land management decisions..

The next step is for the document to be accepted by the ESCOG board in February.  It will then be shared with the land management agencies including the Inyo National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Inyo County, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Bishop Paiute Tribe.  We encourage you to continue to advocate for forward motion and implementation.

The BIRPI is being completed in partnership with the Inyo National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Inyo County. The BIRPI is funded by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.