History and Mission of ICSAC

By Bob Mason - ICSAC Co-founder. 1/27/2026

The History & Mission of the ICSAC

A Roadmap to Reopening the Patton Valley Corridor (PVC) and Delisting the Peirson's Milk-vetch

The ISDRA Common Sense Action Coalition (ICSAC) was formed to break a decade-long stalemate. For ten years, traditional efforts by the American Sand Association to reopen the Patton Valley Corridor (PVC) proved unproductive. ICSAC was founded to implement a new, high-level strategic approach to land-use advocacy.

Pre-ICSAC Activities: The Search for a "Top-Down" Voice

In July 2025, acting as a dedicated Sand Sport advocate, I initiated a search for high-level leadership within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in Washington, D.C.

The goal was clear: move away from the "Field Office level" discussions that had stalled for years and establish a Top-Down dialogue with federal decision-makers. This search led to Nathan Naidu, Deputy Director of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at the DOI.

• December 19, 2025: After consulting with the ASA Board of Directors, I sent a formal proposal to Nathan Naidu. At the request of the ASA Board, I moved forward in this effort as a private citizen, not as an advisor to the ASA, but as an independent Sand Sport advocate to ensure the mission to reopen the PVC remained the sole focus.

  •  View the 12/19/25 Email to DOI

January 2026: The Formation of the Coalition

The month of January 2026 marked a turning point for the Imperial Sand Dunes.

• January 6, 2026: Vince Brunasso joined as Co-Founder. He identified Presidential Executive Order 14313 as the legal catalyst we needed. Together, we drafted the Executive Summary (found on our home page), which serves as our strategic response to the President's "Make America Beautiful Again" mandate.

• January 8, 2026: Nathan Naidu responded to our proposal. This introductory call established a schedule for weekly strategy sessions between the DOI and our coalition.

• January 13, 2026: Matt Lohr (BLM El Centro Field Office Manager) contacted us to discuss the coalition’s objectives. We provided him with our Executive Summary to ensure local management was aligned with our D.C. discussions.

• January 14, 2026: The ISDRA Common Sense Action Coalition (ICSAC) was officially founded and this website was launched to provide transparency to the duning community. The website also provides easy access to a repository of all relevant documents and biological data.

Recent Progress & Federal Engagement

Our strategy of engaging D.C. leadership has successfully brought state and local BLM management to the table.

• January 22, 2026: A historic strategy call was held. Among others, the participants included:

  • Nathan Naidu, DOI Deputy Director (Washington, D.C.)

  • Joe Stout, BLM California State Director

  • The acting BLM Desert District Manager & El Centro Field Office Manager

  • Vince Brunasso and Bob Mason, ICSAC Co-Founders

• Current Status: As of this writing, we are awaiting a finalized meeting date with U.S. Fish and Wildlife leadership, coordinated by Joe Stout. Mr. Naidu has a meeting with top BLM officials on January 30, 2026 to promote our cause. We provided him with talking points and biological data.

Building the Coalition: Join Us

The ICSAC is actively soliciting endorsements from individual duners, businesses, and OHV organizations.

• Major Milestone - 1-26-2026: We are proud to announce that the Glamis Veterans (the organization behind the Annual Glamis Flagpole Ceremony) has officially endorsed the ICSAC, bringing with that the support of their 20,000+ members.

The Goal: Veterans Day 2026 and Beyond

Preliminary plans are already underway for a 2026 Veterans Day PVC Reopening Celebration. This will be a joint event with the Glamis Veterans to celebrate the return of access to these iconic dunes.

Our coalition is actively pursuing the formal delisting of the Peirson's milk-vetch from the Endangered Species Act. While this species has been used as a justification to keep 9,271 acres of the ISDRA closed since 2013, we believe current data no longer supports such restrictive measures. These lands were historically open to the public for generations, and we are committed to restoring that access. We anticipate legal challenges from opposition groups, but we remain steadfast in our mission to bring common-sense, science-based management back to the dunes. 

Click Here to View ICSAC Progress Reports