[Federal Register: January 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 18)]
[Notices]
[Page 4145-4146]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ja05-108]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CO-100-1610-DU]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Little Snake Resource Management
Plan for Acquisition and Management of Emerald Mountain
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) will initiate a plan amendment to address acquisition
and management of lands in Routt County, Colorado. The lands would be
acquired in a proposed land exchange between the State of Colorado
(Colorado State Land Board) and the United States (Little Snake Field
Office, BLM).
DATES: All relevant public meetings will be announced through the local
news media, newsletters, and the BLM Web site at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.co.blm.gov/lsra/lsraindex.htm
, at least 15 days prior to the event.
The minutes and list of attendees from each meeting will be available
in the Field Office and at the Web site, and will be open for 30 days
after a meeting to any participant who wishes to clarify the views they
expressed.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to the Bureau of Land
Management, Little Snake Field Office, Attn: Emerald Mountain Land Use
Amendment, 455 Emerson Street, Craig, CO 81625-1129; FAX: (970) 826-
5002. Email comments may be sent to Duane_Johnson@co.blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to the mailing list, contact Duane Johnson, Team
Leader, at the Little Snake Field Office (LSFO) address listed below or
by calling (970) 826-5001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed land exchange involves 129
public land parcels totaling approximately 15,621 acres and one 6,347
acre parcel of State land called Emerald Mountain. The proposed land
exchange would result in BLM acquiring new Federal land and disposing
of scattered Federal lands.
[[Page 4146]]
The parcel to be acquired is currently not under BLM management, and an
amendment of the current Resource Management Plan (RMP) is required to
address acquisition and future management of the parcel by BLM. As part
of the RMP amendment, an Environmental Assessment (EA) will be prepared
to analyze and compare the impacts of the management alternatives for
the acquired lands. As provided by 43 CFR 1610.5-5, the BLM will
prepare the plan amendment and associated EA simultaneously with the
processing of the Notice of Exchange Proposal (NOEP). The plan will be
amended in conformity with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM
management policies. The BLM will ask state and local governments to be
cooperators on the plan amendment. BLM will work with interested
parties to identify the management decisions that are best suited to
local, regional, and national needs. The public scoping process will
identify planning issues and planning criteria. The BLM will prepare
the land management amendment through coordination with other federal,
state and local agencies, and affected users of BLM managed lands. The
BLM will hold public meetings during the plan scoping period. Early
participation is encouraged and will help determine the future
management decisions of the BLM-administered lands involved in this
amendment. Comments on issues and concerns can be submitted in writing
to the address listed above and will be accepted throughout the
creation of the Draft RMP amendment/EA. In addition to the ongoing
public participation process, the BLM will provide formal opportunities
for public participation by conducting scheduled public meetings and
requesting comments upon BLM's publication of the draft RMP amendment/
EA. The BLM will notify the Governor of Colorado, the Routt County
Commissioners, adjacent landowners, and potentially affected members of
the public of the proposed management decisions. The Emerald Mountain
Partnership has promoted the exchange. The Emerald Mountain Partnership
is a non-profit group dedicated to the conservation of the natural
resources of Emerald Mountain and surrounding lands and to the creation
of a multi-use model of land use to ensure the compatibility of
agriculture, wildlife, recreation, and education. A notice of exchange
proposal (NEOP) will be prepared, published in local news media, and
mailed to interested parties. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the
NOEP may request one from the LSFO contact listed above.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the LSFO
and Web site at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.co.blm.gov/lsra/emerald_mtn/em.html.
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the LSFO during regular business hours
(7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays; and
may be published as part of the EA. Individual respondents may request
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street address
from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law.
All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by
BLM personnel, other agencies, and in meetings with the Emerald
Mountain Partnership, the Routt County Commissioners, and user groups.
They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the existing issues and
concerns with current management. The preliminary issues include:
impacts to users of BLM-administered lands and adjacent private
landowners; impacts to wildlife habitat; and impacts to water quality,
vegetation, including riparian and wetland areas, soils, and recreation
opportunities on Emerald Mountain. These issues, along with others that
may be identified through public participation, will be considered in
the planning process. After gathering public comments on what issues
the plan amendment should address, the suggested issues will be placed
in one of the three categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
2. Issues resolved through policy or administrative action; or
3. Issues beyond the scope of the plan amendment.
Rationale will be provided in the plan for each issue placed in
category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a number of
management questions and concerns will be addressed in the plan
amendment. The public is encouraged to help identify these questions
and concerns during the scoping phase.
An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the plan
amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and
concerns identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will
include specialists with expertise in rangeland management, minerals
and geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, law enforcement, cultural
resources, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils,
vegetation, and fire.
(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2(c) and (f)).
John E. Husband,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 05-1591 Filed 1-27-05; 8:45 am]