[Federal Register: August 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 164)]
[Notices]
[Page 49700-49701]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22au08-97]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-100-08-1610-DQ]
Notice of Availability of the Pinedale Proposed Resource
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Wyoming
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with of the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) and its cooperating agencies, have prepared a
Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement
(PRMP/FEIS) for the Pinedale Field Office.
DATES: The BLM Planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) state that any
person who meets the conditions as described in the regulations may
protest the BLM's Proposed RMP. A person who meets the conditions and
files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date that
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice in the
Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Pinedale PRMP/FEIS have been sent to affected
Federal, state, and local government agencies and to interested
parties. Copies of the PRMP/FEIS will be available for public
inspection at the following locations:
Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W
Pine Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941.
Interested persons may also review the PRMP/FEIS on the Internet at
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale. All protests must be in writing and
mailed to the following addresses:
Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
Overnight Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L
Street, N.W., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chuck Otto, Field Manager, or Kellie
Roadifer, Pinedale RMP Team Leader, 1625 W Pine Street, Pinedale,
Wyoming 82941, or by telephone at (307) 367-5309.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pinedale Field Office planning area
includes public land and federal mineral ownership in Sublette and
Lincoln Counties, Wyoming. The area includes approximately 923,000
acres of BLM-administered surface lands and approximately 1,199,000
acres of Federal mineral estate under Federal, state, and private
surface.
The Draft RMP/Draft EIS was made available for public review and
comment for a 121-day period beginning on February 16, 2007. The Draft
RMP/Draft EIS described and analyzed four alternatives for the
management of the public lands and resources, including the Federal
mineral estate administered by the BLM Pinedale Field Office:
Alternative 1 (No Action): Continues to balance the use and
development of resources under current management guidance;
Alternative 2: Provides development and use opportunities while
minimizing adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources;
Alternative 3: Focuses on greater conservation of natural and
cultural resources while providing for compatible development and use;
and
Alternative 4 (Agency Preferred Alternative): Provides development
opportunities while protecting sensitive resources.
The key issues addressed by the alternatives are: (1) Development
of energy resources and minerals; (2) special management designations;
(3) public access and transportation planning; (4) wildland-urban
interface; (5) management of special status species; (6) water quality;
(7) vegetation management; (8) recreation activities; (9) cultural
resources management; (10) air quality; and (11) wildlife management.
The Draft RMP/Draft EIS included recommendations regarding Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs). While the Draft RMP/EIS fully
documented the ACECs considered, to ensure that BLM provided the public
with the required 60-day review and comment period as required by 43
CFR 1610.7-2, the BLM published a notice of supplemental information
describing the proposed ACECs and associated values and use limitations
in the Federal Register on February 21, 2008.
There are two ACECs in the existing Pinedale Field Office land use
plan (1988): Rock Creek ACEC (5,300 acres) and Beaver Creek ACEC (3,590
acres). There are 6 potential new ACECs proposed in the Draft RMP/EIS.
The ACECs are:
Trapper's Point ACEC (550 acres [Alternative 2], 4,000
acres [Alternative 4], or 9,540 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of
concern are big game migration corridors, cultural and historic
properties, and livestock trailing. Within this ACEC, fence
construction and surface disturbing activities would be prohibited with
the exception of activities designed to increase big game migration
viability. The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-
road vehicle use would be restricted to designated roads and trails and
subject to a seasonal closure from November 15 through April 30
annually.
New Fork Potholes ACEC (1,800 acres [Alternatives 3 and 4]
): Values of concern are waterfowl, trumpeter swan, and riparian
habitats. With the exception of those that would benefit wildlife
habitat, surface disturbing activities would be prohibited. The ACEC
would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-road vehicle use
would be restricted to designated roads and trails.
Upper Green River ACEC (12,270 acres [Alternative 3]):
Values of concern are big game migration routes and migration
bottlenecks, and high scenic and recreational values. The ACEC would be
unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-road vehicle use would be
restricted to designated roads and trails, and no net increase in miles
of roads would be allowed.
White-Tailed Prairie Dog ACEC (no acreage estimate
available [Alternative 3]): The White-Tailed Prairie Dog (WTPD) ACEC
would not have a specific area but would involve a number of townships
where WTPD habitat might be found in future surveys. The value of
concern is habitat for the WTPD. Surveys for prairie dog presence would
be required prior to authorizing any activities. Anti-raptor perching
devices would be required on any above-ground facilities located within
1/4 mile of WTPD towns greater than 12.5 acres in size, and surface-
disturbing activities would be prohibited in these towns. Off-road
vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails, and
poisoning of prairie dogs would be prohibited except in cases of health
and safety emergencies.
Ross Butte ACEC (35,670 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of
concern are significant cultural resources, archeological landscapes
and Native
[[Page 49701]]
American sacred sites; a unique community of Wyoming sensitive plant
species; high-quality paleontological resources; open space and
dispersed recreation opportunities; and unique geology and unstable
soils. The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing and closed
to the placement of new communication sites. Off-road vehicle use would
be limited to designated roads and trails. Surface occupancy and
disturbance would be prohibited on erosive soils, sensitive plant
species habitats, and on slopes greater than 10 percent.
CCC Ponds ACEC (5,530 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of
concern are a wildlife migration bottleneck on a well-defined mule deer
migration route and recreational values including a developed, non-
motorized trail system, fishing ponds, and interpretive facilities. The
ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing and would be closed
to mineral location and land disposal. Off-road vehicle use would be
limited to designated roads and trails.
Alternative 1 proposes to maintain the status of the two existing
ACECs identified in the 1988 Pinedale RMP. Alternative 2 proposes to
eliminate the two existing ACECs, and establish a new ACEC at Trapper's
Point (550 acres). Alternative 3 proposes to maintain the existing Rock
Creek and Beaver Creek ACECs, and establish all of the new ACECs listed
above (6), for a total of eight ACECs.
As a result of public scoping and the alternative development
process, Alternative 4 (Agency Preferred Alternative) proposes the
following ACECs: Maintain the status of one existing ACEC (Beaver
Creek); maintain and reduce slightly in size one existing ACEC (Rock
Creek); and establish two new ACECs: Trapper's Point (4,000 acres) and
New Fork Potholes (1,800 acres).
Comments received on the Draft RMP/EIS from the public and internal
BLM review comments were incorporated into the proposed plan. Public
comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text but did not
significantly change proposed land use decisions. After careful
consideration of both public and internal comments received on the
Draft RMP/EIS, adjustments and clarifications have been made to
Alternative 4, the Preferred Alternative. As modified, Alternative 4 is
now presented as the Pinedale Proposed RMP in the Final EIS.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the PRMP/FEIS may be found in the Dear Reader Letter of the
Pinedale PRMP/FEIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5. E-mail and faxed protests will
not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also
provides the original letter by either regular or overnight mail
postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under those conditions,
the BLM will consider the e-mail or faxed protests as an advance copy
and it will receive full consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM
with such advance notification, please direct faxed protests to the
attention of the BLM protest coordinator at (202) 557-3599, and e-mails
to Brenda_Hudgens-Williams@blm.gov. All protests, including the
follow-up letter (if e-mailing or faxing) must be in writing and mailed
to the appropriate address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section
above. Before including your phone number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly availability at any time. While you
can ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Jamie E. Connell,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-19534 Filed 8-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P