[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 137 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43011-43012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16437]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CA-190-04-1610-DS]
Notice of Availability of a Draft Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Clear Creek
Management Area; Correction to April 2003 Notice of Intent (68 FR
22733)
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft RMP/Draft
EIS) for the Clear Creek Management Area, Hollister Field Office, in
the southern portion of San Benito County and western Fresno County,
California; Correction to April 2003 Notice of Intent (68 FR 22733).
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, a Draft
RMP/Draft EIS has been prepared for the Clear Creek Management Area.
The Draft RMP/Draft EIS considers designations of areas and trails for
off-road vehicles (ORV) in accordance with 43 CFR Subpart 8342, and the
delineation of boundaries of the expansion of the San Benito Mountain
Research Natural Area. This notice and the Draft RMP/Draft EIS also
fulfill the planning requirements in 43 CFR 1610. The Draft RMP/Draft
EIS is tiered to the Clear Creek Management Area RMP Amendment/EIS
(1995).
This notice will also correct the Notice of Intent (NOI) of April
29, 2003 (68 FR 22733): BLM will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement instead of an Environmental Assessment as previously
anticipated.
DATES: The comment period will end 90 days after the Environmental
Protection Agency's Notice of Availability is published in the Federal
Register announcing the availability of this Draft RMP/Draft EIS.
Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS must be submitted on or before the
end of the comment period at the address listed below. Public meetings
will be held during the comment period. Public meetings and any other
public involvement activities will be announced at least 15 days in
advance through public notices, media news releases, newsletter
mailings, and the BLM Web site: http://www.ca.blm.gov.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to CCMA RMP Team, Bureau of
Land Management, Hollister Field Office, 20 Hamilton Court, Hollister,
CA 95023. Comments may also be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined
at the Hollister Field Office. Comments, including names and street
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the
Hollister Field Office during regular business hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as
part of the RMP/EIS. Responses to the comments will be published as
part of the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment/Final
Environmental Impact Statement. Individuals may request
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or address from
public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,
you must state this promptly at the beginning of you comment. Such
requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. BLM will not
consider anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations or
businesses will be made available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Copies of the Draft RMP/Draft EIS have been sent to affected
Federal, Tribal, State and local Government agencies, and to interested
publics and are available at the Hollister Field Office. The planning
documents and direct supporting record for the analysis for the Draft
RMP/Draft EIS will be available for inspection at the Hollister Field
Office during normal business hours (7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Monday
through Friday, except holidays). The Draft RMP/Draft EIS and other
associated documents may be viewed and downloaded in PDF format at the
BLM Web site at http://www.ca.blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George E. Hill, Assistant Field
Manager, at the above address, telephone number (831) 630-5036, or e-
mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) is
managed for Off-Highway Vehicle recreation and natural values. CCMA
consists of approximately 75,000 acres of public lands and resources in
the southern portion of San Benito County and western Fresno County,
California. Approximately 30,000 acres are within the Serpentine Area
of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The serpentine soils within
the ACEC contain high concentrations of naturally occurring asbestos,
and comprise an environment with a unique assemblage of plant and
animal species.
The CCMA is currently managed under a Record of Decision (ROD)
approved in 1999. The ROD designated the CCMA a Limited Use Area for
Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use and also provided for a subsequent land
use planning effort to further analyze and designate specific areas and
trails for OHV use. BLM initiated the more subsequent planning in 2003
with publication of a NOI and preparation of an EA. After considering
scoping comments from the public requesting that an EIS be prepared,
and further analysis of impacts of possible area and route designations
in the management
[[Page 43012]]
area, however, BLM concluded that an EIS was warranted. The scope of
the plan amendment is unchanged. All scoping comments submitted under
the April 2003 NOI have been considered by BLM in preparing the Draft
Amendment and Draft EIS. Additional scoping comments are not requested.
Issues addressed in the EIS include: access for off-highway vehicle
use; vehicle access for other casual uses; visitor safety; air quality
and public health, watershed impacts, providing protection for listed
and sensitive species and habitats; and, protection and viability of
the unique forest and vegetation communities within the San Benito
Mountain Research Natural Area.
The proposed route of travel and barrens designation changes to the
Hollister RMP for the Clear Creek Management Area, including
designation of the boundaries of the San Benito Mountain Research
Natural Area, requires a formal plan amendment before the designations
can be implemented. The amendment process and ORV trail designations
were conducted in compliance with the Federal Land Policy Management
Act of 1976 (FLPMA), planning regulations (43 CFR 1600), ORV trail
designation regulations (43 CFR 8340), BLM manual guidance, and all
applicable Federal laws affecting BLM land use decisions and ORV
designations.
Criteria were developed to determine whether areas and routes
should be designated opened or closed, based on: proximity to sensitive
resources (stream crossings, special designations/Research Natural
Area, biological and cultural resources, mine sites), private land,
erosion hazards and maintenance concerns, motorized and non-motorized
recreation opportunities, and administrative and local access. This
Draft Amendment and Draft EIS refines the screening criteria and
procedures for implementing route and area designation as open,
limited, or closed to provide sustainable recreation opportunities and
to establish a clear and understandable network of routes and areas
available for public use that conforms identified resource condition
objectives.
The Draft RMP/Draft EIS considers and analyzes four (4)
alternatives A) the Proposed Action, B) Enhanced Recreation
Opportunities, C) Enhanced Environmental Protection, and D, the No
Action, or Continuation of Current Management alternative. The Bureau
considered route inventory data, soil loss surveys, monitoring reports,
field evaluations, watershed studies, information obtained from
coordination with other federal, state, and local agencies,
consultation with the Technical Review Team, and public comments in the
development of the resource management plan amendment.
Dated: July 12, 2004
George E. Hill,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 04-16437 Filed 7-16-04; 8:45 am]
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