[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 103 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30054-30055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12838]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWY930000 L16100000.DS0000]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Resource Management Plan Amendments for the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale,
Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins Field Offices, WY
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming
State Office intends to prepare Resource Management Plan (RMP)
amendments with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for
the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins
Resource Management Plans (RMPs) and by this
[[Page 30055]]
notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit
public comments and identify issues. The RMP amendments will revise
sage-grouse and sagebrush management direction in the existing Casper,
Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins RMPs to
incorporate policies set forth in BLM Wyoming Instruction Memoranda
(IM) 2010-012 and 2010-013. The IMs may be accessed at the following
Web address: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/wildlife.html.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMP
amendments with associated EIS. Comments on issues may be submitted in
writing until June 28, 2010. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local
media and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/amendments/sage-grouse.html. In order to be included in the
Draft RMP amendments, all comments must be received prior to the close
of the scoping period or 15 days after the last public meeting,
whichever is later. We will provide additional opportunities for public
participation upon publication of the Draft RMP amendments.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and
Rawlins RMP amendments by any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/amendments/sage-grouse.html;
E-mail: [email protected];
Fax: (307) 352-0329; and
Mail: BLM Wyoming State Office (WY 930), 5353 Yellowstone
Rd., Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Casper,
Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins field offices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact Bill Hill, Deputy State
Director, Resources Policy and Management; at (307) 775-6113; 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Wyoming State Office intends to prepare RMP amendments with an
associated EIS for the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs,
Newcastle, and Rawlins RMPs, announces the beginning of the scoping
process, and seeks public input on issues and planning criteria. The
planning area is located in Converse, Goshen, Natrona, and Platte
counties (Casper Field Office); Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta counties
(Kemmerer Field Office); Sublette, Lincoln, and Fremont counties
(Pinedale Field Office); Albany, Carbon, Laramie, and Sweetwater
counties (Rawlins Field Office); Sweetwater, Sublette and Fremont
counties (Rock Springs Field Office); and Niobrara, Weston and Crook
counties (Newcastle Field Office) in Wyoming. The planning area
encompasses approximately 15 million acres of public land. The purpose
of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will
influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including
alternatives, and guide the planning process. Preliminary issues for
the planning area have been identified by BLM personnel; Federal,
state, and local agencies; and other stakeholders. The issues include:
Sagebrush habitat management practices directly applicable to
protection of the sage grouse, sagebrush habitat management science
directly applicable to protection of the sage grouse, and the effects
of sagebrush habitat management on other public land resources.
Preliminary planning criteria include: Incorporation of sage-grouse
policies in Wyoming IMs 2010-012 and 2010-013; incorporation of the
policies established by the Wyoming Governor's Executive Order on sage-
grouse (Wyoming EO 2008-2), as appropriate; and consideration of and
consistency with the BLM National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation
Strategy (November 2004). The RMP amendment process will comply with
NEPA, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and other
applicable laws and policies. You may submit comments on issues and
planning criteria in writing or orally to the BLM at any public scoping
meeting, or you may submit them to the BLM using one of the methods
listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To be most helpful, you should
submit comments within 30 days after the last public meeting. Before
including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. The minutes
and list of attendees for each scoping meeting will be available to the
public and open for 30 days after the meeting to any participant who
wishes to clarify the views he or she expressed. The BLM will evaluate
identified issues to be addressed in the plan amendments, and will
place them into one of three categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the amendments;
2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action;
or
3. Issues beyond the scope of these amendments.
The BLM will provide an explanation in the Draft RMP amendments/EIS
as to why an issue was placed in category two or three. The public is
also encouraged to help identify any management questions and concerns
that should be addressed in the amendments. The BLM will work
collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management
decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and national needs
and concerns. The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop
the amendments in order to consider the variety of resource issues and
concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following
disciplines will be involved in the planning process: Rangeland
management, minerals and geology, outdoor recreation, archaeology,
paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology,
soils, sociology, and economics.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2.
Donald A. Simpson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-12838 Filed 5-27-10; 8:45 am]
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