[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 4373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1451]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNM930000 L12200000.PM0000]
Notice of Temporary Closure of Caves With Significant Bat
Resources on Public Lands in New Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of temporary closure.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a temporary closure of caves and
abandoned mines (sites) with significant bat resources is in effect on
public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New
Mexico to reduce the risk of mortality to bat populations from white-
nosed syndrome.
DATES: This closure will be in effect from January 25, 2011 and not to
exceed January 25, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roger Jaggers, BLM New Mexico State
Office Outdoor Recreation Planner, by phone at (505) 954-2184 or by
mail at P.O. Box 27115, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502-0115. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or question with the above
individual. A reply would be received during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This closure affects the following sites
with significant bat resources on lands administered by the respective
offices of the BLM: Billy the Kid, Dry, Endless, McKittrick, Rusty
Hinge, Sand, Adobe, and Yellowjacket caves administered by the Carlsbad
Field Office; Geronimo, U-Bar and Lepto Splat caves administered by Las
Cruces District Office; Pronoun Cave Complex administered by the Rio
Puerco Field Office; Bat Hole, Big-eared, Corn Sinkhole, Crockett's,
Crystal, Feather, Fly, Fort Stanton, Malpais Madness, Smiley, Sun Spot,
Torgac's, Torgac's Annex, Tres Ni[ntilde]os caves, and Martin-Antelope
Gyp Cave Complex administered by the Roswell Field Office, and Ladrone
Cave administered by the Socorro Field Office. Because of the
provisions of the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act of 1988, legal
descriptions of these sites are not presented in this notice.
Additional information on each affected site is available at the
respective BLM offices listed above. In addition to the sites
identified above for immediate closure, and under the same conditions
and stipulations, the BLM may target and close other sites with
significant bat resources to public entry. Criteria and rationale used
to identify, select, and close all sites is presented in the White-Nose
Syndrome Interagency Response Plan for New Mexico (November 2010). A
copy of this response plan is available to the public by contacting
Roger Jaggers, BLM New Mexico State Office Outdoor Recreation Planner,
by phone at (505) 954-2184 or by mail at P.O. Box 27115, Santa Fe, New
Mexico 87502-0115. This temporary closure is necessary to reduce the
risk of mortality to bat populations from the spread of white-nosed
syndrome, a disease responsible for the mortality of over a million
hibernating bats in North America. First observed in the State of New
York in 2006, the fungus associated with white-nosed syndrome has been
documented as far west as Oklahoma. Scientific data indicates that
fungal spores associated with the disease may be spread inadvertently
among bat hibernation sites by humans, their clothing, or caving gear.
To inform the public, sites identified for closure would be: (1)
Signed and posted in the local BLM office having jurisdiction over the
lands to which the order applies; and (2) Posted at places near or at
the area to which the closure applies and in such manner and location
as is reasonable to bring the closure to the attention of users.
Under the authority of Section 303(a) of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1733(a), 43 CFR 8360.0-7, and 43
CFR 8364.1, the BLM will close the sites identified above to physical
entry. The location and amount of public land identified for closure is
limited to each site and those lands immediately surrounding the point
of entry. Exemptions will be granted for persons conducting search and
rescue operations; approved white-nosed syndrome-related monitoring,
research, or surveys; underground abandoned mine surveys and closures;
and those authorized for activities granted by applicable mining laws.
At a minimum, the BLM offices will require decontamination procedures
to be followed by all exempted parties.
Any person who violates the closure order may be tried before a
United States Magistrate and fined no more than $1,000, imprisoned for
no more than 12 months, or both. Such violations may also be subject to
the enhanced fines provided for by 18 U.S.C. 3571.
Authority: 43 CFR 8364.1.
William Merhege,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-1451 Filed 1-24-11; 8:45 am]
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