Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Amend the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan, 103-104 [04-28744]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 1 / Monday, January 3, 2005 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [UT–100–1610–DS] Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Amend the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent. AGENCY: SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to prepare an amendment to the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The plan amendment will consider changes to Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) area designations, make minor modifications to the current transportation plan, and establish designation of routes for OHVs and other motorized vehicles. The planning area for the amendment includes all public lands within the St. George Field Office, which includes approximately 630,000 acres in Washington County, Utah. Preparation of this RMP amendment and EIS will fulfill the needs and obligations of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), applicable federal regulations, and BLM management policies. DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments on the scope of the plan, including issues that should be considered, should be submitted in writing to the address listed below within 30 days after the final public scoping meeting tentatively scheduled for the first week of January, 2005. However, collaboration with the public will continue throughout the plan amendment process. Dates and locations for public meetings will be announced through local news media, newsletters, and the plan amendment Web site, https:// www.stgeorgeohvplan.com, at least 15 days prior to the events. ADDRESSES: Please mail written comments to the BLM, St. George Field Office, ATTN: OHV Plan Amendment, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah 84790; or submit comments electronically by e-mail to the Web site listed above. All public comments, including names and mailing addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the St. George Field Office during regular business hours VerDate jul<14>2003 14:47 Dec 30, 2004 Jkt 205001 (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as part of the EIS. 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, please state so prominently at the beginning of your written correspondence. The BLM will honor such requests to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to have your name added to the RMP amendment mailing list, contact Jim Crisp, RMP Team Leader, at the St. George Field Office at the address shown above or by telephone at 435–688–3201. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The St. George RMP planning area is located entirely within the boundaries of Washington County, Utah in the southwest corner of state. The area is bordered on the west by the Nevada state line, on the south by the Arizona state line, and on the east and north by Kane and Iron counties, respectively. Public lands within the St. George Field Office planning area are currently managed in accordance with the decisions in the 1999 St. George RMP and Record of Decision as amended. BLM will continue to manage OHV activities on these lands in accordance with the 1999 RMP until the plan amendment is completed and a Record of Decision is signed. The use of public lands by motorized vehicles for recreation and other land use activities in Washington County, Utah is important to a wide variety of individuals, communities, groups, tribes, agencies, and business enterprises. Federal policy requires that BLM provide the public with sufficient information to ensure that motorized travel on public lands is conducted safely with due regard to protection of the environment and the rights of other land users and adjacent landowners. Completion of a comprehensive route designation plan (not included in the 1999 RMP) is necessary for agencies, law enforcement officials, and public land users to know where motorized travel is allowed or restricted. Preparation of this RMP amendment for the St. George Field Office is also necessary to comply with BLM’s national OHV strategy and to implement recommendations of the Utah Natural PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 103 Resource Coordinating Committee and BLM’s Utah Resource Advisory Council on OHV management. The BLM will work collaboratively with Washington County, various agencies, state and other local governments, Indian tribes, and interested parties to identify the management decisions that best address local, regional, and national needs and concerns. Early participation is encouraged in helping to determine future OHV management on public lands addressed in this amendment. The public scoping process will identify planning issues and provide for public comment on the development of planning criteria. Through consultation with numerous interested parties, BLM has identified the following preliminary issue themes: 1. Suitable access to public lands and resources. 2. Potential impacts to wildlife habitats, state and federally-listed plant and animal species, important watersheds, cultural resources, and lands managed for natural values. 3. Potential impacts to adjacent nonfederal lands. 4. Meeting needs for motorized recreation opportunities including linked trail systems and trails designed specifically for single track and two track vehicles. 5. Potential impacts to local economies. 6. Consistency of OHV management across adjacent jurisdictions. These preliminary issue themes may be supplemented or refined through public participation for consideration during the planning process. BLM will evaluate issues raised during scoping and place them in one of the following categories: 1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment; 2. Issues resolved through approved policy or administrative action; or 3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment. In evaluating issues and developing the plan amendment and EIS, BLM will use an interdisciplinary team of specialists and contractor personnel, in addition to cooperating agencies approved under written agreement. Disciplines involved in the process will include, at the minimum, specialists with expertise in wildlife, outdoor recreation, archeology, realty, rangeland management, watershed, endangered species, natural area management, social and economic analysis, law enforcement, and fire. In addition to the scoping period, BLM will provide formal opportunities E:\FR\FM\03JAN1.SGM 03JAN1 104 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 1 / Monday, January 3, 2005 / Notices for public comment upon publication of the draft RMP amendment/draft EIS. Dated: October 20, 2004. Gene Terland, Associate State Director. [FR Doc. 04–28744 Filed 12–30–04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–88–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [WY–100–05–1310–DB] Notice of Meeting of the Pinedale Anticline Working Group’s Cultural and Historic Task Group Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of public meeting and cancellation. AGENCY: SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (1972), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) Cultural and Historic Task Group (subcommittee) will meet in Pinedale, Wyoming, for a business meeting. Task Group meetings are open to the public. DATES: A PAWG Cultural and Historic Task Group meeting is scheduled for February 3, 2005, from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. The PAWG Cultural and Historic Task Group meeting will be held in the BLM Pinedale Field Office conference room at 432 E. Mill St., Pinedale, WY. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Vlcek at 307–367–5327 or Kierson Crume at 307–367–5343, BLM/Cultural and Historic TG Liaisons, Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 432 E Mills St., P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY, 82941. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) was authorized and established with release of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Pinedale Anticline Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Project on July 27, 2000. The PAWG advises the BLM on the development and implementation of monitoring plans and adaptive management decisions as development of the Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Field (PAPA) proceeds for the life of the field. After the ROD was issued, Interior determined that a Federal Advisory Committees Act (FACA) charter was required for this group. The charter was ADDRESSES: VerDate jul<14>2003 14:47 Dec 30, 2004 Jkt 205001 signed by Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, on August 15, 2002, and renewed on August 13, 2004. An announcement of committee initiation and call for nominations was published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2003, (68 FR 8522). PAWG members were appointed by Secretary Norton on May 4, 2004. At their second business meeting, the PAWG established seven resource-or activity-specific Task Groups, including one for cultural and historic. Public participation on the Task Groups was solicited through the media, letters, and word-of-mouth. The agenda for these meetings will include information gathering and discussion related to developing a reclamation monitoring plan to assess the impacts of development in the Pinedale Anticline gas field, and identifying who will do and who will pay for the monitoring. Task Group recommendations are due to the PAWG in February, 2005. At a minimum, public comments will be heard just prior to adjournment of the meeting. Dated: December 21, 2004. Priscilla E. Mecham, Field Office Manager. [FR Doc. 04–28642 Filed 12–30–04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–22–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [WY–100–05–1310–DB] Notice of Meeting of the Pinedale Anticline Working Group’s Wildlife Task Group Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. AGENCY: SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (1972), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) Wildlife Task Group (subcommittee) will meet in Pinedale, Wyoming, for a business meeting. Task Group meetings are open to the public. DATES: A PAWG Wildlife Task Group meeting is scheduled for January 27, 2005, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. A second Task Group meeting is scheduled for February 8, 2005, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. ADDRESSES: The January 27 meeting of the PAWG Wildlife Task Group will be held in the Lovatt room of the Pinedale PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Library at 155 S. Tyler Ave., Pinedale, WY. The February 8 meeting will be held in the conference room of the BLM at 432 E. Mill St., Pinedale, WY. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Belinda, BLM/Wildlife TG Liaison, Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 432 E. Mills St., P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY, 82941; 307–367–5323. The Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) was authorized and established with release of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Pinedale Anticline Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Project on July 27, 2000. The PAWG advises the BLM on the development and implementation of monitoring plans and adaptive management decisions as development of the Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Field (PAPA) proceeds for the life of the field. After the ROD was issued, Interior determined that a Federal Advisory Committees Act (FACA) charter was required for this group. The charter was signed by Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, on August 15, 2002, and renewed on August 13, 2004. An announcement of committee initiation and call for nominations was published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2003, (68 FR 8522). PAWG members were appointed by Secretary Norton on May 4, 2004. At their second business meeting, the PAWG established seven resource- or activity-specific Task Groups, including one for Wildlife. Public participation on the Task Groups was solicited through the media, letters, and word-of-mouth. The agenda for this meeting will include information gathering and discussion related to developing a wildlife monitoring plan to assess the impacts of development in the Pinedale Anticline gas field, and identifying who will do and who will pay for the monitoring. Task Group recommendations are due to the PAWG in February, 2005. At a minimum, public comments will be heard just prior to adjournment of the meeting. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dated: December 22, 2004. Priscilla E. Mecham, Field Office Manager. [FR Doc. 04–28643 Filed 12–30–04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–22–P E:\FR\FM\03JAN1.SGM 03JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 103-104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28744]



[[Page 103]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-100-1610-DS]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Amend the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) intends to prepare an amendment to the St. George 
Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The plan amendment will consider 
changes to Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) area designations, make minor 
modifications to the current transportation plan, and establish 
designation of routes for OHVs and other motorized vehicles. The 
planning area for the amendment includes all public lands within the 
St. George Field Office, which includes approximately 630,000 acres in 
Washington County, Utah. Preparation of this RMP amendment and EIS will 
fulfill the needs and obligations of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (NEPA), applicable federal regulations, and BLM management 
policies.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments on 
the scope of the plan, including issues that should be considered, 
should be submitted in writing to the address listed below within 30 
days after the final public scoping meeting tentatively scheduled for 
the first week of January, 2005. However, collaboration with the public 
will continue throughout the plan amendment process. Dates and 
locations for public meetings will be announced through local news 
media, newsletters, and the plan amendment Web site, https://
www.stgeorgeohvplan.com, at least 15 days prior to the events.

ADDRESSES: Please mail written comments to the BLM, St. George Field 
Office, ATTN: OHV Plan Amendment, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, 
Utah 84790; or submit comments electronically by e-mail to the Web site 
listed above. All public comments, including names and mailing 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
St. George Field Office 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 EIS. 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, please state 
so prominently at the beginning of your written correspondence. The BLM 
will honor such requests to the extent allowed by law. All submissions 
from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to have 
your name added to the RMP amendment mailing list, contact Jim Crisp, 
RMP Team Leader, at the St. George Field Office at the address shown 
above or by telephone at 435-688-3201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The St. George RMP planning area is located 
entirely within the boundaries of Washington County, Utah in the 
southwest corner of state. The area is bordered on the west by the 
Nevada state line, on the south by the Arizona state line, and on the 
east and north by Kane and Iron counties, respectively. Public lands 
within the St. George Field Office planning area are currently managed 
in accordance with the decisions in the 1999 St. George RMP and Record 
of Decision as amended. BLM will continue to manage OHV activities on 
these lands in accordance with the 1999 RMP until the plan amendment is 
completed and a Record of Decision is signed.
    The use of public lands by motorized vehicles for recreation and 
other land use activities in Washington County, Utah is important to a 
wide variety of individuals, communities, groups, tribes, agencies, and 
business enterprises. Federal policy requires that BLM provide the 
public with sufficient information to ensure that motorized travel on 
public lands is conducted safely with due regard to protection of the 
environment and the rights of other land users and adjacent landowners. 
Completion of a comprehensive route designation plan (not included in 
the 1999 RMP) is necessary for agencies, law enforcement officials, and 
public land users to know where motorized travel is allowed or 
restricted. Preparation of this RMP amendment for the St. George Field 
Office is also necessary to comply with BLM's national OHV strategy and 
to implement recommendations of the Utah Natural Resource Coordinating 
Committee and BLM's Utah Resource Advisory Council on OHV management.
    The BLM will work collaboratively with Washington County, various 
agencies, state and other local governments, Indian tribes, and 
interested parties to identify the management decisions that best 
address local, regional, and national needs and concerns. Early 
participation is encouraged in helping to determine future OHV 
management on public lands addressed in this amendment. The public 
scoping process will identify planning issues and provide for public 
comment on the development of planning criteria. Through consultation 
with numerous interested parties, BLM has identified the following 
preliminary issue themes:
    1. Suitable access to public lands and resources.
    2. Potential impacts to wildlife habitats, state and federally-
listed plant and animal species, important watersheds, cultural 
resources, and lands managed for natural values.
    3. Potential impacts to adjacent non-federal lands.
    4. Meeting needs for motorized recreation opportunities including 
linked trail systems and trails designed specifically for single track 
and two track vehicles.
    5. Potential impacts to local economies.
    6. Consistency of OHV management across adjacent jurisdictions.
    These preliminary issue themes may be supplemented or refined 
through public participation for consideration during the planning 
process. BLM will evaluate issues raised during scoping and place them 
in one of the following categories:

    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues resolved through approved policy or administrative 
action; or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.

    In evaluating issues and developing the plan amendment and EIS, BLM 
will use an interdisciplinary team of specialists and contractor 
personnel, in addition to cooperating agencies approved under written 
agreement. Disciplines involved in the process will include, at the 
minimum, specialists with expertise in wildlife, outdoor recreation, 
archeology, realty, rangeland management, watershed, endangered 
species, natural area management, social and economic analysis, law 
enforcement, and fire.
    In addition to the scoping period, BLM will provide formal 
opportunities

[[Page 104]]

for public comment upon publication of the draft RMP amendment/draft 
EIS.

    Dated: October 20, 2004.
Gene Terland,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 04-28744 Filed 12-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-88-P

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