Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Proposed Resource Management Plans for the Arizona Strip Field Office, the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and the BLM Portion of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and a Proposed General Management Plan for the NPS Portion of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Proposed Plan/FEIS), 9574-9576 [07-940]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 41 (Friday, March 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9574-9576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-940]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[AZ-100-07-1610-DQ-241E]


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS) for the Proposed Resource Management Plans for the Arizona Strip 
Field Office, the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and the BLM 
Portion of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and a Proposed 
General Management Plan for the NPS Portion of the Grand Canyon-
Parashant National Monument (Proposed Plan/FEIS)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. National Park Service, 
Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Planning Team, Arizona Strip District 
BLM, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument 
(Parashant) was established by Presidential Proclamation on January 11, 
2000. The Parashant is cooperatively managed by the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS). It encompasses 
1,048,325 acres in Mohave County, Arizona, of which 808,747 acres are 
administered by the BLM and 208,453 acres are administered by the NPS. 
The Vermilion Cliffs National Monument (Vermilion) was established by 
Presidential Proclamation on November 9, 2000. The Vermilion covers 
293,689 acres in Coconino County, Arizona, and is administered solely 
by the BLM. The remainder of the BLM-administered lands on the Arizona 
Strip encompasses approximately 1,981,000 acres located in Mohave and 
Coconino Counties, Arizona, north of the Grand Canyon, and is almost 
entirely between the two National Monuments.
    This Proposed Plan/FEIS has been developed in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976, and the National Park Service (NPS) 
Organic Act of 1915, as amended and supplemented. It was prepared by 
the BLM and NPS in consultation with cooperating agencies, taking into 
account public comments received throughout the planning process. Four 
action alternatives, as well as the No-Action alternative, were 
developed and considered for the Proposed Plan/FEIS. Both the BLM and 
NPS selected the preferred alternative (as modified) from the Draft 
Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) as the

[[Page 9575]]

Proposed Plan. The Proposed Plan/FEIS was developed with broad public 
participation through a five-year collaborative planning process. 
Issues identified during public scoping addressed in the Proposed Plan/
FEIS include: (1) Access and Transportation--How will transportation 
and access be managed? (2) Wilderness--How will wilderness 
characteristics be protected? (3) Protection of Resources--How will 
National Monument objects, cultural and natural resources be protected? 
(4) Livestock Grazing--How will livestock grazing be addressed, 
particularly on the National Monuments? (5) Recreation--How will 
people's recreational activities be managed?
    The Proposed Plan for BLM-administered lands identifies 13 
potential Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). Nine of these 
ACECs are carried forward from the Arizona Strip RMP (1992); four are 
new ACECs. The following types of resource use limitations would 
generally apply to these ACECs: (1) Motorized travel would be permitted 
only on existing (temporary) or designated open routes; (2) closed to 
vegetative product sales in all ACECs and collection of vegetative 
materials in ACECs designated for the protection of special status 
plants; (3) seasonal limitations on livestock grazing in ACECs 
designated for protection of special status animals; and (4) new 
mineral material disposal sites would not be authorized.
    The Proposed Plan implements NPS management policies and ratifies 
the current management direction for the NPS lands of the Parashant. It 
provides for protection, inventory, monitoring, and restoration of 
natural and cultural resources, as well as primitive, dispersed 
recreational experiences characteristic of this very remote National 
Monument.
    Copies of the Proposed Plan/FEIS have been sent to affected 
Federal, State, and local government agencies and to interested 
parties. Copies are available for public inspection at 345 East 
Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah 84790. Interested persons may also 
review the Proposed Plan/FEIS on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/az/
LUP/strip/reports.htm. Comments on the Draft Plan/DEIS received from 
the public and internal BLM and NPS and cooperating agency review 
comments were incorporated into the proposed plan. Public comments 
resulted in clarifying text or in minor corrections, but did not 
significantly change the Proposed Plan decisions.
    BLM's planning process provides an opportunity for administrative 
review of the State Director's proposed decision by filing a protest on 
land use plan decisions with the BLM Director; the NPS does not have a 
formal process for protests. In accordance with 43 CFR 1610.5-2, any 
person who participated in the planning process and believes they will 
be adversely affected may protest the proposed resource management 
plans. The protest may raise only those issues which were submitted for 
the record during the planning process. All protests must be in writing 
and must be sent to the following address via regular mail or other 
delivery service. Protests must be postmarked no later than 30 days 
after the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Notice of 
Availability is published in the Federal Register. The exact date will 
be published in local media and on our Web site, https://www.blm.gov/
nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm. Extensions will not be granted.
    Protest letters on BLM land use planning decisions must be sent to:
    If via U.S. Postal Service: Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
Attention: Brenda Williams (WO-210), P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 
20035.
    If via Overnight Express Mail: Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
Attention: Brenda Williams (WO-210), 1620 L Street NW., Suite 1075, 
Washington, DC 20236.
    E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid, unless the 
protesting party also provides the original letter by regular mail or 
other delivery service postmarked by the close of the protest period. 
Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-mail or faxed 
protest as an advance copy and it will receive full consideration. If 
you wish to provide us with such advance notification, please direct 
faxed protests to the attention of Brenda Hudgens-Williams, Protest 
Coordinator, at 202-452-5112, and e-mails to bhudgens@blm.gov.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in 
your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying 
information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 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.
    At a minimum, protest letters must include:
    1. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the 
person filing the protest.
    2. A statement of the issue(s) being protested.
    3. A statement of the part(s) of the proposed plans being 
protested. To the extent possible, this should be done by reference to 
specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, or maps included in the 
document.
    4. A copy of all documents addressing the issue(s) that you 
submitted during the planning process or a reference to the date the 
issue(s) were discussed for the record.
    5. A concise statement explaining why you believe the proposed 
plans are wrong. All relevant facts need to be included in this 
statement of reasons. The facts, reasons, and documentation are 
important to help us understand your protest, and that you are not 
merely expressing disagreement with the proposed decision.
    The BLM Director will promptly render a decision on the protests. 
The decision will be in writing and will set forth the reasons for the 
decision. The protest decision will be sent to the protesting party by 
certified mail, return receipt requested. The decision of the Director 
will be the final decision of the Department of the Interior. The State 
Director will sign the Records of Decision (RODs) for the three BLM 
resource management plans, once the protests are resolved.
    The Proposed Plan/FEIS also contains NPS decisions regarding 
management of park resources and visitor uses. Unlike the BLM, there is 
no protest or administrative appeals process related to NPS plans. The 
NPS encourages you to write the Superintendent, Grand Canyon-Parashant 
National Monument, to identify specific omissions of significance. 
Letters must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the EPA's Notice 
of Availability is published in the Federal Register. Comments 
submitted previously were considered and addressed in this Proposed 
Plan/FEIS. The NPS will prepare a separate ROD for the NPS portion of 
this Monument. The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Proposed 
Plan is the NPS Environmentally Preferred Alternative. The BLM will 
identify the Environmentally Preferred Alternative in its RODs.
    Letters to the Superintendent should include:

[[Page 9576]]

    1. Your name, mailing address, and telephone number.
    2. A statement of the issue(s) of concern.
    3. Specific identification of the part(s) of the proposed plan that 
are of concern. To the extent possible, this should be done by 
reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, or maps 
included in the document.
    4. A copy of any documents addressing the issue(s) that you may 
have submitted during the planning process or a reference to the date 
the issue(s) were discussed for the record.
    5. A concise statement explaining why you believe the proposed plan 
is in error. All relevant facts need to be included in this statement 
of reasons. The facts, reasons, and documentation are important to help 
us understand your specific concerns, rather than an expression of 
general disagreement with the proposed decision.
    Letters to the Superintendent should be addressed as follows: 
Superintendent, National Park Service, Grand Canyon-Parashant National 
Monument, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790.
    A limited number of individual copies of the FEIS may be obtained 
from the Arizona Strip BLM or National Park Service, at 345 East 
Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790.

Willie R. Taylor,
 Director, Office of Environmental, Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 07-940 Filed 3-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P