Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the Four Rivers Field Office (Idaho) and Associated Environmental Impact Statement, 18298-18299 [E8-6901]

Download as PDF 18298 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 65 / Thursday, April 3, 2008 / Notices Notice of Final Agency Determination to take land into trust under 25 CFR part 151. rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES ACTION: SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary— Indian Affairs made a final agency determination to acquire approximately 0.94 acres of land into trust for the Skokomish Indian Tribe of Washington on March 14, 2008. This notice is published in the exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by 209 Departmental Manual 8.1. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Skibine, Director, Office of Indian Gaming, MS–3657 MIB, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240; Telephone (202) 219–4066. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published to comply with the requirement of 25 CFR part 151.12(b) that notice be given to the public of the Secretary’s decision to acquire land in trust at least 30 days prior to signatory acceptance of the land into trust. The purpose of the 30-day waiting period in 25 CFR 151.12(b) is to afford interested parties the opportunity to seek judicial review of final administrative decisions to take land in trust for Indian tribes and individual Indians before transfer of title to the property occurs. On March 14, 2008, the Assistant Secretary— Indian Affairs decided to accept approximately 0.94 acres of land into trust for the Skokomish Indian Tribe of Washington under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 25 U.S.C. 465. The 0.94 acre parcel is located within the exterior boundaries of the Skokomish Indian Tribe in Mason County, Washington. The parcel is currently used for the Tribe’s gaming facility. No change in the use is anticipated following conveyance of the parcel to the United States in trust for the Tribe. The property is located adjacent/contiguous to the location of the Lucky Dog Casino and its parking lot, which are already held in trust. The legal description of the property is as follows: All that portion of the Southeast Quarter (SE1⁄4) of the Southwest Quarter (SW1⁄4) of the Northwest Quarter (NW1⁄4) AND of Indian Lot twenty-three (23), all in Section two (2), township twenty-one (21) North, Range four (4) West, W.M., particularly described as follows: Beginning at a point 16.20 chains East of the quarter Section post on the West line of said Section two (2), which point is a post 30 feet East of the center of US Highway 101; thence North 2° 15′ East, 175 feet; thence west 235 feet; thence South 2° 15′ West, 175 feet; thence West, 235 feet to the point of beginning. VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:19 Apr 02, 2008 Jkt 214001 Excepting therefrom right-of-way for U.S. Highway 101. Parcel No. 42102 23 00012. Together with and subject to a perpetual, non-exclusive easement for ingress, egress, drainage and utilities, 20 feet in width, as described in instrument recorded January 30, 1979, Auditor’s File No. 356506. Situated in Mason County, Washington. Containing 0.94 acres, more or less. Dated: March 25, 2008. Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. [FR Doc. E8–6878 Filed 4–2–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–4N–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [ID–110–1610–DG–053D–DBG081008] Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the Four Rivers Field Office (Idaho) and Associated Environmental Impact Statement Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent. AGENCY: SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and Section 102 (2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Four Rivers Field Office (FRFO), Boise, Idaho intends to prepare a RMP with an associated EIS for the Four Rivers Planning Area. Publication of this notice also initiates a public scoping period to extend until 15 days after the last public scoping meeting. RMPs are the basic land use documents used by the BLM that guide land use decisions and management actions on public lands. RMP level decisions establish goals and objectives (i.e. desired future conditions), the measures needed to achieve those goals and objectives and the parameters for resource use on BLM lands. This RMP will replace the 1988 Cascade RMP and portions of the 1983 Kuna Management Framework Plan (MFP) and the 1987 Jarbidge RMP. The Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), located in the FRFO, is being addressed in a separate, comprehensive RMP currently available as a Final EIS. DATES: The BLM will announce public scoping meetings pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.2 (BLM Planning Regulations) and 40 CFR 1501.7 (NEPA Regulations) to identify relevant issues. Meetings will be announced through local news PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 media, newsletters and the Idaho BLM Web site (listed below) at least 15 days prior to the first meeting once specific dates and locations are finalized. Throughout the planning process, the public will be given opportunities to participate through workshops and open house meetings. Workshops will provide the public an opportunity to work with BLM in (1) identifying the full range of issues to be addressed in the RMP/EIS and (2) developing the alternatives to be analyzed in the EIS. BLM will also provide an opportunity for public review upon publication of the Draft RMP/EIS. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Web site: https://www.blm.gov/id/st/ en/fo/four_rivers/Planning/four_rivers _resource.html. • E-mail: Four_Rivers_RMP@blm.gov. • Fax: 208–384–3493. • Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: RMP Project Manager, Four Rivers Field Office, 3948 Development Avenue, Boise, ID 83705. 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 can 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. All submissions from organizations or businesses and individuals identifying themselves as representatives of organizations or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their entirety. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Four Rivers Field Office at the above address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information and/or to have your name added to the mailing list, contact Jonathan Beck, FRFO RMP Project Manager, Four Rivers Field Office, at the address above. Telephone: 208–384– 3300 or e-mail: Four_Rivers_RMP@blm.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in southwestern Idaho’s Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Payette, Valley and Washington counties, encompassing approximately 783,000 public land acres administered by the BLM. The planning area includes all of the FRFO located outside the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), and encompasses an area extending north of the Snake River from approximately Glenns Ferry in the E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM 03APN1 rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 65 / Thursday, April 3, 2008 / Notices southeast, west to Weiser, and north to McCall. Much of the planning area is comprised of interspersed sections of public, private, State or Forest Service lands. While the FRFO includes the approximately one half million acre NCA, along about 81 miles of the Snake River, the NCA is managed under its own comprehensive RMP. The Four Rivers RMP will fulfill the needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and BLM management policies. The BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management decisions best suited to local, regional and national needs and concerns. The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and EIS alternatives. These issues also guide the planning process. You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria, in writing, 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 formal scoping comments within 15 days after the last public meeting. Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by BLM personnel, other agencies, and individuals and user groups. They represent BLM’s knowledge to date regarding existing issues and concerns with current land management. The preliminary issues that will be addressed in this planning effort include: land tenure adjustments, lands and realty management, special status species management, recreation management, public access and transportation, livestock grazing management, wild and scenic river evaluations, riparian-wetland management, upland vegetation management, noxious weed management, wildfire management, social and economic sustainability of local communities, and mineral and energy exploration and development. In addition, the BLM also requests public input for nominations considered worthy of Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designation. To be considered as a potential ACEC, an area must meet the criteria of relevance and importance as established and defined at 43 CFR 1610.72. There are nine ACECs and six ACEC/Research Natural Areas within the Four Rivers Planning Area. All ACEC nominations within the planning area will be evaluated during RMP VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:19 Apr 02, 2008 Jkt 214001 development. After gathering public comments on which issues the plan should address, the suggested issues will be evaluated for their applicability to the planning process and categorized into one of following categories: 1. Issues to be resolved in the plan; 2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; or 3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan. This evaluation and categorization will be described in the plan with associated rationale. In addition to the issues to be resolved in the plan, a number of management questions and concerns will also be addressed. The public is encouraged to help identify these questions and concerns during the scoping period. The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan. In order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns identified, specialists with expertise in the disciplines corresponding to the issues listed above will be represented and utilized in the planning process. Dated: March 27, 2008. David Wolf, Associate District Manager. [FR Doc. E8–6901 Filed 4–2–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [WY–020–08–1220–DA] Notice of Intent To Name a Geographic Location the Craig Thomas Little Mountain Special Management Area, Big Horn County, WY Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces its intent to name an area of the public lands administered by the Cody Field Office. These lands include the Little Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), a portion of the West Slope Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA), and recently acquired lands near Little Mountain. In recognition of the late United States Senator Craig Thomas’ support and assistance in furthering public land management in the area administered by the BLM Cody Field Office, this notice announces that those public lands collectively will be known as the ‘‘Craig Thomas Little Mountain Special Management Area’’. PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 18299 This naming will be in effect the date this notice appears in the Federal Register. ADDRESSES: Additional information regarding the naming and the public lands affected by it may be obtained by written request to the BLM Cody Field Office, P.O. Box 518, Cody, Wyoming 82414; or by visiting the BLM Cody Field Office, 1002 Blackburn Avenue, Cody, Wyoming, during its business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Stewart, Field Manager, BLM, Cody Field Office, P.O. Box 518, 1002 Blackburn Avenue, Cody, Wyoming 82414. Mr. Stewart may also be contacted by telephone at (307) 578– 5900. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In June 2003, the BLM acquired approximately 8,200 acres of land on and near Little Mountain, approximately 15 miles east of Lovell, Wyoming. The land was previously part of the Devils Canyon Ranch. Acquisition of the land improved access to thousands of acres of State, BLM-administered public, and National Forest System lands on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains. Funding for the first phase of the acquisition was made through a $4 million congressional appropriation from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and by a $100,000 donation from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. An additional 3,000 acres are being held by the Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation group, for transfer to the BLM at a later date. When the transfer occurs, these lands would automatically become part of the Craig Thomas Little Mountain Special Management Area. The area proposed for naming offers a variety of recreational and educational opportunities and sites of historic, cultural, and paleontological interest. Portions of the area lie within the Little Mountain ACEC and the West Slope SRMA, as established in the Cody Resource Management Plan (RMP). The RMP restricts vehicular travel to designated roads and trails within the area administered by the Cody Field Office. The specific routes designated for travel were established by an Activity Plan and its implementation is currently in progress. The following described lands are included: Approximately 69,253 acres of BLM-managed public land in Townships 56 through 58 North, and Ranges 92 through 94 West, 6th Principal Meridian lying north of U.S. Highway Alternate 14 (14A), south of the Montana state line, east of the DATES: E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM 03APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 65 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18298-18299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6901]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ID-110-1610-DG-053D-DBG081008]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the 
Four Rivers Field Office (Idaho) and Associated Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and Section 102 (2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) Four Rivers Field Office (FRFO), Boise, Idaho intends to prepare 
a RMP with an associated EIS for the Four Rivers Planning Area. 
Publication of this notice also initiates a public scoping period to 
extend until 15 days after the last public scoping meeting. RMPs are 
the basic land use documents used by the BLM that guide land use 
decisions and management actions on public lands. RMP level decisions 
establish goals and objectives (i.e. desired future conditions), the 
measures needed to achieve those goals and objectives and the 
parameters for resource use on BLM lands. This RMP will replace the 
1988 Cascade RMP and portions of the 1983 Kuna Management Framework 
Plan (MFP) and the 1987 Jarbidge RMP. The Snake River Birds of Prey 
National Conservation Area (NCA), located in the FRFO, is being 
addressed in a separate, comprehensive RMP currently available as a 
Final EIS.

DATES: The BLM will announce public scoping meetings pursuant to 43 CFR 
1610.2 (BLM Planning Regulations) and 40 CFR 1501.7 (NEPA Regulations) 
to identify relevant issues. Meetings will be announced through local 
news media, newsletters and the Idaho BLM Web site (listed below) at 
least 15 days prior to the first meeting once specific dates and 
locations are finalized. Throughout the planning process, the public 
will be given opportunities to participate through workshops and open 
house meetings. Workshops will provide the public an opportunity to 
work with BLM in (1) identifying the full range of issues to be 
addressed in the RMP/EIS and (2) developing the alternatives to be 
analyzed in the EIS. BLM will also provide an opportunity for public 
review upon publication of the Draft RMP/EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Web site: https://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/four_rivers/
Planning/four_rivers_resource.html.
     E-mail: Four_Rivers_RMP@blm.gov.
     Fax: 208-384-3493.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: RMP Project 
Manager, Four Rivers Field Office, 3948 Development Avenue, Boise, ID 
83705.

    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 can 
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. All submissions from organizations or businesses and 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives of organizations 
or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the 
Four Rivers Field Office at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information and/or to have your 
name added to the mailing list, contact Jonathan Beck, FRFO RMP Project 
Manager, Four Rivers Field Office, at the address above. Telephone: 
208-384-3300 or e-mail: Four_Rivers_RMP@blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in southwestern 
Idaho's Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Payette, Valley and 
Washington counties, encompassing approximately 783,000 public land 
acres administered by the BLM. The planning area includes all of the 
FRFO located outside the Snake River Birds of Prey National 
Conservation Area (NCA), and encompasses an area extending north of the 
Snake River from approximately Glenns Ferry in the

[[Page 18299]]

southeast, west to Weiser, and north to McCall. Much of the planning 
area is comprised of interspersed sections of public, private, State or 
Forest Service lands. While the FRFO includes the approximately one 
half million acre NCA, along about 81 miles of the Snake River, the NCA 
is managed under its own comprehensive RMP. The Four Rivers RMP will 
fulfill the needs and obligations set forth by the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act (FLPMA) and BLM management policies. The BLM will work 
collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management 
decisions best suited to local, regional and national needs and 
concerns.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and 
EIS alternatives. These issues also guide the planning process. You may 
submit comments on issues and planning criteria, in writing, 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 formal scoping comments within 15 days after 
the last public meeting.
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM personnel, other agencies, and individuals and user groups. They 
represent BLM's knowledge to date regarding existing issues and 
concerns with current land management. The preliminary issues that will 
be addressed in this planning effort include: land tenure adjustments, 
lands and realty management, special status species management, 
recreation management, public access and transportation, livestock 
grazing management, wild and scenic river evaluations, riparian-wetland 
management, upland vegetation management, noxious weed management, 
wildfire management, social and economic sustainability of local 
communities, and mineral and energy exploration and development.
    In addition, the BLM also requests public input for nominations 
considered worthy of Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) 
designation. To be considered as a potential ACEC, an area must meet 
the criteria of relevance and importance as established and defined at 
43 CFR 1610.72. There are nine ACECs and six ACEC/Research Natural 
Areas within the Four Rivers Planning Area. All ACEC nominations within 
the planning area will be evaluated during RMP development. After 
gathering public comments on which issues the plan should address, the 
suggested issues will be evaluated for their applicability to the 
planning process and categorized into one of following categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
    This evaluation and categorization will be described in the plan 
with associated rationale. In addition to the issues to be resolved in 
the plan, a number of management questions and concerns will also be 
addressed. The public is encouraged to help identify these questions 
and concerns during the scoping period.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan. 
In order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified, specialists with expertise in the disciplines corresponding 
to the issues listed above will be represented and utilized in the 
planning process.

    Dated: March 27, 2008.
David Wolf,
Associate District Manager.
 [FR Doc. E8-6901 Filed 4-2-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GG-P

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