Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Yuma Field Office, 19871-19872 [E8-7622]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 71 / Friday, April 11, 2008 / Notices processed to determine if either one of the two specified conditions exists and, if so, to otherwise comply with the procedural requirements of 43 CFR Part 2720. The segregative effect shall terminate: (i) Upon issuance of a patent or other document of conveyance as to such mineral interests; (ii) upon final rejection of the application; or (iii) two years from the date of filing the application, whichever occurs first. Authority: 43 CFR 2720.1–1(b). Dated: April 2, 2008. Robert Doyel, Chief, Branch of Lands Management. [FR Doc. E8–7688 Filed 4–10–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–40–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [AZ–320–1610–DQ–091A] Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Yuma Field Office Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES AGENCY: SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan/ Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS) for the Yuma Field Office. DATES: BLM Planning Regulations (43 CFR 1610.5–2) state that any person who participated in the planning process, and has an interest that may be adversely affected, may protest the BLM’s Proposed RMP. The protest must be filed within 30 days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of availability in the Federal Register. Instructions for filing of protests are described in the Dear Reader letter of the Yuma Field Office PRMP/FEIS and included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. ADDRESSES: Copies of the Yuma Field Office PRMP/FEIS have been sent to affected Federal, state, and local government agencies and to interested parties. Copies of the proposed Plan/ Final EIS are available for public inspection at Yuma Field Office, 2555 Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, Arizona 85365. Interested persons may also review the proposed plan/Final EIS on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/az/LUP/yuma/ yuma_plan.htm. VerDate Aug<31>2005 19:21 Apr 10, 2008 Jkt 214001 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Daniels, Bureau of Land Management, 2555 Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, Arizona 85365 or 928–317–3200. The planning area encompasses more than 1.3 million acres of BLM-administered lands. The PRMP/FEIS includes strategies for protecting and preserving the biological, cultural, recreational, geological, educational, scientific, and scenic values that balance multiple uses of the BLM-administered lands throughout the Yuma Field Office planning area. Four primary issues were raised and addressed through this planning process: (1) Determining appropriate management of transportation and public access regarding off-highway use, proliferation of routes, and vehicle restrictions and/ or limitations, (2) determining appropriate provisions for recreational demand and use that are compatible with natural, biological, and cultural resources on BLM-administered lands, (3) the need to manage and protect fish and wildlife habitat including threatened and endangered species including the southwestern willow flycatcher, Yuma clapper rail, razor back sucker, Mojave desert tortoise, and Sonoran pronghorn and (4) the management of BLM-administered public lands with wilderness characteristics. The Proposed Plan attempts to accomplish the above through coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona State Land Department, Arizona Game and Fish Department, California Department of Fish and Game, the BLM, and other land-managing agencies within the boundaries of the planning areas. The range of alternatives in this PRMP/FEIS evaluates planning decisions brought forward from current BLM planning documents; the Yuma District Resource Management Plan (1987), the Lower Gila South Resource Management Plan (1988), and the Lower Gila North Management Framework Plan (1983). The Proposed Plan identifies two existing Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs): Big Marias ACEC (4,500 acres) and Gila River Cultural ACEC (3,700 acres). The Proposed Plan identifies one potential ACEC: Dripping Springs ACEC (11,700 acres). The Proposed Plan also identifies the expansion of the Gila River Cultural ACEC (28,500 acres), which would officially be renamed the Sears Point Cultural ACEC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 19871 The following types of resource use limitations would generally apply to these ACECs: (1) Allowable uses would be limited to those which are compatible with the natural or cultural resources for which the area is designated, (2) recreation facilities would be limited to projects that protect ACEC values; (3) travel would be permitted only on designated open and signed routes. For detailed information see Chapter 2 of the Proposed Plan, Description of Alternatives, Special Designations Management. Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS received from the public and internal BLM review were incorporated into the Proposed Plan. Public comments resulted in eliminating Backcountry Byways, eliminating new OHV open areas and the addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed land use decisions. As noted above, instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM regarding the Proposed Plan/Final EIS may be found at 43 CFR 1610.5. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either regular or overnight mail 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 the BLM with such advance notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM protest coordinator at 202–452–5112, and emails to Brenda_HudgensWilliams@blm.gov. All protests, including the follow-up letter (if e-mailing or faxing) must be in writing and mailed to the following address: Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035. Overnight Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036. Before including your phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware that your entire protest—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM 11APN1 19872 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 71 / Friday, April 11, 2008 / Notices Dated: December 11, 2007. Helen M. Hankins, Arizona Associate State Director. [FR Doc. E8–7622 Filed 4–10–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–32–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Central Planning Area (CPA) and Western Planning Area (WPA), Oil and Gas Lease Sales for Years 2009–2012 Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior. ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and Public Hearings. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The MMS has prepared a draft SEIS on oil and gas lease sales tentatively scheduled in 2009–2012 in the CPA and WPA offshore the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. As mandated in the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA) (Pub. L. 109–432, December 20, 2006), the MMS shall offer, as soon as practicable, approximately 5.8 million acres located in the southeastern part of the CPA (‘‘181 South Area’’). The CPA Sale 208 (March 2009) will be the first sale to include the ‘‘181 South Area.’’ The draft SEIS analyzed the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the ‘‘181 South Area’’ and newly available information. Authority: This NOA and notice of public hearings is published pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1503) implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1988)). As mandated in GOMESA, the MMS shall offer the ‘‘181 South Area’’ for oil and gas leasing pursuant to the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). In March 2009, proposed Lease Sale 208 would be the first CPA sale to offer the ‘‘181 South Area.’’ The draft SEIS supplements the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2007–2012; Western Planning Area Sales 204, 207, 210, 215, and 218; Central Planning Area Sales 205, 206, 208, 213, 216, and 222, Final Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2007– 018, Multisale EIS). The Multisale EIS did not analyze the ‘‘181 South Area’’, therefore the MMS has prepared the draft SEIS to address the addition of the mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VerDate Aug<31>2005 19:21 Apr 10, 2008 Jkt 214001 ‘‘181 South Area’’ to the proposed CPA sale area. Also an extensive search was conducted for new information published since completion of the Multisale EIS, including various Internet sources, scientific journals, and interviews with personnel from academic institutions, and Federal, State, and local agencies. Based on new information and the expanded CPA sale area, the MMS has reexamined potential impacts of routine activities and accidental events associated with the proposed CPA and WPA lease sales, and a proposed lease sale’s incremental contribution to the cumulative impacts on environmental and socioeconomic resources. Like the Multisale EIS, the resource estimates and scenario information for the SEIS analyses are presented as a range that would encompass the resources and activities estimated for any of the seven proposed lease sales. At the completion of the SEIS process, a decision will be made for proposed CPA Sale 208 (2009) and WPA Sale 210 (2009). Draft SEIS Availability: To obtain a single, printed or CD–ROM copy of the draft SEIS, you may contact the Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Public Information Office (Mail Stop 5034), 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 114, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394 (1–800– 200–GULF). An electronic copy of the draft EIS is available at the MMS’s Internet Web site at https:// www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/ environ/nepa/nepaprocess.html. Several libraries along the Gulf Coast have been sent copies of the draft SEIS. To find out which libraries, and their locations, have copies of the draft SEIS for review, you may contact the MMS’s Public Information Office or visit the MMS Internet Web site at https:// www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/ environ/libraries.html. Public Hearings: The MMS will hold public hearings to receive comments on the draft SEIS. The public hearings are scheduled as follows: • Tuesday, May 13, 2008, Larose Civic Center, 307 East 5th Street, Larose, Louisiana, 6 p.m. • Wednesday, May 14, 2008, Louisiana State University, Center for Energy Studies, 1077 Energy, Coast and Environment Building, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1 p.m. • Thursday, May 15, 2008, Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel, 64 South Water Street, Mobile, Alabama, 6 p.m. If you wish to testify at a hearing, you may register one hour prior to the meeting. Each hearing will briefly recess when all speakers have had an PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 opportunity to testify. If there are no additional speakers, the hearing will adjourn immediately after the recess. Written statements submitted at a hearing will be considered part of the hearing record. If you are unable to attend the hearings, you may submit written statements. Comments: Federal, State, and local government agencies and other interested parties are requested to send their written comments on the draft SEIS in one of the following two ways: 1. In written form enclosed in an envelope labeled ‘‘Comments on the Supplemental Multisale EIS’’ and mailed (or hand carried) to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment (Mail Stop 5410), Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394. 2. Electronically to the MMS e-mail address: environment@mms.gov. Comments should be submitted no later than 60 days from the publication of this NOA. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the draft SEIS or the public hearings, you may contact Dennis Chew, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard (Mail Stop 5412), New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394, or by e-mail at environment@mms.gov. You may also contact Mr. Chew by telephone at (504) 736–2793. Dated: March 14, 2008. Chris C. Oynes, Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management. [FR Doc. E8–7775 Filed 4–10–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group Charter Renewal Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of renewal. AGENCY: SUMMARY: This notice is published in accordance with Section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (Pub. L. 92–463). Following consultation with the General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Secretary of the Interior is renewing the charter for the Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group (CAG). The purpose of the CAG is to provide recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior and the State of E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM 11APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 71 (Friday, April 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19871-19872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7622]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ-320-1610-DQ-091A]


Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan and 
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Yuma Field Office

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management 
Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS) for the Yuma 
Field Office.

DATES: BLM Planning Regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) state that any person 
who participated in the planning process, and has an interest that may 
be adversely affected, may protest the BLM's Proposed RMP. The protest 
must be filed within 30 days of the date that the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes its notice of availability in the Federal 
Register. Instructions for filing of protests are described in the Dear 
Reader letter of the Yuma Field Office PRMP/FEIS and included in the 
Supplementary Information section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Yuma Field Office PRMP/FEIS have been sent to 
affected Federal, state, and local government agencies and to 
interested parties. Copies of the proposed Plan/Final EIS are available 
for public inspection at Yuma Field Office, 2555 Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, 
Arizona 85365. Interested persons may also review the proposed plan/
Final EIS on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/az/LUP/yuma/yuma_
plan.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Daniels, Bureau of Land 
Management, 2555 Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, Arizona 85365 or 928-317-3200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area encompasses more than 1.3 
million acres of BLM-administered lands. The PRMP/FEIS includes 
strategies for protecting and preserving the biological, cultural, 
recreational, geological, educational, scientific, and scenic values 
that balance multiple uses of the BLM-administered lands throughout the 
Yuma Field Office planning area. Four primary issues were raised and 
addressed through this planning process: (1) Determining appropriate 
management of transportation and public access regarding off-highway 
use, proliferation of routes, and vehicle restrictions and/or 
limitations, (2) determining appropriate provisions for recreational 
demand and use that are compatible with natural, biological, and 
cultural resources on BLM-administered lands, (3) the need to manage 
and protect fish and wildlife habitat including threatened and 
endangered species including the southwestern willow flycatcher, Yuma 
clapper rail, razor back sucker, Mojave desert tortoise, and Sonoran 
pronghorn and (4) the management of BLM-administered public lands with 
wilderness characteristics.
    The Proposed Plan attempts to accomplish the above through 
coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona State Land 
Department, Arizona Game and Fish Department, California Department of 
Fish and Game, the BLM, and other land-managing agencies within the 
boundaries of the planning areas. The range of alternatives in this 
PRMP/FEIS evaluates planning decisions brought forward from current BLM 
planning documents; the Yuma District Resource Management Plan (1987), 
the Lower Gila South Resource Management Plan (1988), and the Lower 
Gila North Management Framework Plan (1983).
    The Proposed Plan identifies two existing Areas of Critical 
Environmental Concern (ACECs): Big Marias ACEC (4,500 acres) and Gila 
River Cultural ACEC (3,700 acres). The Proposed Plan identifies one 
potential ACEC: Dripping Springs ACEC (11,700 acres). The Proposed Plan 
also identifies the expansion of the Gila River Cultural ACEC (28,500 
acres), which would officially be renamed the Sears Point Cultural 
ACEC.
    The following types of resource use limitations would generally 
apply to these ACECs: (1) Allowable uses would be limited to those 
which are compatible with the natural or cultural resources for which 
the area is designated, (2) recreation facilities would be limited to 
projects that protect ACEC values; (3) travel would be permitted only 
on designated open and signed routes. For detailed information see 
Chapter 2 of the Proposed Plan, Description of Alternatives, Special 
Designations Management.
    Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS received from the public and 
internal BLM review were incorporated into the Proposed Plan. Public 
comments resulted in eliminating Backcountry Byways, eliminating new 
OHV open areas and the addition of clarifying text, but did not 
significantly change proposed land use decisions.
    As noted above, instructions for filing a protest with the Director 
of the BLM regarding the Proposed Plan/Final EIS may be found at 43 CFR 
1610.5. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid 
protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter 
by either regular or overnight mail 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 the BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM 
protest coordinator at 202-452-5112, and e-mails to Brenda--Hudgens-
Williams@blm.gov.
    All protests, including the follow-up letter (if e-mailing or 
faxing) must be in writing and mailed to the following address: Regular 
Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, 
Washington, DC 20035. Overnight Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda 
Williams, 1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
    Before including your phone number, e-mail address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.


[[Page 19872]]


    Dated: December 11, 2007.
Helen M. Hankins,
Arizona Associate State Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-7622 Filed 4-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P
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