Notice of Intent To Revise a Resource Management Plan for the Buffalo Field Office, Wyoming, and Prepare an Associated Environmental Impact Statement, 67542-67544 [E8-27029]
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67542
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 221 / Friday, November 14, 2008 / Notices
require a thorough reintroduction
program and extensive predator control
efforts, especially brown tree snake
control. Once sihek have been
reestablished in the wild, expanding
predator control efforts to additional
areas, habitat protection and restoration,
and monitoring for additional threats to
the subspecies would receive increased
focus. Additionally, throughout the
recovery program, efforts should be
made to increase public awareness of
sihek recovery needs and to coordinate
and monitor recovery efforts.
The sihek may be downlisted from
endangered to threatened when the
following criteria are met: (1) Sihek
occur in 2 subpopulations (one in
northern Guam and one in southern
Guam) of at least 500 adults each; (2)
both subpopulations are either stable or
increasing based on quantitative surveys
or demographic monitoring that
demonstrate an average intrinsic
population growth rate (lambda) of
greater than 1.0 over a period of at least
5 consecutive years; (3) sufficient sihek
habitat, based on quantitative estimates
of territory and home range size, is
protected and managed to achieve
criteria 1 and 2 above; and (4) brown
tree snakes and other introduced
predators are controlled over 5
consecutive years at a level sufficient to
achieve criteria 1 and 2 above.
The sihek may be removed from the
Federal list of endangered and
threatened species when the following
criteria are met: (1) Sihek occur in 2
subpopulations (one in northern Guam
and one in southern Guam) of at least
1,000 adults each; (2) both
subpopulations are either stable or
increasing based on quantitative surveys
or demographic monitoring that
demonstrate an average intrinsic
population growth rate (lambda) of
greater than 1.0 over a period of at least
10 consecutive years; (3) sufficient sihek
habitat, based on quantitative estimates
of territory and home range size, is
protected and managed to achieve
criteria 1 and 2 above; and (4) brown
tree snakes and other introduced
predators are controlled over 10
consecutive years at a level sufficient to
achieve criteria 1 and 2 above.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Authority: The authority for this action is
section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act,
16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
[WY–070–08–1610–DO]
[F–22290, F–22305; AK–962–1410–HY–P]
Alaska Native Claims Selection
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
Notice of decision approving
lands for conveyance.
ACTION:
SUMMARY: As required by 43 CFR
2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an
appealable decision approving lands for
conveyance pursuant to the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act will be
issued to NANA Regional Corporation,
Inc. for lands located in the vicinity of
Buckland and Noatak, Alaska. Notice of
the decision will also be published four
times in the Arctic Sounder.
The time limits for filing an
appeal are:
1. Any party claiming a property
interest which is adversely affected by
the decision shall have until December
15, 2008 to file an appeal.
2. Parties receiving service of the
decision by certified mail shall have 30
days from the date of receipt to file an
appeal.
Parties who do not file an appeal in
accordance with the requirements of 43
CFR Part 4, Subpart E, shall be deemed
to have waived their rights.
DATES:
A copy of the decision may
be obtained from: Bureau of Land
Management, Alaska State Office, 222
West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage,
Alaska 99513–7504.
ADDRESSES:
The
Bureau of Land Management by phone
at 907–271–5960, or by e-mail at
ak.blm.conveyance@ak.blm.gov. Persons
who use a telecommunication device
(TTD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–
8330, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, to contact the Bureau of Land
Management.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Judy A. Kelley,
Land Law Examiner, Resolution Branch (962).
[FR Doc. E8–27078 Filed 11–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P
Dated: October 3, 2008.
David J. Wesley,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8–27088 Filed 11–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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Notice of Intent To Revise a Resource
Management Plan for the Buffalo Field
Office, Wyoming, and Prepare an
Associated Environmental Impact
Statement
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Field Office,
Buffalo, Wyoming, intends to revise a
Resource Management Plan (RMP) and
prepare an associated Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Buffalo
Field Office and by this notice is
announcing the beginning of the
scoping process and soliciting input on
the identification of issues, proposed
planning criteria, and calling for
resource information. The RMP will
replace the existing Buffalo Resource
Management Plan of 1985.
DATES: The BLM will announce public
scoping meetings to identify relevant
issues through local news media,
newsletters, and the BLM Web site
https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/
Planning/rmps/buffalo.html at least 15
days prior to the first meeting. We will
provide additional opportunities for
public participation upon publication of
the Draft RMP/EIS, including a 90-day
public comment period.
You may submit comments
on issues, planning criteria, and
resource information by any of the
following methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/wy/
st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/
buffalo.html.
• E-mail:
BRMP_Rev_WYMail@blm.gov.
• Fax: (307) 684–1122.
• Mail: Buffalo RMP Revision, Attn:
Thomas Bills, RMP Technical
Coordinator, Buffalo Field Office, 1425
Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the BLM Buffalo
Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further
information and/or to have your name
added to our mailing list, contact Linda
Slone, RMP Project Manager; Telephone
(307) 261–7520; e-mail
linda_slone@blm.gov .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
document provides notice that the BLM
Field Office, Buffalo, Wyoming, intends
to revise an RMP and prepare an
associated EIS for the Buffalo Field
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\14NON1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 221 / Friday, November 14, 2008 / Notices
Office and announces the beginning of
the scoping process and seeks public
input on issues, planning criteria, and
resource information. The planning area
is located in Campbell, Johnson, and
Sheridan counties, Wyoming and
encompasses approximately 800,000
acres of public surface land and 4.7
million acres of Federal mineral estate.
The purpose of the public scoping
process is to determine relevant issues
that will influence the scope of the
environmental analysis, including
alternatives, and guide the planning
process.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
1. Preliminary Issues
Preliminary issues for the planning
area have been identified by BLM
personnel, other agencies, and in
meetings with individuals and user
groups. These issues are: Energy and
mineral resource exploration and
development; access to and
transportation on BLM lands; recreation
and off-highway vehicle management;
wildlife habitat management;
management and the cumulative effect
of land uses and human activities on
threatened, endangered, candidate, and
sensitive species and their habitats;
vegetation, including impacts of
invasive non-native species;
management of cultural and
paleontological resources, including
historic trails; landownership
adjustments; fire management; livestock
grazing; visual resource management;
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACEC), Wilderness Study Areas (WSA),
Wild and Scenic Rivers (W&SR), or
other special management areas; and air
and water quality.
2. Preliminary Planning Criteria
Proposed planning criteria are the
following:
1. The proposed RMP will be in
compliance with Federal Land Policy
and Management Act and all other
applicable laws, regulations, and
policies.
2. Impacts from the management
alternatives considered in the revised
RMP will be analyzed in an EIS
developed in accordance with
regulations at 43 CFR 1610 and 40 CFR
1500.
3. Lands covered in the RMP will be
public surface land and Federal mineral
estate managed by BLM. No decisions
will be made relative to non-BLM
administered lands.
4. The planning process will follow
10 stages of an EIS-level planning
process: conducting scoping;
development of a Management Situation
Analysis report; formulation of
alternatives; analysis of the alternatives’
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:29 Nov 13, 2008
Jkt 217001
effects; selection of a preferred
alternative; publication of a Draft RMP/
EIS, providing a 90-day public comment
period; preparation and publication of a
Proposed Plan/Final EIS, providing a
30-day public protest period; and
preparation of a Record of Decision and
Approved RMP. For specific
information, please see the Land Use
Planning Handbook, H–1601–1.
5. For program specific guidance of
land use planning level decisions, the
process will follow the Land Use
Planning Manual 1601 and Handbook
H–1601–1, Appendix C.
6. Broad-based public participation
will be an integral part of the planning
and EIS process.
7. Decisions in the plan will strive to
be compatible with the existing plans
and policies of adjacent local, State,
Federal, and Tribal agencies as long as
the decisions are consistent with the
purposes, policies, and programs of
Federal law, and regulations applicable
to public lands.
8. The RMP will recognize the State’s
responsibility and authority to manage
wildlife. BLM will coordinate with the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
9. The National Sage-grouse Strategy
requires that impacts to sagebrush
habitat and sagebrush-dependent
wildlife species be analyzed and
considered in BLM land use planning
efforts for public lands with sagebrush
habitat in the planning area.
10. The RMP will recognize valid and
existing rights.
11. The RMP/EIS will incorporate
management decisions brought forward
from existing planning documents.
12. The planning team will work
cooperatively and collaboratively with
cooperating agencies and all other
interested groups, agencies, and
individuals.
13. The BLM and cooperating
agencies will jointly develop
alternatives for resolution of resource
management issues and management
concerns.
14. The planning process will
incorporate the Standards for Healthy
Rangelands and Guidelines for
Livestock Grazing Management for
Public Lands Administered by the
Bureau of Land Management in the
State of Wyoming as goal statements.
15. Areas with special environmental
quality will be protected and if
necessary designated as ACECs, W&SR,
or other appropriate designations.
16. Any public land surface found to
meet the suitability factors to be given
further consideration for inclusion in
the W&SR System will be addressed in
the RMP revision effort in terms of
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67543
developing interim management options
in the alternatives for the EIS.
17. WSAs will continue to be
managed under the Interim Management
Policy (IMP) for Lands under
Wilderness Review until Congress either
designates all or portions of the WSA as
wilderness or releases the lands from
further wilderness consideration. It is
no longer the policy of the BLM to make
formal determinations regarding
wilderness character, to designate
additional WSAs through the RMP
process, or to manage any lands other
than existing WSAs in accordance with
the Wilderness IMP.
18. Forest management strategies will
be consistent with the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act.
19. Fire Management strategies will be
consistent with the Wyoming Fire
Management Plan (2004).
20. GIS and metadata information will
meet Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) standards, as
required by Executive Order 12906. All
other applicable BLM data standards
will also be followed.
21. The planning process will involve
American Indian Tribal governments
and will provide strategies for the
protection of recognized traditional
uses.
22. All proposed management actions
will be based upon current scientific
information, research and technology, as
well as existing inventory and
monitoring information.
23. The RMP will include adaptive
management criteria and protocols to
deal with future issues.
24. The planning process will use the
Wyoming BLM Mitigation Guidelines to
develop management options and
alternatives and analyze their impacts,
and as part of the planning criteria for
developing the options and alternatives
and for determining mitigation
requirements.
25. A reasonable foreseeable
development scenario for fluid minerals
will be developed.
26. Planning and management
direction will be focused on the relative
values of resources and not the
combination of uses that will give the
greatest economic return or economic
output.
27. Where practicable and timely for
the planning effort, current scientific
information, research, and new
technologies will be considered.
28. Known areas in the Buffalo
planning area with coal development
potential are located in Campbell and
Sheridan counties, Wyoming. Coal
screening determinations were made on
these areas and updated during
planning efforts for the existing Buffalo
E:\FR\FM\14NON1.SGM
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67544
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 221 / Friday, November 14, 2008 / Notices
RMP and the Thunder Basin National
Grasslands Land and Resource
Management Plan. No additional coal
screening determinations with
associated coal planning decisions are
planned for the Buffalo RMP, unless
public submissions of coal resource
information or surface resource issues
indicate a need to update these
determinations.
29. The RMP/EIS will address the
Pennaco Court Decision (Docket No. 02–
CV–116–CAB) requiring analysis of
coalbed natural gas development for
fluid mineral leasing decisions in the
Powder River Basin.
3. Public Participation
You may submit comments on issues,
planning criteria, and resource
information 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 comments within 30
days after the last public meeting.
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. The minutes and list of attendees
for each scoping meeting will be
available to the public and open for 30
days after the meeting to any participant
who wishes to clarify the views he or
she expressed.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
4. Categorization of Issues
The BLM will evaluate identified
issues to be addressed in the plan, and
will place them into one of three
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.
The BLM will provide an explanation
in the plan as to why we placed an issue
in category two or three. The public is
also encouraged to help identify any
management questions and concerns
that should be addressed in the plan.
The BLM will work collaboratively with
interested parties to identify the
management decisions that are best
suited to local, regional, and national
needs and concerns.
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16:29 Nov 13, 2008
Jkt 217001
5. Call for Coal and Other Resource
Information
Parties interested in leasing and
development of Federal coal in the
planning area should provide coal
resource data for their area(s) of interest.
Specifically, information is requested on
the location, quality, and quantity of
Federal coal with development
potential, and on surface resource
values related to the 20 coal
unsuitability criteria described in 43
CFR 3461. This information will be used
for any necessary updating of coal
screening determination (43 CFR
3420.1–4) in the area and in the
environmental analysis.
In addition to coal resource data, the
BLM seeks resource information and
data for other public land values (e.g.,
air quality, cultural and historic
resources, fire/fuels, fisheries, forestry,
lands and realty, non-energy minerals
and geology, oil and gas (including
coalbed natural gas), paleontology,
rangeland management, recreation, soil,
water, and wildlife) in the planning
area. The purpose of this request is to
assure that the planning effort has
sufficient information and data to
consider a reasonable range of resource
uses, management options, and
alternatives for management of the
public lands.
Proprietary data marked as
confidential may be submitted in
response to this call for coal and other
resource information. Please submit all
proprietary information submissions to
the Buffalo Field Manager at the address
listed above. The BLM will treat
submissions marked as ‘‘Confidential’’
in accordance with the laws and
regulations governing the
confidentiality of such information.
6. Interdisciplinary Team Approach
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 following
disciplines will be involved in the
planning process: Air quality,
archaeology, fire/fuels, fisheries and
wildlife, forestry and other vegetative
communities, hydrology, hazardous
materials, lands and realty, minerals
and geology, paleontology, rangeland
management, recreation, soils,
sociology, and economics.
Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2(c) and 3420.1–2.
Donald A. Simpson,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E8–27029 Filed 11–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[AK–011–08–1610–DR–087L]
Notice of Availability of the Record of
Decision for the Bay Resource
Management Plan/Environmental
Impact Statement (RMP/EIS)
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Record
of Decision.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The BLM announces the
availability of the Record of Decision
(ROD) and Approved RMP for the Bay
planning area, located in southwest
Alaska. The State Director signed the
ROD on November 4, 2008. This
constitutes the final decision of the BLM
and makes the approved RMP effective
immediately.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Bay ROD and
Approved RMP are available on request
from the Field Manager, Anchorage
Field Office, Bureau of Land
Management, 4700 BLM Road,
Anchorage, AK 99507, or on the Internet
at https://www.blm.gov/ak.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James M. Fincher, Field Manager,
Anchorage Field Office, 4700 BLM
Road, Anchorage, AK 99507, (907) 267–
1285 or toll free (800) 478–1263.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bay
RMP was developed with broad public
participation through a three-year
collaborative planning process. This
RMP/ROD addresses management of
approximately 1.9 million acres of BLMadministered public lands and mineral
estate in the planning area. The Bay
RMP/ROD is designed to achieve or
maintain desired future conditions
identified through the planning process.
It includes management direction to
meet the desired resource conditions for
upland and riparian vegetation, wildlife
habitats, cultural and visual resources,
and recreation.
The approved Bay RMP is nearly the
same as Alternative D in the Bay
Proposed RMP/Final EIS, published in
December 2007.
As a result of protests and the
Governor’s consistency review, minor
modifications and clarifications were
made to portions of the analysis
presented in the Bay Proposed RMP/
Final EIS and are discussed in the
Record of Decision.
No inconsistencies with State or local
plans, policies, or programs were
identified during the Governor’s
consistency review of the Proposed
RMP/Final EIS.
E:\FR\FM\14NON1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 221 (Friday, November 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67542-67544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27029]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-070-08-1610-DO]
Notice of Intent To Revise a Resource Management Plan for the
Buffalo Field Office, Wyoming, and Prepare an Associated Environmental
Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Field Office, Buffalo,
Wyoming, intends to revise a Resource Management Plan (RMP) and prepare
an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Buffalo
Field Office and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the
scoping process and soliciting input on the identification of issues,
proposed planning criteria, and calling for resource information. The
RMP will replace the existing Buffalo Resource Management Plan of 1985.
DATES: The BLM will announce public scoping meetings to identify
relevant issues through local news media, newsletters, and the BLM Web
site https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/buffalo.html at
least 15 days prior to the first meeting. We will provide additional
opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Draft
RMP/EIS, including a 90-day public comment period.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues, planning criteria, and
resource information by any of the following methods:
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/
rmps/buffalo.html.
E-mail: BRMP_Rev_WYMail@blm.gov.
Fax: (307) 684-1122.
Mail: Buffalo RMP Revision, Attn: Thomas Bills, RMP
Technical Coordinator, Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo,
WY 82834.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM
Buffalo Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information and/or to have your
name added to our mailing list, contact Linda Slone, RMP Project
Manager; Telephone (307) 261-7520; e-mail linda_slone@blm.gov .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Field Office, Buffalo, Wyoming, intends to revise an RMP and prepare an
associated EIS for the Buffalo Field
[[Page 67543]]
Office and announces the beginning of the scoping process and seeks
public input on issues, planning criteria, and resource information.
The planning area is located in Campbell, Johnson, and Sheridan
counties, Wyoming and encompasses approximately 800,000 acres of public
surface land and 4.7 million acres of Federal mineral estate. The
purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues
that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including
alternatives, and guide the planning process.
1. Preliminary Issues
Preliminary issues for the planning area have been identified by
BLM personnel, other agencies, and in meetings with individuals and
user groups. These issues are: Energy and mineral resource exploration
and development; access to and transportation on BLM lands; recreation
and off-highway vehicle management; wildlife habitat management;
management and the cumulative effect of land uses and human activities
on threatened, endangered, candidate, and sensitive species and their
habitats; vegetation, including impacts of invasive non-native species;
management of cultural and paleontological resources, including
historic trails; landownership adjustments; fire management; livestock
grazing; visual resource management; Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern (ACEC), Wilderness Study Areas (WSA), Wild and Scenic Rivers
(W&SR), or other special management areas; and air and water quality.
2. Preliminary Planning Criteria
Proposed planning criteria are the following:
1. The proposed RMP will be in compliance with Federal Land Policy
and Management Act and all other applicable laws, regulations, and
policies.
2. Impacts from the management alternatives considered in the
revised RMP will be analyzed in an EIS developed in accordance with
regulations at 43 CFR 1610 and 40 CFR 1500.
3. Lands covered in the RMP will be public surface land and Federal
mineral estate managed by BLM. No decisions will be made relative to
non-BLM administered lands.
4. The planning process will follow 10 stages of an EIS-level
planning process: conducting scoping; development of a Management
Situation Analysis report; formulation of alternatives; analysis of the
alternatives' effects; selection of a preferred alternative;
publication of a Draft RMP/EIS, providing a 90-day public comment
period; preparation and publication of a Proposed Plan/Final EIS,
providing a 30-day public protest period; and preparation of a Record
of Decision and Approved RMP. For specific information, please see the
Land Use Planning Handbook, H-1601-1.
5. For program specific guidance of land use planning level
decisions, the process will follow the Land Use Planning Manual 1601
and Handbook H-1601-1, Appendix C.
6. Broad-based public participation will be an integral part of the
planning and EIS process.
7. Decisions in the plan will strive to be compatible with the
existing plans and policies of adjacent local, State, Federal, and
Tribal agencies as long as the decisions are consistent with the
purposes, policies, and programs of Federal law, and regulations
applicable to public lands.
8. The RMP will recognize the State's responsibility and authority
to manage wildlife. BLM will coordinate with the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department.
9. The National Sage-grouse Strategy requires that impacts to
sagebrush habitat and sagebrush-dependent wildlife species be analyzed
and considered in BLM land use planning efforts for public lands with
sagebrush habitat in the planning area.
10. The RMP will recognize valid and existing rights.
11. The RMP/EIS will incorporate management decisions brought
forward from existing planning documents.
12. The planning team will work cooperatively and collaboratively
with cooperating agencies and all other interested groups, agencies,
and individuals.
13. The BLM and cooperating agencies will jointly develop
alternatives for resolution of resource management issues and
management concerns.
14. The planning process will incorporate the Standards for Healthy
Rangelands and Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management for Public
Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the State of
Wyoming as goal statements.
15. Areas with special environmental quality will be protected and
if necessary designated as ACECs, W&SR, or other appropriate
designations.
16. Any public land surface found to meet the suitability factors
to be given further consideration for inclusion in the W&SR System will
be addressed in the RMP revision effort in terms of developing interim
management options in the alternatives for the EIS.
17. WSAs will continue to be managed under the Interim Management
Policy (IMP) for Lands under Wilderness Review until Congress either
designates all or portions of the WSA as wilderness or releases the
lands from further wilderness consideration. It is no longer the policy
of the BLM to make formal determinations regarding wilderness
character, to designate additional WSAs through the RMP process, or to
manage any lands other than existing WSAs in accordance with the
Wilderness IMP.
18. Forest management strategies will be consistent with the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act.
19. Fire Management strategies will be consistent with the Wyoming
Fire Management Plan (2004).
20. GIS and metadata information will meet Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) standards, as required by Executive Order 12906. All
other applicable BLM data standards will also be followed.
21. The planning process will involve American Indian Tribal
governments and will provide strategies for the protection of
recognized traditional uses.
22. All proposed management actions will be based upon current
scientific information, research and technology, as well as existing
inventory and monitoring information.
23. The RMP will include adaptive management criteria and protocols
to deal with future issues.
24. The planning process will use the Wyoming BLM Mitigation
Guidelines to develop management options and alternatives and analyze
their impacts, and as part of the planning criteria for developing the
options and alternatives and for determining mitigation requirements.
25. A reasonable foreseeable development scenario for fluid
minerals will be developed.
26. Planning and management direction will be focused on the
relative values of resources and not the combination of uses that will
give the greatest economic return or economic output.
27. Where practicable and timely for the planning effort, current
scientific information, research, and new technologies will be
considered.
28. Known areas in the Buffalo planning area with coal development
potential are located in Campbell and Sheridan counties, Wyoming. Coal
screening determinations were made on these areas and updated during
planning efforts for the existing Buffalo
[[Page 67544]]
RMP and the Thunder Basin National Grasslands Land and Resource
Management Plan. No additional coal screening determinations with
associated coal planning decisions are planned for the Buffalo RMP,
unless public submissions of coal resource information or surface
resource issues indicate a need to update these determinations.
29. The RMP/EIS will address the Pennaco Court Decision (Docket No.
02-CV-116-CAB) requiring analysis of coalbed natural gas development
for fluid mineral leasing decisions in the Powder River Basin.
3. Public Participation
You may submit comments on issues, planning criteria, and resource
information 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 comments
within 30 days after the last public meeting. 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. The minutes and list of
attendees for each scoping meeting will be available to the public and
open for 30 days after the meeting to any participant who wishes to
clarify the views he or she expressed.
4. Categorization of Issues
The BLM will evaluate identified issues to be addressed in the
plan, and will place them into one of three 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.
The BLM will provide an explanation in the plan as to why we placed
an issue in category two or three. The public is also encouraged to
help identify any management questions and concerns that should be
addressed in the plan. The BLM will work collaboratively with
interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
5. Call for Coal and Other Resource Information
Parties interested in leasing and development of Federal coal in
the planning area should provide coal resource data for their area(s)
of interest. Specifically, information is requested on the location,
quality, and quantity of Federal coal with development potential, and
on surface resource values related to the 20 coal unsuitability
criteria described in 43 CFR 3461. This information will be used for
any necessary updating of coal screening determination (43 CFR 3420.1-
4) in the area and in the environmental analysis.
In addition to coal resource data, the BLM seeks resource
information and data for other public land values (e.g., air quality,
cultural and historic resources, fire/fuels, fisheries, forestry, lands
and realty, non-energy minerals and geology, oil and gas (including
coalbed natural gas), paleontology, rangeland management, recreation,
soil, water, and wildlife) in the planning area. The purpose of this
request is to assure that the planning effort has sufficient
information and data to consider a reasonable range of resource uses,
management options, and alternatives for management of the public
lands.
Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted in
response to this call for coal and other resource information. Please
submit all proprietary information submissions to the Buffalo Field
Manager at the address listed above. The BLM will treat submissions
marked as ``Confidential'' in accordance with the laws and regulations
governing the confidentiality of such information.
6. Interdisciplinary Team Approach
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 following disciplines
will be involved in the planning process: Air quality, archaeology,
fire/fuels, fisheries and wildlife, forestry and other vegetative
communities, hydrology, hazardous materials, lands and realty, minerals
and geology, paleontology, rangeland management, recreation, soils,
sociology, and economics.
Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2(c) and 3420.1-2.
Donald A. Simpson,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-27029 Filed 11-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P
