Notice of Availability for the Little Snake Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Colorado, 49514-49515 [2010-19917]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management
• Land Management Bureau

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49514-49515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19917]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-100-1610 DQ]


Notice of Availability for the Little Snake Proposed Resource 
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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 (RMP)/Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Little 
Snake Field Office.

DATES: The BLM planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) provide that any 
person who meets the conditions as described in the regulations may 
protest the BLM's Proposed RMP. A person who meets the conditions and 
files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date that 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Little Snake Proposed RMP/Final EIS have been 
sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and to 
interested parties. Copies of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS are also 
available for public inspection at the following locations:
    1. Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office, 2850 
Youngfield Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80215.
    2. Bureau of Land Management, Little Snake Field Office, 455 
Emerson Street, Craig, Colorado 81625.
Interested persons may also review the Proposed RMP/Final EIS at the 
following Web site: https://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/lsfo/plans/rmp_revision.html. Upon request, additional copies in limited numbers of 
both paper and digital formats are available.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to the following 
addresses:

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             Regular mail:                       Overnight mail:
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BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda    BLM Director (210), Attention:
 Williams, P.O. Box 66538, Washington,    Brenda Williams, 1620 L
 DC 20035.                                Street, NW., Suite 1075,
                                          Washington, DC 20036.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Casterson, RMP Project Manager, 
455 Emerson Street, Craig, Colorado 81625, 970-826-5071, Jeremy_Casterson@blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in Northwest 
Colorado in Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco counties. The plan will 
provide a framework to guide subsequent management decisions on 
approximately 1.3 million acres of BLM-administered public lands and 
1.1 million acres of BLM-administered subsurface mineral estate. The 
Little Snake Field Office area is currently being managed under its 
1989 RMP, which has been amended for Oil and Gas Leasing (1991), Black-
Footed Ferret Reintroduction (1996), Land Health Standards (1997), and 
the Emerald Mountain Land Exchange (2007).
    The Draft RMP/EIS was made available for public review for a 90-day 
period beginning in February 2007. After the careful review and 
consideration of all public comments, changes to Alternative C (the 
Preferred Alternative as described in the Draft RMP/EIS) have been made 
to clarify management direction, incorporate as appropriate management 
direction from other alternatives analyzed, and update the effects 
analysis.
    The Little Snake Field Office has worked extensively with 
interested and affected publics and cooperating agencies in the 
development of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. Cooperating agencies 
include: Moffat County, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the City of Steamboat Springs, and 
the Juniper Water Conservancy District.
    During the public review of the Draft RMP/EIS, the Environmental 
Protection Agency, in consultation with the BLM, identified areas where 
additional air quality information would augment the existing analysis 
in the Draft RMP/EIS. As a result, on December 19, 2007, the BLM 
published its Notice of Intent to prepare additional air quality 
analysis in the Federal Register. On October 10, 2008, the BLM 
published the Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register for 
Additional Air Quality Impact Assessment to support the Little Snake 
Draft RMP/EIS. On November 19, 2008, the BLM published a Notice of 
Correction to the NOA for additional air quality information in the 
Federal Register. The additional air quality analysis information was 
released to the public for review and comment. A response to these 
comments and all other public comments is included in the Proposed RMP/
Final EIS.
    The Proposed RMP/Final EIS addresses many issues important to the 
area, including energy development, special designations, 
transportation and travel management, wildlife habitat and socio-
economic values. Four alternatives were analyzed in the Proposed RMP/
Final EIS.
    Alternative A, the No Action Alternative, would maintain present 
uses by continuing present management direction and activities. 
Commodity production and unrestricted off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel 
would be allowed throughout a majority of the planning area.
    Alternative B would allow the greatest extent of resource use 
within the planning area, while maintaining the basic protection needed 
to sustain resources. Under this alternative, constraints on commodity 
production for the protection of sensitive resources would be the least 
restrictive within the limits defined by law, regulation, and BLM 
policy. Fewer areas would be limited or closed to OHV use than under 
the No Action Alernative.

[[Page 49515]]

    Alternative C, the Proposed RMP, would emphasize multiple resource 
use in the planning area by protecting sensitive resources, including 
high priority sagebrush habitat, through performance-based approaches. 
Commodity production would be balanced with providing protection for 
wildlife habitat, vegetation, and natural values. More areas would be 
limited or closed to OHV use than under the No Action Alternative.
    Alternative D would allow the greatest extent of resource 
protection within the planning area, while still allowing resource use. 
Commodity production would be constrained to protect natural resource 
values or to accelerate improvement in their condition. Under this 
alternative there would be an increase in areas closed or limited to 
OHV use than in Alternative C, the Proposed RMP.
    In the Proposed RMP (Alternative C), Irish Canyon is designated as 
an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The ACEC objective 
would be to protect sensitive plants, remnant plant communities, 
cultural and geologic values, and scenic quality. The area would be 
closed to oil and gas leasing, limited to designated routes for OHVs, 
withdrawn from locatable mineral entry, managed as Visual Resource 
Management Class II, and designated as a right-of-way exclusion area 
unless associated with valid existing rights.
    ACEC proposals that were determined to meet the relevance and 
importance criteria, but not designated as ACECs in the Proposed RMP 
because they were deemed not warranted for special management attention 
include: Lookout Mountain, Limestone Ridge, Cross Mountain Canyon, 
White-tailed Prairie Dog habitat, and 11 additional areas proposed to 
protect sensitive plants and plant communities (Cold Desert Shrublands 
occurrences, Gibben's beardtongue occurrences, Bull Canyon, G Gap, 
Little Juniper Canyon, the Bassett Spring, No Name Spring, Pot Creek, 
Whiskey Springs, Willow Spring, and Deception Creek).
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed RMP/Final EIS may be found in the Dear Reader 
letter of the Little Snake Proposed RMP/Final EIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-
2. E-mail and faxed protests will not be considered 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 Brenda 
Hudgens-Williams, BLM protest coordinator, at (202) 912-7212, 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 appropriate address, as 
set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
    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.

Helen M. Hankins,
State Director.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2 and 1610-1.
[FR Doc. 2010-19917 Filed 8-12-10; 8:45 am]
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