Notice of Availability of South Coast Draft Resource Management Plan Revision and Draft Environmental Impact Statement, 59155-59156 [2011-24493]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 185 / Friday, September 23, 2011 / Notices the comment period, we received 79 responses, both oral and written. All comments we received were evaluated. A summary of those comments, and our responses to them, is included as appendix G in the final CCP. Selected Alternative After considering the comments we received on our draft CCP/EA, we have made one modification to alternative B for Featherstone NWR. We have decided to allow non-motorized boaters to land at one designated site on the refuge’s shoreline to facilitate wildlife observation and nature photography. The designated landing site is a portion of tidal beach on Farm Creek (refer to the final CCP, chapter 4, map 4.3 for details) and corresponds with the proposed location of the southernmost observation deck and fishing platform that we presented in the draft CCP/EA (refer to the draft CCP/EA, chapter 3, map 3.3 for details). Visitors accessing the refuge at this location by nonmotorized boats would be allowed to walk approximately 0.4 miles along an existing footpath (indicated on map 4.3 in the final CCP). Boaters would be confined to this section of footpath until the rest of the refuge is officially open to public use, as was detailed in the draft CCP/EA. Other minor changes to alternative B for both refuges are described in the FONSI (appendix H in the final CCP) and in our response to public comments (appendix G in the final CCP). We have selected alternative B to implement for both Mason Neck and Featherstone NWRs, with the changes identified above, for several reasons. Alternative B for both refuges comprises a mix of actions that, in our professional judgment, work best towards achieving each refuges’ purposes, visions, and goals, NWRS policies, and the goals of other State and regional conservation plans. We also believe that alternative B most effectively addresses the key issues raised during the planning process. The basis of our decision is detailed in the FONSI, which is included as appendix H in the final CCP. sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Public Availability of Documents You can view or obtain documents as indicated under ADDRESSES. Dated: August 22, 2011. Wendi Weber, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA 01035. [FR Doc. 2011–24552 Filed 9–22–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:41 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 223001 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCAD06000, L16100000.DP0000] Notice of Availability of South Coast Draft Resource Management Plan Revision and Draft Environmental Impact Statement AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Availability. SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the South Coast Planning Area (California), and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period. DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of the Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media news releases, and/or mailings. ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments related to the South Coast Draft RMP/EIS by any of the following methods: • Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/ palmsprings. • E-mail: Greg_Hill@blm.gov. • Fax: (760) 833–7199. • Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, California 92262. Copies of the South Coast Draft RMP/ EIS are available for review at the Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office and via the Internet at: https://www.blm.gov/ ca/palmsprings. Electronic (on CD– ROM) or paper copies may also be obtained by contacting Greg Hill at the address and phone number below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Hill; Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, California 92262; (760) 833–7140; Greg_Hill@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to contact the above individual during PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 59155 normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. The South Coast Draft RMP provides guidance for the management of approximately 300,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands in portions of five highly urbanized southern California counties: San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los Angeles. These public lands include over 130,000 acres of BLM-administered surface lands and 167,000 acres of Federal mineral ownership where the surface is privately owned. The Draft RMP/EIS is a revision to the existing South Coast RMP (1994). Since 1994, there have been significant changes in the patterns of urban growth; increased demands on the resources of the public lands; changing policies and emphasis on the management of public lands and local land use planning; and new data that have led to the listing of additional threatened or endangered species. The Notice of Intent to prepare a land use plan revision and associated EIS was published in the Federal Register on August 7, 2007 (72 FR 44173). The BLM held public workshops and scoping meetings in Campo, San Diego, Temecula, and Santa Clarita in December 2007, and invited agencies to participate as cooperating agencies in the planning effort. The Draft RMP/EIS analyzes four alternatives, including a No Action alternative, Alternative A, and an agency Preferred Alternative, Alternative D, designed to address management challenges and issues raised during scoping, including, but not limited to Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), sensitive species and other wildlife habitat, lands with wilderness characteristics, livestock grazing, recreation, off highway vehicle use, minerals management, and land use authorizations. Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7–2(b), this notice announces a concurrent public comment period on proposed ACECs. The Draft RMP/Draft EIS proposes changes to ACEC designations and elimination of ACECs within wilderness. The Preferred Alternative, Alternative D, includes 9 ACECs comprising of a total of 26,627 acres, or 20 percent of the planning area’s surface acres. This is in contrast with Alternative A, the No Action Alternative of 7 ACECs with 14,539 acres, or 11 percent of surface acres. The proposed ACECs and resource use limitations SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM 23SEN1 59156 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 185 / Friday, September 23, 2011 / Notices which would occur if formally designated are listed below: Alternatives and Acres Proposed ACEC Limitations A B C D Cedar Canyon ..................................... Johnson Canyon ................................. 708 1,800 0 0 708 1,800 0 1,800 Kuchamaa ........................................... Million Dollar Spring ............................ Potrero ................................................ 803 6,265 2,966 0 0 0 803 6,265 0 0 0 0 Santa Ana River Wash ....................... Santa Margarita River ......................... Upper Santa Clara River .................... 750 1,247 0 750 4,474 1,620 750 1,247 0 750 4,474 1,620 Western Riverside County .................. Oak Mountain ..................................... Gavilan ................................................ Badlands ............................................. Beauty Mountain ................................. Otay/Kuchamaa .................................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 24,995 0 0 0 27,376 8,291 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 894 3,822 1,051 3,925 8,291 Total acres .......................................... 14,539 67,506 11,573 26,627 sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES A Record of Decision for the proposed RMP will be prepared following publication of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS in accordance with the planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.5–1 and the NEPA, 40 CFR 1505.2. Please note that public comments and information submitted including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of respondents will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays. 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. John R. Kalish, Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10; 43 CFR 1610.2. [FR Doc. 2011–24493 Filed 9–22–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–40–P VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:41 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 223001 ACECs are: Closed to OHV use or limited to designated roads and trails under all alternatives. Avoidance areas for land use authorizations under Alternatives A, C, and D. ACECs are exclusion areas under Alternative B. Closed to fluid mineral and geothermal leasing and sale of mineral materials under Alternatives A, C, and D. The Western Riverside County ACEC would be considered for sale of mineral materials on a case-by-case basis with site specific analysis required to protect ACEC values of relevance and importance. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLAZG03000.L16100000.DQ0000. LXSS085A0000.241A.00] Notice of Availability of the Proposed Ironwood Forest National Monument Resource Management Plan/Final EIS Bureau of Land Management. Notice of Availability. AGENCY: ACTION: SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ironwood Forest National Monument and by this notice is announcing its availability. DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM’s Proposed RMP/Final EIS. The protest must be filed within 30 days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice in the Federal Register. ADDRESSES: Copies of the Ironwood Forest National Monument Proposed RMP/Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal, State, and local PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 government agencies; the Ak Chin Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, Tohono O’odham Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and San Carlos Apache Indian Community; and to other stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM Tucson Field Office, 12661 East Broadway Boulevard, Tucson, Arizona. Interested persons may also review the Proposed RMP/ Final EIS on the Internet at https:// www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/planning/ ironwood.html. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the following addresses: Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024–1383 Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 20 M. Street, SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Olais, Ironwood Forest National Monument Manager, Tucson Field Office, 12661 East Broadway, Tucson, Arizona 85748–7208; or by telephone at 520–258–7235; or by e-mail at lolais@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to contact the above individual during E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM 23SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 185 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59155-59156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24493]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD06000, L16100000.DP0000]


Notice of Availability of South Coast Draft Resource Management 
Plan Revision and Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the South Coast Planning Area (California), and by 
this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of 
Availability of the Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
announce future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement 
activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media 
news releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments related to the South Coast 
Draft RMP/EIS by any of the following methods:
     Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/palmsprings.
     E-mail: Greg_Hill@blm.gov.
     Fax: (760) 833-7199.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast 
Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, California 92262.
    Copies of the South Coast Draft RMP/EIS are available for review at 
the Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office and via the Internet at: 
https://www.blm.gov/ca/palmsprings. Electronic (on CD-ROM) or paper 
copies may also be obtained by contacting Greg Hill at the address and 
phone number below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Hill; Bureau of Land Management, 
Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm 
Springs, California 92262; (760) 833-7140; Greg_Hill@blm.gov. Persons 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact 
the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South Coast Draft RMP provides guidance 
for the management of approximately 300,000 acres of BLM-administered 
public lands in portions of five highly urbanized southern California 
counties: San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los 
Angeles. These public lands include over 130,000 acres of BLM-
administered surface lands and 167,000 acres of Federal mineral 
ownership where the surface is privately owned. The Draft RMP/EIS is a 
revision to the existing South Coast RMP (1994). Since 1994, there have 
been significant changes in the patterns of urban growth; increased 
demands on the resources of the public lands; changing policies and 
emphasis on the management of public lands and local land use planning; 
and new data that have led to the listing of additional threatened or 
endangered species. The Notice of Intent to prepare a land use plan 
revision and associated EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
August 7, 2007 (72 FR 44173). The BLM held public workshops and scoping 
meetings in Campo, San Diego, Temecula, and Santa Clarita in December 
2007, and invited agencies to participate as cooperating agencies in 
the planning effort. The Draft RMP/EIS analyzes four alternatives, 
including a No Action alternative, Alternative A, and an agency 
Preferred Alternative, Alternative D, designed to address management 
challenges and issues raised during scoping, including, but not limited 
to Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), sensitive species 
and other wildlife habitat, lands with wilderness characteristics, 
livestock grazing, recreation, off highway vehicle use, minerals 
management, and land use authorizations.
    Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7-2(b), this notice announces a concurrent 
public comment period on proposed ACECs. The Draft RMP/Draft EIS 
proposes changes to ACEC designations and elimination of ACECs within 
wilderness. The Preferred Alternative, Alternative D, includes 9 ACECs 
comprising of a total of 26,627 acres, or 20 percent of the planning 
area's surface acres. This is in contrast with Alternative A, the No 
Action Alternative of 7 ACECs with 14,539 acres, or 11 percent of 
surface acres. The proposed ACECs and resource use limitations

[[Page 59156]]

which would occur if formally designated are listed below:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Alternatives and Acres
          Proposed ACEC          --------------------------------------------             Limitations
                                      A          B          C          D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cedar Canyon....................        708          0        708          0  ACECs are:
Johnson Canyon..................      1,800          0      1,800      1,800  Closed to OHV use or limited to
                                                                               designated roads and trails under
                                                                               all alternatives.
Kuchamaa........................        803          0        803          0
Million Dollar Spring...........      6,265          0      6,265          0
Potrero.........................      2,966          0          0          0  Avoidance areas for land use
                                                                               authorizations under Alternatives
                                                                               A, C, and D. ACECs are exclusion
                                                                               areas under Alternative B.
Santa Ana River Wash............        750        750        750        750
Santa Margarita River...........      1,247      4,474      1,247      4,474
Upper Santa Clara River.........          0      1,620          0      1,620  Closed to fluid mineral and
                                                                               geothermal leasing and sale of
                                                                               mineral materials under
                                                                               Alternatives A, C, and D. The
                                                                               Western Riverside County ACEC
                                                                               would be considered for sale of
                                                                               mineral materials on a case-by-
                                                                               case basis with site specific
                                                                               analysis required to protect ACEC
                                                                               values of relevance and
                                                                               importance.
Western Riverside County........          0     24,995          0          0
Oak Mountain....................          0          0          0        894
Gavilan.........................          0          0          0      3,822
Badlands........................          0          0          0      1,051
Beauty Mountain.................          0     27,376          0      3,925
Otay/Kuchamaa...................          0      8,291          0      8,291
                                 --------------------------------------------
Total acres.....................     14,539     67,506     11,573     26,627
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A Record of Decision for the proposed RMP will be prepared 
following publication of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS in accordance with 
the planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.5-1 and the NEPA, 40 CFR 
1505.2.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of respondents 
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address 
during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through 
Friday, except holidays.
    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.

John R. Kalish,
Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10; 43 CFR 1610.2.

[FR Doc. 2011-24493 Filed 9-22-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
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