Notice of Availability of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Management Plan and California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement, 55224-55225 [2012-21936]

Download as PDF 55224 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 174 / Friday, September 7, 2012 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCAD070000 L16100000 DT0000] Notice of Availability of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Management Plan and California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: 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 Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) and California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA), and by this notice is announcing its availability. DATES: BLM planning regulations provide that any person who meets the conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM’s Proposed RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS. 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 of Availability in the Federal Register. ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies; Native American Tribes; and to other stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM El Centro Field Office, 1661 South Fourth Street, El Centro, CA 92243. Interested persons may also review the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/ca/elcentro. 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. If an appeal is taken, the notice of appeal must be filed in the BLM El srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:04 Sep 06, 2012 Jkt 226001 Centro Field Office, 1661 South Fourth Street, El Centro, CA 92243, within 30 days of the decision. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact Greg Hill, Project Manager, BLM El Centro Field Office, 1661 South Fourth, El Centro, CA 92243; by phone at 760–337–4400; or by email at 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 Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) and surrounding lands included in the planning area encompass approximately 215,000 acres of public lands managed by the BLM. The planning area is located in the southeastern portion of Imperial County, California. The 2005 Record of Decision for the 2003 RAMP was vacated by a U.S. District Court in September 2006. Portions of the biological opinion for the Peirson’s milkvetch were also remanded to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The 2012 RAMP addresses this issue as well as others in the planning area. The primary activities in the ISDRA include off-highway vehicle use and camping. The Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS has been developed through a collaborative planning process and considers eight alternatives. Issues addressed in the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS include: Recreation; transportation and public access; wildlife and botany (i.e. Peirson’s milkvetch); cultural resources and paleontology; renewable energy; air and water resources; geology and soils; mineral resources; socioeconomics; public health and safety; and visual resources. The Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS includes strategies for protecting and preserving the recreational, biological, cultural, geological, educational, and scenic values for which the recreation area was established. Eight alternatives were analyzed in the Proposed RAMP/Plan Amendment and FEIS. The ‘‘no action’’ alternative represents current management of the ISDRA. Seven additional ‘‘action’’ alternatives present reasonable, yet varying, management scenarios. The PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 alternatives range from emphasizing maintenance of the naturalness of the ISDRA (by restricting some recreation uses) to emphasizing continued recreation uses, while still protecting the resources and values for which the area was established. The range of alternatives in the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS evaluates planning decisions brought forward from current BLM planning documents, including the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (1980) as amended. Comments on the Draft RAMP/Plan Amendment and EIS received from the public and internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the proposed plan. Public comments resulted in a variety of clarifications and modifications throughout the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change the proposed land use plan decisions analyzed in the alternatives. Revisions made between the Draft RAMP/Plan Amendment and Draft EIS and the Proposed RAMP/Plan Amendment and FEIS include: Quantification of some management goals and objectives; clarification of multiple-use classes and visual resource management; consideration of lands with wilderness characteristics; modifications to alternatives regarding camping in the Dunebuggy Flats area; and modifications to implementationlevel decisions to correctly categorize them as plan-level decisions or implementation actions. The Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/ Final EIS also considers changes to Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC); the Plank Road, East Mesa, and North Algodones Dunes ACECs. The preferred alternative would retain the existing 416 acre Plank Road ACEC; reduce the East Mesa ACEC from 6,454 acres to 5,799 acres; and eliminate the North Algodones Dunes ACEC in order to remove conflicting management prescriptions between this ACEC and the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness. Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM regarding the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS may be found in the ‘‘Dear Reader’’ Letter of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. Email and faxed protests will not be accepted unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by E:\FR\FM\07SEN1.SGM 07SEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 174 / Friday, September 7, 2012 / Notices either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the email 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 202–245–0028, and emails to Brenda_HudgensWilliams@blm.gov. All protests, including the follow-up letter to emails or faxes, must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above. Before including your phone number, email 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. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5 Thomas F. Zale, Acting Field Manager, El Centro Field Office. [FR Doc. 2012–21936 Filed 9–6–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–40–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLAZ956000.L14200000.BJ0000.241A] Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey; Arizona Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey; Arizona. AGENCY: The plats of survey of the described lands were officially filed in the Arizona State Office, Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix, Arizona, on the dates indicated. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: The Gila and Salt River Meridian, Arizona The plat representing the survey of the west and north boundaries and a portion of the subdivisional lines, Township 3 South, Range 21 East, accepted August 20, 2012, and officially filed August 23, 2012, for Group 1090, Arizona. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:04 Sep 06, 2012 Jkt 226001 This plat was prepared at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Regional Office. The plat representing the dependent resurvey of portions of the south and east boundaries and portions of the subdivisional lines and the survey of portions of the east and north boundaries and portions of the subdivisional lines, Township 4 South, Range 21 East, accepted August 20, 2012, and officially filed August 23, 2012, for Group 1090, Arizona. This plat was prepared at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Regional Office. The plat representing the dependent resurvey of a portion of the east boundary of the San Carlos Indian Reservation and the survey of the west boundary, a portion of the north boundary and a portion of the subdivisional lines, Township 3 South, Range 22 East, accepted August 20, 2012, and officially filed August 23, 2012, for Group 1090, Arizona. This plat was prepared at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Regional Office. The plat representing the dependent resurvey of a portion of the east boundary of the San Carlos Indian Reservation, and the dependent resurvey of a portion of the south boundary and a portion of the subdivisional lines and a survey of a portion of the north boundary and a portion of the subdivisional lines, Township 4 South, Range 22 East, accepted August 20, 2012, and officially filed August 23, 2012, for Group 1090, Arizona. This plat was prepared at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Regional Office. A person or party who wishes to protest against any of these surveys must file a written protest with the Arizona State Director, Bureau of Land Management, stating that they wish to protest. A statement of reasons for a protest may be filed with the notice of protest to the State Director, or the statement of reasons must be filed with the State Director within thirty (30) days after the protest is filed. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: These plats will be available for inspection in the Arizona State Office, Bureau of Land Management, One North Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, Arizona 85004–4427. 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 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 55225 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. Stephen K. Hansen, Chief Cadastral Surveyor of Arizona. [FR Doc. 2012–22070 Filed 9–6–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–32–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLNML00000 L12200000.DF0000] Notice of Public Meeting, Las Cruces District Resource Advisory Council Meeting, New Mexico Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting. AGENCY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Las Cruces District Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below. DATES: The meeting date is September 19, 2012, at the BLM Las Cruces District Office, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005, from 7 a.m.–4 p.m. The public may send written comments to the RAC at the above address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rena Gutierrez, BLM Las Cruces District, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005, 575–525–4338. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8229 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 10member RAC advises the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of planning and management issues associated with public land management in New Mexico. Planned agenda items include opening remarks from the District Manager, Prehistoric Trackways National Monument tour and briefing, Membership Update and Elections. A half-hour public comment period during which the public may address the Council will begin at 2:30 p.m. on September 19, 2012. All RAC meetings are open to the public. Depending on the number of individuals wishing to comment and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\07SEN1.SGM 07SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55224-55225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21936]



[[Page 55224]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD070000 L16100000 DT0000]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes 
Recreation Area Management Plan and California Desert Conservation Area 
Plan Amendment/Final 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 
Proposed Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) and California Desert 
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS), for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA), 
and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations provide that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's 
Proposed RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS. 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 
of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA 
Plan Amendment/Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal, State, and 
local government agencies; Native American Tribes; and to other 
stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA 
Plan Amendment/Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM 
El Centro Field Office, 1661 South Fourth Street, El Centro, CA 92243. 
Interested persons may also review the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes 
RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/ca/elcentro. 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.
    If an appeal is taken, the notice of appeal must be filed in the 
BLM El Centro Field Office, 1661 South Fourth Street, El Centro, CA 
92243, within 30 days of the decision.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact Greg 
Hill, Project Manager, BLM El Centro Field Office, 1661 South Fourth, 
El Centro, CA 92243; by phone at 760-337-4400; or by email at 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 Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area 
(ISDRA) and surrounding lands included in the planning area encompass 
approximately 215,000 acres of public lands managed by the BLM. The 
planning area is located in the southeastern portion of Imperial 
County, California. The 2005 Record of Decision for the 2003 RAMP was 
vacated by a U.S. District Court in September 2006. Portions of the 
biological opinion for the Peirson's milkvetch were also remanded to 
the Fish and Wildlife Service. The 2012 RAMP addresses this issue as 
well as others in the planning area.
    The primary activities in the ISDRA include off-highway vehicle use 
and camping. The Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan 
Amendment/Final EIS has been developed through a collaborative planning 
process and considers eight alternatives. Issues addressed in the 
Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS 
include: Recreation; transportation and public access; wildlife and 
botany (i.e. Peirson's milkvetch); cultural resources and paleontology; 
renewable energy; air and water resources; geology and soils; mineral 
resources; socioeconomics; public health and safety; and visual 
resources. The Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan 
Amendment/Final EIS includes strategies for protecting and preserving 
the recreational, biological, cultural, geological, educational, and 
scenic values for which the recreation area was established.
    Eight alternatives were analyzed in the Proposed RAMP/Plan 
Amendment and FEIS. The ``no action'' alternative represents current 
management of the ISDRA. Seven additional ``action'' alternatives 
present reasonable, yet varying, management scenarios. The alternatives 
range from emphasizing maintenance of the naturalness of the ISDRA (by 
restricting some recreation uses) to emphasizing continued recreation 
uses, while still protecting the resources and values for which the 
area was established. The range of alternatives in the Proposed 
Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS evaluates 
planning decisions brought forward from current BLM planning documents, 
including the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (1980) as 
amended.
    Comments on the Draft RAMP/Plan Amendment and EIS received from the 
public and internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as 
appropriate into the proposed plan. Public comments resulted in a 
variety of clarifications and modifications throughout the Proposed 
Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS. Public 
comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but did not 
significantly change the proposed land use plan decisions analyzed in 
the alternatives. Revisions made between the Draft RAMP/Plan Amendment 
and Draft EIS and the Proposed RAMP/Plan Amendment and FEIS include: 
Quantification of some management goals and objectives; clarification 
of multiple-use classes and visual resource management; consideration 
of lands with wilderness characteristics; modifications to alternatives 
regarding camping in the Dunebuggy Flats area; and modifications to 
implementation-level decisions to correctly categorize them as plan-
level decisions or implementation actions.
    The Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final 
EIS also considers changes to Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 
(ACEC); the Plank Road, East Mesa, and North Algodones Dunes ACECs. The 
preferred alternative would retain the existing 416 acre Plank Road 
ACEC; reduce the East Mesa ACEC from 6,454 acres to 5,799 acres; and 
eliminate the North Algodones Dunes ACEC in order to remove conflicting 
management prescriptions between this ACEC and the North Algodones 
Dunes Wilderness.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan 
Amendment/Final EIS may be found in the ``Dear Reader'' Letter of the 
Proposed Imperial Sand Dunes RAMP and CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS and 
at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. Email and faxed protests will not be accepted 
unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by

[[Page 55225]]

either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest 
period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the email 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 202-245-0028, and emails to Brenda_Hudgens-Williams@blm.gov.
    All protests, including the follow-up letter to emails or faxes, 
must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth 
in the ADDRESSES section above.
    Before including your phone number, email 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.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 
1610.5

Thomas F. Zale,
Acting Field Manager, El Centro Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-21936 Filed 9-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
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