Notice of Intent To Prepare a Livestock Grazing Monument Management Plan Amendment and Associated Environmental Impact Statement for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 66064-66065 [2013-25924]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66064-66065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25924]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLUT0300-16100000-LXSS005J0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Livestock Grazing Monument 
Management Plan Amendment and Associated Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Grand 
Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), Kanab, Utah, intends to 
prepare a Livestock Grazing Monument Management Plan Amendment (Plan 
Amendment) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 
This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit 
public comments and identify issues. The Plan Amendment will make land 
use-level decisions associated with livestock grazing, thereby amending 
the GSENM Management Plan.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the Plan 
Amendment and associated EIS. Public scoping meetings will be hosted in 
the following locations: Kanab, Escalante, and Salt Lake City, Utah. 
The date(s) and specific location(s) and any other public involvement 
activities will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local 
media outlets and on the GSENM Web site at: www.ut.blm.gov/monument. 
The public scoping period runs from the issuance of this notice for 60 
days or until 30 days after the last public scoping meeting is held, 
whichever is later. Comments on issues and planning criteria may be 
submitted in writing during this time. In order to be considered in the 
Draft Plan Amendment/EIS, all comments must be received prior to the 
close of the scoping period. BLM Utah will provide additional 
opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Draft 
Plan Amendment/EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the GSENM Plan Amendment/EIS by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: BLM_UT_GS_EIS@blm.gov;
     Fax: 435-644-1250; or
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument, 669 S. HWY 89-A, Kanab, UT 84741.
    Documents pertinent to this planning effort may be examined at the 
GSENM Office, 669 S. HWY 89-A, Kanab, Utah.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Betenson, Assistant Monument 
Manager, Planning and Support Services; telephone: 435-644-1205; 
address: GSENM Office, 669 S. HWY 89-A, Kanab, UT 84741; email: BLM_UT_GS_EIS@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 leave a message or question with the above 
individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 
Replies are provided during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
GSENM intends to prepare a Plan Amendment with an associated EIS and 
announces the beginning of the public scoping process to request public 
input on issues and planning criteria. Cooperating agencies include the 
State of Utah; Garfield County and Kane County, Utah; the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; and the National Park Service (NPS) Glen Canyon 
National Recreation Area (GCNRA). The planning area includes all lands 
within the GSENM where BLM has livestock grazing management and/or 
administrative responsibility. This includes the BLM-Utah lands within 
GSENM and additional lands within portions of the Kanab Field Office 
(KFO) and the Arizona Strip Field Office (ASFO), as well as lands 
managed by NPS in GCNRA where GSENM administers grazing.
    Management decisions for lands in the planning area, but outside 
the GSENM boundary, will be consistent with the goals and objectives of 
the KFO, ASFO, and the GCNRA enabling legislation and management plans, 
as appropriate. NPS will also be making a decision for the GCNRA lands 
consistent with that area's enabling legislation (Pub. L. 92-593). The 
planning area encompasses approximately 2.2 million acres of Federal 
lands in Garfield County and Kane County, Utah, and Coconino County, 
Arizona. Approximately 68 percent of the planning area is in Kane 
County, approximately 32 percent is in Garfield County, and less than 1 
percent is in Coconino County. The purpose of the public scoping 
process is to determine relevant issues related to livestock grazing 
that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including 
alternatives, and to guide the planning process.
    Preliminary issues related to livestock grazing that are likely to 
be addressed in the Plan Amendment and EIS include the following:
     Effects on GSENM proclamation-identified scientific and 
historic objects and values;
     Lands available for livestock grazing within the planning 
area;
     Effects on the resources and values for which GCNRA was 
established;
     Forage currently available on an area-wide basis for 
livestock grazing and

[[Page 66065]]

available for future anticipated demands;
     Guidelines and criteria for future allotment-specific 
adjustments, such as rotational grazing plans which affect the 
livestock use;
     Impacts on local custom and culture as well as the area's 
economy; and
     Management of existing rangeland improvement seedings.
    Additional issues will likely be added through the public scoping 
process. Planning criteria are the standards, rules, and other factors 
developed by managers and interdisciplinary teams for their use in 
forming judgments about decision making, analysis, and data collection 
during planning. Planning criteria streamline and simplify the resource 
management planning actions. The following preliminary criteria will be 
considered in the Plan Amendment and EIS process:
     The Plan Amendment will be limited to making land use 
planning decisions specific to livestock grazing.
     Lands addressed in the Plan Amendment will be public lands 
managed by the BLM and the NPS.
     Grazing within the GCNRA will be administered in a portion 
of GCNRA in a manner that protects GCNRA values and purposes pursuant 
to Public Law 92-593 and in accordance with the 1916 NPS Organic Act.
     The process must utilize The Utah Standards for Rangeland 
Health and Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management. The BLM will 
apply existing applicable Land Health Standards to all alternatives.
     The approved GSENM Plan Amendment will comply with FLPMA, 
NEPA, National Historic Preservation Act, and Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and Department of the 
Interior regulations at 43 CFR part 46 and 43 CFR part 1600; the BLM H-
1601-1 Land Use Planning Handbook; the 2008 BLM H-1790-1 NEPA Handbook, 
and all other applicable BLM policies and guidance.
     Land use planning decisions must be consistent with the 
purpose and objectives outlined in the presidential proclamation for 
the GSENM and the enabling legislation for GCNRA, as applicable.
     Socio-economic analysis will use an accepted input-output 
quantitative model such as IMPLAN or RIMSII, and/or JEDI for analysis.
     The BLM and NPS will review and use as appropriate current 
scientific information, research, technologies, and results of 
inventory, monitoring, and coordination to determine appropriate 
management strategies.
     The BLM and NPS will coordinate and communicate with 
State, local, and tribal governments to ensure that the BLM and NPS 
consider provisions of pertinent plans, seek to resolve inconsistencies 
between State, local, and Tribal plans, and provide ample opportunities 
for State, local, and Tribal governments to comment on the development 
of amendments.
     The Plan Amendment will be based on the principles of 
Adaptive Management.

You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 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 before the close of the 
public scoping period. Before including your address, phone number, 
email 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 request we 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 public 
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. The BLM will evaluate identified issues to be 
addressed in the plan amendment, and will place them into one of three 
categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the Draft Plan Amendment/EIS 
as to why an issue was placed 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.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan 
amendment in order to consider the variety of issues and concerns 
identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines 
will be involved in the planning process: rangeland management, botany, 
environmental planning and compliance, ecology, outdoor recreation and 
wilderness management, visual resources, archaeology, paleontology, 
wildlife and fisheries, hydrology, soils, sociology and economics, and 
public affairs.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Jenna Whitlock,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-25924 Filed 11-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P