Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Plan Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan in the West Mojave Planning Area, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, CA, 12194-12195 [2015-05127]
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12194
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 44 / Friday, March 6, 2015 / Notices
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD08000.L12200000.DS0000.
15XL1109AF.LXSSB0010000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement and Draft Plan Amendment
to the California Desert Conservation
Area Plan in the West Mojave Planning
Area, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles and San
Bernardino Counties, CA
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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 Draft
Land Use Plan Amendment and Draft
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (SEIS) for the West Mojave
Route Network Project (WMRNP) for the
West Mojave (WEMO) Planning Area of
the California Desert Conservation Area
(CDCA) and by this notice is
announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft Land Use
Plan Amendment/Draft Supplemental
EIS within 90 days following the date
the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its notice of the Draft Land
Use Plan Amendment/Draft SEIS in the
Federal Register. The BLM will
announce future meetings or hearings
and any other public participation
activities at least 15 days in advance
through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the WMRNP by any of the
following methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/
en/fo/cdd/west_mojave__wemo.html.
• Email: cawemopa@blm.gov.
• Fax: 951–697–5299; Attn: WMRNP
Plan Amendment.
• Mail: Bureau of land Management,
California Desert District, Attn: WMRNP
Plan Amendment, 22835 Calle San Juan
de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553
Copies of the WMRNP Draft Plan
Amendment and Draft Supplemental
EIS are available in the California Desert
District Office at the above address; the
Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S.
Richmond Rd., Ridgecrest, CA 93555;
and the Barstow Field Office, 2601
Barstow Road, Barstow CA 92311.
Copies are also available online at the
above address.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:59 Mar 05, 2015
Jkt 235001
Edy
Seehafer, WMRNP Manager, telephone
760–252–6021; address 2601 Barstow
Road, Barstow, CA 92311; email
eseehafe@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 West
Mojave Route Network Project
(WMRNP) will adopt transportation and
travel strategy and designate routes on
public lands in the WEMO Planning
Area. The WEMO Planning Area covers
9.4 million acres of the CDCA in the
western portion of the Mojave Desert in
southern California, including parts of
San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, and
Inyo Counties. The WMRNP applies to
the 3.1 million acres of public lands
within the WEMO Planning Area. In
March, 2006, the BLM signed the
Record of Decision (ROD) for the WEMO
Plan/Amendment to the CDCA Plan. In
January 2011, the U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of California
partially remanded the 2006 WEMO
Plan Amendment ROD to the BLM and
directed the BLM to amend the CDCA
Plan for travel management and
reconsider route designation throughout
the WEMO Planning Area, as well as
other specified issues in the 2006
WEMO Plan (Center for Biological
Diversity v. US Bureau of Land
Management Order Re: Remedy [N.D.
Cal. Jan 28, 2011]). The Court’s decision
identified issues with (1) the
invalidation of the ‘‘decision tree’’
instrument used to evaluate and
designate routes, (2) the authorization of
OHV routes that were not in existence
in 1980, which was inconsistent with
the governing land use plan, (3) the lack
of a reasonable range of alternatives to
the proposed action, including an
inadequate discussion of the No Action
alternative, and (4) the inadequate
analysis of impacts from the route
network and the grazing program to
specific resource values, including soils,
cultural resources, certain biological
resources, and air quality.
On September 13, 2011, the BLM
issued a Notice of Intent (amended May
13, 2013), inviting comments on the
proposed scope and content of the
WMRNP. The WMRNP includes a landuse plan amendment to the California
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
for Livestock Grazing, Recreation, and
Motor Vehicle Access Elements for the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
WEMO Planning Area, an associated
travel management framework, and
activity-plan level route designations
and implementation strategies. The
lands covered in the WMRNP are those
that are within livestock grazing
allotments or designated as ‘‘Limited’’ to
designated routes for motorized access.
Areas ‘‘Closed’’ to motorized access are
not proposed for change in this plan
amendment, and are not within the
scope of the planning effort.
The 9.4 million-acre WEMO Planning
Area includes several large Department
of Defense facilities covering almost 3
million acres, a portion of one National
Park, 3 million acres of private lands,
and approximately 100,000 acres of
State lands, including Red Rock Canyon
State Park. The planning area is also
adjacent to three other National Parks/
Preserves and four National Forests.
Much of the planning area is managed
as part of the BLM’s National Landscape
Conservation System, including 18
wilderness areas, three wilderness study
areas and portions of the Pacific Crest
Trail and the Old Spanish National
Historic Trail. The planning area also
includes 41 Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs), seven
National Register Archaeological or
Historic Districts, and four Critical
Habitat Units for the federally-listed
desert tortoise. Four of the ACECs were
established as Desert Wildlife
Management Areas (DWMAs), covering
most of the desert tortoise critical
habitat units, for the express purpose of
conservation of desert tortoise.
The planning area also includes eight
OHV Open Areas covering 271,661
acres. No changes are proposed to these
OHV Open Areas or their boundaries;
however, the OHV Open Areas provide
major points of ingress to and egress
from adjacent areas ‘‘Limited’’ to
designated routes access public lands.
The BLM used a public scoping
process to determine relevant issues,
impacts, and possible alternatives that
could influence the scope of the
environmental analysis, and to help
guide the agency from plan level
decision-making to route designation in
order to comply with the court order.
The public raised the following
transportation and travel management
concerns:
• The need for a good inventory and
accurate information related to the
existing environment;
• documentation and use of the
regulatory criteria for route
minimization;
• mitigation for loss of access;
• sensitive resource protection;
E:\FR\FM\06MRN1.SGM
06MRN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 44 / Friday, March 6, 2015 / Notices
• maintenance of access for various
types of recreational, scientific and
other uses;
• access to private lands;
• trespass;
• regional connectivity;
• improving GIS and on-the-ground
information for the public; and
• other implementation strategies
such as signing, monitoring and law
enforcement.
In addition, a substantial number of
comments indicated issues and needs
associated with specific routes and
route areas in the WEMO transportation
system, and included recommendations
on the designation of specific routes. A
few comments were also received on
grazing issues and the scope of the
supplemental grazing program analysis.
In response to court concerns and onthe-ground changes since 2006, NEPA
considerations focused on cumulative
effects of the transportation system
alternatives to resource values,
particularly air quality, soils, cultural
resources, certain biological resources,
and certain sensitive species,
cumulative effects of grazing, and
potential cumulative loss of recreational
access opportunities. In response to
public input, access considerations
focused on maintaining a viable
transportation network, diverse
recreational opportunities, providing
access for specific users, (including
rock-hounders, motorcyclists, scientific
and educational activities, and nonmotorized users), dealing with conflicts
between users, and maintaining
commercial access needs.
Plan amendments would address
specific CDCA Plan inconsistencies
with regulation and BLM policies in the
WEMO Planning Area; including
amending language that limits the route
network to routes that existed in 1980
and travel management guidance for
route designations. Changes are
proposed to the existing land-use plan
to address stopping, parking, and
camping adjacent to routes in Limited
Access Areas within the WEMO
Planning Area, and to establish a
regional minimization strategy for the
travel route network. Changes are also
proposed to the grazing program that
would reallocate forage from livestock
use to wildlife use and ecosystem
function in desert tortoise habitat for
inactive allotments or allotments that
become vacant. In addition, the Draft
considers plan level decisions
modifying motorized use on four
specific lakebeds, including Cuddeback
Lake and competitive motorized use of
routes. The Draft also considers various
travel management implementation
frameworks. Four alternatives are
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:59 Mar 05, 2015
Jkt 235001
evaluated, including a No Action
alternative.
Finally, the Draft includes activitylevel specific route designation
alternatives, based on the 43CFR 8342.1
criteria and different thresholds for
minimization or closure. The preferred
alternative would designate
approximately 10,300 miles of routes
within the WEMO Planning Area as
available for motorized use,
approximately130 miles of routes would
be available for either non-motorized or
non-mechanized use, and
approximately 4,400 miles of routes
would be closed.
The preferred alternative also
includes a regional mitigation strategy
that would limit the extent of off-route
stopping and parking throughout the
planning area to minimize impacts to
undisturbed habitat, enhance
watersheds, and protect adjacent
sensitive resources. Other measures are
based on proximity to sensitive
resources, such as riparian systems, that
would enhance these resources
throughout the planning area.
The preferred alternative provides for
a limited number of designated camping
and staging areas to direct intensive use
to manageable locations. Finally, the
preferred alternative proposes an
integrated, community-based
implementation strategy that addresses
outreach, compliance and enforcement
strategy in which partnerships with
adjacent communities, users, local
Friends and other interest groups,
national and State recreational and
conservation coalitions, and other
interested citizens are a central
component.
Please note that public comments and
information submitted including names,
street addresses, and email addresses of
persons who submit comments 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, 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 to withhold your
personal identifying information from
public review, BLM cannot guarantee
that we will be able to do so.
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12195
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10,
43 CFR 1610.2.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2015–05127 Filed 3–5–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 049397, LLCAD06000.
L51010000.ER0000.LVRWB09B2920.15X]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Desert Quartzite Solar Project and
a Possible Amendment to the
California Desert Conservation Area
Plan, Riverside County, California
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Palm Springs/South Coast Field Office,
Palm Springs, California, together with
Riverside County, California, intend to
prepare a joint Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and Environmental
Impact Report (EIR), which may include
an amendment to the California Desert
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan, for the
Desert Quartzite Solar Project (Project).
By this notice, the BLM is announcing
the beginning of the scoping process to
solicit public comments and identify
issues related to the EIS/EIR and Plan
Amendment (PA).
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process for the EIS/EIR and PA.
Comments on issues may be submitted
in writing until April 6, 2015. The
date(s) and location(s) of any scoping
meetings will be announced at least 15
days in advance through local news
media, newspapers and the BLM Web
site at: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/
cdd.html. In order to be included in the
analysis, all comments must be received
prior to the close of the 30-day scoping
period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later. We will
provide additional opportunities for
public participation as appropriate.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on issues and planning criteria related
to the Project by any of the following
methods:
• email: blm_ca_desert_quartzite_
solar_project@blm.gov.
• fax: (951) 697–5299.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\06MRN1.SGM
06MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 44 (Friday, March 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12194-12195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05127]
[[Page 12194]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD08000.L12200000.DS0000.15XL1109AF.LXSSB0010000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement and Draft Plan Amendment to the California Desert
Conservation Area Plan in the West Mojave Planning Area, Inyo, Kern,
Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Land Use Plan Amendment and Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (SEIS) for the West Mojave Route Network Project
(WMRNP) for the West Mojave (WEMO) Planning Area of the California
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) and by this notice is announcing the
opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft Land Use Plan Amendment/Draft
Supplemental EIS within 90 days following the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes its notice of the Draft Land Use Plan
Amendment/Draft SEIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce
future meetings or hearings and any other public participation
activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media
releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the WMRNP by any of the
following methods:
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd/west_mojave__wemo.html.
Email: cawemopa@blm.gov.
Fax: 951-697-5299; Attn: WMRNP Plan Amendment.
Mail: Bureau of land Management, California Desert
District, Attn: WMRNP Plan Amendment, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los
Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553
Copies of the WMRNP Draft Plan Amendment and Draft Supplemental EIS
are available in the California Desert District Office at the above
address; the Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S. Richmond Rd., Ridgecrest,
CA 93555; and the Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow CA
92311. Copies are also available online at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edy Seehafer, WMRNP Manager, telephone
760-252-6021; address 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA 92311; email
eseehafe@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 West Mojave Route Network Project
(WMRNP) will adopt transportation and travel strategy and designate
routes on public lands in the WEMO Planning Area. The WEMO Planning
Area covers 9.4 million acres of the CDCA in the western portion of the
Mojave Desert in southern California, including parts of San
Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, and Inyo Counties. The WMRNP applies to
the 3.1 million acres of public lands within the WEMO Planning Area. In
March, 2006, the BLM signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the WEMO
Plan/Amendment to the CDCA Plan. In January 2011, the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of California partially remanded the
2006 WEMO Plan Amendment ROD to the BLM and directed the BLM to amend
the CDCA Plan for travel management and reconsider route designation
throughout the WEMO Planning Area, as well as other specified issues in
the 2006 WEMO Plan (Center for Biological Diversity v. US Bureau of
Land Management Order Re: Remedy [N.D. Cal. Jan 28, 2011]). The Court's
decision identified issues with (1) the invalidation of the ``decision
tree'' instrument used to evaluate and designate routes, (2) the
authorization of OHV routes that were not in existence in 1980, which
was inconsistent with the governing land use plan, (3) the lack of a
reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action, including an
inadequate discussion of the No Action alternative, and (4) the
inadequate analysis of impacts from the route network and the grazing
program to specific resource values, including soils, cultural
resources, certain biological resources, and air quality.
On September 13, 2011, the BLM issued a Notice of Intent (amended
May 13, 2013), inviting comments on the proposed scope and content of
the WMRNP. The WMRNP includes a land-use plan amendment to the
California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan for Livestock Grazing,
Recreation, and Motor Vehicle Access Elements for the WEMO Planning
Area, an associated travel management framework, and activity-plan
level route designations and implementation strategies. The lands
covered in the WMRNP are those that are within livestock grazing
allotments or designated as ``Limited'' to designated routes for
motorized access. Areas ``Closed'' to motorized access are not proposed
for change in this plan amendment, and are not within the scope of the
planning effort.
The 9.4 million-acre WEMO Planning Area includes several large
Department of Defense facilities covering almost 3 million acres, a
portion of one National Park, 3 million acres of private lands, and
approximately 100,000 acres of State lands, including Red Rock Canyon
State Park. The planning area is also adjacent to three other National
Parks/Preserves and four National Forests. Much of the planning area is
managed as part of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System,
including 18 wilderness areas, three wilderness study areas and
portions of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Old Spanish National
Historic Trail. The planning area also includes 41 Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs), seven National Register Archaeological
or Historic Districts, and four Critical Habitat Units for the
federally-listed desert tortoise. Four of the ACECs were established as
Desert Wildlife Management Areas (DWMAs), covering most of the desert
tortoise critical habitat units, for the express purpose of
conservation of desert tortoise.
The planning area also includes eight OHV Open Areas covering
271,661 acres. No changes are proposed to these OHV Open Areas or their
boundaries; however, the OHV Open Areas provide major points of ingress
to and egress from adjacent areas ``Limited'' to designated routes
access public lands.
The BLM used a public scoping process to determine relevant issues,
impacts, and possible alternatives that could influence the scope of
the environmental analysis, and to help guide the agency from plan
level decision-making to route designation in order to comply with the
court order.
The public raised the following transportation and travel
management concerns:
The need for a good inventory and accurate information
related to the existing environment;
documentation and use of the regulatory criteria for route
minimization;
mitigation for loss of access;
sensitive resource protection;
[[Page 12195]]
maintenance of access for various types of recreational,
scientific and other uses;
access to private lands;
trespass;
regional connectivity;
improving GIS and on-the-ground information for the
public; and
other implementation strategies such as signing,
monitoring and law enforcement.
In addition, a substantial number of comments indicated issues and
needs associated with specific routes and route areas in the WEMO
transportation system, and included recommendations on the designation
of specific routes. A few comments were also received on grazing issues
and the scope of the supplemental grazing program analysis.
In response to court concerns and on-the-ground changes since 2006,
NEPA considerations focused on cumulative effects of the transportation
system alternatives to resource values, particularly air quality,
soils, cultural resources, certain biological resources, and certain
sensitive species, cumulative effects of grazing, and potential
cumulative loss of recreational access opportunities. In response to
public input, access considerations focused on maintaining a viable
transportation network, diverse recreational opportunities, providing
access for specific users, (including rock-hounders, motorcyclists,
scientific and educational activities, and non-motorized users),
dealing with conflicts between users, and maintaining commercial access
needs.
Plan amendments would address specific CDCA Plan inconsistencies
with regulation and BLM policies in the WEMO Planning Area; including
amending language that limits the route network to routes that existed
in 1980 and travel management guidance for route designations. Changes
are proposed to the existing land-use plan to address stopping,
parking, and camping adjacent to routes in Limited Access Areas within
the WEMO Planning Area, and to establish a regional minimization
strategy for the travel route network. Changes are also proposed to the
grazing program that would reallocate forage from livestock use to
wildlife use and ecosystem function in desert tortoise habitat for
inactive allotments or allotments that become vacant. In addition, the
Draft considers plan level decisions modifying motorized use on four
specific lakebeds, including Cuddeback Lake and competitive motorized
use of routes. The Draft also considers various travel management
implementation frameworks. Four alternatives are evaluated, including a
No Action alternative.
Finally, the Draft includes activity-level specific route
designation alternatives, based on the 43CFR 8342.1 criteria and
different thresholds for minimization or closure. The preferred
alternative would designate approximately 10,300 miles of routes within
the WEMO Planning Area as available for motorized use, approximately130
miles of routes would be available for either non-motorized or non-
mechanized use, and approximately 4,400 miles of routes would be
closed.
The preferred alternative also includes a regional mitigation
strategy that would limit the extent of off-route stopping and parking
throughout the planning area to minimize impacts to undisturbed
habitat, enhance watersheds, and protect adjacent sensitive resources.
Other measures are based on proximity to sensitive resources, such as
riparian systems, that would enhance these resources throughout the
planning area.
The preferred alternative provides for a limited number of
designated camping and staging areas to direct intensive use to
manageable locations. Finally, the preferred alternative proposes an
integrated, community-based implementation strategy that addresses
outreach, compliance and enforcement strategy in which partnerships
with adjacent communities, users, local Friends and other interest
groups, national and State recreational and conservation coalitions,
and other interested citizens are a central component.
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who
submit comments 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, 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 to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, BLM cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2015-05127 Filed 3-5-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
