Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plans for the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs National Conservation Areas; Proposed Amendment to the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan; and Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement, Utah, 60731-60732 [2016-21185]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 171 (Friday, September 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60731-60732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21185]



[[Page 60731]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[16X L1109AF LLUTC03000.L16100000.DQ0000.LXSS004J0000 24-1A]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plans 
for the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs National Conservation Areas; 
Proposed Amendment to the St. George Field Office Resource Management 
Plan; and Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended (FLPMA), and the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act 
of 2009 (OPLMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared 
proposed resource management plans (RMPs) for the Beaver Dam Wash 
National Conservation Area and the Red Cliffs National Conservation 
Area and a proposed amendment to the St. George Field Office RMP 
(Proposed Amendment). The three planning efforts were initiated 
concurrently and are supported by a single environmental impact 
statement (EIS), and by this notice, the BLM is announcing their 
availability.

DATES: The BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions described in those regulations may protest the BLM's 
Proposed RMPs/Proposed Amendment and abbreviated Final EIS and must 
file the protest within 30 days following the date that the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed RMPs/Proposed Amendment and 
abbreviated Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal and State 
agencies, tribal governments, local governmental entities, and to other 
stakeholders and members of the public who have requested copies. 
Copies of the Proposed RMPs/Proposed Amendment and abbreviated Final 
EIS are available for inspection at the Interagency Public Lands 
Information Center, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790, and 
the BLM Utah State Office Public Room, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, 
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101; during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays. The Proposed RMPs/
Proposed Amendment and abbreviated Final EIS are also available online 
at: https://bit.ly/2av3Q1i.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following 
addresses:
    Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest Coordinator, 
P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
    Overnight Delivery: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest 
Coordinator, 20 M Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Rigtrup, RMP Planner, telephone 
435-865-3000; address: 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah 
84790; email: krigtrup@blm.gov.
    Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf 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 purpose of this planning process is to 
satisfy specific mandates from the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 
of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-11, at Title 1, Subtitle O, hereinafter OPLMA) 
that directed the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, to 
develop comprehensive management plans for the Beaver Dam Wash National 
Conservation Area (63,480 acres of public land) and the Red Cliffs 
National Conservation Area (44,859 acres of public land), located in 
Washington County, Utah. Both National Conservation Areas (NCAs) were 
established on March 30, 2009, when President Barack Obama signed OPLMA 
into law. The need to amend the St. George Field Office RMP (approved 
in 1999) is also derived from OPLMA. Section 1979(a)(1) and (2) of 
OPLMA directed the Secretary, through the BLM, to identify areas 
located in the county where biological conservation is a priority, and 
undertake activities to conserve and restore plant and animal species 
and natural communities within such areas. The decisions contained in 
the Proposed Amendment and abbreviated Final EIS do not pertain to 
private and State lands within the boundaries of the St. George Field 
Office planning area or the NCAs.
    Section 1977(b)(1) of OPLMA, directed the BLM to develop a 
comprehensive travel management plan for public lands in Washington 
County. The St. George Field Office RMP must be amended to modify 
certain existing off-highway vehicle (OHV) area designations (open, 
limited or closed) before this comprehensive travel management plan can 
be developed.
    BLM Utah developed the Proposed RMPs and Proposed Amendment by 
combining components of the four alternatives that were presented in 
the Draft RMPs and Draft Amendment and associated Draft EIS, released 
for public review on July 17, 2015. These alternatives contained goals, 
objectives, and management decisions for the two NCAs that were 
designed to address the long-term management of public land resources 
and land uses, while fulfilling the conservation purpose of the NCAs 
included in OPLMA. The alternatives identified in the Draft Amendment 
were developed to satisfy the requirements of OPLMA related to 
biological conservation and travel management and to comply with FLPMA 
and other relevant Federal laws, regulations, and agency policies.

Alternatives Considered in the Draft RMPs for the Beaver Dam Wash and 
Red Cliffs NCAs and Draft EIS

    The four alternatives considered in the Draft RMPs and Draft EIS 
included the following:
    Alternative A was the No Action alternative required by NEPA and 
served as a baseline against which to compare potential environmental 
consequences that could be associated with implementation of the other 
alternatives. Under this alternative, management for the two NCAs would 
be derived primarily from management decisions in the 1999 St. George 
Field Office RMP, as amended.
    Alternative B, the BLM's Preferred Alternative in the Draft, 
emphasized resource protection, while allowing land uses that were 
consistent with the NCA purposes, current laws, Federal regulations, 
and agency policies. Management actions would strive to protect 
ecologically important areas, native vegetation communities, habitats 
for wildlife, including special status species, cultural resources, and 
the scenic qualities of each NCA from natural and human-caused impacts.
    Alternative C emphasized the conservation and protection of NCA 
ecological, cultural, and scenic values and the restoration of damaged 
lands. Higher levels of restrictions on certain land uses and 
activities were proposed to achieve conservation goals, while 
continuing to allow for compatible public uses in the two NCAs.
    Alternative D proposed a broader array and higher levels of public 
use and access by emphasizing diverse and

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sustainable recreation uses of the two NCAs, through the development of 
new, non-motorized trails and visitor amenities. In Alternative D of 
the Draft RMP for the Red Cliffs NCA, the BLM also proposed the 
designation of a new utility and transportation corridor to accommodate 
all of the potential highway alignments that Washington County provided 
to the BLM for the ``northern transportation route''. Also under 
Alternative D, rights-of-way could be granted for new utilities, water 
lines, and associated roads within the designated utility and 
transportation corridor.

Proposed RMPs and Proposed Amendment and Abbreviated Final EIS

    The Proposed RMPs for the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs NCAs and 
Proposed Amendment to the St. George Field Office RMP are primarily 
based on the management goals, objectives, and actions identified in 
the draft plans as the BLM's Preferred Alternative, Alternative B. 
However, in response to public comments and input from the Cooperating 
Agencies, other Federal and State agencies, tribal governments, and 
local governmental entities, components of the other alternatives that 
were presented in the draft plans and analyzed in the Draft EIS were 
selected to comprise management decisions in the Proposed RMPs and 
Proposed Amendment. In some cases, minor edits or clarifications were 
made and these are shown in italicized text surrounded by brackets in 
the proposed plans. None of the minor edits or clarifications required 
modifications to the analysis of the environmental consequences 
presented in Chapter 4 of the Draft EIS. The BLM has prepared an 
abbreviated Final EIS to support the Proposed NCA RMPs and Proposed 
Amendment, consistent with Federal regulations at 40 CFR 1503.4 (c). 
The resulting Proposed RMPs and Proposed Amendment address the range of 
public, agency, and governmental concerns about resource management and 
land uses in the planning area raised during the planning process, and 
meet the Congressionally-defined purposes of the NCAs and OPLMA's 
mandates related to public land management in Washington County.

Proposed Areas of Critical Environmental Concern

    In accordance with 43 CFR 1610.7-2(b), the Notice of Availability 
for the Draft RMPs and Draft Amendment/Draft EIS (80 FR 42527, July 17, 
2015) announced a concurrent public comment period on proposed ACECs. 
The Proposed Amendment includes proposed ACEC designations for the 
following areas:

South Hills ACEC: (1,950 acres)

     Value: Endangered Species Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy (Arctomecon 
humilis) and Holmgren Milkvetch (Astragalus holmgreniorum).
     Limitations on the Following Uses: Commercial and personal 
use woodland products harvesting (green wood, dead and down, poles, and 
Christmas trees) and firewood gathering would be prohibited; closed to 
mineral materials disposal; managed as exclusion area for linear, site-
type, and material site ROWs; closed to native seed, plants, and plant 
materials harvesting for commercial purposes and personal use; open to 
fluid mineral leasing with a no surface occupancy stipulation; closed 
to dispersed camping; OHV area designation would be limited to 
designated roads and trails; and managed as Visual Resources Management 
(VRM) Class II.

State Line ACEC: (1,410 acres)

     Value: Endangered Species Holmgren's Milkvetch and 
Gierisch Globemallow (Sphaeralcea gierischii).
     Limitations on the Following Uses: Commercial and personal 
use woodland products harvesting (green wood, dead and down, poles, and 
Christmas trees) and firewood gathering would be prohibited; closed to 
mineral materials disposal; managed as exclusion area for linear, site-
type, and material site ROWs; closed to native seed, plants, and plant 
materials harvesting for commercial purposes and personal use; open to 
fluid mineral leasing with a no surface occupancy stipulation; closed 
to dispersed camping; OHV area designation would be limited to 
designated roads and trails; and managed as VRM Class II.

Webb Hill ACEC: (520 acres)

     Value: Endangered Species Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy.
     Limitations on the Following Uses: Commercial and personal 
use woodland products harvesting (green wood, dead and down, poles, and 
Christmas trees) and firewood gathering would be prohibited; closed to 
mineral materials disposal; managed as exclusion area for linear, site-
type, and material site ROWs; closed to native seed, plants, and plant 
materials harvesting for commercial purposes and personal use; closed 
to fluid mineral leasing; closed to dispersed camping; OHV area 
designation would be limited to designated roads and trails; and 
managed as VRM Class II.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the proposed plans may be found in the ``Dear Reader'' Letter 
of the Proposed RMPs for the Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area 
and the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, and Proposed Amendment 
to the St. George Field Office RMP/abbreviated Final EIS and at 43 CFR 
1610.5-2. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate 
address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above. Emailed protests 
will not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also 
provides the original letter, either by regular or overnight mail and 
it is postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under these 
conditions, the BLM will consider the emailed protest as an advance 
copy and it will receive full consideration. If you wish to provide the 
BLM with such advance notification, please direct emails to 
protest@blm.gov. Before including your address, 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 may 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.

Jenna Whitlock,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-21185 Filed 9-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P