Notice of Availability of the Proposed Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Monument Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho, 24387-24389 [2017-10779]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 101 / Friday, May 26, 2017 / Notices
condition, future uses, or any other
circumstance or condition. The
conveyance of a parcel will not be on a
contingency basis. However, to the
extent required by law, the parcel is
subject to the requirements of Section
120(h) of the CERCLA.
The BLM–LVFO must receive the
request for escrow instructions prior to
30 days before the prospective
patentee’s scheduled closing date. There
are no exceptions.
All name changes and supporting
documentation must be received at the
BLM–LVFO 30 days from the date on
the high-bidder letter by 4:30 p.m.
Pacific Time. There are no exceptions.
To submit a name change, the apparent
high bidder must submit the name
change in writing on the Certificate of
Eligibility form to the BLM–LVFO.
The remainder of the full bid price for
the parcel must be received no later
than 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, within 180
days following the day of the sale.
Payment must be submitted in the form
of a certified check, postal money order,
bank draft, cashier’s check, or made
available by electronic fund transfer
made payable in U.S. dollars to the
‘‘Department of the Interior—Bureau of
Land Management’’ to the BLM–LVFO.
The BLM will not accept personal or
company checks.
Arrangements for electronic fund
transfer to the BLM for payment of the
balance due must be made a minimum
of two weeks prior to the payment date.
Failure to pay the full bid price within
180 days of the sale date will disqualify
the high bidder and cause the entire 20
percent bid deposit to be forfeited to the
BLM. Forfeiture of the 20 percent bid
deposit is in accordance with 43 CFR
2711.3–1(d). There are no exceptions.
The BLM can only accept the remainder
of the full bid price up to 180 days after
the sale date.
The BLM will not sign any documents
related to 1031 Exchange transactions.
The timing for completion of such an
exchange is the bidder’s responsibility.
The BLM cannot be a party to any 1031
Exchange.
In accordance with 43 CFR 2711.3–
1(f), the BLM may accept or reject any
or all offers to purchase, or withdraw
any parcel of land or interest therein
from sale within 30 days, if the BLM
authorized officer determines
consummation of the sale would be
inconsistent with any law, or for other
reasons as may be provided by
applicable law or regulations. No
contractual or other rights against the
United States may accrue until the BLM
officially accepts the offer to purchase
and the full bid price is paid.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:14 May 25, 2017
Jkt 241001
Upon publication of this notice and
until completion of this sale, the BLM
will no longer accept land use
applications affecting the parcel
identified for sale. However, land use
applications may be considered after the
sale if the parcel is not sold. The parcel
may be subject to land use applications
received prior to publication of this
Notice if processing the application
would have no adverse effect on the
marketability of title, or the FMV of the
parcel. Information concerning the sale,
encumbrances of record, appraisals,
reservations, procedures and conditions,
CERCLA, and other environmental
documents that may appear in the BLM
public files for the proposed sale parcels
are available for review during business
hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time,
Monday through Friday, at the BLM–
LVFO, except during Federal holidays.
In order to determine the FMV
through appraisal, certain extraordinary
assumptions and hypothetical
conditions may have been made
concerning the attributes and
limitations of the lands and potential
effects of local regulations and policies
on potential future land uses. Through
publication of this notice, the BLM
advises that these assumptions may not
be endorsed or approved by units of
local government.
It is the buyer’s responsibility to be
aware of all applicable Federal, State,
and local government laws, regulations
and policies that may affect the subject
lands, including any required
dedication of lands for public uses. It is
also the buyer’s responsibility to be
aware of existing or prospective uses of
nearby properties. When conveyed out
of Federal ownership, the lands will be
subject to any applicable laws,
regulations, and policies of the
applicable local government for
proposed future uses. It is the
responsibility of the purchaser to be
aware through due diligence of those
laws, regulations, and policies, and to
seek any required local approvals for
future uses. Buyers should make
themselves aware of any Federal or state
law or regulation that may impact the
future use of the property. Any land
lacking access from a public road or
highway will be conveyed as such, and
future access acquisition will be the
responsibility of the buyer.
Any comments regarding the
proposed sale will be reviewed by the
BLM Nevada State Director or other
authorized official of the Department of
the Interior, who may sustain, vacate, or
modify this realty action in response to
such comments. In the absence of any
comments, this realty action will
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24387
become the final determination of the
Department of the Interior.
Authority: 43 CFR 2711.1–2.
Kerri-Anne Thorpe,
Acting Assistant Field Manager, Division of
Lands.
[FR Doc. 2017–10864 Filed 5–25–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[17XL.LLIDT03100.L17110000.DQ0000.
241A00; 4500104491]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed
Craters of the Moon National
Monument and Preserve Monument
Management Plan Amendment and
Final Environmental Impact Statement,
Idaho
Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In accordance 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) has
prepared a Proposed Monument
Management Plan Amendment (Plan
Amendment) and Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Craters of
the Moon National Monument and
Preserve 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 Plan Amendment/Final EIS. A
person who meets the conditions and
files a protest must file the protest
within 30 days after the date that the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its notice of availability in the
Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS have been sent to
affected Federal, State, and local
government agencies and to other
stakeholders, including the ShoshoneBannock and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes.
Copies of the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS are available for
public review at the Shoshone BLM
Field Office, 400 West F St., Shoshone,
Idaho, 83352. Interested persons may
also review the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS online at https://
www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/plans-in-development/idaho/
craters-of-moon. All protests must be in
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\26MYN1.SGM
26MYN1
24388
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 101 / Friday, May 26, 2017 / Notices
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: Lisa
Cresswell, Planning Team Lead,
telephone (208)732–7200; address 400
West F St., Shoshone, Idaho 83352;
email BLM_ID_CRMO@blm.gov. Persons
who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339
to contact Ms. Cresswell. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with Ms.
Cresswell. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM
prepared the Craters of the Moon
National Monument and Preserve
(hereafter, Monument) Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS in consultation
with cooperating agencies, and in
accordance with NEPA, FLPMA,
implementing regulations, the BLM’s
Land Use Planning Handbook (H–1601–
1), the BLM National Environmental
Policy Act Handbook (H–1790–1), and
other applicable law and policy,
including IM No. 2016–105 Land Use
Planning and National Environmental
Policy Act Compliance within Greater
Sage-Grouse Approved Resource
Management Plans and Plan
Amendments Decision Area.
The planning area comprises
approximately 753,200 acres of land,
which includes 275,100 acres managed
by the BLM’s Shoshone, Burley, and
Upper Snake Field Offices. Based on
this analysis, the Monument
Management Plan (Plan) will be
amended to guide livestock grazing
management on BLM-administered
public lands within the Monument into
the future. Created in 1924 by
Presidential Proclamation 1694, and
expanded in 2000 by Presidential
Proclamation 7373, the Monument is
part of the BLM’s National Conservation
Lands and is one of two BLM National
Monuments that are jointly managed
with the National Park Service.
The BLM has completed the Proposed
Plan Amendment/Final EIS to
determine the appropriate management
for livestock grazing on public lands
within the Monument. The Proposed
Plan Amendment/Final EIS analyzes
grazing management options for the
BLM-managed portions of the
Monument, identifying lands available
for livestock grazing and the number of
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:14 May 25, 2017
Jkt 241001
authorized Animal Unit Months
(AUMs).
The Proposed Plan Amendment/Final
EIS updates the 2007 Plan’s grazing
management direction to ensure
consistency with current laws,
regulations, and policies. More
specifically, the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS evaluates a range
of livestock grazing management
options while maintaining the
Monument values listed in
Proclamation 7373. In addition, the
Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS
addresses a deficiency identified by the
U.S. District Court for the District of
Idaho. In 2011, the court found that the
BLM erred when adopting the 2007
Plan. First, the court found that the BLM
failed to adequately address the most
recent science and agency policies
relevant to the conservation of Greater
sage-grouse. The BLM remedied this
defect by issuing the 2015 Sage-Grouse
Approved Resource Management Plan
Amendment (2015 GRSG ARMPA),
which amended the 2007 Plan. Second,
the court found that the BLM failed to
analyze a range of reasonable
alternatives with respect to livestock
grazing within the Monument. The BLM
is addressing this second error by
preparing the Proposed Plan
Amendment and Final EIS.
The Final EIS includes five
alternatives that provide a range of
livestock grazing availability and
Greater sage-grouse protections.
Alternative C is the BLM’s Proposed
Plan.
Alternative A is the No Action
Alternative, which would continue the
management established in the 2007
Plan. Under this Alternative, 273,900
acres with the capacity for 38,187 AUMs
would be available for livestock grazing.
Alternative B would reduce permitted
AUMs by 75 percent and close five areas
to grazing: Little Park kipuka (an island
of older land surrounded by lava flows),
the North Pasture of Laidlaw Park
Allotment, Larkspur Park kipuka, the
North Pasture of Bowl Crater Allotment,
and Park Field kipuka. This alternative
would adjust two allotment boundaries
and make 21,000 acres unavailable for
livestock grazing for the protection of
Greater sage-grouse and other
Monument values.
Alternative C, the Proposed Plan,
would make 273,600 acres available for
livestock grazing and adjust two
allotment boundaries, which would set
the maximum number of permitted
AUMs at 37,792. Where appropriate,
livestock grazing would be used as a
tool to improve and/or conserve wildlife
habitats. Guidelines for livestock
grazing management would be set based
PO 00000
Frm 00114
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
on vegetation and wildlife habitat
conditions and needs.
Alternative D would eliminate
livestock grazing from BLMadministered lands within the
Monument boundary and adjust two
allotment boundaries. All livestockrelated developments would be
removed. Some fences may be required
to exclude livestock from the Monument
under this alternative.
Alternative E would reduce permitted
AUMs by approximately 50 percent and
close Larkspur Park kipuka to grazing.
This alternative would adjust two
allotment boundaries and make 272,800
acres available for grazing, which would
set the maximum number of permitted
AUMs at 19,338. No net gain in
livestock-related infrastructure would
be allowed.
The land use planning process was
initiated on June 28, 2013, through a
Notice of Intent published in the
Federal Register, notifying the public of
a formal scoping period and soliciting
public participation. The BLM
conducted four scoping meetings in July
2013 in the towns of Arco, Carey,
Rupert, and American Falls, Idaho.
During the scoping period, the public
provided the BLM with input on
relevant issues to consider in the
planning process. Based on this public
input and the agency’s goals and
objectives, the BLM was able to
formulate the five alternatives for
consideration and analysis in the Draft
EIS. Because Area of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACEC)
nominations were previously analyzed
in the 2007 EIS, no new ACEC
nominations were solicited during
scoping.
Comments on the Draft Plan
Amendment/Draft EIS received from the
public and during internal BLM review
were considered and incorporated as
appropriate into the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS. Public
comments resulted in the addition of
clarifying text, but did not significantly
change proposed land use plan
decisions.
Instructions for filing a protest with
the BLM Director regarding the
Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS
may be found in the ‘‘Dear Reader’’
Letter of the Craters of the Moon
National Monument and Preserve
Proposed Plan Amendment/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 by either
regular or overnight mail postmarked by
E:\FR\FM\26MYN1.SGM
26MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 101 / Friday, May 26, 2017 / Notices
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
after the original letter is received. If
you wish to provide the BLM with such
advance notification, please direct
emails to protest@blm.gov.
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.
Timothy M. Murphy,
BLM Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017–10779 Filed 5–25–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK930000.L13100000.PP00000 ]
Renewal of Approved Information
Collection; OMB Control No. 1004–
0196
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has submitted an
information collection request to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to continue the collection of
information from participants in the oil
and gas leasing program within the
National Petroleum Preserve—Alaska
(NPRA). The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) previously approved this
information collection activity, and
assigned it control number 1004–0196.
DATES: The OMB is required to respond
to this information collection request
within 60 days, but may respond after
30 days. For maximum consideration,
written comments should be received
on or before June 26, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments
directly to the Desk Officer for the
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:14 May 25, 2017
Jkt 241001
Department of the Interior (OMB #1004–
0196), Office of Management and
Budget, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, fax 202–395–5806,
or by electronic mail at
OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. Please
provide a copy of your comments to the
BLM. You may do so via mail, fax, or
electronic mail.
Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C
Street NW., Room 2134LM, Attention:
Jean Sonneman, Washington, DC 20240.
Fax: Jean Sonneman at 202–245–
0050.
Electronic mail: jesonnem@blm.gov.
Please indicate ‘‘Attn: 1004–0196’’
regardless of the form of your
comments.
Mr.
Wayne Svejnoha at 907–271–4407.
Persons who use a telecommunication
device for the deaf may call the Federal
Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339, to
leave a message for Mr. Svejnoha. You
may also review the information
collection request online at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3501–3521) and OMB regulations at 5
CFR part 1320 provide that an agency
may not conduct or sponsor a collection
of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Until OMB approves a collection of
information, you are not obligated to
respond. In order to obtain and renew
an OMB control number, Federal
agencies are required to seek public
comment on information collection and
recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR
1320.8(d) and 1320.12(a)).
As required at 5 CFR 1320.8(d), the
BLM published a 60-day notice in the
Federal Register on January 13, 2017
(82 FR 4414), and the comment period
ended March 14, 2017. The BLM
received no comments.
The BLM now requests comments on
the following subjects:
1. Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
functioning of the BLM, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. The accuracy of the BLM’s estimate
of the burden of collecting the
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
3. The quality, utility and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
24389
4. How to minimize the information
collection burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other forms of
information technology.
Please send comments as directed
under ADDRESSES and DATES. Please
refer to OMB control number 1004–0196
in your correspondence. 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 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.
The following information pertains to
this request:
Title: Oil and Gas Leasing: National
Petroleum Reserve—Alaska (43 CFR
part 3130).
OMB Control Number: 1004–0196.
Abstract: In accordance with the
Naval Petroleum Reserve Production
Act (42 U.S.C. 6501–6508) and
regulations at 43 CFR part 3130, the
BLM may authorize participation in an
NPRA unit agreement. Participants in
such an agreement are required to
comply with routine data submissions
that are used to document drilling and
production and ensure compliance with
the unit agreement, lease terms,
regulations, Onshore Oil and Gas
Orders, Notices to Lessees, lease
stipulations, or conditions of approval.
In addition, participants in such an
agreement may apply for reduction of
royalty, suspension of operations or
production, or a subsurface storage
agreement.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Forms: None.
Description of Respondents:
Participants in the oil and gas leasing
program within NPRA.
Estimated Annual Responses
Annually: 21.
Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping and Hour Burden
Annually: 220
Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping and Non-Hour Cost
Burden Annually: None.
The estimated burdens are itemized in
the following table:
E:\FR\FM\26MYN1.SGM
26MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 101 (Friday, May 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24387-24389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10779]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[17XL.LLIDT03100.L17110000.DQ0000.241A00; 4500104491]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Craters of the Moon
National Monument and Preserve Monument Management Plan Amendment and
Final Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance 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) has
prepared a Proposed Monument Management Plan Amendment (Plan Amendment)
and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Craters of the
Moon National Monument and Preserve 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 Plan Amendment/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions
and files a protest must file the protest within 30 days after the date
that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of
availability in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS have been
sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and to
other stakeholders, including the Shoshone-Bannock and Shoshone-Paiute
Tribes. Copies of the Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS are available
for public review at the Shoshone BLM Field Office, 400 West F St.,
Shoshone, Idaho, 83352. Interested persons may also review the Proposed
Plan Amendment/Final EIS online at https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/idaho/craters-of-moon. All
protests must be in
[[Page 24388]]
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: Lisa Cresswell, Planning Team Lead,
telephone (208)732-7200; address 400 West F St., Shoshone, Idaho 83352;
email BLM_ID_CRMO@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact Ms. Cresswell. The FRS is available 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, to leave a message or question with Ms. Cresswell. You
will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM prepared the Craters of the Moon
National Monument and Preserve (hereafter, Monument) Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS in consultation with cooperating agencies, and in
accordance with NEPA, FLPMA, implementing regulations, the BLM's Land
Use Planning Handbook (H-1601-1), the BLM National Environmental Policy
Act Handbook (H-1790-1), and other applicable law and policy, including
IM No. 2016-105 Land Use Planning and National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance within Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management
Plans and Plan Amendments Decision Area.
The planning area comprises approximately 753,200 acres of land,
which includes 275,100 acres managed by the BLM's Shoshone, Burley, and
Upper Snake Field Offices. Based on this analysis, the Monument
Management Plan (Plan) will be amended to guide livestock grazing
management on BLM-administered public lands within the Monument into
the future. Created in 1924 by Presidential Proclamation 1694, and
expanded in 2000 by Presidential Proclamation 7373, the Monument is
part of the BLM's National Conservation Lands and is one of two BLM
National Monuments that are jointly managed with the National Park
Service.
The BLM has completed the Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS to
determine the appropriate management for livestock grazing on public
lands within the Monument. The Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS
analyzes grazing management options for the BLM-managed portions of the
Monument, identifying lands available for livestock grazing and the
number of authorized Animal Unit Months (AUMs).
The Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS updates the 2007 Plan's
grazing management direction to ensure consistency with current laws,
regulations, and policies. More specifically, the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS evaluates a range of livestock grazing management
options while maintaining the Monument values listed in Proclamation
7373. In addition, the Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS addresses a
deficiency identified by the U.S. District Court for the District of
Idaho. In 2011, the court found that the BLM erred when adopting the
2007 Plan. First, the court found that the BLM failed to adequately
address the most recent science and agency policies relevant to the
conservation of Greater sage-grouse. The BLM remedied this defect by
issuing the 2015 Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan
Amendment (2015 GRSG ARMPA), which amended the 2007 Plan. Second, the
court found that the BLM failed to analyze a range of reasonable
alternatives with respect to livestock grazing within the Monument. The
BLM is addressing this second error by preparing the Proposed Plan
Amendment and Final EIS.
The Final EIS includes five alternatives that provide a range of
livestock grazing availability and Greater sage-grouse protections.
Alternative C is the BLM's Proposed Plan.
Alternative A is the No Action Alternative, which would continue
the management established in the 2007 Plan. Under this Alternative,
273,900 acres with the capacity for 38,187 AUMs would be available for
livestock grazing.
Alternative B would reduce permitted AUMs by 75 percent and close
five areas to grazing: Little Park kipuka (an island of older land
surrounded by lava flows), the North Pasture of Laidlaw Park Allotment,
Larkspur Park kipuka, the North Pasture of Bowl Crater Allotment, and
Park Field kipuka. This alternative would adjust two allotment
boundaries and make 21,000 acres unavailable for livestock grazing for
the protection of Greater sage-grouse and other Monument values.
Alternative C, the Proposed Plan, would make 273,600 acres
available for livestock grazing and adjust two allotment boundaries,
which would set the maximum number of permitted AUMs at 37,792. Where
appropriate, livestock grazing would be used as a tool to improve and/
or conserve wildlife habitats. Guidelines for livestock grazing
management would be set based on vegetation and wildlife habitat
conditions and needs.
Alternative D would eliminate livestock grazing from BLM-
administered lands within the Monument boundary and adjust two
allotment boundaries. All livestock-related developments would be
removed. Some fences may be required to exclude livestock from the
Monument under this alternative.
Alternative E would reduce permitted AUMs by approximately 50
percent and close Larkspur Park kipuka to grazing. This alternative
would adjust two allotment boundaries and make 272,800 acres available
for grazing, which would set the maximum number of permitted AUMs at
19,338. No net gain in livestock-related infrastructure would be
allowed.
The land use planning process was initiated on June 28, 2013,
through a Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register, notifying
the public of a formal scoping period and soliciting public
participation. The BLM conducted four scoping meetings in July 2013 in
the towns of Arco, Carey, Rupert, and American Falls, Idaho. During the
scoping period, the public provided the BLM with input on relevant
issues to consider in the planning process. Based on this public input
and the agency's goals and objectives, the BLM was able to formulate
the five alternatives for consideration and analysis in the Draft EIS.
Because Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) nominations were
previously analyzed in the 2007 EIS, no new ACEC nominations were
solicited during scoping.
Comments on the Draft Plan Amendment/Draft EIS received from the
public and during internal BLM review were considered and incorporated
as appropriate into the Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS. Public
comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but did not
significantly change proposed land use plan decisions.
Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM Director regarding
the Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS may be found in the ``Dear
Reader'' Letter of the Craters of the Moon National Monument and
Preserve Proposed Plan Amendment/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 by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by
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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 after the original letter is received. If you wish
to provide the BLM with such advance notification, please direct emails
to protest@blm.gov.
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.
Timothy M. Murphy,
BLM Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-10779 Filed 5-25-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GG-P