Notice of Availability of the Draft Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas Joint Environmental Impact Statement/Bureau of Land Management Resource Management Plan and Bureau of Indian Affairs Integrated Resource Management Plan, 58283-58285 [2018-25130]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 223 / Monday, November 19, 2018 / Notices
ADDRESSES section. Comments,
including names and street addresses of
respondents, will be available for public
review at the BLM Southern Nevada
District Office, during regular business
hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday, except Federal 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 ask to withhold your
personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Notice is hereby given that an
opportunity for a public meeting may be
afforded in connection with the
proposed withdrawal extension. All
interested persons who desire a public
meeting for the purpose of being heard
on the withdrawal extension application
must submit a written request to the
BLM District Manager, Southern Nevada
District Office at the address in the
ADDRESSES section, by February 19,
2019. If the authorized officer
determines that a public meeting will be
held, a notice of the date, time, and
place will be published in the Federal
Register, local newspapers, and posted
on the BLM website at: https://
www.blm.gov/media/press-releases at
least 30 days before the scheduled date
of the meeting.
The withdrawal extension application
will be processed in accordance with
the regulations set forth in 43 CFR
2310.4.
Brian C. Amme,
Acting Nevada State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018–25163 Filed 11–16–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Indian Affairs
khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
[LLNM004400. L16100000.DO0000.
LXSSG0690000 18XL1109AF]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas Joint
Environmental Impact Statement/
Bureau of Land Management Resource
Management Plan and Bureau of
Indian Affairs Integrated Resource
Management Plan
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior; and Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:20 Nov 16, 2018
Jkt 247001
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) have prepared a
Draft Joint Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS)/BLM Draft Resource
Management Plan (RMP) and BIA
Integrated Resource Management Plan
(IRMP) for the BLM Oklahoma Field
Office, BIA Southern Plains Region, and
BIA Eastern Oklahoma Region, and by
this Notice is announcing the opening of
the public comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM and BIA must
receive written comments on the Draft
Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP
within 90-days of the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability for
the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA
IRMP in the Federal Register. The BLM
and BIA will announce future public
meetings, hearings, or other public
participation activities at least 15 days
in advance, through public notices,
media releases, and/or direct mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP
and BIA IRMP through either of the
following methods:
• Project Website: https://
www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/plans-in-development/newmexico/oklahoma-rmp.
• Email: BLM_NM_OKT_RMP@
blm.gov.
• Fax: 405–579–7101, Attn.: Mr.
Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead.
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
Oklahoma Field Office, Attn.: Patrick
Rich, RMP Team Lead, 201 Stephenson
Parkway, Suite 1200, Norman,
Oklahoma 73072.
• Mail: BIA Eastern Oklahoma
Regional Office, Attn.: RMP Comments,
P.O. Box 8002, Muskogee, Oklahoma
74402–4600.
• Mail: BIA Southern plains Regional
Office, Attn.: RMP Comments, P.O. Box
368, Anadarko, Oklahoma 73005–0368.
Copies of the Draft Joint EIS/BLM
RMP and BIA IRMP are available from
the BLM and the BIA at the following
locations:
• BLM Oklahoma Field Office, 201
Stephenson Parkway, Suite 1200,
Norman, Oklahoma 73072
• BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional
Office, 3100 Peak Blvd., Muskogee,
Oklahoma 74401
• BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional
Office, 100 Riverside Drive,
Anadarko, Oklahoma 73005
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
58283
• BLM New Mexico State Office, 301
Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico
87508
The Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and
BIA IRMP background documents are
available on the ePlanning website at:
https://www.blm.gov/programs/
planning-and-nepa/plans-indevelopment/new-mexico/oklahomarmp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead;
telephone: 405–579–7154; address: 201
Stephenson Parkway, Suite 1200,
Norman, Oklahoma 73072; or email:
prich@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 the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS 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: In the
Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA
IRMP, the BLM and BIA analyze the
environmental consequences of four
alternatives under consideration for
managing Federal lands and minerals
within the Oklahoma-Kansas-Texas
planning area. The BLM Oklahoma
Field Office administers approximately
15,100 acres of public lands, including
approximately 11,800 acres at the Cross
Bar Management Area near Amarillo,
Texas; about 3,300 acres of small tracts
scattered across the planning area; and
Federal lands along the 116-mile stretch
of the Red River between the North Fork
of the Red River and the 98th Meridian
(Red River area). No exact acreages of
Federal lands along the Red River are
available at this time, because the full
116-mile stretch of land has not been
surveyed. The Oklahoma Field Office
also administers approximately
4,810,900 acres of subsurface Federal
mineral estate across the planning area,
including approximately 3,991,100
acres underlying surface estate managed
by other Federal agencies, such as U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest
Service, and National Park Service, and
approximately 408,000 acres of splitestate, where Federal minerals underlie
private surface estate. The RMP only
pertains to Federal lands and has no
effect on the boundary of the Federal
lands.
The BIA decision area includes
approximately 394,200 surface acres
and 2,033,500 mineral estate acres for
the BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional
Office. Approximately 1,474,500 acres
of the BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional
Office jurisdictional area is limited to
E:\FR\FM\19NON1.SGM
19NON1
khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
58284
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 223 / Monday, November 19, 2018 / Notices
coal or other minerals in Osage County.
The BIA decision area also includes
approximately 457,500 surface acres
and 632,000 mineral estate acres for the
BIA Southern Plains Regional Office.
This includes lands and mineral estate
in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and
Richardson County, Nebraska.
The BLM is the lead agency in
developing the land use plan, while the
BIA is a co-lead partner in this joint,
integrated planning effort. The Draft
Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP
provides a land use plan that will
replace the BLM’s current 1994
Oklahoma RMP, the 1991 Kansas RMP,
and the 1996 Texas RMP, as amended.
RMP revision and consolidation is
necessary due to the numerous changes,
including renewable energy, recreation,
special status species, visual resources,
and wildlife habitat that have occurred
across the BLM Oklahoma Field Office
planning area since publication. New
resource data are available for
consideration, and new policies,
guidelines, and laws have been
established.
Land use planning and NEPA
regulations require the BLM and BIA to
formulate a reasonable range of
alternatives to consider different
management scenarios and different
means of addressing resource or
resource-use conflicts. Established
planning criteria, as outlined in 43 CFR
part 1610, guide the alternativesdevelopment process. This pursuit
provides the BLM, BIA, and the public
with an understanding of the various
ways in which challenges associated
with resources and resource uses might
be resolved. This draft land use plan
offers the BLM State Director for New
Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas;
the BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional
Director; and the BIA Southern Plains
Regional Director a reasonable range of
alternatives from which to make
informed decisions. The four
alternatives analyzed in the Draft Joint
EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP are
generally described as follows:
• Alternative A (No Action) is a
continuation of existing land use
management actions under the current
Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas RMPs and
associated amendments;
• Alternative B (Agency Preferred)
represents a balanced mix of land use
management actions intended to
address current and future land use
management issues, including
provisions for energy development,
recreational opportunities, and
conservation of natural resources;
• Alternative C represents land use
management strategies intended
primarily to preserve and protect
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:20 Nov 16, 2018
Jkt 247001
ecosystem health and resource values
across the planning area; and
• Alternative D represents land use
management strategies intended
primarily to develop resources and
promote economic development across
the decision area, such as livestock
grazing, energy and mineral
development, and recreation.
The BLM is considering areas of
critical environmental concern (ACEC)
during this planning process, and has
proposed one ACEC in the Draft RMP to
protect certain resource values.
Pertinent information regarding this
ACEC, including proposed designation
acreage, resource-use limitations, if
designated, and the alternatives affected
are summarized below.
Cross Bar Management Area ACEC:
Alternative C proposes a 10,500-acre
ACEC for the Cross Bar Management
Area. This ACEC would be managed to
protect important biological, cultural,
scenic, and historic resources that meet
the criteria for relevance and
importance. The resource use
limitations which would occur if this
ACEC is formally designated are as
follows:
• Closed to off-highway vehicle use
and mechanized travel, except for the
main access road and administrative
use;
• Non-mechanized trail use limited to
designated trails;
• No surface occupancy stipulation
for fluid minerals development;
• Closed to mineral material disposal
and non-energy leasable mineral
development;
• Managed as a right-of-way
exclusion zone;
• Visual resources would be managed
as visual resource management class II
and III (camping areas);
• Vegetation management would
emphasize high-priority habitats
identified in state wildlife action plans;
• Maintain cover for wildlife and
migratory birds;
• Reduce impacts on paleontological
resources from ground disturbance and
access; and
• Available for livestock grazing.
The land use planning process was
initiated on July 26, 2013, through a
Notice of Intent published in the
Federal Register (78 FR 45266),
notifying the public of a formal scoping
period.
Seventy-two cooperating agencies
expressed interest in collaborating with
the BLM and BIA during the NEPA
process, and the following agencies
signed a formal cooperating agency
agreement:
1. Adair County Commissioners, OK
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2. Barton County Commissioners, KS
3. Bureau of Reclamation NebraskaKansas Area Office
4. Brazos River Authority
5. Caddo County Commissioners, OK
6. Choctaw County Commissioners, OK
7. Citizen Potawatomi Nation
8. Clay County, TX
9. Cleveland County Commissioners,
OK
10. Coal County Commissioners, OK
11. Cotton County Commissioners, OK
12. Creek County Commissioners, OK
13. Denton County Commissioners, TX
14. Douglas County Commissioners, KS
15. Hamilton County Commissioners,
KS
16. Hughes County Commissioners, KS
17. Kansas Corporation Commission
18. Kansas Water Office
19. Latimer County Commissioners, OK
20. Lincoln County Commissioners, OK
21. Love County Commissioners, OK
22. Marion County Commissioners, TX
23. Montague County Commissioners,
TX
24. Moore County Commissioners, TX
25. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation
26. Scurry County Commissioners, TX
27. Wichita County, TX
28. Kansas Corporation Commission
29. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Region 2
30. Board of Regents of the University
of Oklahoma by and through the
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
31. Young County Commissioners, TX
32. Sequoyah County Commissioners,
OK
33. Sumner County Commissioners, KS
34. Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma
35. Red River Authority of Texas
36. Muscogee (Creek) Nation
37. Texas State Soil and Water
Conservation Board
38. Texas General Land Office
39. Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement MidContinent Region
40. Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality
41. Oklahoma Department of Mines
42. Okfuskee County Commissioners,
OK
43. Oklahoma Geologic Survey
44. Osage Nation
45. Payne County Commissioners, OK
46. Pontotoc County Commissioners,
OK
47. Pushmataha County Commissioners,
OK
48. Tulsa County Commissioners, OK
49. Collin County Commissioners Court
50. Natural Resources Conservation
Service Meade Service Center
51. LeFlore County Commissioners, OK
52. United States Environmental
Protection Agency Region 6
E:\FR\FM\19NON1.SGM
19NON1
khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 223 / Monday, November 19, 2018 / Notices
53. Wilbarger County, TX
54. Murray County Commissioner,
District 2
55. National Forest and Grasslands of
Texas
56. Johnson County, KS
57. Texas Railroad Commission
58. United States Army Corps of
Engineers, Fort Worth
59. Cooke County Commissioners, TX
60. Cherokee Nation
61. Cherokee County Commissioners,
KS
62. Jackson County Commissioners, KS
63. McConnell Air Force Base
64. Altus Air Force Base
65. Vance Air Force Base
66. The Kansas Natural Resource
Coalition
67. Tinker Air Force Base
68. Dyess Air Force Base
69. Goodfellow Air Force Base
70. Joint Base San Antonio, TX
71. Laughlin Air Force Base
72. Sheppard Air Force Base
The BLM and BIA held 17 scoping
meetings between November 2013 and
January 2014, throughout Kansas,
Oklahoma, and Texas, with
stakeholders, interest groups, and the
public.
During the scoping period, the public
provided the BLM Oklahoma Field
Office with input on relevant issues to
consider in the planning process.
Additional information was collected
during three additional workshops, one
each in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas
with the public and cooperating
agencies. Based on these issues,
conflicts, information, and the BLM and
BIA goals and objectives for this
planning effort, the BLM–BIA
Interdisciplinary Team formulated
action alternatives for consideration and
analysis in the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP
and BIA IRMP. Following the close of
the public comment period, the BLM
and BIA will use any substantive public
comments to revise the Draft Joint EIS/
BLM RMP and BIA IRMP in preparation
for its release to the public as the
Proposed Resource Management Plan
and Final Environmental Impact
Statement (Proposed RMP/Final EIS).
The BLM and BIA will respond to each
substantive comment received during
the public review and comment period
by making appropriate revisions to the
document, or by explaining why the
comment did not warrant a change.
Notice of the Availability of the
Proposed RMP/Final EIS will be
published in the Federal Register.
Please note that public comments and
other submitted information, including
names, street addresses, and email
addresses of persons submitting
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:20 Nov 16, 2018
Jkt 247001
comments will be available for public
review and disclosure by using one of
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this notice during regular
business hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except
holidays. To be included in the analysis,
all comments must be received before
the close of the 90-day public comment
period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, and/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 in your comment
that we 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.
Aden L. Seidlitz,
Acting BLM New Mexico State Director.
Eddie Streater,
BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Director.
James Schock,
BIA Southern Plains Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2018–25130 Filed 11–16–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[18XL1109AF LLUT030000
L17110000.PN0000 241A]
Call for Nominations for the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National
Monument Advisory Committee, Utah
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The purpose of this Notice is
to request public nominations for 15
members to the Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument Advisory
Committee (GSENM MAC). The GSENM
MAC provides information and advice
regarding the development and
implementation of management plans
for the Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits,
and Escalante Canyons Units and, as
appropriate, management of the
Monument. The Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument (GSENM)
will accept public nominations for 30
days from the date this Notice is posted.
DATES: A completed application and
accompanying nomination/
recommendation letters must be
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
58285
received at the address listed below no
later than December 19, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument Headquarters
Office, 669 South Highway 89A, Kanab,
Utah 84741, Attention: MAC
Nominations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Larry Crutchfield, Public Affairs Officer,
GSENM Headquarters Office, 669 South
Highway 89A, Kanab, Utah 84741;
phone (435) 644–1209, or email:
lcrutchf@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Secretary of the Interior established the
GSENM MAC pursuant to section 309 of
the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1739) and Presidential
Proclamation 9682 in conformity with
the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA) of 1972 (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2).
The 15 appointed members of the
GSENM MAC perform several primary
tasks: (1) Provide information and
advice on the development of
management plans for the Grand
Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante
Canyons Units and, as appropriate,
management of the Monument; (2)
Assist BLM in developing
recommendations for implementation of
ecosystem approaches to management
by advising BLM in establishing goals
and objectives within the Monument;
(3) Advise BLM regarding ongoing local
efforts to develop and achieve
collaborative approaches to
management of the Monument; (4)
Consult and make recommendations on
issues such as protocols for specific
projects; e.g., vegetation restoration
methods and treatments, livestock
grazing, standards for excavation and
curation of artifacts and objects; (5)
Advise BLM on opportunities to
enhance and expand existing
partnerships and volunteer efforts; (6)
Advise BLM on opportunities to
enhance and expand existing
educational outreach efforts; (7) Provide
recommendations for implementation of
Secretary’s Order 3347: Conservation
Stewardship and Outdoor Recreation,
and Secretary’s Order 3356: Hunting,
Fishing, Recreational Shooting, and
Wildlife Conservation Opportunities
and Coordination with States, Tribes,
and Territories; (8) Provide
recommendations for implementation of
the regulatory reform initiatives and
policies specified in section 2 of
Executive Order 13777: Reducing
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory
Costs; Executive Order 12866:
Regulatory Planning and Review, as
amended; and section 6 of Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
E:\FR\FM\19NON1.SGM
19NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 223 (Monday, November 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58283-58285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25130]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[LLNM004400. L16100000.DO0000. LXSSG0690000 18XL1109AF]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas
Joint Environmental Impact Statement/Bureau of Land Management Resource
Management Plan and Bureau of Indian Affairs Integrated Resource
Management Plan
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior; and Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) have prepared a Draft Joint Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS)/BLM Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and BIA
Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) for the BLM Oklahoma Field
Office, BIA Southern Plains Region, and BIA Eastern Oklahoma Region,
and by this Notice is announcing the opening of the public comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM and BIA must
receive written comments on the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP
within 90-days of the date the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability for the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP
and BIA IRMP in the Federal Register. The BLM and BIA will announce
future public meetings, hearings, or other public participation
activities at least 15 days in advance, through public notices, media
releases, and/or direct mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Joint EIS/BLM
RMP and BIA IRMP through either of the following methods:
Project Website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/new-mexico/oklahoma-rmp.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 405-579-7101, Attn.: Mr. Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead.
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Oklahoma Field Office,
Attn.: Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead, 201 Stephenson Parkway, Suite 1200,
Norman, Oklahoma 73072.
Mail: BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, Attn.: RMP
Comments, P.O. Box 8002, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74402-4600.
Mail: BIA Southern plains Regional Office, Attn.: RMP
Comments, P.O. Box 368, Anadarko, Oklahoma 73005-0368.
Copies of the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP are available
from the BLM and the BIA at the following locations:
BLM Oklahoma Field Office, 201 Stephenson Parkway, Suite 1200,
Norman, Oklahoma 73072
BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, 3100 Peak Blvd.,
Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401
BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, 100 Riverside Drive,
Anadarko, Oklahoma 73005
BLM New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, New
Mexico 87508
The Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP background documents are
available on the ePlanning website at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/new-mexico/oklahoma-rmp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead;
telephone: 405-579-7154; address: 201 Stephenson Parkway, Suite 1200,
Norman, Oklahoma 73072; or email: [email protected]. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS 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: In the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP,
the BLM and BIA analyze the environmental consequences of four
alternatives under consideration for managing Federal lands and
minerals within the Oklahoma-Kansas-Texas planning area. The BLM
Oklahoma Field Office administers approximately 15,100 acres of public
lands, including approximately 11,800 acres at the Cross Bar Management
Area near Amarillo, Texas; about 3,300 acres of small tracts scattered
across the planning area; and Federal lands along the 116-mile stretch
of the Red River between the North Fork of the Red River and the 98th
Meridian (Red River area). No exact acreages of Federal lands along the
Red River are available at this time, because the full 116-mile stretch
of land has not been surveyed. The Oklahoma Field Office also
administers approximately 4,810,900 acres of subsurface Federal mineral
estate across the planning area, including approximately 3,991,100
acres underlying surface estate managed by other Federal agencies, such
as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and National
Park Service, and approximately 408,000 acres of split-estate, where
Federal minerals underlie private surface estate. The RMP only pertains
to Federal lands and has no effect on the boundary of the Federal
lands.
The BIA decision area includes approximately 394,200 surface acres
and 2,033,500 mineral estate acres for the BIA Eastern Oklahoma
Regional Office. Approximately 1,474,500 acres of the BIA Eastern
Oklahoma Regional Office jurisdictional area is limited to
[[Page 58284]]
coal or other minerals in Osage County. The BIA decision area also
includes approximately 457,500 surface acres and 632,000 mineral estate
acres for the BIA Southern Plains Regional Office. This includes lands
and mineral estate in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Richardson County,
Nebraska.
The BLM is the lead agency in developing the land use plan, while
the BIA is a co-lead partner in this joint, integrated planning effort.
The Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP provides a land use plan that
will replace the BLM's current 1994 Oklahoma RMP, the 1991 Kansas RMP,
and the 1996 Texas RMP, as amended. RMP revision and consolidation is
necessary due to the numerous changes, including renewable energy,
recreation, special status species, visual resources, and wildlife
habitat that have occurred across the BLM Oklahoma Field Office
planning area since publication. New resource data are available for
consideration, and new policies, guidelines, and laws have been
established.
Land use planning and NEPA regulations require the BLM and BIA to
formulate a reasonable range of alternatives to consider different
management scenarios and different means of addressing resource or
resource-use conflicts. Established planning criteria, as outlined in
43 CFR part 1610, guide the alternatives-development process. This
pursuit provides the BLM, BIA, and the public with an understanding of
the various ways in which challenges associated with resources and
resource uses might be resolved. This draft land use plan offers the
BLM State Director for New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas; the BIA
Eastern Oklahoma Regional Director; and the BIA Southern Plains
Regional Director a reasonable range of alternatives from which to make
informed decisions. The four alternatives analyzed in the Draft Joint
EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP are generally described as follows:
Alternative A (No Action) is a continuation of existing
land use management actions under the current Kansas, Oklahoma, and
Texas RMPs and associated amendments;
Alternative B (Agency Preferred) represents a balanced mix
of land use management actions intended to address current and future
land use management issues, including provisions for energy
development, recreational opportunities, and conservation of natural
resources;
Alternative C represents land use management strategies
intended primarily to preserve and protect ecosystem health and
resource values across the planning area; and
Alternative D represents land use management strategies
intended primarily to develop resources and promote economic
development across the decision area, such as livestock grazing, energy
and mineral development, and recreation.
The BLM is considering areas of critical environmental concern
(ACEC) during this planning process, and has proposed one ACEC in the
Draft RMP to protect certain resource values. Pertinent information
regarding this ACEC, including proposed designation acreage, resource-
use limitations, if designated, and the alternatives affected are
summarized below.
Cross Bar Management Area ACEC: Alternative C proposes a 10,500-
acre ACEC for the Cross Bar Management Area. This ACEC would be managed
to protect important biological, cultural, scenic, and historic
resources that meet the criteria for relevance and importance. The
resource use limitations which would occur if this ACEC is formally
designated are as follows:
Closed to off-highway vehicle use and mechanized travel,
except for the main access road and administrative use;
Non-mechanized trail use limited to designated trails;
No surface occupancy stipulation for fluid minerals
development;
Closed to mineral material disposal and non-energy
leasable mineral development;
Managed as a right-of-way exclusion zone;
Visual resources would be managed as visual resource
management class II and III (camping areas);
Vegetation management would emphasize high-priority
habitats identified in state wildlife action plans;
Maintain cover for wildlife and migratory birds;
Reduce impacts on paleontological resources from ground
disturbance and access; and
Available for livestock grazing.
The land use planning process was initiated on July 26, 2013,
through a Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register (78 FR
45266), notifying the public of a formal scoping period.
Seventy-two cooperating agencies expressed interest in
collaborating with the BLM and BIA during the NEPA process, and the
following agencies signed a formal cooperating agency agreement:
1. Adair County Commissioners, OK
2. Barton County Commissioners, KS
3. Bureau of Reclamation Nebraska-Kansas Area Office
4. Brazos River Authority
5. Caddo County Commissioners, OK
6. Choctaw County Commissioners, OK
7. Citizen Potawatomi Nation
8. Clay County, TX
9. Cleveland County Commissioners, OK
10. Coal County Commissioners, OK
11. Cotton County Commissioners, OK
12. Creek County Commissioners, OK
13. Denton County Commissioners, TX
14. Douglas County Commissioners, KS
15. Hamilton County Commissioners, KS
16. Hughes County Commissioners, KS
17. Kansas Corporation Commission
18. Kansas Water Office
19. Latimer County Commissioners, OK
20. Lincoln County Commissioners, OK
21. Love County Commissioners, OK
22. Marion County Commissioners, TX
23. Montague County Commissioners, TX
24. Moore County Commissioners, TX
25. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
26. Scurry County Commissioners, TX
27. Wichita County, TX
28. Kansas Corporation Commission
29. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2
30. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma by and through the
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
31. Young County Commissioners, TX
32. Sequoyah County Commissioners, OK
33. Sumner County Commissioners, KS
34. Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma
35. Red River Authority of Texas
36. Muscogee (Creek) Nation
37. Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
38. Texas General Land Office
39. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Mid-Continent
Region
40. Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
41. Oklahoma Department of Mines
42. Okfuskee County Commissioners, OK
43. Oklahoma Geologic Survey
44. Osage Nation
45. Payne County Commissioners, OK
46. Pontotoc County Commissioners, OK
47. Pushmataha County Commissioners, OK
48. Tulsa County Commissioners, OK
49. Collin County Commissioners Court
50. Natural Resources Conservation Service Meade Service Center
51. LeFlore County Commissioners, OK
52. United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 6
[[Page 58285]]
53. Wilbarger County, TX
54. Murray County Commissioner, District 2
55. National Forest and Grasslands of Texas
56. Johnson County, KS
57. Texas Railroad Commission
58. United States Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth
59. Cooke County Commissioners, TX
60. Cherokee Nation
61. Cherokee County Commissioners, KS
62. Jackson County Commissioners, KS
63. McConnell Air Force Base
64. Altus Air Force Base
65. Vance Air Force Base
66. The Kansas Natural Resource Coalition
67. Tinker Air Force Base
68. Dyess Air Force Base
69. Goodfellow Air Force Base
70. Joint Base San Antonio, TX
71. Laughlin Air Force Base
72. Sheppard Air Force Base
The BLM and BIA held 17 scoping meetings between November 2013 and
January 2014, throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, with
stakeholders, interest groups, and the public.
During the scoping period, the public provided the BLM Oklahoma
Field Office with input on relevant issues to consider in the planning
process. Additional information was collected during three additional
workshops, one each in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas with the public and
cooperating agencies. Based on these issues, conflicts, information,
and the BLM and BIA goals and objectives for this planning effort, the
BLM-BIA Interdisciplinary Team formulated action alternatives for
consideration and analysis in the Draft Joint EIS/BLM RMP and BIA IRMP.
Following the close of the public comment period, the BLM and BIA will
use any substantive public comments to revise the Draft Joint EIS/BLM
RMP and BIA IRMP in preparation for its release to the public as the
Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact
Statement (Proposed RMP/Final EIS). The BLM and BIA will respond to
each substantive comment received during the public review and comment
period by making appropriate revisions to the document, or by
explaining why the comment did not warrant a change. Notice of the
Availability of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS will be published in the
Federal Register.
Please note that public comments and other submitted information,
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons
submitting comments will be available for public review and disclosure
by using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be included in the analysis, all comments
must be received before the close of the 90-day public comment period
or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is later.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, and/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 in your comment that we 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.
Aden L. Seidlitz,
Acting BLM New Mexico State Director.
Eddie Streater,
BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Director.
James Schock,
BIA Southern Plains Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-25130 Filed 11-16-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P
