Notice of Availability of the Nevada and Northeastern California Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement, 63528-63529 [2018-26703]
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63528
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 236 / Monday, December 10, 2018 / Notices
Amendment/EIS was published, and the
BLM accepted public comments on the
range of alternatives, effects analysis
and Draft RMP Amendment/EIS for 90
days, ending on August 2, 2018. During
the public comment period public
meetings were held in the following
locations in Utah: June 26, 2018, in
Cedar City, Utah; June 27, 2018 in
Vernal, Utah; and June 28, 208, in
Randolph, Utah.
The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS
focused on the following issues:
Sagebrush focal area designation;
disturbance and density caps;
mitigation; modification of habitat
objectives; changes to fluid mineral
leasing waivers, exceptions and
modification criteria; the need for
General Habitat Management Areas;
exceptions to Greater Sage-Grouse
management within non-habitat
portions of Priority Habitat Management
Areas; lek buffers; reversing adaptive
management responses when the BLM
determines that resource conditions no
longer warrant those responses;
prioritization of mineral leasing; land
disposals and exchanges; predation;
burial of transmission lines; decisions
that require analysis of specific
alternatives during implementation;
adjustment of habitat boundaries to
reflect new information; grazing systems
and prioritization of grazing permits;
water developments management in
relation to water rights; travel and
transportation management planning;
and surface coal mining. The Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS evaluated two
alternatives in detail, including the NoAction Alternative and one action
alternative, the Management Alignment
Alternative. Comments on the Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS received from the
public and internal BLM review were
considered and incorporated as
appropriate into the Proposed RMP
Amendment and Final EIS. The NoAction Alternative would retain the
management goals, objectives, and
direction specified in the current RMPs,
as amended in 2015, for each field
office. The Management Alignment
Alternative has been identified as the
BLM’s Preferred Alternative.
Identification of this alternative,
however, does not represent final
agency direction.
Instructions for filing a protest with
the Director of the BLM regarding the
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS
may be found online at https://
www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/filing-a-planprotest 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 or
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:10 Dec 07, 2018
Jkt 247001
submitted electronically through the
BLM ePlanning project website as
described above. Protests submitted
electronically by any means other than
the ePlanning project website protest
section will be invalid unless a protest
is also submitted in hard copy. Protests
submitted by fax will also be invalid
unless also submitted either through
ePlanning project website protest
section or in hard copy.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
protest, please 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 comment 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
Edwin L. Roberson,
BLM Utah State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018–26698 Filed 12–7–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWO200000.Ll
1100000.PH0000.LXSGPL000000.18X.HAG
18–0089]
Notice of Availability of the Nevada
and Northeastern California Greater
Sage-Grouse Proposed Resource
Management Plan Amendment and
Final Environmental Impact Statement
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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 the Nevada and Northeastern
California Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed
Resource Management Plan (RMP)
Amendment and Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for Greater SageGrouse Conservation for the Nevada and
Northeastern California Greater SageGrouse Sub-Region, and by this notice is
announcing its availability and the
opening of a protest period concerning
the Proposed RMP Amendment and
Final EIS.
DATES: The BLM planning regulations
state that any person who meets the
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
conditions as described in the
regulations may protest the BLM’s
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS. A person who meets the conditions
outlined in 43 CFR 1610.5–2 and wishes
to file a protest must do so within 30
days of the date that the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes its Notice
of Availability in the Federal Register.
A protest regarding the Proposed RMP
Amendment announced with this notice
must be filed by January 9, 2019.
ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP
Amendment and Final EIS is available
on the BLM ePlanning project website at
https://goo.gl/uz89cT. Click the
Documents and Report link on the left
side of the screen to find the electronic
version of these materials. Hard copies
of the Proposed RMP Amendment\Final
EIS are available for public inspection at
the BLM Nevada State Office, 1340
Financial Boulevard, Reno, Nevada
89502, and the BLM California State
Office, 2800 Cottage Way # W1623,
Sacramento, California 95825.
All protests must be in writing (43
CFR 1610.5–2(a)(1)) and filed with the
BLM Director, either as a hard copy or
electronically via the BLM’s ePlanning
project website listed previously. To
submit a protest electronically, go to the
ePlanning project website and follow
the protest instructions highlighted at
the top of the home page.
If submitting a protest in hard copy,
it must be mailed to one of the following
addresses:
U.S. Postal Service Mail: BLM
Director (210), Attention: Protest
Coordinator, WO–210, P.O Box 71383,
Washington, DC 20024–1383.
Overnight Delivery: BLM Director
(210), Attention: Protest Coordinator,
WO–210, 20 M Street SE, Room
2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Matthew Magaletti, Sage-Grouse Lead,
telephone, 775–861–6472; address, 1340
Financial Blvd., Reno, Nevada 89502;
email, mmagalet@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 Mr. Magaletti. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with Mr.
Magaletti. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM
prepared the Nevada and Northeastern
California Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed
RMP Amendment and Final EIS to
enhance cooperation with the States by
improving alignment with state
management plans and strategies for
Greater Sage-Grouse, while continuing
to conserve, enhance, and restore
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
10DEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 236 / Monday, December 10, 2018 / Notices
Greater Sage-Grouse and its habitat. The
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS also addresses the issues remanded
to the agency by a March 31, 2017 Order
by the United States District Court for
the District of Nevada, which
determined that the BLM had violated
the NEPA when it finalized the 2015
Nevada plan.
The BLM developed the proposed
land use plan amendment in
collaboration with the Governors’
Offices in Nevada and California, state
wildlife managers, and other concerned
organizations and individuals, largely
through the Western Governors
Association’s Sage-Grouse Task Force.
Using its discretion and authority under
the FLPMA, the BLM proposes
amending land use plans that address
Greater Sage-Grouse management to
improve alignment with State of Nevada
and State of California plans and
management strategies, in accordance
with the BLM’s multiple use and
sustained yield mission.
This Proposed RMP Amendment and
Final EIS is one of six separate planning
efforts that are being undertaken in
response to the Secretary’s Order (SO)
3353 (Greater Sage-grouse Conservation
and Cooperation with Western States)
and in accordance with SO 3349
(American Energy Independence). The
proposed plans refine the previous
management plan adopted in 2015 and
aims to strike a regulatory balance and
build greater trust among neighboring
interests in Western communities. The
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS proposes to amend the RMPs for
field offices on BLM-administered lands
within BLM Nevada and Northeastern
California boundaries. The current
management decisions for resources are
described in the following RMPs:
• Alturas RMP (2008)
• Black Rock Desert-High Rock
Canyon NCA RMP (2004)
• Carson City Consolidated RMP
(2001)
• Eagle Lake RMP (2008)
• Elko RMP (1987)
• Ely RMP (2008)
• Shoshone-Eureka RMP (1986)
• Surprise RMP (2008)
• Tonopah RMP (1997)
• Wells RMP (1985)
• Winnemucca RMP (2015)
The planning area includes
approximately 70.3 million acres of
BLM, National Park Service, United
States Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, State, local, and private
lands located in Nevada and
Northeastern California, in 17 counties:
Churchill, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt,
Lander, Lassen, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral,
Modoc, Nye, Pershing, Plumas, Sierra,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:10 Dec 07, 2018
Jkt 247001
Storey, Washoe, and White Pine. Within
the decision area, the BLM administers
approximately 45.4 million acres of
public lands, providing approximately
20.5 million acres of Greater SageGrouse habitat. Surface management
decisions made as a result of this
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS will apply only to BLM
administered lands in the decision area.
The formal public scoping process for
this RMP Amendment and EIS began on
October 11, 2017, with publication of a
Notice of Intent in the Federal Register
(82 FR 47248) and ended on December
1, 2017. The BLM in Nevada and
Northeastern California held public
scoping meetings in Alturas, California
on November 3, 2017; Reno/Sparks,
Nevada on November 7, 2017; Elko,
Nevada on November 8, 2017; and Ely,
Nevada on November 9, 2017. The
Notice of Availability for the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS was published on May
4, 2018 (83 FR 19800), and the BLM
accepted public comments on the range
of alternatives, effects analysis, and
Draft RMP Amendment/EIS for 90 days,
ending on August 2, 2018. During the
public comment period public meetings
were held in Alturas, California on June
29, 2018; Reno/Sparks, Nevada on June
26, 2018; Elko, Nevada on June 28,
2018; and Ely, Nevada on June 27, 2018.
The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS
focused on the issue of Sagebrush Focal
Area designations, mitigation,
adjustments to habitat management area
designations to reflect new information,
reversing adaptive management
responses when the BLM determines
that resource conditions no longer
warrant those responses (in addition to
addressing updates to the adaptive
management strategy based on best
available science), allocation exception
processes, seasonal timing restrictions,
modifying habitat objectives when best
available science is available, and
through plan clarification: Modifying
lek buffers, requirements for required
design features, and removal and/or
modification to three livestock grazing
management decisions in order to
comply with 43 CFR 4160.1. The Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS evaluated two
alternatives in detail, including the NoAction Alternative and one action
alternative, the Management Alignment
Alternative. Comments on the Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS received from the
public and internal BLM review were
considered and incorporated as
appropriate into the proposed plan
amendment. The No-Action Alternative
would retain the current management
goals, objectives, and direction specified
in the current RMPs, as amended in
2015, for each field office. The
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
63529
Management Alignment Alternative has
been identified as the BLM’s Preferred
Alternative. Identification of this
alternative, however, does not represent
final agency direction.
Instructions for filing a protest with
the Director of the BLM regarding the
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS may be found online at https://
www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/filing-a-planprotest 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 or
submitted electronically through the
BLM ePlanning project website as
described above. Protests submitted
electronically by any means other than
the ePlanning project website protest
section will be invalid unless a protest
is also submitted in hard copy. Protests
submitted by fax will also be invalid
unless also submitted either through
ePlanning project website protest
section or in hard copy.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
protest, please 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 comment 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.
Brian C. Amme,
BLM Nevada Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018–26703 Filed 12–7–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWO200000.18X
L11100000.PH0000.LXSCPL000000]
Notice of Availability of the Idaho
Proposed Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Final Environmental
Impact Statement
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared the Idaho Proposed Resource
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
10DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63528-63529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26703]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWO200000.Ll 1100000.PH0000.LXSGPL000000.18X.HAG 18-0089]
Notice of Availability of the Nevada and Northeastern California
Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and
Final Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 the Nevada and Northeastern California Greater Sage-Grouse
Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Greater Sage-Grouse
Conservation for the Nevada and Northeastern California Greater Sage-
Grouse Sub-Region, and by this notice is announcing its availability
and the opening of a protest period concerning the Proposed RMP
Amendment and Final EIS.
DATES: The BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions
outlined in 43 CFR 1610.5-2 and wishes to file a protest must do so
within 30 days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. A protest
regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment announced with this notice must be
filed by January 9, 2019.
ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS is available on the
BLM ePlanning project website at https://goo.gl/uz89cT. Click the
Documents and Report link on the left side of the screen to find the
electronic version of these materials. Hard copies of the Proposed RMP
Amendment\Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM
Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, Nevada 89502, and
the BLM California State Office, 2800 Cottage Way # W1623, Sacramento,
California 95825.
All protests must be in writing (43 CFR 1610.5-2(a)(1)) and filed
with the BLM Director, either as a hard copy or electronically via the
BLM's ePlanning project website listed previously. To submit a protest
electronically, go to the ePlanning project website and follow the
protest instructions highlighted at the top of the home page.
If submitting a protest in hard copy, it must be mailed to one of
the following addresses:
U.S. Postal Service Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest
Coordinator, WO-210, P.O Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
Overnight Delivery: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest
Coordinator, WO-210, 20 M Street SE, Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Magaletti, Sage-Grouse Lead,
telephone, 775-861-6472; address, 1340 Financial Blvd., Reno, Nevada
89502; 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 Mr. Magaletti. The FRS is available 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with Mr.
Magaletti. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM prepared the Nevada and Northeastern
California Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS to
enhance cooperation with the States by improving alignment with state
management plans and strategies for Greater Sage-Grouse, while
continuing to conserve, enhance, and restore
[[Page 63529]]
Greater Sage-Grouse and its habitat. The Proposed RMP Amendment and
Final EIS also addresses the issues remanded to the agency by a March
31, 2017 Order by the United States District Court for the District of
Nevada, which determined that the BLM had violated the NEPA when it
finalized the 2015 Nevada plan.
The BLM developed the proposed land use plan amendment in
collaboration with the Governors' Offices in Nevada and California,
state wildlife managers, and other concerned organizations and
individuals, largely through the Western Governors Association's Sage-
Grouse Task Force. Using its discretion and authority under the FLPMA,
the BLM proposes amending land use plans that address Greater Sage-
Grouse management to improve alignment with State of Nevada and State
of California plans and management strategies, in accordance with the
BLM's multiple use and sustained yield mission.
This Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS is one of six separate
planning efforts that are being undertaken in response to the
Secretary's Order (SO) 3353 (Greater Sage-grouse Conservation and
Cooperation with Western States) and in accordance with SO 3349
(American Energy Independence). The proposed plans refine the previous
management plan adopted in 2015 and aims to strike a regulatory balance
and build greater trust among neighboring interests in Western
communities. The Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS proposes to amend
the RMPs for field offices on BLM-administered lands within BLM Nevada
and Northeastern California boundaries. The current management
decisions for resources are described in the following RMPs:
Alturas RMP (2008)
Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon NCA RMP (2004)
Carson City Consolidated RMP (2001)
Eagle Lake RMP (2008)
Elko RMP (1987)
Ely RMP (2008)
Shoshone-Eureka RMP (1986)
Surprise RMP (2008)
Tonopah RMP (1997)
Wells RMP (1985)
Winnemucca RMP (2015)
The planning area includes approximately 70.3 million acres of BLM,
National Park Service, United States Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, State, local, and private lands located in Nevada and
Northeastern California, in 17 counties: Churchill, Elko, Eureka,
Humboldt, Lander, Lassen, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Modoc, Nye, Pershing,
Plumas, Sierra, Storey, Washoe, and White Pine. Within the decision
area, the BLM administers approximately 45.4 million acres of public
lands, providing approximately 20.5 million acres of Greater Sage-
Grouse habitat. Surface management decisions made as a result of this
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS will apply only to BLM
administered lands in the decision area.
The formal public scoping process for this RMP Amendment and EIS
began on October 11, 2017, with publication of a Notice of Intent in
the Federal Register (82 FR 47248) and ended on December 1, 2017. The
BLM in Nevada and Northeastern California held public scoping meetings
in Alturas, California on November 3, 2017; Reno/Sparks, Nevada on
November 7, 2017; Elko, Nevada on November 8, 2017; and Ely, Nevada on
November 9, 2017. The Notice of Availability for the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS was published on May 4, 2018 (83 FR 19800), and the BLM
accepted public comments on the range of alternatives, effects
analysis, and Draft RMP Amendment/EIS for 90 days, ending on August 2,
2018. During the public comment period public meetings were held in
Alturas, California on June 29, 2018; Reno/Sparks, Nevada on June 26,
2018; Elko, Nevada on June 28, 2018; and Ely, Nevada on June 27, 2018.
The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS focused on the issue of Sagebrush Focal
Area designations, mitigation, adjustments to habitat management area
designations to reflect new information, reversing adaptive management
responses when the BLM determines that resource conditions no longer
warrant those responses (in addition to addressing updates to the
adaptive management strategy based on best available science),
allocation exception processes, seasonal timing restrictions, modifying
habitat objectives when best available science is available, and
through plan clarification: Modifying lek buffers, requirements for
required design features, and removal and/or modification to three
livestock grazing management decisions in order to comply with 43 CFR
4160.1. The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS evaluated two alternatives in
detail, including the No-Action Alternative and one action alternative,
the Management Alignment Alternative. Comments on the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS received from the public and internal BLM review were
considered and incorporated as appropriate into the proposed plan
amendment. The No-Action Alternative would retain the current
management goals, objectives, and direction specified in the current
RMPs, as amended in 2015, for each field office. The Management
Alignment Alternative has been identified as the BLM's Preferred
Alternative. Identification of this alternative, however, does not
represent final agency direction.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS may be found online
at https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest 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 or submitted electronically through the BLM
ePlanning project website as described above. Protests submitted
electronically by any means other than the ePlanning project website
protest section will be invalid unless a protest is also submitted in
hard copy. Protests submitted by fax will also be invalid unless also
submitted either through ePlanning project website protest section or
in hard copy.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your protest, please 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 comment 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.
Brian C. Amme,
BLM Nevada Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-26703 Filed 12-7-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P
