Notice of Availability of the Draft Bering Sea-Western Interior Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska; Notice of Public Meetings and Subsistence Hearings, 10328 [2019-05291]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 10328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05291]



[[Page 10328]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[19X.LLAK930000 L16100000.PN0000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Bering Sea-Western Interior 
Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska; 
Notice of Public Meetings and Subsistence Hearings

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Anchorage Field Office, 
Anchorage, Alaska, is issuing for public comment the Draft Resource 
Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 
Bering Sea-Western Interior (BSWI) planning area. The BLM is also 
announcing that it will hold public meetings and Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) Section 810 subsistence-
related hearings to receive comments on the BSWI RMP/EIS.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of 
Availability of the Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
announce public meetings and ANILCA Section 810 subsistence-related 
hearings and any other public participation activities at least 15 days 
in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may provide comments by mail, fax, email, or in person. 
Mail comments to: BLM Anchorage Field Office, Attention--BSWI RMP, 4700 
BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507; fax comments to 907-267-1267; email 
comments to BSWI_RMP_COMMENT@blm.gov; or hand-deliver comments during 
normal business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to the BLM Anchorage Field 
Office at 4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507.
    You can review the BSWI RMP/EIS online at BLM Alaska's website at 
www.blm.gov/alaska/BSWI. Copies of the BSWI Draft RMP/EIS are available 
for viewing in the BLM Anchorage Field Office at the above address; the 
BLM Alaska Public Information Center (Public Room) at the Federal 
Building at 222 West 8th Avenue, Anchorage; the Alaska Resources 
Library & Information Services (ARLIS) Library Building at 3211 
Providence Drive, Suite 111, Anchorage; and the Yukon Delta National 
Wildlife Refuge Office at 807 Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel. You may 
also request an electronic or paper copy of the BSWI Draft RMP/EIS by 
contacting Jorjena Barringer, BLM project lead, at 907-267-1246.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jorjena Barringer RMP Project Manager, 
BLM Anchorage Field Office, telephone: 907-267-1246, email: 
BSWI_RMP_COMMENT@blm.gov. People 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: The BSWI Planning Area is located in western 
Alaska and encompasses approximately 62.3 million acres of land, 
including 13.5 million acres managed by the BLM. The planning area 
extends south from the Central Yukon watershed through the Kuskokwim 
River watershed, including all lands west of Denali National Park and 
Preserve to the Bering Sea. The BSWI RMP/EIS does not apply to non-BLM-
managed lands, including lands conveyed through the Alaska Native 
Claims Settlement Act or Alaska Statehood Act; Federal lands 
administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; private lands; or 
Native allotments (including townsite lots).
    This RMP replaces the 1981 Southwest Management Framework Plan and 
a small portion of the 1986 Central Yukon Resource Management Plan, 
including amendments. It provides:
     Consolidated direction to address land and resource use 
and development on BLM-managed lands within the planning area and under 
one RMP, and
     Analysis of the environmental effects that could result 
from the implementation of the alternatives proposed in the BSWI Draft 
RMP/EIS.
    This Draft RMP/EIS evaluates four alternatives for managing the 
planning area. Alternative A, the no action alternative, represents 
existing management described by current land use plans and provides 
the benchmark against which to compare the other alternatives. 
Alternative B emphasizes reducing the potential for competition between 
recreational or developmental uses and subsistence resources by 
identifying key areas for additional management actions. Alternative C, 
which is identified as the preferred alternative, emphasizes adaptive 
management at the planning level to maintain the long-term 
sustainability of resources while providing for multiple resource uses. 
Alternative D provides additional flexibility at the project-specific 
implementation level and fewer management restrictions at the planning 
level. Alternatives B, C, and D were developed using input from the 
public, stakeholders, and cooperating agencies. Major planning issues 
addressed include subsistence resources, including water resources, 
fisheries, and wildlife; forestry; minerals and mining; recreation; 
travel management and access; and areas of critical environmental 
concern.
    Section 810 of ANILCA requires BLM to evaluate the effects of the 
alternatives presented in the Draft EIS on subsistence resources and 
activities, and to hold public hearings if it finds that any 
alternative may significantly restrict subsistence uses. The 
preliminary evaluation of subsistence impacts indicates that each of 
the alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIS and the associated 
cumulative impacts may significantly restrict subsistence uses. 
Therefore, BLM will hold public hearings on subsistence resources and 
activities in conjunction with the Draft EIS public meetings in, or in 
the vicinity of, potentially affected communities.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personally identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personally identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask the BLM in your comment to withhold your personally identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 3120(a); 40 CFR 1506.6(b)

Ted A. Murphy,
Acting State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2019-05291 Filed 3-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P