Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Associated Environmental Assessment for the 1995 Florida Resource Management Plan, 67713-67714 [2022-24467]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67713-67714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24467]



[[Page 67713]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLESJ02400-L16100000-DU0000-223L1109AF]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan 
Amendment and Associated Environmental Assessment for the 1995 Florida 
Resource Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comment.

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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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for the 1995 Florida RMP for the Jupiter Inlet 
Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (ONA). This notice announces a 60-
day comment period on the Draft RMP Amendment, EA, unsigned finding of 
no significant impact (FONSI), and the BLM's proposed area of critical 
environmental concern (ACEC).

DATES: Your comments on the Draft RMP Amendment and EA must be received 
by the BLM by January 9, 2023 or 15 calendar days after the last public 
meeting, whichever is later.
    Your comments on the BLM's proposed ACEC must be received by the 
BLM by January 9, 2023.
    The BLM will be holding two public meetings on the following dates 
at the following locations:
     November 29, 2022 6 p.m. EST, Virtual via Zoom. 
Registration is required. To register in advance for this webinar, 
visit: https://blm.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_g28o8mgJQu61-NUSkeTLLw.
     December 15, 2022 6 p.m. EST, Virtual via Zoom. 
Registration is required. To register in advance for this webinar, 
visit: https://blm.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_bpCJIDWnQCS5HcQyytVVUQ.

ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP Amendment and EA, including information about 
the proposed ACEC, are available for review on the BLM ePlanning 
project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2002316/510.
    Written comments related to the Draft RMP Amendment, EA or ACEC 
proposal for the 1995 Florida RMP may be submitted by any of the 
following methods:
     Florida RMP Amendment ePlanning Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2002316/510;
     Mail: Program Manager, Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse 
Outstanding Natural Area, Bureau of Land Management, 600 State Road 
707, Unit B, Jupiter, Florida 33469; or
     Email: [email protected].
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Jupiter 
Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter DeWitt, Program Manager; 
telephone: (561) 295-5955; address: Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse 
Outstanding Natural Area, Bureau of Land Management, 600 State Road 
707, Unit B, Jupiter, Florida 33469; email: [email protected]. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting 
Mr. DeWitt's last name. Individuals outside the United States should 
use the relay services offered within their country to make 
international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
Eastern States State Director has prepared a Draft RMP Amendment and EA 
and is announcing the comment period on the Draft RMP Amendment and EA, 
including BLM's proposed ACEC. The RMP amendment would change the 
existing 1995 Florida RMP.
    The planning area is located in Palm Beach County, Florida, and 
encompasses approximately 126 acres of public land.
    The BLM has prepared the Draft RMP Amendment for the Jupiter Inlet 
Lighthouse ONA and associated EA to evaluate management strategies for 
resources, resource uses, and special designations within the Jupiter 
Inlet Lighthouse ONA. The Draft Florida RMP Amendment for the Jupiter 
Inlet Lighthouse ONA will determine management for approximately 120 
acres of BLM-administered surface land (Lots 15, 17, 19, and 22); lands 
expected to be returned to the BLM when the United States Coast Guard 
relinquishes its withdrawal (Lots 16 and 21); land patented to the Town 
of Jupiter that, if ever returned, would fall under the jurisdiction of 
the BLM (Lot 20); and a 1.08-acre easement granted to the BLM by the 
State of Florida.
    The BLM, as directed by the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 
2008 (CNRA), manages the ONA in coordination with local partners to 
protect, preserve, and enhance the unique and nationally important 
historical, natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, and 
recreational values at the ONA, with an emphasis on restoring native 
ecological systems. Issues considered in the Draft Florida RMP 
Amendment and EA are conserving and protecting ONA resources and 
objects or values including special status species, native ecosystems, 
visual and scenic values; maintaining ONA values and settings; and 
managing for sustainable recreation, visitor growth, and visitor 
enjoyment. The Draft Florida RMP Amendment and EA also considers 
decisions regarding a special recreation management area (SRMA) and 
associated recreation management zones (RMZs), land use authorizations, 
and an ACEC.
    The formal public scoping process for the Draft Florida RMP 
Amendment and EA began January 21, 2022, with the publication of a 
Notice of Intent in the Federal Register (87 FR 3328). The BLM held one 
virtual scoping meeting on February 9, 2022. The BLM used scoping 
comments to help identify planning issues and frame the scope of 
analysis in the Draft Florida RMP Amendment and EA. The BLM also used 
the scoping process to introduce the public to the planning criteria 
and preliminary alternatives to obtain feedback on the alternatives and 
the analysis strategy.

Purpose and Need

    The BLM is seeking to amend the 1995 Florida RMP to provide 
guidance for the legislatively mandated uses and protections of the 
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse ONA. The need for the amendment is to update 
special designations and provide land use planning-level direction for 
recreation programs and land within the ONA that the BLM acquired after 
designation that reflects the evolving long-term management needs for 
protection, conservation, and enhancement of the unique and nationally 
important values of the site consistent with the ONA's designating 
language (CNRA) and Resource Management Planning regulations at 43 CFR 
1610. The purpose of the amendment is to establish management direction 
for BLM-administered land and resources, as described below.
    Land Management: The purpose for the action includes considering 
the availability of land within the ONA for land use authorizations, 
such as commercial leases, and establishing management direction for 
land within the ONA that the BLM acquired after the

[[Page 67714]]

U.S. Coast Guard completed a withdrawal relinquishment to the BLM.
    Recreation Management: The purpose for the action includes 
providing for recreation opportunities in a manner that is consistent 
with the ONA's designating language by exploring the establishment of a 
recreation management area, RMZs, and an area suitable for an 
Interpretive/Visitor Center.
    ACEC: The purpose for the action includes determining whether 
special management attention provided under an ACEC designation is 
warranted for these areas in light of the congressional designation of 
the ONA.

Alternatives Including the Preferred Alternative

    The BLM has analyzed three alternatives in detail, including the No 
Action Alternative (Alternative A) and two action alternatives 
(Alternatives B and C). Alternative A continues existing management in 
the planning area, as reflected in decisions from the 1995 Florida RMP. 
However, Alternative A does not reflect management direction in the 
CNRA and does not include decisions for all areas that are currently 
managed by the BLM. Under Alternative A, Lot 15 would remain designated 
as the Jupiter Inlet tract ACEC (51.1 acres) and Lots 15 and 20 would 
be available for conveyance under the Recreation and Public Purposes 
Act or available for cooperative management with other government and/
or private organizations. Alternative B focuses on updating the 
management objective to include conservation and consideration of the 
seven core resources and values for which the ONA was designated. In 
addition, Alternative B would remove the ACEC designation from Lot 15, 
designate an SRMA and associated RMZs, allow lands acquired to be 
managed in the same way as adjacent lands, manage temporary land use 
authorizations, and disallow long-term leasing of the site. Alternative 
C would expand the Jupiter Inlet tract ACEC to 87.5 acres, limit 
temporary land use authorizations, and allow long-term leasing. Similar 
to Alternative B, Alternative C would also set a management objective 
to include conservation and consideration of the seven core resources 
and values for which the ONA was designated and designate an SRMA and 
associated RMZs. The BLM did not identify any additional alternatives 
needing consideration.
    The State Director has identified Alternative B as the preferred 
alternative. Alternative B was found to best meet the State Director's 
planning guidance and, therefore, was selected as the preferred 
alternative because it provides a balanced management approach that 
meets the intent of the CNRA by addressing public access, recreation, 
and visitor services, while providing equitable opportunities for the 
appropriate use of the ONA. In addition, an ACEC designation is not 
necessary or appropriate because management attention provided under 
the congressional designation is adequate to protect the resources and 
values.

ACECs

    The preferred alternative would not propose the following potential 
ACECs for designation:
     the existing Jupiter Inlet tract ACEC in Lot 15 (51.1 
acres)
     the expanded Jupiter Inlet tract ACEC to encompass Lots 
15, 16, 17, and 19 (87.5 acres).
    Comments may be submitted using any of the methods listed in the 
ADDRESSES section earlier.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation consistent with the NEPA and land use planning processes, 
including a 30-day public protest period and a 60-day Governor's 
consistency review on the Proposed RMP Amendment. The Proposed RMP 
Amendment and EA is anticipated to be available for public protest in 
March 2023 with an Approved RMP Amendment and Decision Record in June 
2023.
    See the DATES section for the dates and locations of scheduled 
meetings. The date(s) and location(s) of any additional meetings will 
be announced at least 15 days in advance through local news media, 
newspapers, social media channels, and the BLM website at: www.blm.gov/JupiterONA, and the ePlanning project page at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2002316/510.
    The BLM will continue to consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a 
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 
13175, BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, 
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to 
cultural resources, will be given due consideration. Consultation will 
continue on an individual basis with interested Tribal Nations.
    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.

(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.7-2)

Mitchell Leverette,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-24467 Filed 11-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P