Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon/Washington and California and an Associated Environmental Impact Statement, 37901-37904 [2023-12311]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 111 / Friday, June 9, 2023 / Notices
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public view, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority
The Service provides this notice
under section 10(c) of the Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and
its implementing regulations (50 CFR
17.32) and the National Environmental
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1500–1508 and 43 CFR 46).
Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office, Ventura, California.
[FR Doc. 2023–12338 Filed 6–8–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500170655]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource
Management Plan for the CascadeSiskiyou National Monument in
Oregon/Washington and California and
an Associated Environmental Impact
Statement
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA),
Presidential Proclamations entitled
‘‘Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument’’ (June 9, 2000) and
‘‘Boundary Enlargement of the CascadeSiskiyou National Monument’’ (January
12, 2017), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Oregon/Washington
(OR/WA) and California (CA) State
Offices intend to revise a resource
management plan (RMP) with an
associated environmental impact
statement (EIS) for the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument (Monument). With
this notice, the BLM announces the
beginning of a 60-day public scoping
period to solicit public comments and
identify issues, provide the planning
criteria for public review, and issue a
call for nominations for areas of critical
environmental concern (ACECs). This
RMP revision would replace the existing
2008 Monument RMP.
DATES: The BLM requests the public
submit comments concerning the scope
of the analysis, potential alternatives,
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SUMMARY:
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and identification of relevant
information, studies, and ACEC
nominations by August 8, 2023. The
BLM also requests the public submit
comments on the planning criteria by
the same date identified earlier. The
planning criteria will be made available
to the public within the first 30 days of
the 60-day comment period to ensure
the public has at least 30 days to
comment on the planning criteria as
required by the planning regulations at
43 CFR 1610.2(e).
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on issues and planning criteria related
to the Monument RMP and nominations
of new ACECs by any of the following
methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510.
• Mail: ATTN: CSNM RMP Project
Manager, BLM Medford District, 3040
Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2023675/510 and at the BLM
Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle
Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nikki Haskett, Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument RMP Project
Manager; (458) 246–8861, address 3040
Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504; email
blm_csnm_rmp@blm.gov. Contact Ms.
Haskett to have your name added to our
mailing list. 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 Ms. Haskett.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
document provides notice that the BLM
OR/WA and CA State Directors intend
to prepare an RMP with an associated
EIS for the Monument, announces the
beginning of the scoping process, seeks
public input on issues and relevant
planning criteria, and invites the public
to nominate ACECs. The planning area
is in Jackson and Klamath Counties in
Oregon and Siskiyou County in
California and encompasses
approximately 113,500 acres of BLMadministered lands. While most of the
BLM-administered lands are within the
BLM Ashland and Klamath Falls Field
Offices in Oregon, approximately 5,000
acres are located within the BLM
Redding Field Office in California.
In response to Presidential
Proclamation No. 9564 (Boundary
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37901
Enlargement of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument January 12, 2017),
multiple plaintiffs sued the President
and the BLM, claiming that the
monument expansion violated the
Oregon and California Revested Lands
Sustained Yield Management Act of
1937 (the O&C Act). In 2017, two
plaintiffs filed separate suits in the U.S.
District Court for the District of
Columbia. A third plaintiff filed suit in
the District of Oregon. In September
2019, the District of Oregon upheld the
monument expansion, and the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
affirmed the District Court’s judgment in
April 2023. In November 2019, the
District Court for the District of
Columbia held that the monument
expansion violated the O&C Act by
‘‘reserving land governed by the O&C
Act from sustained yield timber
production’’ and held Presidential
Proclamation No. 9564 ‘‘invalid and
unenforceable as applied to land subject
to the O&C Act.’’ The United States has
appealed this decision to the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit. Although the outcome of this
appeal is uncertain, the BLM is
exercising its discretion to initiate
preliminary planning steps with the
understanding that the BLM retains the
ability to modify or terminate any
planning effort in response to the
outcome of the litigation.
Purpose and Need for the RMP
This RMP will provide a management
framework, including goals, objectives,
and management direction, to guide
management of the Monument. The
RMP purposes and needs will frame
issue identification, alternatives
development, and effects analyses. The
following purposes are explicitly
provided in Presidential Proclamations
No. 7318 (Establishment of the CascadeSiskiyou National Monument) and No.
9564, other designating legislation, and/
or have been identified based on key
present and historical Monument
management challenges. Planning for
these purposes will be crucial for
development of an RMP that provides
direction for addressing critical
management challenges. Associated
problems and opportunities that the
RMP will address are also summarized.
1. Protect and/or restore the unique
and varied natural and scientific
resources in the Monument. This
includes Monument objects identified
in the proclamations, including:
a. A landscape of ecological wonder
with unmatched biological diversity
that provides habitat connectivity,
watershed protection, and landscape-
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scale resilience for the area’s critically
important natural resources.
b. The varied and diverse plant
communities that support the diverse,
rare, and endemic wildlife and plant
species that populate them.
c. The intact habitats and undisturbed
corridors that allow for animal
migration and movement.
d. The unique and varied geological
features and landscapes that exist.
e. A landscape that provides
opportunities for scientific and historic
studies and an invaluable resource to
scientists and conservationists wishing
to research and sustain the functioning
of the landscape’s ecosystems into the
future.
Challenges and Opportunities: The
Monument is home to a spectacular
variety of rare species of plants and
animals, whose survival depends upon
its continued ecological integrity.
Ecological integrity refers to the degree
to which an area’s natural ecosystem
processes have either remained intact or
been interrupted through human
intervention. The checkerboard pattern
of ownership within the monument, the
lack of fire due to fire exclusion, and
activities such as timber harvest,
livestock grazing, and road building
have changed natural processes across
the monument landscape. These current
and past activities continue to present
management challenges. Additionally,
recreation and visitor use in the
monument continues to increase.
The Monument’s biodiversity is
internationally recognized and provides
an invaluable resource to scientists.
Evolutionary biologists have identified
this area as a center of endemism and
diversity for springsnails, and
researchers have discovered four new
species of mygalomorph spiders in the
Monument. Scientific research and
monitoring activities play a crucial role
in supporting an adaptive management
approach in the land use planning
process. They contribute to effective and
science-based management decisions
and help us understand the intricate
web of actions and reactions in an
ecosystem as changes are introduced or
disturbances occur.
The BLM will explore various ways of
protecting and restoring the
Monument’s natural and scientific
resources, including the Monument
objects, by identifying acceptable
existing conditions, educating visitors,
setting research priorities, and
providing for public access and
enjoyment where access does not
conflict with the protection of
Monument objects.
2. Protect and or restore the historical
and cultural understanding and
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appreciation related to the Monument,
including Monument objects. These
objects include historic and prehistoric
features on the landscape that provide
traces of the presence of human use in
the Monument, both by Native
American and Euro-American settlers.
Challenges and Opportunities: Public
visitation, permitted activities, and
climate change have the potential to
impact cultural resources, including the
Monument’s historic and prehistoric
features. Management decisions are
needed to clarify how to select and
prioritize protection and restoration of
these features and our understanding of
and appreciation for them.
3. Reduce fire risk to important firesusceptible Monument objects, and
adjacent wildland urban interface lands.
Challenges and Opportunities: The
lack of fire due to fire exclusion and the
checkerboard pattern of ownership
within the Monument continue to
present management challenges. Much
of the planning area has a checkerboard
pattern of ownership of intermixed
private, state, Bureau of Reclamation,
and BLM-administered lands. The
private lands are comprised of rural
residential areas, the small communities
of Greensprings, Lincoln, and Pinehurst,
and private and industrial forests. This
is an area commonly referred to as the
wildland urban interface.
4. Protect a range of habitats that can
be resistant and resilient to large-scale
disturbance such as fire, insects and
disease, invasive species, drought, or
floods, events likely to be exacerbated
by climate change.
Challenges and Opportunities:
Climate change is leading to changes in
disturbance regimes and severities (e.g.,
drought, fire, insects, and disease). For
example, long-term drought has led to
declining stream flows and historically
low reservoir levels, which impacts
aquatic habitats and species that depend
on them. Drought and subsequent insect
damage have caused substantial
mortality in forest stands, increasing
fuel loading, and reducing resilience to
fire.
5. Manage discretionary uses in the
Monument in the context of protecting
Monument objects and values.
Challenges and Opportunities: Public
land uses in the Monument, such as
recreation and livestock grazing, are
important to the economic opportunities
and quality of life of the local
communities surrounding the
Monument. These uses, and others, can
present management challenges for the
BLM. Since designation in 2000,
controversy and disputes have existed
among interested parties regarding
BLM’s discretionary uses, particularly
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because designation as a national
monument requires the BLM to protect
the objects and values within its
boundary. External interests span the
spectrum from supporting a wide
variety of uses and activities to
promoting strong preservation interests.
Establishing management that best
protects the Monument’s objects and
values while considering other
compatible uses is vital in this planning
effort.
Preliminary Alternatives
The BLM will analyze a range of
alternatives that explore and evaluate
different ways of achieving its purposes
and needs. The alternatives will explore
different outcomes to be addressed
through this planning effort to better
understand the trade-offs of different
land management approaches. The BLM
welcomes comments on all preliminary
alternatives, as well as suggestions for
additional alternatives.
Preliminary Planning Criteria
The planning criteria guide the
planning effort and lay the groundwork
for effects analysis by identifying the
preliminary issues and their analytical
frameworks. The BLM has identified
preliminary issues for the planning area
from early engagement conducted for
this planning effort with Federal, State,
and local agencies, Tribal Nations, and
interested participants. The BLM will
provide the planning criteria within the
timeframe identified in DATES earlier.
The planning criteria will be available
for public review and comment at the
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
Summary of Expected Impacts
Consistent with protection of the
Monument’s objects of scientific and
historic interest identified in
Presidential Proclamations No. 7318
and No. 9564, implementation of a new
RMP may impact—either beneficially or
adversely—resources, resource uses,
and special designations within the
Monument, including soils, water,
vegetation, cultural and historic
resources, paleontological resources,
visual resources, recreation, livestock
grazing, social and economic values,
and other human and environmental
resources.
Schedule for the Decision-Making
Process
The BLM will provide additional
opportunities for public participation
consistent with NEPA and BLM land
use planning processes, including a 90day comment period on the Draft RMP/
EIS, then a 30-day public protest period,
as well as a concurrent 60-day
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Governor’s consistency review, on the
Proposed RMP. The Draft RMP/EIS is
anticipated to be ready for public review
in early 2024, and the Proposed RMP/
Final EIS is anticipated to be available
for public protest in fall 2024, with an
approved RMP and Record of Decision
completed in late 2024.
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Public Scoping Process
This Notice of Intent initiates the
scoping period and public review of the
planning criteria, which guide the
development and analysis of the Draft
RMP/EIS. The BLM will hold a total of
four scoping meetings. One scoping
meeting will be held virtually. Three
scoping meetings will be conducted inperson: one in Ashland, Oregon, one in
Greensprings, Oregon, and one in
Klamath Falls, Oregon. Details of all
meetings will be announced once
known. In compliance with Department
of the Interior public health guidelines,
the BLM may need to hold public
meetings in a virtual format if countylevel transmission of COVID–19 is
‘‘high’’ at the time of the public
meetings. In that case, the BLM will
hold four virtual public meetings. The
specific dates and locations of these
scoping meetings will be announced at
least 15 days in advance through local
media, social media, newspapers, and
the ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
The ePlanning website (see
ADDRESSES) also includes, or will
include, background information on the
Monument, an overview of the planning
process, preliminary planning criteria,
and interim management guidance. You
may submit comments on issues,
potential alternatives, relevant
information and analyses, and the
preliminary planning criteria in writing
to the BLM at any public scoping
meeting, or to the BLM using one of the
methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section.
Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern (ACECs)
There are five ACECs within the
Monument: Jenny Creek, Tunnel Creek,
Moon Prairie, Lost Lake, and Old Baldy.
This notice invites the public to
comment on whether to retain the
existing ACECs and whether to
nominate areas on BLM-administered
lands for ACEC consideration. To assist
the BLM in evaluating nominations for
consideration in the Draft RMP/EIS,
please provide supporting descriptive
materials, maps, and evidence of the
relevance and importance of resources
or hazards by the close of the public
scoping period to facilitate timely
evaluation (see DATES and ADDRESSES).
The BLM has identified the anticipated
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issues related to the consideration of
ACECs in the planning criteria.
Tribal Coordination
The Monument planning process will
provide Tribal Nations multiple ways to
engage, including, but not limited to,
through government-to-government
coordination and consultation,
consultation under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108), and
participation as cooperating agencies.
Cooperating Agencies
Federal, State, and local agencies,
along with Tribal Nations, may request
or be asked by the BLM to participate
as cooperating agencies. At this time,
the BLM has identified the following
potential cooperating agencies:
• National Park Service,
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
• NOAA, Fisheries,
• U.S. Geological Survey,
• U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs,
• Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality,
• Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife,
• California Department of Fish and
Wildlife,
• Oregon Department of
Transportation,
• California Department of
Transportation,
• Oregon State Parks and Recreation
Department,
• California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection,
• Klamath County Commissioners,
• Jackson County Commissioners,
• Siskiyou County Board of
Supervisors,
• City of Ashland,
• City of Klamath Falls, and
• All nine affiliated Tribal Nations
that wish to participate.
Responsible Official
The OR/WA and the CA State
Directors are the deciding officials for
this planning effort.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The nature of the decision to be made
will be the State Directors selection of
land use planning decisions for
managing BLM-administered lands
within the Monument that protect the
objects and values identified in
Proclamation 7318 and Proclamation
9564. Uses on the Monument may be
allowed to the extent they are consistent
with Proclamation 7318 and
Proclamation 9564 and the protection of
the objects and values within the
Monument.
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Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary
approach in developing the RMP/EIS to
consider the variety of resource issues
and concerns identified. Specialists
with expertise in various disciplines,
such as cultural resources, Native
American concerns, paleontology,
minerals, lands/access, recreation,
special designations, wildlife, livestock
grazing, soils, water resources,
vegetation, rangeland management,
fisheries, fire management, woodlands/
forestry, socioeconomics, environmental
justice, visual resources, air quality, and
climate change will be involved in the
planning process.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and
consider mitigation to address the
reasonably foreseeable impacts to
resources from the proposed RMP and
all analyzed alternatives and, in
accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(e),
include appropriate mitigation measures
not already included in the proposed
plan or alternatives. Mitigation may
include avoidance, minimization,
rectification, reduction or elimination
over time, and compensation, and may
be considered at multiple scales,
including the landscape scale.
The BLM will coordinate its NEPA
and land use planning processes with
its efforts to ensure compliance with
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
(16 U.S.C. 1536) and Section 106 of the
NHPA, as provided in 36 CFR
800.2(d)(3), including the public
involvement requirements of section
106. Information about historic and
cultural resources and threatened and
endangered species within the area
potentially affected by the proposed
plan will assist the BLM in identifying
and evaluating impacts to such
resources.
The BLM will consult with Tribal
Nations on a government-to-government
basis in accordance with Executive
Order 13175 and applicable
Departmental policies. Tribal concerns,
including impacts on American Indian
trust assets and potential impacts on
cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. The BLM intend to hold
a series of government-to-government
consultation meetings beginning during
the public scoping period. The BLM
will send invitations to interested Tribal
Nations at least 30-days prior to the
meetings. The BLM will provide
additional opportunities for
government-to-government consultation
during the NEPA process.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 111 / Friday, June 9, 2023 / Notices
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: 40 CFR 1501.9 and 43 CFR
1610.2.)
Barry Bushue,
BLM Oregon/Washington State Director.
Karen Mouritsen,
BLM California State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023–12311 Filed 6–8–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–24–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
ALABAMA
National Park Service
Macon County
St. Paul Baptist Church and Armstrong
School, (U.S. Public Health Service
Syphilis Study, Macon County, Alabama
MPS), 14650 Cty. Rd. 2, Tuskegee vicinity,
MP100009106
[NPS–WASO–NRNHL–DTS#–35969;
PPWOCRADI0, PCU00RP14.R50000]
National Register of Historic Places;
Notification of Pending Nominations
and Related Actions
National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The National Park Service is
soliciting electronic comments on the
significance of properties nominated
before May 27, 2023, for listing or
related actions in the National Register
of Historic Places.
DATES: Comments should be submitted
electronically by June 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments are encouraged
to be submitted electronically to
National_Register_Submissions@
nps.gov with the subject line ‘‘Public
Comment on <property or proposed
district name, (County) State>.’’ If you
have no access to email, you may send
them via U.S. Postal Service and all
other carriers to the National Register of
Historic Places, National Park Service,
1849 C Street NW, MS 7228,
Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sherry A. Frear, Chief, National Register
of Historic Places/National Historic
Landmarks Program, 1849 C Street NW,
MS 7228, Washington, DC 20240,
sherry_frear@nps.gov, 202–913–3763.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
properties listed in this notice are being
considered for listing or related actions
in the National Register of Historic
Places. Nominations for their
consideration were received by the
National Park Service before May 27,
2023. Pursuant to section 60.13 of 36
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CFR part 60, comments are being
accepted concerning the significance of
the nominated properties under the
National Register criteria for evaluation.
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.
Nominations submitted by State or
Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Key: State, County, Property Name,
Multiple Name (if applicable), Address/
Boundary, City, Vicinity, Reference
Number.
Jkt 259001
Mobile County
Automobile Alley Historic District (Boundary
Increase), 752–54, 756, 762 St. Louis St.,
Mobile, BC100009107
MARYLAND
Baltimore County
Grey Rock Mansion, 400 Grey Rock Road
(also known as 400 Clifton Court),
Pikesville, SG100009110
MISSOURI
Cape Girardeau County
First Baptist Church, 200 Broadway St., Cape
Girardeau, SG100009100
Linn County
Uptown Theatre, 104 North Main St. U.S.A.
(North Kansas Ave.), Marceline,
SG100009101
St. Louis Independent City
Famous-Barr Warehouse, 3728 Market St., St.
Louis, SG100009099
Golden Valley County
Lavina School Historic District, 214 1st St.
East, Lavina, SG100009087
NEBRASKA
Lancaster County
Speidel Barn, 7800 South 40th St., Lincoln,
SG100009090
NEW YORK
Ontario County
Fairview Cemetery, North side of Mount
Pleasant St. west of North Main St., Naples,
SG100009097
Frm 00059
Cuyahoga County
Empire Junior High School, 9113 Parmelee
Ave., Cleveland, SG100009088
TENNESSEE
Cannon County
Meltons Bank, The, 229 Gassaway Main St.,
Liberty vicinity, SG100009095
Dyer County
Bruce High School, 801 Vernon St.,
Dyersburg, SG100009096
Maury County
Haynes Haven Stock Farm, US 31/Nashville
Hwy. between Northfield and Denning
Lns., Spring Hill, SG100009094
WASHINGTON
Douglas County
45DO1238, (Spiritually Significant Rock
Features of the Southern Columbia Plateau
and Okanogan Highlands MPS), Address
Restricted, Palisades vicinity,
MP100009085
WISCONSIN
Grant County
Rock School and Hanmer Robbins School
Complex, 405 East Main St., Platteville,
SG100009102
Sheboygan County
ADVANCE (schooner) Shipwreck, (Great
Lakes Shipwreck Sites of Wisconsin MPS),
9.5 miles south of the Sheboygan Harbor
entrance, in Lake Michigan, Holland
vicinity, MP100009104
A request for removal has been made
for the following resources:
NEBRASKA
Colfax County
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
& Cemetery, Address Restricted, Schuyler
vicinity, OT82000600
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma County
Goodholm House, 3101 West Gen. Pershing
Blvd., Oklahoma City, OT83002099
Additional documentation has been
received for the following resources:
KANSAS
MONTANA
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OHIO
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Douglas County
University of Kansas East Historic District
(Additional Documentation), Roughly
bounded by Oread and Sunnyside Aves.,
Jayhawk Blvd., Lilac Ln., Pearson Pl.,
Louisiana and West 13th Sts., Lawrence,
AD13001038
MARYLAND
Baltimore Independent City
Market Center (Additional Documentation),
24 blks surrounding the jct. of Howard and
Lexington Sts., Baltimore, AD00000040
Old West Baltimore Historic District
(Additional Documentation), Roughly
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 111 (Friday, June 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37901-37904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12311]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500170655]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon/Washington and California
and an Associated Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA), Presidential Proclamations entitled
``Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument'' (June 9,
2000) and ``Boundary Enlargement of the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument'' (January 12, 2017), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Oregon/Washington (OR/WA) and California (CA) State Offices intend to
revise a resource management plan (RMP) with an associated
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument (Monument). With this notice, the BLM announces the beginning
of a 60-day public scoping period to solicit public comments and
identify issues, provide the planning criteria for public review, and
issue a call for nominations for areas of critical environmental
concern (ACECs). This RMP revision would replace the existing 2008
Monument RMP.
DATES: The BLM requests the public submit comments concerning the scope
of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification of relevant
information, studies, and ACEC nominations by August 8, 2023. The BLM
also requests the public submit comments on the planning criteria by
the same date identified earlier. The planning criteria will be made
available to the public within the first 30 days of the 60-day comment
period to ensure the public has at least 30 days to comment on the
planning criteria as required by the planning regulations at 43 CFR
1610.2(e).
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to the Monument RMP and nominations of new ACECs by any of the
following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510.
Mail: ATTN: CSNM RMP Project Manager, BLM Medford
District, 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510 and at the
BLM Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikki Haskett, Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument RMP Project Manager; (458) 246-8861, address 3040
Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504; email [email protected]. Contact Ms.
Haskett to have your name added to our mailing list. 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 Ms. Haskett.
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
OR/WA and CA State Directors intend to prepare an RMP with an
associated EIS for the Monument, announces the beginning of the scoping
process, seeks public input on issues and relevant planning criteria,
and invites the public to nominate ACECs. The planning area is in
Jackson and Klamath Counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County in
California and encompasses approximately 113,500 acres of BLM-
administered lands. While most of the BLM-administered lands are within
the BLM Ashland and Klamath Falls Field Offices in Oregon,
approximately 5,000 acres are located within the BLM Redding Field
Office in California.
In response to Presidential Proclamation No. 9564 (Boundary
Enlargement of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument January 12,
2017), multiple plaintiffs sued the President and the BLM, claiming
that the monument expansion violated the Oregon and California Revested
Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937 (the O&C Act). In 2017,
two plaintiffs filed separate suits in the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia. A third plaintiff filed suit in the District of
Oregon. In September 2019, the District of Oregon upheld the monument
expansion, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed
the District Court's judgment in April 2023. In November 2019, the
District Court for the District of Columbia held that the monument
expansion violated the O&C Act by ``reserving land governed by the O&C
Act from sustained yield timber production'' and held Presidential
Proclamation No. 9564 ``invalid and unenforceable as applied to land
subject to the O&C Act.'' The United States has appealed this decision
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Although the outcome of this appeal is uncertain, the BLM is exercising
its discretion to initiate preliminary planning steps with the
understanding that the BLM retains the ability to modify or terminate
any planning effort in response to the outcome of the litigation.
Purpose and Need for the RMP
This RMP will provide a management framework, including goals,
objectives, and management direction, to guide management of the
Monument. The RMP purposes and needs will frame issue identification,
alternatives development, and effects analyses. The following purposes
are explicitly provided in Presidential Proclamations No. 7318
(Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument) and No. 9564,
other designating legislation, and/or have been identified based on key
present and historical Monument management challenges. Planning for
these purposes will be crucial for development of an RMP that provides
direction for addressing critical management challenges. Associated
problems and opportunities that the RMP will address are also
summarized.
1. Protect and/or restore the unique and varied natural and
scientific resources in the Monument. This includes Monument objects
identified in the proclamations, including:
a. A landscape of ecological wonder with unmatched biological
diversity that provides habitat connectivity, watershed protection, and
landscape-
[[Page 37902]]
scale resilience for the area's critically important natural resources.
b. The varied and diverse plant communities that support the
diverse, rare, and endemic wildlife and plant species that populate
them.
c. The intact habitats and undisturbed corridors that allow for
animal migration and movement.
d. The unique and varied geological features and landscapes that
exist.
e. A landscape that provides opportunities for scientific and
historic studies and an invaluable resource to scientists and
conservationists wishing to research and sustain the functioning of the
landscape's ecosystems into the future.
Challenges and Opportunities: The Monument is home to a spectacular
variety of rare species of plants and animals, whose survival depends
upon its continued ecological integrity. Ecological integrity refers to
the degree to which an area's natural ecosystem processes have either
remained intact or been interrupted through human intervention. The
checkerboard pattern of ownership within the monument, the lack of fire
due to fire exclusion, and activities such as timber harvest, livestock
grazing, and road building have changed natural processes across the
monument landscape. These current and past activities continue to
present management challenges. Additionally, recreation and visitor use
in the monument continues to increase.
The Monument's biodiversity is internationally recognized and
provides an invaluable resource to scientists. Evolutionary biologists
have identified this area as a center of endemism and diversity for
springsnails, and researchers have discovered four new species of
mygalomorph spiders in the Monument. Scientific research and monitoring
activities play a crucial role in supporting an adaptive management
approach in the land use planning process. They contribute to effective
and science-based management decisions and help us understand the
intricate web of actions and reactions in an ecosystem as changes are
introduced or disturbances occur.
The BLM will explore various ways of protecting and restoring the
Monument's natural and scientific resources, including the Monument
objects, by identifying acceptable existing conditions, educating
visitors, setting research priorities, and providing for public access
and enjoyment where access does not conflict with the protection of
Monument objects.
2. Protect and or restore the historical and cultural understanding
and appreciation related to the Monument, including Monument objects.
These objects include historic and prehistoric features on the
landscape that provide traces of the presence of human use in the
Monument, both by Native American and Euro-American settlers.
Challenges and Opportunities: Public visitation, permitted
activities, and climate change have the potential to impact cultural
resources, including the Monument's historic and prehistoric features.
Management decisions are needed to clarify how to select and prioritize
protection and restoration of these features and our understanding of
and appreciation for them.
3. Reduce fire risk to important fire-susceptible Monument objects,
and adjacent wildland urban interface lands.
Challenges and Opportunities: The lack of fire due to fire
exclusion and the checkerboard pattern of ownership within the Monument
continue to present management challenges. Much of the planning area
has a checkerboard pattern of ownership of intermixed private, state,
Bureau of Reclamation, and BLM-administered lands. The private lands
are comprised of rural residential areas, the small communities of
Greensprings, Lincoln, and Pinehurst, and private and industrial
forests. This is an area commonly referred to as the wildland urban
interface.
4. Protect a range of habitats that can be resistant and resilient
to large-scale disturbance such as fire, insects and disease, invasive
species, drought, or floods, events likely to be exacerbated by climate
change.
Challenges and Opportunities: Climate change is leading to changes
in disturbance regimes and severities (e.g., drought, fire, insects,
and disease). For example, long-term drought has led to declining
stream flows and historically low reservoir levels, which impacts
aquatic habitats and species that depend on them. Drought and
subsequent insect damage have caused substantial mortality in forest
stands, increasing fuel loading, and reducing resilience to fire.
5. Manage discretionary uses in the Monument in the context of
protecting Monument objects and values.
Challenges and Opportunities: Public land uses in the Monument,
such as recreation and livestock grazing, are important to the economic
opportunities and quality of life of the local communities surrounding
the Monument. These uses, and others, can present management challenges
for the BLM. Since designation in 2000, controversy and disputes have
existed among interested parties regarding BLM's discretionary uses,
particularly because designation as a national monument requires the
BLM to protect the objects and values within its boundary. External
interests span the spectrum from supporting a wide variety of uses and
activities to promoting strong preservation interests. Establishing
management that best protects the Monument's objects and values while
considering other compatible uses is vital in this planning effort.
Preliminary Alternatives
The BLM will analyze a range of alternatives that explore and
evaluate different ways of achieving its purposes and needs. The
alternatives will explore different outcomes to be addressed through
this planning effort to better understand the trade-offs of different
land management approaches. The BLM welcomes comments on all
preliminary alternatives, as well as suggestions for additional
alternatives.
Preliminary Planning Criteria
The planning criteria guide the planning effort and lay the
groundwork for effects analysis by identifying the preliminary issues
and their analytical frameworks. The BLM has identified preliminary
issues for the planning area from early engagement conducted for this
planning effort with Federal, State, and local agencies, Tribal
Nations, and interested participants. The BLM will provide the planning
criteria within the timeframe identified in DATES earlier. The planning
criteria will be available for public review and comment at the
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
Summary of Expected Impacts
Consistent with protection of the Monument's objects of scientific
and historic interest identified in Presidential Proclamations No. 7318
and No. 9564, implementation of a new RMP may impact--either
beneficially or adversely--resources, resource uses, and special
designations within the Monument, including soils, water, vegetation,
cultural and historic resources, paleontological resources, visual
resources, recreation, livestock grazing, social and economic values,
and other human and environmental resources.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public
participation consistent with NEPA and BLM land use planning processes,
including a 90-day comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS, then a 30-day
public protest period, as well as a concurrent 60-day
[[Page 37903]]
Governor's consistency review, on the Proposed RMP. The Draft RMP/EIS
is anticipated to be ready for public review in early 2024, and the
Proposed RMP/Final EIS is anticipated to be available for public
protest in fall 2024, with an approved RMP and Record of Decision
completed in late 2024.
Public Scoping Process
This Notice of Intent initiates the scoping period and public
review of the planning criteria, which guide the development and
analysis of the Draft RMP/EIS. The BLM will hold a total of four
scoping meetings. One scoping meeting will be held virtually. Three
scoping meetings will be conducted in-person: one in Ashland, Oregon,
one in Greensprings, Oregon, and one in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Details
of all meetings will be announced once known. In compliance with
Department of the Interior public health guidelines, the BLM may need
to hold public meetings in a virtual format if county-level
transmission of COVID-19 is ``high'' at the time of the public
meetings. In that case, the BLM will hold four virtual public meetings.
The specific dates and locations of these scoping meetings will be
announced at least 15 days in advance through local media, social
media, newspapers, and the ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
The ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES) also includes, or will
include, background information on the Monument, an overview of the
planning process, preliminary planning criteria, and interim management
guidance. You may submit comments on issues, potential alternatives,
relevant information and analyses, and the preliminary planning
criteria in writing to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or to the
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section.
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs)
There are five ACECs within the Monument: Jenny Creek, Tunnel
Creek, Moon Prairie, Lost Lake, and Old Baldy. This notice invites the
public to comment on whether to retain the existing ACECs and whether
to nominate areas on BLM-administered lands for ACEC consideration. To
assist the BLM in evaluating nominations for consideration in the Draft
RMP/EIS, please provide supporting descriptive materials, maps, and
evidence of the relevance and importance of resources or hazards by the
close of the public scoping period to facilitate timely evaluation (see
DATES and ADDRESSES). The BLM has identified the anticipated issues
related to the consideration of ACECs in the planning criteria.
Tribal Coordination
The Monument planning process will provide Tribal Nations multiple
ways to engage, including, but not limited to, through government-to-
government coordination and consultation, consultation under Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C.
306108), and participation as cooperating agencies.
Cooperating Agencies
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Tribal Nations, may
request or be asked by the BLM to participate as cooperating agencies.
At this time, the BLM has identified the following potential
cooperating agencies:
National Park Service,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
NOAA, Fisheries,
U.S. Geological Survey,
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife,
California Department of Fish and Wildlife,
Oregon Department of Transportation,
California Department of Transportation,
Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department,
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,
Klamath County Commissioners,
Jackson County Commissioners,
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors,
City of Ashland,
City of Klamath Falls, and
All nine affiliated Tribal Nations that wish to
participate.
Responsible Official
The OR/WA and the CA State Directors are the deciding officials for
this planning effort.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The nature of the decision to be made will be the State Directors
selection of land use planning decisions for managing BLM-administered
lands within the Monument that protect the objects and values
identified in Proclamation 7318 and Proclamation 9564. Uses on the
Monument may be allowed to the extent they are consistent with
Proclamation 7318 and Proclamation 9564 and the protection of the
objects and values within the Monument.
Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach in developing the
RMP/EIS to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns
identified. Specialists with expertise in various disciplines, such as
cultural resources, Native American concerns, paleontology, minerals,
lands/access, recreation, special designations, wildlife, livestock
grazing, soils, water resources, vegetation, rangeland management,
fisheries, fire management, woodlands/forestry, socioeconomics,
environmental justice, visual resources, air quality, and climate
change will be involved in the planning process.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the proposed RMP
and all analyzed alternatives and, in accordance with 40 CFR
1502.14(e), include appropriate mitigation measures not already
included in the proposed plan or alternatives. Mitigation may include
avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction or elimination over
time, and compensation, and may be considered at multiple scales,
including the landscape scale.
The BLM will coordinate its NEPA and land use planning processes
with its efforts to ensure compliance with section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and Section 106 of the NHPA, as provided
in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including the public involvement requirements of
section 106. Information about historic and cultural resources and
threatened and endangered species within the area potentially affected
by the proposed plan will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating
impacts to such resources.
The BLM will consult with Tribal Nations on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and
applicable Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on
American Indian trust assets and potential impacts on cultural
resources, will be given due consideration. The BLM intend to hold a
series of government-to-government consultation meetings beginning
during the public scoping period. The BLM will send invitations to
interested Tribal Nations at least 30-days prior to the meetings. The
BLM will provide additional opportunities for government-to-government
consultation during the NEPA process.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other
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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: 40 CFR 1501.9 and 43 CFR 1610.2.)
Barry Bushue,
BLM Oregon/Washington State Director.
Karen Mouritsen,
BLM California State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-12311 Filed 6-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-24-P
