Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and an Associated Environmental Impact Statement, New Mexico, 40846-40849 [2023-13233]
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40846
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 119 / Thursday, June 22, 2023 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNML00000.L16100000.DP0000.
234L1109AF]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource
Management Plan for the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument and an Associated
Environmental Impact Statement, New
Mexico
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In compliance 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) New Mexico
State Director intends to develop a
Resource Management Plan (RMP) with
an associated Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument (Monument) and by this
notice is announcing the beginning of
the scoping period to solicit public
comments and identify issues, is
providing the planning criteria for
public review, and is issuing a call for
nominations for areas of critical
environmental concern (ACECs). The
Mimbres RMP currently provides for
BLM management in this new planning
area. The RMP revision would replace
the existing Mimbres RMP within the
now-established National Monument.
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 July 24, 2023. To afford
the BLM the opportunity to consider
issues ACEC nominations raised by
commenters in Draft RMP/EIS, please
ensure your comments are received
prior to the close of the 30-day scoping
period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on issues and planning criteria related
to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument Resource
Management Plan and nominations of
new ACECs by any of the following
methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/92170/.
• Email: blm_nm_lcdo_comments@
blm.gov.
• Mail: BLM Las Cruces District
Office, Attention: Mara Weisenberger,
1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM
88005.
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SUMMARY:
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Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/92170/510 and at the Las Cruces
District Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
BLM RMP/EIS Team Lead Mara
Weisenberger, telephone: 575–525–
4358; address: 1800 Marquess Street,
Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88005; email:
mweisenberger@blm.gov. Contact Mara
Weisenberger 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. Weisenberger.
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
New Mexico State Director intends to
prepare an RMP with an associated EIS
for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument, announces the
beginning of the scoping process, seeks
public input on issues and planning
criteria, and invites the public to
nominate ACECs. The planning area is
located in Don˜a Ana and Luna counties,
New Mexico, and encompasses
approximately 573,613 of public land.
The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument RMP would replace
the existing Mimbres RMP for this new
planning area.
Purpose and Need for the RMP
In determining the suite of
management actions necessary to
protect, restore, and enhance the
Monument for the benefit of all
Americans, this RMP responds to four
important sources of overarching
requirements and guidance:
(1) Presidential Proclamation 9131 of
May 21, 2014, which created the
Monument and identified the objects of
scientific and historic interest for
protection, restoration, and
enhancement. The Proclamation
identified six primary resources, objects,
and values: visual resources, cultural
resources, geological resources,
paleontological resources, educational
values, and scientific values. The
Proclamation also provided that the use
of motorized vehicles in the Monument
would be allowed only on roads and
trails designated for use by motorized
vehicles under the Monument’s RMP.
Existing rights-of-way will continue to
be authorized, and other rights-of-way
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will be authorized only if they are
necessary for the care and management
of the six resources, objects, and values.
All Federal lands and interests within
the boundaries of the Monument are
withdrawn from all forms of entry,
location, selection, sale, leasing, or other
disposition.
(2) Section 2002 of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009,
which established the National
Landscape Conservation System, of
which the Monument is a unit, ‘‘in
order to conserve, protect, and restore
nationally significant landscapes.’’ This
section also provides that the BLM
manage these lands ‘‘in a manner that
protects the values for which the
components of the system were
designated.’’
(3) The Federal Land Policy and
Management Act, which directs the
BLM to develop land use plans to
manage the public lands and resources
to allow for multiple uses while
assuring the sustained yield, diversity,
and productivity of those lands for
present and future generations. Section
302 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act provides that the BLM
is to manage public lands under the
principles of multiple use and sustained
yield, ‘‘except that where a tract of such
public land has been dedicated to
specific uses according to any other
provision of law it shall be managed in
accordance with such law.’’ This tract of
public land has been designated as a
national monument and is part of the
National Conservation Lands network
managed by the BLM.
(4) The 2019 John D. Dingell, Jr.
Conservation, Management, and
Recreation Act (Pub. L. 116–9)
designated ten new wilderness areas in
the Monument encompassing
approximately 241,554 acres of
wilderness. The ten wilderness areas
include the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness
Area, Broad Canyon Wilderness Area,
Cinder Cone Wilderness Area, East
Potrillo Mountains Wilderness Area,
Organ Mountains Wilderness Area,
Robledo Mountains Wilderness Area,
Sierra de las Uvas Wilderness Area,
Potrillo Mountains Wilderness Area,
Whitethorn Wilderness Area, and the
Mount Riley Wilderness Area. Public
Law 116–9 imposed additional
requirements for land acquisitions,
while the Wilderness Act itself provides
additional requirements on how these
wilderness areas are managed.
The Federal Land Policy and
Management Act and Presidential
Proclamation 9131 establish the need
for this action within the Monument.
The Federal Land Policy and
Management Act requires the BLM to
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develop RMPs that provide for the use
of public lands. The Proclamation
specifies that the BLM ‘‘shall prepare
and maintain a management plan for the
Monument and shall provide for
maximum public involvement in the
development of that plan including, but
not limited to, consultation with Tribal,
State, and local governments.’’ The BLM
does not currently manage the
Monument under a monument-specific
RMP; the area encompassing the
Monument is currently managed under
the 1993 Mimbres RMP. However, that
RMP does not address changes that have
occurred since 1993, nor does it account
for expected future changes.
The purpose of this plan is to protect,
restore, and enhance the objects of
scientific and historic interest in the
Monument identified in Presidential
Proclamation 9131, while respecting
legal existing and traditional uses. The
plan should also maintain and enhance
recreational opportunities and other
uses of the Monument through
allocations, education, and
interpretation.
The RMP will also safeguard Tribal
treaty rights, and will, as provided for
in the Proclamation, ‘‘in consultation
with Indian tribes, ensure the protection
of religious and cultural sites in the
monument and provide access to the
sites by members of Indian tribes for
traditional cultural and customary uses,
consistent with the American Indian
Religious Freedom Act (92 stat. 496, 42
U.S.C. 1996) and Executive Order 13007
of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites).’’
The RMP will respond to continued
urban growth and increased tourism in
the Las Cruces metropolitan area,
changes in recreational uses in the
Monument units, designation of new
wilderness areas in the Monument,
imposition of additional requirements
for land acquisitions under Public Law
116–9, new scientific information, and
the effects of climate change and
livestock grazing.
Continued Urban Growth and Increased
Tourism
The purpose of the action includes
responding to continuing urban growth
and increased tourism in the Las Cruces
metropolitan area, which has increased
the need for public land to
accommodate many forms of
recreational activities. The population
in the Las Cruces metropolitan area
increased from 101,759 in 2016 to
217,696 in 2020, and this trend is
expected to continue. The number of
visits to the Monument increased from
190,934 in 2014 to 662,445 in 2021.
Additionally, there are several
communities within the Monument that
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have grown over the past several years
and need continued and/or upgraded
services such as broadband and utilities.
Tribal members are important users of
the Monument and use the Monument
for traditional and ceremonial purposes.
A new management plan must consider
and respond to the needs of all users.
Changes in Recreational Uses
The purpose of the action includes
responding to changes in recreational
uses in the Monument units,
particularly after the Monument’s
designation in May 2014. For example,
there is a growing network of all-terrain
and other vehicle trails radiating out
from the City of Las Cruces, the Mesilla
Valley, and the Village of Hatch,
particularly in the Don˜a Ana Mountains
unit. Additionally, the Don˜a Ana
Mountains ACEC is classified as Visual
Resource Management Class I in the
1993 Mimbres RMP, and the volume of
increased recreational use is an issue
that needs to be explored. There are
several recreational activities that are
popular but possibly degrading to
resources, such as bouldering and rock
climbing, off-highway vehicle use,
recreational shooting, and mountain
biking. This may require that some areas
within the Monument be considered for
special designations, such as a special
recreation management area.
Additionally, popular recreation areas
within the Monument include
Kilbourne Hole, Dripping Springs
Natural Area, Aguirre Spring Recreation
Area, Soledad Canyon Day Use Area,
Sierra Vista National Recreation Trail,
Don˜a Ana Mountains unit, and the
Organ Mountains Wilderness. As the
demand for recreation increases in the
Monument, there is a need to improve
access and connectivity to other lessused areas to reduce pressure on these
popular recreation areas. Education and
interpretation may also be needed to
reduce user conflicts, educate about
sensitive resources and traditional uses,
and create a culture of preservation
among recreationists.
Designation of New Wilderness Areas
Under Public Law 116–9
The purpose of the action includes
responding to the designation of new
wilderness areas in the Monument and
imposition of additional requirements
for land acquisitions under Public Law
116–9. The Wilderness Act of 1964
(Pub. L. 88–577) provides for the
establishment of wilderness areas
(designated by Congress) that are
administered for the use and enjoyment
of the American people in such a
manner that leaves them unimpaired for
future use and enjoyment as wilderness.
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BLM Manual 6340 provides the BLM
with guidance for the management of
designated wilderness areas. Public Law
116–9 designated ten new wilderness
areas in the Monument encompassing
approximately 241,554 acres of
wilderness. Public Law 116–9 also
requires that any land or interest in land
acquired by the BLM within the
boundary of a wilderness area must
become part of the wilderness area and
be managed in accordance with the
Wilderness Act, the provisions of Public
Law 116–9 1201, and any other
applicable laws.
New Scientific Information
The purpose of the action includes
responding to new scientific
information about the Monument. Since
1993, several studies have been
completed that provide the BLM with
new and updated data regarding the
Monument, enabling the BLM to make
better informed management decisions
and improve practices. These include a
2017 visual resources inventory, 2017
visitor satisfaction survey, 2018
recreation focus group study, 2019
lichen and biological crust diversity
studies, 2019/2020 U.S. Geological
Survey watershed study and inventory
of soil and water resources, 2016–2021
paleontological inventories, 2021
Analysis of Management Situation, and
ongoing Tribal consultation, wilderness
inventories, and an air emissions
inventory.
Effects of Climate Change and Livestock
Grazing
The purpose of the action includes
responding to the effects of climate
change and loss of grassland habitat,
increased wildfire frequency, and
livestock grazing’s interaction with
ecosystem functionality. Many of the
perennial grasslands in the Monument
have already been converted to
shrublands. Climate change is expected
to further impact grassland habitat in
the Monument by making it more
difficult for grass species to reestablish
during the growing season. This will
also cause shrubs and other nonnative
species to establish, which reduces or
completely inhibits the chances of
native grass species to reestablish in that
area.
Preliminary Alternatives
The BLM will be analyzing
alternatives that explore and evaluate
different ways of achieving the purpose
and need listed above. The alternatives
will explore different outcomes to be
addressed during this planning effort to
understand the trade-offs of different
land management approaches. In
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addition to the No Action Alternative,
the BLM will develop three action
alternatives to analyze in detail.
Alternative A is the No Action
Alternative; it would continue current
management direction and prevailing
conditions derived from existing
planning decisions. Alternative B would
emphasize the greatest protections and
conservation by maintaining or
enhancing habitat. It would provide
opportunities for recreation and travel
with the most restrictions. Alternative C
is similar to Alternative B but would
emphasize the protection of resilient
and intact landscapes while allowing for
discretionary uses in identified
management areas with fewer
restrictions than Alternative B.
Alternative D would have the fewest
restrictions on recreation and travel
management, while maintaining
ecological function and meeting land
capability to protect Monument
resources, objects, and values. The BLM
welcomes comments on all preliminary
alternatives as well as suggestions for
additional alternatives.
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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. Preliminary issues for the
planning area have been identified by
BLM personnel and from early
engagement conducted for this planning
effort with Federal, State, and local
agencies; Tribes; and stakeholders. The
BLM has identified sixteen preliminary
issues for this planning effort’s analysis.
The planning criteria are available for
public review and comment at the
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
Summary of Expected Impacts
Consistent with protection of the
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument objects identified in
Proclamation 9131, implementation of a
new RMP may impact, either
beneficially or adversely, resources and
uses within the Monument, including
visual resources, cultural resources,
geological resources, paleontological
resources, educational and scientific
values, and other human and
environmental resources. The
Proclamation also provided that the use
of motorized vehicles in the Monument
will be allowed only on roads and trails
designated for use by motorized
vehicles under the Monument’s RMP.
Existing rights-of-way will continue to
be authorized, and other rights-of-way
will be authorized only if they are
necessary for the care and management
of the Monument’s resources, objects,
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and values. All Federal lands and
interests within the boundaries of the
Monument are withdrawn from all
forms of entry, location, selection, sale,
leasing, or other disposition.
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 90-day
comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS,
and a concurrent 30-day public protest
period and 60-day Governor’s
consistency review on the Proposed
RMP. The Draft RMP/EIS is anticipated
to be available for public review in the
Fall of 2023 and the Proposed RMP/
Final EIS is anticipated to be available
for public protest of the Proposed RMP
in the spring of 2024 with an Approved
RMP and Record of Decision expected
in the summer of 2024.
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the
scoping period and public review of the
planning criteria, which guides the
development and analysis of the Draft
RMP/EIS.
The BLM will be holding a total of six
scoping meetings. All six scoping
meetings will be conducted in-person:
two in Las Cruces, one each in Anthony,
Hatch, and Deming, New Mexico, and
East El Paso, Texas. 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. The specific date(s) and
location(s) of these meetings and any
additional scoping meetings will be
announced at least 15 days in advance
through the local newspapers and radio
stations, social media, and the
ePlanning website: https://eplanning.
blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/
510.
The ePlanning website https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/92170/510 also includes, or will
include background information on
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument, a planning process
overview, 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.
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ACECs
The following ACECs are currently
designated in the planning area: the
Organ/Franklin Mountains ACEC
(54,817 acres), Robledo Mountains
ACEC (7,829 acres), and Don˜a Ana
Mountains ACEC (1,427 acres).
Information about each existing ACEC,
including the size, relevant and
important values, and other helpful
information is available in the December
2021 Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument Analysis of the
Management Situation or on the
project’s website in the ADDRESSES
section. The BLM will reevaluate
existing designated ACECs in the Draft
RMP/EIS to determine if relevant and
important values still exist.
This notice invites the public to
nominate additional areas 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
comment period in order 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.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
Federal, State, and local agencies,
along with federally recognized Tribal
Nations, may request or be asked by the
BLM to participate as a cooperating
agency. At this time the BLM has
identified the following potential
cooperating agencies: City of Las Cruces;
Don˜a Ana County; Don˜a Ana Soil and
Water Conservation District; Deming
Soil and Water Conservation District;
Department of Defense Fort Bliss;
Department of Defense White Sands
Missile Range; New Mexico Department
of Agriculture; New Mexico Department
of Game and Fish; New Mexico State
Land Office; Natural Resources
Conservation Service New Mexico,
South Area; National Park Service,
White Sands National Park; and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, San Andres
National Wildlife Refuge. Thirteen
federally recognized Tribes with
interests in the Organ Mountains-Desert
Peaks National Monument were invited
to participate as a cooperating agency in
addition to the formal government-togovernment consultation that will
occur.
Responsible Official
The New Mexico State Director is the
deciding official for this planning effort.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 119 / Thursday, June 22, 2023 / Notices
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The nature of the decision to be made
will be the State Director’s selection of
land use planning decisions for
managing BLM-administered lands
under the principles of multiple use and
sustained yield in a manner that best
addresses the purpose and need.
Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary
approach to develop the plan in order
to consider the variety of resource issues
and concerns identified. Specialists
with expertise in the following
disciplines will be involved in this
planning effort: vegetation, lands and
realty, renewable energy, wildlife fire
ecology and management, wilderness,
wildlife and special status species,
public health and safety, geology and
minerals, paleontology, water resources,
recreation, transportation, visual
resources, rangeland management,
cultural resources, tribal resources,
soils, sociology, and economics.
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Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and
consider mitigation to address the
reasonably foreseeable impacts to
resources from the proposed plan and
all analyzed reasonable 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; it may be
considered at multiple scales, including
the landscape scale.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate
the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning effort to help
support compliance with applicable
procedural requirements under the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C.
1536) and section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C.
306108) as provided in 36 CFR
800.2(d)(3), including public
involvement requirements of Section
106. The 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 Indian
Tribal Nations on a government-togovernment 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
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consideration. Federal, State, and local
agencies, along with Indian Tribal
Nations and other stakeholders that may
be interested in or affected by the
proposed Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument RMP that the BLM
is evaluating, are invited to participate
in the scoping process and, if eligible,
may request or, be requested by the
BLM to participate in the development
of the environmental analysis as a
cooperating agency.
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: 40 CFR 1501.9 and 43 CFR
1610.2)
Sheila Hutcherson,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023–13233 Filed 6–21–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–23–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0036058;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S.
Department of the Interior, Fish and
Wildlife Service, Stillwater National
Wildlife Refuge, Fallon, NV
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
In accordance with the Native
American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S.
Department of Interior, Fish and
Wildlife Service, Stillwater National
Wildlife Refuge has completed an
inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects and has
determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the human remains
and associated funerary objects and
Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations in this notice. The human
remains and associated funerary objects
were removed from Churchill County,
NV.
DATES: Repatriation of the human
remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice may occur on or after July
24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Carl Lunderstadt, Refuge
Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
SUMMARY:
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40849
Service, Stillwater National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, 1020 New River
Parkway, Suite 305, Fallon, NV 89406,
telephone (775) 423–5128, email carl_
lunderstadt@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice is published as part of the
National Park Service’s administrative
responsibilities under NAGPRA. The
determinations in this notice are the
sole responsibility of the Stillwater
National Wildlife Refuge. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Additional information on the
determinations in this notice, including
the results of consultation, can be found
in the inventory or related records held
by the Stillwater National Wildlife
Refuge.
Description
A detailed assessment of the human
remains was made by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Nevada
State Museum, Carson City, professional
staff in consultation with
representatives of the Paiute-Shoshone
Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and
Colony, Nevada.
Between April 1985 and September
1990, the United States Department of
Interior (DOI), Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS), removed 141 individuals and
1,325 funerary objects that had eroded
from 53 archeological sites within
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR), Churchill County, NV. The
removal of human remains was
conducted by archeologists from the
Nevada State Museum, University of
Louisville, and Stillwater NWR under
permit, contract, or authority of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. The human
remains were removed and transferred
to the Nevada State Museum, and then
interred in a vault on Stillwater NWR
under the authority of the 1987
Memorandum of Understanding on
Human Remains among the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Nevada State
Historic Preservation Office, and the
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon
Reservation and Colony, Nevada. The
following paragraphs present a site-bysite description of the human remains
and associated funerary objects. The
archeological sites and human remains
listed below date between 3000 and 300
years BP.
Between 1985 and 1987, human
remains representing, at minimum, five
individuals were removed from
26CH910 (L–20) in Stillwater Marsh at
Stillwater NWR, Churchill County, NV.
The 266 associated funerary objects
include 262 faunal elements, two bone
tools, one flaked stone tool, and one
shell.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 119 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40846-40849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13233]
[[Page 40846]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNML00000.L16100000.DP0000.234L1109AF]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and an Associated
Environmental Impact Statement, New Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance 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) New Mexico
State Director intends to develop a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with
an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (Monument) and by this notice
is announcing the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public
comments and identify issues, is providing the planning criteria for
public review, and is issuing a call for nominations for areas of
critical environmental concern (ACECs). The Mimbres RMP currently
provides for BLM management in this new planning area. The RMP revision
would replace the existing Mimbres RMP within the now-established
National Monument.
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 July 24, 2023. To afford
the BLM the opportunity to consider issues ACEC nominations raised by
commenters in Draft RMP/EIS, please ensure your comments are received
prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days after the
last public meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Resource
Management Plan and nominations of new ACECs by any of the following
methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/.
Email: blm_nm_lcdo_comme[email protected].
Mail: BLM Las Cruces District Office, Attention: Mara
Weisenberger, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510 and at the Las
Cruces District Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: BLM RMP/EIS Team Lead Mara
Weisenberger, telephone: 575-525-4358; address: 1800 Marquess Street,
Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88005; email: [email protected]. Contact
Mara Weisenberger 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. Weisenberger. 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
New Mexico State Director intends to prepare an RMP with an associated
EIS for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, announces
the beginning of the scoping process, seeks public input on issues and
planning criteria, and invites the public to nominate ACECs. The
planning area is located in Do[ntilde]a Ana and Luna counties, New
Mexico, and encompasses approximately 573,613 of public land. The Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument RMP would replace the existing
Mimbres RMP for this new planning area.
Purpose and Need for the RMP
In determining the suite of management actions necessary to
protect, restore, and enhance the Monument for the benefit of all
Americans, this RMP responds to four important sources of overarching
requirements and guidance:
(1) Presidential Proclamation 9131 of May 21, 2014, which created
the Monument and identified the objects of scientific and historic
interest for protection, restoration, and enhancement. The Proclamation
identified six primary resources, objects, and values: visual
resources, cultural resources, geological resources, paleontological
resources, educational values, and scientific values. The Proclamation
also provided that the use of motorized vehicles in the Monument would
be allowed only on roads and trails designated for use by motorized
vehicles under the Monument's RMP. Existing rights-of-way will continue
to be authorized, and other rights-of-way will be authorized only if
they are necessary for the care and management of the six resources,
objects, and values. All Federal lands and interests within the
boundaries of the Monument are withdrawn from all forms of entry,
location, selection, sale, leasing, or other disposition.
(2) Section 2002 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009,
which established the National Landscape Conservation System, of which
the Monument is a unit, ``in order to conserve, protect, and restore
nationally significant landscapes.'' This section also provides that
the BLM manage these lands ``in a manner that protects the values for
which the components of the system were designated.''
(3) The Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which directs the
BLM to develop land use plans to manage the public lands and resources
to allow for multiple uses while assuring the sustained yield,
diversity, and productivity of those lands for present and future
generations. Section 302 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
provides that the BLM is to manage public lands under the principles of
multiple use and sustained yield, ``except that where a tract of such
public land has been dedicated to specific uses according to any other
provision of law it shall be managed in accordance with such law.''
This tract of public land has been designated as a national monument
and is part of the National Conservation Lands network managed by the
BLM.
(4) The 2019 John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and
Recreation Act (Pub. L. 116-9) designated ten new wilderness areas in
the Monument encompassing approximately 241,554 acres of wilderness.
The ten wilderness areas include the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness Area,
Broad Canyon Wilderness Area, Cinder Cone Wilderness Area, East
Potrillo Mountains Wilderness Area, Organ Mountains Wilderness Area,
Robledo Mountains Wilderness Area, Sierra de las Uvas Wilderness Area,
Potrillo Mountains Wilderness Area, Whitethorn Wilderness Area, and the
Mount Riley Wilderness Area. Public Law 116-9 imposed additional
requirements for land acquisitions, while the Wilderness Act itself
provides additional requirements on how these wilderness areas are
managed.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act and Presidential
Proclamation 9131 establish the need for this action within the
Monument. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires the BLM
to
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develop RMPs that provide for the use of public lands. The Proclamation
specifies that the BLM ``shall prepare and maintain a management plan
for the Monument and shall provide for maximum public involvement in
the development of that plan including, but not limited to,
consultation with Tribal, State, and local governments.'' The BLM does
not currently manage the Monument under a monument-specific RMP; the
area encompassing the Monument is currently managed under the 1993
Mimbres RMP. However, that RMP does not address changes that have
occurred since 1993, nor does it account for expected future changes.
The purpose of this plan is to protect, restore, and enhance the
objects of scientific and historic interest in the Monument identified
in Presidential Proclamation 9131, while respecting legal existing and
traditional uses. The plan should also maintain and enhance
recreational opportunities and other uses of the Monument through
allocations, education, and interpretation.
The RMP will also safeguard Tribal treaty rights, and will, as
provided for in the Proclamation, ``in consultation with Indian tribes,
ensure the protection of religious and cultural sites in the monument
and provide access to the sites by members of Indian tribes for
traditional cultural and customary uses, consistent with the American
Indian Religious Freedom Act (92 stat. 496, 42 U.S.C. 1996) and
Executive Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites).'' The RMP
will respond to continued urban growth and increased tourism in the Las
Cruces metropolitan area, changes in recreational uses in the Monument
units, designation of new wilderness areas in the Monument, imposition
of additional requirements for land acquisitions under Public Law 116-
9, new scientific information, and the effects of climate change and
livestock grazing.
Continued Urban Growth and Increased Tourism
The purpose of the action includes responding to continuing urban
growth and increased tourism in the Las Cruces metropolitan area, which
has increased the need for public land to accommodate many forms of
recreational activities. The population in the Las Cruces metropolitan
area increased from 101,759 in 2016 to 217,696 in 2020, and this trend
is expected to continue. The number of visits to the Monument increased
from 190,934 in 2014 to 662,445 in 2021. Additionally, there are
several communities within the Monument that have grown over the past
several years and need continued and/or upgraded services such as
broadband and utilities.
Tribal members are important users of the Monument and use the
Monument for traditional and ceremonial purposes. A new management plan
must consider and respond to the needs of all users.
Changes in Recreational Uses
The purpose of the action includes responding to changes in
recreational uses in the Monument units, particularly after the
Monument's designation in May 2014. For example, there is a growing
network of all-terrain and other vehicle trails radiating out from the
City of Las Cruces, the Mesilla Valley, and the Village of Hatch,
particularly in the Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains unit. Additionally, the
Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains ACEC is classified as Visual Resource
Management Class I in the 1993 Mimbres RMP, and the volume of increased
recreational use is an issue that needs to be explored. There are
several recreational activities that are popular but possibly degrading
to resources, such as bouldering and rock climbing, off-highway vehicle
use, recreational shooting, and mountain biking. This may require that
some areas within the Monument be considered for special designations,
such as a special recreation management area. Additionally, popular
recreation areas within the Monument include Kilbourne Hole, Dripping
Springs Natural Area, Aguirre Spring Recreation Area, Soledad Canyon
Day Use Area, Sierra Vista National Recreation Trail, Do[ntilde]a Ana
Mountains unit, and the Organ Mountains Wilderness. As the demand for
recreation increases in the Monument, there is a need to improve access
and connectivity to other less-used areas to reduce pressure on these
popular recreation areas. Education and interpretation may also be
needed to reduce user conflicts, educate about sensitive resources and
traditional uses, and create a culture of preservation among
recreationists.
Designation of New Wilderness Areas Under Public Law 116-9
The purpose of the action includes responding to the designation of
new wilderness areas in the Monument and imposition of additional
requirements for land acquisitions under Public Law 116-9. The
Wilderness Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88-577) provides for the establishment
of wilderness areas (designated by Congress) that are administered for
the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner that
leaves them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness. BLM
Manual 6340 provides the BLM with guidance for the management of
designated wilderness areas. Public Law 116-9 designated ten new
wilderness areas in the Monument encompassing approximately 241,554
acres of wilderness. Public Law 116-9 also requires that any land or
interest in land acquired by the BLM within the boundary of a
wilderness area must become part of the wilderness area and be managed
in accordance with the Wilderness Act, the provisions of Public Law
116-9 1201, and any other applicable laws.
New Scientific Information
The purpose of the action includes responding to new scientific
information about the Monument. Since 1993, several studies have been
completed that provide the BLM with new and updated data regarding the
Monument, enabling the BLM to make better informed management decisions
and improve practices. These include a 2017 visual resources inventory,
2017 visitor satisfaction survey, 2018 recreation focus group study,
2019 lichen and biological crust diversity studies, 2019/2020 U.S.
Geological Survey watershed study and inventory of soil and water
resources, 2016-2021 paleontological inventories, 2021 Analysis of
Management Situation, and ongoing Tribal consultation, wilderness
inventories, and an air emissions inventory.
Effects of Climate Change and Livestock Grazing
The purpose of the action includes responding to the effects of
climate change and loss of grassland habitat, increased wildfire
frequency, and livestock grazing's interaction with ecosystem
functionality. Many of the perennial grasslands in the Monument have
already been converted to shrublands. Climate change is expected to
further impact grassland habitat in the Monument by making it more
difficult for grass species to reestablish during the growing season.
This will also cause shrubs and other nonnative species to establish,
which reduces or completely inhibits the chances of native grass
species to reestablish in that area.
Preliminary Alternatives
The BLM will be analyzing alternatives that explore and evaluate
different ways of achieving the purpose and need listed above. The
alternatives will explore different outcomes to be addressed during
this planning effort to understand the trade-offs of different land
management approaches. In
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addition to the No Action Alternative, the BLM will develop three
action alternatives to analyze in detail. Alternative A is the No
Action Alternative; it would continue current management direction and
prevailing conditions derived from existing planning decisions.
Alternative B would emphasize the greatest protections and conservation
by maintaining or enhancing habitat. It would provide opportunities for
recreation and travel with the most restrictions. Alternative C is
similar to Alternative B but would emphasize the protection of
resilient and intact landscapes while allowing for discretionary uses
in identified management areas with fewer restrictions than Alternative
B. Alternative D would have the fewest restrictions on recreation and
travel management, while maintaining ecological function and meeting
land capability to protect Monument resources, objects, and values. The
BLM welcomes comments on all preliminary alternatives as well as
suggestions for additional alternatives.
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. Preliminary issues for the planning
area have been identified by BLM personnel and from early engagement
conducted for this planning effort with Federal, State, and local
agencies; Tribes; and stakeholders. The BLM has identified sixteen
preliminary issues for this planning effort's analysis. The planning
criteria are available for public review and comment at the ePlanning
website (see ADDRESSES).
Summary of Expected Impacts
Consistent with protection of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument objects identified in Proclamation 9131,
implementation of a new RMP may impact, either beneficially or
adversely, resources and uses within the Monument, including visual
resources, cultural resources, geological resources, paleontological
resources, educational and scientific values, and other human and
environmental resources. The Proclamation also provided that the use of
motorized vehicles in the Monument will be allowed only on roads and
trails designated for use by motorized vehicles under the Monument's
RMP. Existing rights-of-way will continue to be authorized, and other
rights-of-way will be authorized only if they are necessary for the
care and management of the Monument's resources, objects, and values.
All Federal lands and interests within the boundaries of the Monument
are withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, sale,
leasing, or other disposition.
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 90-day comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS, and a
concurrent 30-day public protest period and 60-day Governor's
consistency review on the Proposed RMP. The Draft RMP/EIS is
anticipated to be available for public review in the Fall of 2023 and
the Proposed RMP/Final EIS is anticipated to be available for public
protest of the Proposed RMP in the spring of 2024 with an Approved RMP
and Record of Decision expected in the summer of 2024.
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping period and public
review of the planning criteria, which guides the development and
analysis of the Draft RMP/EIS.
The BLM will be holding a total of six scoping meetings. All six
scoping meetings will be conducted in-person: two in Las Cruces, one
each in Anthony, Hatch, and Deming, New Mexico, and East El Paso,
Texas. 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. The specific date(s) and location(s) of these
meetings and any additional scoping meetings will be announced at least
15 days in advance through the local newspapers and radio stations,
social media, and the ePlanning website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510.
The ePlanning website https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510 also includes, or will include background information
on Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, a planning process
overview, 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.
ACECs
The following ACECs are currently designated in the planning area:
the Organ/Franklin Mountains ACEC (54,817 acres), Robledo Mountains
ACEC (7,829 acres), and Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains ACEC (1,427 acres).
Information about each existing ACEC, including the size, relevant and
important values, and other helpful information is available in the
December 2021 Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Analysis
of the Management Situation or on the project's website in the
ADDRESSES section. The BLM will reevaluate existing designated ACECs in
the Draft RMP/EIS to determine if relevant and important values still
exist.
This notice invites the public to nominate additional areas 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 comment
period in order 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.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with federally recognized
Tribal Nations, may request or be asked by the BLM to participate as a
cooperating agency. At this time the BLM has identified the following
potential cooperating agencies: City of Las Cruces; Do[ntilde]a Ana
County; Do[ntilde]a Ana Soil and Water Conservation District; Deming
Soil and Water Conservation District; Department of Defense Fort Bliss;
Department of Defense White Sands Missile Range; New Mexico Department
of Agriculture; New Mexico Department of Game and Fish; New Mexico
State Land Office; Natural Resources Conservation Service New Mexico,
South Area; National Park Service, White Sands National Park; and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Andres National Wildlife Refuge.
Thirteen federally recognized Tribes with interests in the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument were invited to participate as
a cooperating agency in addition to the formal government-to-government
consultation that will occur.
Responsible Official
The New Mexico State Director is the deciding official for this
planning effort.
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Nature of Decision To Be Made
The nature of the decision to be made will be the State Director's
selection of land use planning decisions for managing BLM-administered
lands under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield in a
manner that best addresses the purpose and need.
Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
in order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns
identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines
will be involved in this planning effort: vegetation, lands and realty,
renewable energy, wildlife fire ecology and management, wilderness,
wildlife and special status species, public health and safety, geology
and minerals, paleontology, water resources, recreation,
transportation, visual resources, rangeland management, cultural
resources, tribal resources, soils, sociology, and economics.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the proposed plan
and all analyzed reasonable 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; it may be considered at multiple scales,
including the landscape scale.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning effort to help support compliance with
applicable procedural requirements under the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1536) and section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public
involvement requirements of Section 106. The 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 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. Federal, State, and local agencies, along
with Indian Tribal Nations and other stakeholders that may be
interested in or affected by the proposed Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
National Monument RMP that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to
participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or, be
requested by the BLM to participate in the development of the
environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.
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: 40 CFR 1501.9 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Sheila Hutcherson,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-13233 Filed 6-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-23-P
