Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Eastern Colorado Resource Management Plan, Colorado, 43384-43385 [2023-14034]
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43384
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 129 / Friday, July 7, 2023 / Notices
(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1714.)
Sonya Germann,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023–14298 Filed 7–6–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4311–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_CO_FRN_MO4500170164]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed
Resource Management Plan and Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Eastern Colorado Resource
Management Plan, Colorado
Bureau of Land Management.
Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
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) has prepared
a Proposed Resource Management Plan
(RMP) and Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Eastern Colorado
RMP and by this notice is announcing
the start of a 30-day protest period of the
Proposed RMP and public comment on
proposed target shooting closures.
DATES: This notice announces a 30-day
protest period to the BLM on the
Proposed RMP beginning with the date
following the Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) publication of its Notice
of Availability (NOA) of the Proposed
RMP/Final EIS in the Federal Register.
The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on
Fridays. Protests must be postmarked or
electronically submitted on the BLM’s
ePlanning site during the 30-day protest
period.
In accordance with the John D.
Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management,
and Recreation Act of 2019 (Dingell Act,
Pub. L. 116–9, Section 4103), the BLM
is announcing the opening of a 60-day
public comment period on the proposed
closure of recreational target shooting
(referred to as ‘‘target shooting’’ in the
RMP) near residences and at certain
rock climbing areas, trail networks,
campgrounds, and other high-use
recreation sites identified in the
Proposed RMP alternative.
ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP and
Final EIS is available on the BLM
ePlanning project website at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/39877. Documents pertinent to
this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/39877 and at the Royal Gorge
Field Office.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:55 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 259001
Instructions for filing a protest of the
proposed Eastern Colorado Resource
Management Plan can be found at:
https://www.blm.gov/programs/
planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/filing-a-plan-protest and
at 43 CFR 1610.5–2.
You may submit comments on the
proposed shooting closures by the
following methods:
Mail: RMP Project Manager Royal,
Gorge Field Office, 3028 E Main St.,
Can˜on City, CO 81212.
Email: BLM_CO_RG_RMP_
Comments@blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
Smeins, Project Manager, telephone
(719) 252–8212; address 3028 E Main
St., Can˜on City, CO 81212; email
jsmeins@blm.gov. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind,
hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services for
contacting Mr. Smeins. 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: The BLM
prepared the Eastern Colorado Proposed
RMP/Final EIS to evaluate and revise
the management strategy for resources,
resource uses, and special designations
on public lands managed by the Royal
Gorge Field Office, which is the
planning area for the RMP. Existing
management decisions for public lands
and resources in the Royal Gorge Field
Office are currently described in two
documents: the 1986 Northeast RMP, as
amended; and the 1996 Royal Gorge
RMP, as amended.
The planning area encompasses
approximately 35 million acres of land
under various jurisdictions, including
the BLM, U.S. Forest Service, National
Park Service, State of Colorado, and
local government and private lands in
37 counties across south-central and
eastern Colorado. The Browns Canyon
National Monument is not part of the
planning area for this RMP/EIS, as it is
the subject of a separate plan. The
Eastern Colorado RMP will provide
management direction for
approximately 658,200 acres of BLMadministered surface land and
approximately 3,311,900 acres of BLMadministered mineral estate. The
decision area includes all BLM public
lands and approximately 2,673,000
acres of split-estate Federal minerals on
private, local government, and State
lands. It does not include National
Forest System land and other Federal
PO 00000
Frm 00122
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
land where the BLM does not make
planning decisions about oil and gas
management and other uses. The BLM
typically adopts the requirements
determined by those Federal surfacemanaging agencies when leasing the
associated mineral estate; while such
lands are within the planning area, they
are outside the decision area for this
RMP.
In preparing the Proposed RMP, the
BLM evaluated, in detail, a No Action
Alternative (Alternative A) and three
action alternatives (Alternatives B, C
and D). Alternative A retains the current
management goals, objectives, and
direction specified in the 1986
Northeast RMP and the 1996 Royal
Gorge RMP. Alternative B emphasizes
improving, rehabilitating, and restoring
resources; sustaining the ecological
integrity of habitats for all priority plant,
wildlife, and fish species; and allowing
appropriate development scenarios for
allowable uses (such as mineral leasing,
recreation, communication sites, and
livestock grazing). Alternative C
emphasizes a mix of uses that
maximizes utilization of resources while
protecting land health. The
development scenarios for allowable
uses in this alternative emphasize
maximizing resource production in an
environmentally responsible manner
while maintaining the basic protection
needed to sustain resources, including
mitigating impacts on land health.
Alternative D, the Proposed RMP,
emphasizes balancing resources and
resource use among competing human
interests, land uses, and the
conservation of natural and cultural
resource values, while sustaining and
enhancing ecological integrity across the
landscape, including plant, wildlife,
and fish habitat. This alternative has
four geographic landscapes with distinct
management, and incorporates a
balanced level of protection, restoration,
and enhancement, as well as the use of
resources and services to meet ongoing
programs and land uses with an
emphasis on local community visions
for the future of public lands.
Public review of the Eastern Colorado
Draft RMP/EIS began on June 21, 2019.
The BLM held seven public open-house
meetings across the Eastern Colorado
Planning Area during the 90-day public
comment period. Comments on the
Draft RMP/EIS were considered and
incorporated into the final EIS and
proposed plan as appropriate. Public
and cooperating agency comments and
further internal BLM review resulted in
the addition of clarifying text and
refinement of Alternative D to include
backcountry conservation areas,
expanded ACEC designations, and the
E:\FR\FM\07JYN1.SGM
07JYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 129 / Friday, July 7, 2023 / Notices
closure of areas with low or no fluid
mineral potential to oil and gas leasing.
In the Proposed RMP, the BLM proposes
that recreational target shooting would
generally be allowed on BLM-managed
lands in the planning area, but to
protect the safety of visitors, target
shooting would continue to be
prohibited at certain rock-climbing
areas, trail networks, campgrounds, and
other high-use recreation sites. To
protect public safety near residences,
target shooting would not be allowed on
small BLM-administered parcels west of
Boulder that are interspersed with
private lands and numerous houses.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Protest of the Proposed RMP
The BLM planning regulations state
that any person who participated in the
preparation of the RMP and has an
interest that will or may be adversely
affected by approval of the Proposed
RMP may protest its approval to the
BLM Director. Protest on the Proposed
RMP constitutes the final opportunity
for administrative review of the
proposed land use planning decisions
prior to the BLM adopting an approved
RMP. Instructions for filing a protest
regarding the Proposed RMP with the
BLM Director may be found online at
https://www.blm.gov/programs/
planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/filing-a-plan-protest and
at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. All protests must be
in writing and mailed or delivered to
the appropriate address, as set forth in
the ADDRESSES section, or submitted
electronically through the BLM
ePlanning project website as described
previously. Protests submitted by email
or by fax will be invalid unless a protest
is also submitted as a hard copy. The
BLM Director will render a written
decision on each protest. The Director’s
decision shall be the final decision of
the Department of the Interior.
Responses to protest issues will be
compiled and documented in a Protest
Resolution Report made available
following the protest resolution online
at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/
planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/protest-resolution-reports.
After resolution of protests, the BLM
will issue a Record of Decision (ROD)
and an Approved RMP.
Dingell Act Comment on Proposed
Target Shooting Closures
Target shooting closures near
residences, certain rock-climbing areas,
trail networks, campgrounds, and other
high-use recreation sites are for the
safety of residents and the visiting
public. To afford the BLM the
opportunity to consider comments on
proposed Penrose Commons, Phantom
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:55 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 259001
Canyon Road, Shelf Road Recreation
Area, Guffey Gorge, Methodist
Mountain, Turkey Rock, Temple
Canyon Road, Garden Park, and Boulder
County target shooting closures before
approval of the ROD/RMP, please
ensure your comments are received by
the DATES listed above. Comments may
be submitted using the specified
methods listed in the ADDRESSES section
earlier.
Before including your phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your protest
or comment, you should be aware that
your entire protest or comment—
including your personal identifying
information—may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us in your protest or comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10,
43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5.)
Douglas J. Vilsack,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023–14034 Filed 7–6–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0036140;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert
S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology,
Andover, MA
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
In accordance with the Native
American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Robert
S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology 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 Barnstable and
Plymouth Counties, MA.
DATES: Repatriation of the human
remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice may occur on or after
August 7, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S.
Peabody Institute of Archaeology,
Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street,
Andover, MA 01810, telephone (978)
749–4490, email rwheeler@andover.edu.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00123
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
43385
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 Robert S.
Peabody Institute of Archaeology. 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of
Archaeology.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description
Two associated funerary objects were
removed from the Corn Hill site (19–
BN–144/145) in Truro, Barnstable
County, MA. In 2023, the Buttonwoods
Museum, Haverhill MA, transferred two
red ochre samples to the Robert S.
Peabody Institute of Archaeology to
facilitate repatriation. Fred Luce
collected the samples during his
excavation of the site in 1915. The
Robert S. Peabody Institute of
Archaeology previously published a
Notice of Inventory Completion in the
Federal Register (70 FR 16839–16840,
April 1, 2005) for human remains and
associated funerary objects from Corn
Hill, and they have already been
repatriated. The two associated funerary
objects listed in this notice are two red
ochre samples that most likely are
associated with the repatriated human
remains and funerary objects.
One associated funerary object was
removed from the Taylor Hill site (19–
BN–106) in Wellfleet, Barnstable
County, MA. In 2023, during
preparation for a building renovation,
personnel at the Robert S. Peabody
Institute of Archaeology identified a
large stone axe from the Taylor Hill site;
a note with the axe indicates a funerary
association. The Robert S. Peabody
Institute of Archaeology previously
published a Notice of Inventory
Completion in the Federal Register (70
FR 16839–16840, April 1, 2005) for
human remains and associated funerary
objects from Taylor Hill, and they have
already been repatriated. The one
associated funerary object listed in this
notice is a stone axe that most likely is
associated with the repatriated human
remains and funerary objects.
Human remains representing, at
minimum, one individual were removed
from the Titicut site in Plymouth
County, MA. In 2022, during an
inventory, personnel at the Robert S.
Peabody Institute of Archaeology
identified additional human remains
and associated funerary objects from the
Titicut site, which had been excavated
E:\FR\FM\07JYN1.SGM
07JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43384-43385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14034]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_CO_FRN_MO4500170164]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan
and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Eastern Colorado
Resource Management Plan, Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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) has prepared a
Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Eastern Colorado RMP and by this notice is
announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the Proposed RMP and
public comment on proposed target shooting closures.
DATES: This notice announces a 30-day protest period to the BLM on the
Proposed RMP beginning with the date following the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) publication of its Notice of Availability
(NOA) of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS in the Federal Register. The EPA
usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays. Protests must be postmarked or
electronically submitted on the BLM's ePlanning site during the 30-day
protest period.
In accordance with the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation,
Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 (Dingell Act, Pub. L. 116-9,
Section 4103), the BLM is announcing the opening of a 60-day public
comment period on the proposed closure of recreational target shooting
(referred to as ``target shooting'' in the RMP) near residences and at
certain rock climbing areas, trail networks, campgrounds, and other
high-use recreation sites identified in the Proposed RMP alternative.
ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP and Final EIS is available on the BLM
ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/39877. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined
online at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/39877 and at
the Royal Gorge Field Office.
Instructions for filing a protest of the proposed Eastern Colorado
Resource Management Plan can be found at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43
CFR 1610.5-2.
You may submit comments on the proposed shooting closures by the
following methods:
Mail: RMP Project Manager Royal, Gorge Field Office, 3028 E Main
St., Ca[ntilde]on City, CO 81212.
Email: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Smeins, Project Manager,
telephone (719) 252-8212; address 3028 E Main St., Ca[ntilde]on City,
CO 81212; email [email protected]. Individuals in the United States who
are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services for contacting Mr. Smeins. 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: The BLM prepared the Eastern Colorado
Proposed RMP/Final EIS to evaluate and revise the management strategy
for resources, resource uses, and special designations on public lands
managed by the Royal Gorge Field Office, which is the planning area for
the RMP. Existing management decisions for public lands and resources
in the Royal Gorge Field Office are currently described in two
documents: the 1986 Northeast RMP, as amended; and the 1996 Royal Gorge
RMP, as amended.
The planning area encompasses approximately 35 million acres of
land under various jurisdictions, including the BLM, U.S. Forest
Service, National Park Service, State of Colorado, and local government
and private lands in 37 counties across south-central and eastern
Colorado. The Browns Canyon National Monument is not part of the
planning area for this RMP/EIS, as it is the subject of a separate
plan. The Eastern Colorado RMP will provide management direction for
approximately 658,200 acres of BLM-administered surface land and
approximately 3,311,900 acres of BLM-administered mineral estate. The
decision area includes all BLM public lands and approximately 2,673,000
acres of split-estate Federal minerals on private, local government,
and State lands. It does not include National Forest System land and
other Federal land where the BLM does not make planning decisions about
oil and gas management and other uses. The BLM typically adopts the
requirements determined by those Federal surface-managing agencies when
leasing the associated mineral estate; while such lands are within the
planning area, they are outside the decision area for this RMP.
In preparing the Proposed RMP, the BLM evaluated, in detail, a No
Action Alternative (Alternative A) and three action alternatives
(Alternatives B, C and D). Alternative A retains the current management
goals, objectives, and direction specified in the 1986 Northeast RMP
and the 1996 Royal Gorge RMP. Alternative B emphasizes improving,
rehabilitating, and restoring resources; sustaining the ecological
integrity of habitats for all priority plant, wildlife, and fish
species; and allowing appropriate development scenarios for allowable
uses (such as mineral leasing, recreation, communication sites, and
livestock grazing). Alternative C emphasizes a mix of uses that
maximizes utilization of resources while protecting land health. The
development scenarios for allowable uses in this alternative emphasize
maximizing resource production in an environmentally responsible manner
while maintaining the basic protection needed to sustain resources,
including mitigating impacts on land health. Alternative D, the
Proposed RMP, emphasizes balancing resources and resource use among
competing human interests, land uses, and the conservation of natural
and cultural resource values, while sustaining and enhancing ecological
integrity across the landscape, including plant, wildlife, and fish
habitat. This alternative has four geographic landscapes with distinct
management, and incorporates a balanced level of protection,
restoration, and enhancement, as well as the use of resources and
services to meet ongoing programs and land uses with an emphasis on
local community visions for the future of public lands.
Public review of the Eastern Colorado Draft RMP/EIS began on June
21, 2019. The BLM held seven public open-house meetings across the
Eastern Colorado Planning Area during the 90-day public comment period.
Comments on the Draft RMP/EIS were considered and incorporated into the
final EIS and proposed plan as appropriate. Public and cooperating
agency comments and further internal BLM review resulted in the
addition of clarifying text and refinement of Alternative D to include
backcountry conservation areas, expanded ACEC designations, and the
[[Page 43385]]
closure of areas with low or no fluid mineral potential to oil and gas
leasing. In the Proposed RMP, the BLM proposes that recreational target
shooting would generally be allowed on BLM-managed lands in the
planning area, but to protect the safety of visitors, target shooting
would continue to be prohibited at certain rock-climbing areas, trail
networks, campgrounds, and other high-use recreation sites. To protect
public safety near residences, target shooting would not be allowed on
small BLM-administered parcels west of Boulder that are interspersed
with private lands and numerous houses.
Protest of the Proposed RMP
The BLM planning regulations state that any person who participated
in the preparation of the RMP and has an interest that will or may be
adversely affected by approval of the Proposed RMP may protest its
approval to the BLM Director. Protest on the Proposed RMP constitutes
the final opportunity for administrative review of the proposed land
use planning decisions prior to the BLM adopting an approved RMP.
Instructions for filing a protest regarding the Proposed RMP with the
BLM Director may be found online at https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43
CFR 1610.5-2. All protests must be in writing and mailed or delivered
to the appropriate address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section, or
submitted electronically through the BLM ePlanning project website as
described previously. Protests submitted by email or by fax will be
invalid unless a protest is also submitted as a hard copy. The BLM
Director will render a written decision on each protest. The Director's
decision shall be the final decision of the Department of the Interior.
Responses to protest issues will be compiled and documented in a
Protest Resolution Report made available following the protest
resolution online at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports. After resolution of
protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) and an Approved
RMP.
Dingell Act Comment on Proposed Target Shooting Closures
Target shooting closures near residences, certain rock-climbing
areas, trail networks, campgrounds, and other high-use recreation sites
are for the safety of residents and the visiting public. To afford the
BLM the opportunity to consider comments on proposed Penrose Commons,
Phantom Canyon Road, Shelf Road Recreation Area, Guffey Gorge,
Methodist Mountain, Turkey Rock, Temple Canyon Road, Garden Park, and
Boulder County target shooting closures before approval of the ROD/RMP,
please ensure your comments are received by the DATES listed above.
Comments may be submitted using the specified methods listed in the
ADDRESSES section earlier.
Before including your phone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest or comment, you should
be aware that your entire protest or comment--including your personal
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your protest or comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR
1610.5.)
Douglas J. Vilsack,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-14034 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-16-P
