Notice of Intent To Amend the Taos Resource Management Plan for the Río Grande del Norte National Monument Management Plan and Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment, 54660-54662 [2023-17224]
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54660
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2023 / Notices
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after the form is processed.
Title of Collection: The Interagency
Access Pass and Senior Pass
Application Processes.
OMB Control Number: 1024–0252.
Form Number: NPS Forms 10–595,
10–596, and 10–597.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
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Individuals, organizations, businesses,
and State, local, or tribal governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 212,000.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
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Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Non-hour
Burden Cost: $686,000 (mail-in
applicants—application fee, mailing,
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The authority for this action is the
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U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Phadrea Ponds,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–17272 Filed 8–10–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–52–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NM_FRN_MO#4500172602]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Taos
Resource Management Plan for the Rı´o
Grande del Norte National Monument
Management Plan and Prepare an
Associated Environmental
Assessment
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 (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
New Mexico State Director intends to
prepare a resource management plan
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This
document provides notice that the BLM
New Mexico State Director intends to
prepare a RMP amendment with an
associated EA for the Rı´o Grande del
Norte National Monument, announces
the beginning of the scoping process,
and seeks public input on issues and
planning criteria. The RMP amendment
would change the existing Taos RMP.
The planning area is located in Taos
and Rio Arriba counties, New Mexico,
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
(RMP) amendment with an associated
environmental assessment (EA) for the
Rı´o Grande del Norte National
Monument and by this notice is
announcing the beginning of the
scoping period to solicit public
comments and identify issues. We are
also providing the planning criteria for
public review.
DATES: The BLM requests that the public
submit comments concerning the scope
of the analysis, potential alternatives,
and identification of relevant
information and studies by September
11, 2023. To afford the BLM the
opportunity to consider issues raised by
commenters in the draft RMP
amendment/EA, 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 management plan for Rı´o Grande
del Norte National Monument by any of
the following methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2024165/510
• Mail: Brad Higdon, Project
Manager, BLM Taos Field Office, 1024
Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2024165/510 and at the BLM
Taos Field Office, New Mexico.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad
Higdon, Planning and Environmental
Specialist, telephone: (575) 751–4725;
address: 1024 Paseo del Pueblo Sur,
Taos, NM 87571; or email: bhigdon@
blm.gov. Contact Mr. Higdon 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 Mr. Higdon. 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.
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and encompasses approximately
247,852 acres of public land.
Purpose and Need
Need: The need for the RMP
amendment was established by the
Presidential Proclamation that
designated the Monument. The
Proclamation states, ‘‘For purposes of
protecting and restoring the objects. . .
the Secretary, through the BLM, would
prepare and maintain a management
plan. . . .’’ An RMP amendment is
necessary—as mandated by the
Proclamation—for providing the
management guidance critical for
ensuring the Monument objects are
preserved.
FLPMA, which established public
land policy, also requires the BLM to
‘‘develop, maintain, and, when
appropriate, revise land use plans’’ for
the management of public lands.
Furthermore, it is BLM policy that each
Monument has an independent decision
document that specifies the
management guidance for that
Monument.
In addition to these mandates, an
amendment to the Taos RMP is
necessary to address the new
information that has been accrued and
the changed circumstances the
Monument has experienced since its
designation in 2013. New surveys of
seeps and springs, cultural resources,
sagebrush distribution, sensitive
species, wildlife corridors, among other
resources, have been conducted in
recent years that add to the BLM’s
catalogue of the best-available
information. This new information will
enable the BLM to reevaluate and adjust
its current management of the
Monument under an amended Taos
RMP. Changed circumstances include
increased demand for recreational
opportunities and increased pressure on
recreation facilities and infrastructure
within the Monument. The public is
seeking a wider array of trail use
opportunities, particularly around the
communities of Taos and Questa, and
increased pressure on existing trails and
recreational facilities has been
especially evident since the onset of the
COVID–19 pandemic. Trailhead parking
is regularly at or exceeds capacity
throughout much of the Monument.
New types of recreation, such as e-bikes,
also need to be addressed.
Opportunities for new rights-of-way
for electrical transmission in support of
renewable energy development is an
evolving circumstance that may require
new authorizations consistent with the
parameters specified in the
Proclamation. Changed circumstances
regarding climatic conditions also
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2023 / Notices
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requires careful management
considerations for a broad spectrum of
resources in an updated plan, including
those contributing to the objects for
which the Monument was established to
protect.
A RMP amendment is also necessary
for providing protective management of
Cerro del Yuta Wilderness and Rio San
Antonio Wilderness, designated by
Congress in 2019. Wilderness areas are
required to be managed according to the
provisions of the Wilderness Act of
1964, and this management plan would
provide the framework for the
implementation-level wilderness plans
that would be completed once a
management plan is approved.
Purpose: As specified in the
Presidential Proclamation, the
overarching purpose of this action—the
RMP amendment—is to provide for the
protection and restoration of the
Monument objects presented below, as
well as allowing for the enjoyment and
use of the Monument lands and
resources through recreation, traditional
uses, and other means. The management
plan would establish goals and
objectives and identify allocations and
allowable uses to achieve a balance of
protection and use for the Monument.
More specifically, the BLM seeks to
achieve the objectives outlined below
under the guidance of an approved
management plan.
To Protect Monument Objects Listed
Under the Proclamation
• To provide protection and
preservation for cultural resources and
the integrity of cultural landscapes from
conflicts that have emerged from
resource uses. The BLM also has an
opportunity to promote stewardship,
interpretation, and an understanding of
the area’s ethnography, as well as to
provide opportunities for Tribal costewardship.
• To provide for the protection and
restoration of the Monument’s
ecological diversity. The BLM would
foster resistance and resilience of
diverse, native vegetative communities
in the face of changing climate and
water conditions, and public use. The
BLM would identify opportunities for
sustaining the health of a broad range of
species, their habitats, and conditions
that contribute to the ecological
diversity of the Monument, including,
for example, various special status
biological species, pollinators, and soils
in the face of the same challenges. The
BLM will also update strategies and
practices for wildlife corridors and
restoring vegetative communities
through treatments and management of
fuels.
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• To provide for the protection and
restoration of diverse terrestrial and
aquatic wildlife populations and their
habitats, including threatened and
endangered species and other special
status species and their habitats. The
BLM would minimize fragmentation of
seasonal habitats, habitat connectivity,
and the displacement of wildlife from
those habitats, while allowing for
recreational and traditional uses of the
Monument.
• To protect the geologic features,
functions, and visual integrity of the
Monument, while balancing the
increased recreational use, demand for
rights-of-way, and other uses that could
impact Monument lands.
Resolve Conflicts Between Recreational
and Other Uses and Protect Monument
Objects
• To provide for a variety of
recreational opportunities in diverse
settings in a manner that meets the
demand of the public and resolves
conflicts between recreational use and
the protection of Monument objects.
• To provide for traditional uses of
the public lands in a manner consistent
with the protection, preservation, and
restoration of Monument objects.
Traditional uses are very important to
sustaining cultural customs and
traditions of local populations, such as
those associated with food, shelter, and
other basic human needs. Traditional
uses include livestock grazing, fuelwood
collection, pin˜on nut collection, herb
collection, hunting, fishing, and other
similar uses.
• To allow for motorized and nonmotorized access to the Monument,
consistent with the Proclamation (which
states ‘‘[e]xcept for emergency or
authorized administrative purposes,
motorized vehicle use in the monument
shall be permitted only on designated
roads and non-motorized mechanized
vehicle use shall be permitted only on
designated roads and trails.’’), for
traditional uses, livestock grazing,
fuelwood collection, and recreational
opportunities, while protecting
Monument objects. A long-term,
sustainable travel and transportation
network must be defined by allocations
necessary to provide for access while
preventing any degradation to
Monument objects, wild and scenic
river corridors, and the two new
wilderness areas. FLPMA requires that,
among other uses, ‘‘the public lands be
managed in a manner that will . . .
provide for outdoor recreation’’ (43 CFR
1701).
• To update the use of existing
designated corridors, allowing for new,
expanded, and upgraded utility rights-
PO 00000
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54661
of-way that serve local communities in
a manner consistent with the protection,
preservation, and restoration of
Monument objects. The Presidential
Proclamation that established the
Monument allows for limited
opportunities to upgrade or modify
utility rights-of-way. The linear layout
of the Monument makes it difficult to
avoid crossing the Monument with
transmission lines and other utilities.
To Protect Newly Designated
Wilderness Areas Within the
Monument
To preserve the wilderness character
of the newly designated Cerro del Yuta
Wilderness and Rio San Antonio
Wilderness areas.
Preliminary Alternatives
No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative,
management of the Monument would
continue to follow the decisions of the
existing Taos Field Office RMP. Two
areas of critical environmental concern,
the Taos Plateau Area of Critical
Environmental Concern (222,500 acres)
and the Lower Gorge Area of Critical
Environmental Concern (21,190 acres),
overlap the Monument nearly in its
entirety. The Taos Plateau Area of
Critical Environmental Concern
contains relevant and important values
associated with wildlife habitat, special
status species, water quality and
quantity, wetlands, and scenic quality.
The Lower Gorge Area of Critical
Environmental Concern was established
to provide direct management of
relevant and important riparian
vegetation, special status species and
wildlife habitat, and cultural values.
Management of the Lower Gorge Area of
Critical Environmental Concern also
includes emphasis on recreation and
contains the Orilla Verde Recreation
Area. The remainder of the Monument
not managed as an area of critical
environmental concern is included with
the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River,
which includes a segment of the Red
River, and is managed pursuant to the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, as
amended. Under the No Action
Alternative, existing management for
BLM-administered lands within the
Monument would be largely consistent
with the purposes of the Monument’s
designation.
To meet the mandates of Presidential
Proclamation 8946, the BLM proposes to
manage the Rı´o Grande del Norte
National Monument consistent with
existing management direction
contained in the 2012 Taos RMP except
for the following Monument objects,
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2023 / Notices
resources, or uses for which goals and
objectives, administrative designations,
allocations for allowable uses, and/or
management direction may be updated:
• Cultural and historic resources
• Ecological resources
• Geologic resources
• Fish and wildlife and their habitat
• Recreation
• Motorized and mechanized vehicle
use
• Lands and realty
• Livestock grazing
• Wilderness
Other existing goals, objectives, and
other land use planning-level decisions
from the 2012 Taos RMP will be
modified under the Proposed Action if
necessary to ensure that the protection,
restoration, and/or increased resiliency
of Monument objects. The BLM
welcomes comments on the preliminary
proposed action 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 other stakeholders.
The BLM has identified multiple
preliminary issues regarding various
resources and uses for this planning
effort’s analysis. The planning criteria
are available for public review and
comment at the ePlanning website (see
ADDRESSES).
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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 RMP
Amendment and Environmental
Analysis.
The BLM will be holding two public
scoping meetings in the following
locations: Taos and Santa Fe, New
Mexico. One virtual meeting will also be
held. The specific date and location of
these scoping meetings will be
announced at least 15 days in advance
through media outlets, social media,
and the project ePlanning website (see
ADDRESSES).
Comments submitted during public
scoping that provide pertinent
information, express relevant concerns
and issues, and identify reasonable
management options, especially when
submitted with sufficient detail, are
most substantive and useful for
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16:59 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 259001
evaluating alternatives and conducting
impact analysis.
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: aquatic resources,
archaeology, botany, ecology,
environmental justice, forestry, geology,
lands and realty, paleontology, outdoor
recreation, rangeland management,
soils, socioeconomics, visual resources,
wild and scenic rivers, wilderness,
wildlife and fisheries.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and
consider mitigation to address the
reasonably foreseeable impacts to
resources from the proposed plan
amendment and any analyzed
reasonable alternatives and, in
accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(e),
include appropriate mitigation measures
not already included in the proposed
plan amendment 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 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 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 Tribal trust assets
and potential impacts to cultural
resources, will be given due
consideration. Federal, State, and local
agencies, along with Tribal Nations and
other stakeholders that may be
interested in or affected by the proposed
approval that the BLM is evaluating, are
invited to participate in the scoping
process and, if eligible, may request or
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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.)
Melanie G. Barnes,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023–17224 Filed 8–10–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–23–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWY920000.19200000.ET0000.
LRORK1405800.XXX; WYW–172386]
Public Land Order 7928; Permanent
Withdrawal and Transfer of
Jurisdiction, Wyoming
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Public Land Order.
AGENCY:
This order permanently
withdraws and transfers administrative
jurisdiction of 869.08 acres of public
lands and 3,454.39 acres of Federal
mineral estate to the Department of
Energy, Office of Legacy Management
(DOE–LM) for its Split Rock Site in
Wyoming pursuant to the authority
under Title II of the Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978
(UMTRCA).
DATES: This Public Land Order takes
effect on August 11, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Keesha Clay, Realty Specialist, BLM
Wyoming State Office, (307) 775–6189,
during regular business hours 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. 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. Clay. 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.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\11AUN1.SGM
11AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 154 (Friday, August 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54660-54662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17224]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NM_FRN_MO#4500172602]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Taos Resource Management Plan for
the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument Management Plan and
Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment
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 (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New
Mexico State Director intends to prepare a resource management plan
(RMP) amendment with an associated environmental assessment (EA) for
the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument and by this notice is
announcing the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public
comments and identify issues. We are also providing the planning
criteria for public review.
DATES: The BLM requests that the public submit comments concerning the
scope of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification of
relevant information and studies by September 11, 2023. To afford the
BLM the opportunity to consider issues raised by commenters in the
draft RMP amendment/EA, 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 management plan for R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National
Monument by any of the following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024165/510
Mail: Brad Higdon, Project Manager, BLM Taos Field Office,
1024 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024165/510 and at the
BLM Taos Field Office, New Mexico.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Higdon, Planning and
Environmental Specialist, telephone: (575) 751-4725; address: 1024
Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571; or email: [email protected].
Contact Mr. Higdon 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
Mr. Higdon. 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 a RMP amendment with an
associated EA for the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument,
announces the beginning of the scoping process, and seeks public input
on issues and planning criteria. The RMP amendment would change the
existing Taos RMP.
The planning area is located in Taos and Rio Arriba counties, New
Mexico, and encompasses approximately 247,852 acres of public land.
Purpose and Need
Need: The need for the RMP amendment was established by the
Presidential Proclamation that designated the Monument. The
Proclamation states, ``For purposes of protecting and restoring the
objects. . . the Secretary, through the BLM, would prepare and maintain
a management plan. . . .'' An RMP amendment is necessary--as mandated
by the Proclamation--for providing the management guidance critical for
ensuring the Monument objects are preserved.
FLPMA, which established public land policy, also requires the BLM
to ``develop, maintain, and, when appropriate, revise land use plans''
for the management of public lands. Furthermore, it is BLM policy that
each Monument has an independent decision document that specifies the
management guidance for that Monument.
In addition to these mandates, an amendment to the Taos RMP is
necessary to address the new information that has been accrued and the
changed circumstances the Monument has experienced since its
designation in 2013. New surveys of seeps and springs, cultural
resources, sagebrush distribution, sensitive species, wildlife
corridors, among other resources, have been conducted in recent years
that add to the BLM's catalogue of the best-available information. This
new information will enable the BLM to reevaluate and adjust its
current management of the Monument under an amended Taos RMP. Changed
circumstances include increased demand for recreational opportunities
and increased pressure on recreation facilities and infrastructure
within the Monument. The public is seeking a wider array of trail use
opportunities, particularly around the communities of Taos and Questa,
and increased pressure on existing trails and recreational facilities
has been especially evident since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trailhead parking is regularly at or exceeds capacity throughout much
of the Monument. New types of recreation, such as e-bikes, also need to
be addressed.
Opportunities for new rights-of-way for electrical transmission in
support of renewable energy development is an evolving circumstance
that may require new authorizations consistent with the parameters
specified in the Proclamation. Changed circumstances regarding climatic
conditions also
[[Page 54661]]
requires careful management considerations for a broad spectrum of
resources in an updated plan, including those contributing to the
objects for which the Monument was established to protect.
A RMP amendment is also necessary for providing protective
management of Cerro del Yuta Wilderness and Rio San Antonio Wilderness,
designated by Congress in 2019. Wilderness areas are required to be
managed according to the provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and
this management plan would provide the framework for the
implementation-level wilderness plans that would be completed once a
management plan is approved.
Purpose: As specified in the Presidential Proclamation, the
overarching purpose of this action--the RMP amendment--is to provide
for the protection and restoration of the Monument objects presented
below, as well as allowing for the enjoyment and use of the Monument
lands and resources through recreation, traditional uses, and other
means. The management plan would establish goals and objectives and
identify allocations and allowable uses to achieve a balance of
protection and use for the Monument. More specifically, the BLM seeks
to achieve the objectives outlined below under the guidance of an
approved management plan.
To Protect Monument Objects Listed Under the Proclamation
To provide protection and preservation for cultural
resources and the integrity of cultural landscapes from conflicts that
have emerged from resource uses. The BLM also has an opportunity to
promote stewardship, interpretation, and an understanding of the area's
ethnography, as well as to provide opportunities for Tribal co-
stewardship.
To provide for the protection and restoration of the
Monument's ecological diversity. The BLM would foster resistance and
resilience of diverse, native vegetative communities in the face of
changing climate and water conditions, and public use. The BLM would
identify opportunities for sustaining the health of a broad range of
species, their habitats, and conditions that contribute to the
ecological diversity of the Monument, including, for example, various
special status biological species, pollinators, and soils in the face
of the same challenges. The BLM will also update strategies and
practices for wildlife corridors and restoring vegetative communities
through treatments and management of fuels.
To provide for the protection and restoration of diverse
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife populations and their habitats,
including threatened and endangered species and other special status
species and their habitats. The BLM would minimize fragmentation of
seasonal habitats, habitat connectivity, and the displacement of
wildlife from those habitats, while allowing for recreational and
traditional uses of the Monument.
To protect the geologic features, functions, and visual
integrity of the Monument, while balancing the increased recreational
use, demand for rights-of-way, and other uses that could impact
Monument lands.
Resolve Conflicts Between Recreational and Other Uses and Protect
Monument Objects
To provide for a variety of recreational opportunities in
diverse settings in a manner that meets the demand of the public and
resolves conflicts between recreational use and the protection of
Monument objects.
To provide for traditional uses of the public lands in a
manner consistent with the protection, preservation, and restoration of
Monument objects. Traditional uses are very important to sustaining
cultural customs and traditions of local populations, such as those
associated with food, shelter, and other basic human needs. Traditional
uses include livestock grazing, fuelwood collection, pi[ntilde]on nut
collection, herb collection, hunting, fishing, and other similar uses.
To allow for motorized and non-motorized access to the
Monument, consistent with the Proclamation (which states ``[e]xcept for
emergency or authorized administrative purposes, motorized vehicle use
in the monument shall be permitted only on designated roads and non-
motorized mechanized vehicle use shall be permitted only on designated
roads and trails.''), for traditional uses, livestock grazing, fuelwood
collection, and recreational opportunities, while protecting Monument
objects. A long-term, sustainable travel and transportation network
must be defined by allocations necessary to provide for access while
preventing any degradation to Monument objects, wild and scenic river
corridors, and the two new wilderness areas. FLPMA requires that, among
other uses, ``the public lands be managed in a manner that will . . .
provide for outdoor recreation'' (43 CFR 1701).
To update the use of existing designated corridors,
allowing for new, expanded, and upgraded utility rights-of-way that
serve local communities in a manner consistent with the protection,
preservation, and restoration of Monument objects. The Presidential
Proclamation that established the Monument allows for limited
opportunities to upgrade or modify utility rights-of-way. The linear
layout of the Monument makes it difficult to avoid crossing the
Monument with transmission lines and other utilities.
To Protect Newly Designated Wilderness Areas Within the Monument
To preserve the wilderness character of the newly designated Cerro
del Yuta Wilderness and Rio San Antonio Wilderness areas.
Preliminary Alternatives
No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative, management of the Monument would
continue to follow the decisions of the existing Taos Field Office RMP.
Two areas of critical environmental concern, the Taos Plateau Area of
Critical Environmental Concern (222,500 acres) and the Lower Gorge Area
of Critical Environmental Concern (21,190 acres), overlap the Monument
nearly in its entirety. The Taos Plateau Area of Critical Environmental
Concern contains relevant and important values associated with wildlife
habitat, special status species, water quality and quantity, wetlands,
and scenic quality. The Lower Gorge Area of Critical Environmental
Concern was established to provide direct management of relevant and
important riparian vegetation, special status species and wildlife
habitat, and cultural values. Management of the Lower Gorge Area of
Critical Environmental Concern also includes emphasis on recreation and
contains the Orilla Verde Recreation Area. The remainder of the
Monument not managed as an area of critical environmental concern is
included with the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, which includes a
segment of the Red River, and is managed pursuant to the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act, as amended. Under the No Action Alternative,
existing management for BLM-administered lands within the Monument
would be largely consistent with the purposes of the Monument's
designation.
To meet the mandates of Presidential Proclamation 8946, the BLM
proposes to manage the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument
consistent with existing management direction contained in the 2012
Taos RMP except for the following Monument objects,
[[Page 54662]]
resources, or uses for which goals and objectives, administrative
designations, allocations for allowable uses, and/or management
direction may be updated:
Cultural and historic resources
Ecological resources
Geologic resources
Fish and wildlife and their habitat
Recreation
Motorized and mechanized vehicle use
Lands and realty
Livestock grazing
Wilderness
Other existing goals, objectives, and other land use planning-level
decisions from the 2012 Taos RMP will be modified under the Proposed
Action if necessary to ensure that the protection, restoration, and/or
increased resiliency of Monument objects. The BLM welcomes comments on
the preliminary proposed action 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 other stakeholders. The BLM has identified
multiple preliminary issues regarding various resources and uses for
this planning effort's analysis. The planning criteria are available
for public review and comment at the ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
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 RMP Amendment and Environmental Analysis.
The BLM will be holding two public scoping meetings in the
following locations: Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. One virtual meeting
will also be held. The specific date and location of these scoping
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through media
outlets, social media, and the project ePlanning website (see
ADDRESSES).
Comments submitted during public scoping that provide pertinent
information, express relevant concerns and issues, and identify
reasonable management options, especially when submitted with
sufficient detail, are most substantive and useful for evaluating
alternatives and conducting impact analysis.
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: aquatic resources,
archaeology, botany, ecology, environmental justice, forestry, geology,
lands and realty, paleontology, outdoor recreation, rangeland
management, soils, socioeconomics, visual resources, wild and scenic
rivers, wilderness, wildlife and fisheries.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the proposed plan
amendment and any analyzed reasonable alternatives and, in accordance
with 40 CFR 1502.14(e), include appropriate mitigation measures not
already included in the proposed plan amendment 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 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 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
Tribal trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources, will
be given due consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along
with Tribal Nations and other stakeholders that may be interested in or
affected by the proposed approval 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.)
Melanie G. Barnes,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-17224 Filed 8-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-23-P