Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon/Washington and California, 24028-24030 [2024-07290]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 67 / Friday, April 5, 2024 / Notices
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
teleconference meeting will be open to
the public. The SESAC will review the
current activities of the USGS
Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) and
discuss future priorities. Agenda topics
will include EHP update, administration
priorities and interactions, budget
opportunities, balance of activities
supported by the EHP, external grants,
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report to the USGS Director.
Meeting Accessibility/Special
Accommodations: Please make requests
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services, assistive listening devices, or
other reasonable accommodations. We
ask that you contact the person listed in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this notice at least seven (7)
business days prior to the meeting to
give the Department of the Interior
sufficient time to process your request.
All reasonable accommodation requests
are managed on a case-by-case basis.
Members of the public wishing to
participate in the teleconference
meeting should contact Dr. Gavin Hayes
by email at ghayes@usgs.gov at least
three (3) business days prior to the
meeting. Teleconference meeting call-in
information and any updates to the
agenda will be provided via email to
registered participants.
Time will be allowed at the public
meeting for any individual or
organization wishing to make formal
oral comments. Depending on the
number of people who wish to speak
and the time available, the time for
individual comments may be limited.
Written comments for the SESAC may
be sent electronically in advance of the
scheduled meeting to Dr. Gavin Hayes
by email at ghayes@usgs.gov at least
three (3) business days prior to the
meeting. Any written comments
received will be provided to the SESAC
members.
Public Disclosure of Comments:
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personally identifiable information (PII)
in your comment, you should be aware
that your entire comment—including
your PII—may be made publicly
available at any time. While you may
ask us in your comment to withhold
your PII from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Detailed minutes of the meeting will
be available for public inspection within
90 days of the meeting.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:44 Apr 04, 2024
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Authority: 5 U.S.C. ch. 10.
Gary Latzke,
Chief of Staff, U.S. Geological Survey Natural
Hazards Mission Area.
[FR Doc. 2024–07275 Filed 4–4–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500177896]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Resource Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument in Oregon/Washington and
California
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA),
Presidential Proclamations No. 7318
(Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument) (June 9, 2000) and
No. 9564 (Boundary Enlargement of the
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument)
(January 12, 2017), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft
Resource Management Plan (RMP) and
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument (CSNM), and by this notice
is providing information announcing
the opening of the comment period on
the Draft RMP/EIS and the comment
period on the BLM’s proposed areas of
critical environmental concern (ACECs).
DATES: This notice announces the
opening of a 90-day comment period for
the Draft RMP/EIS beginning with the
date following the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) publication
of its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the
Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal Register.
The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on
Fridays.
To afford the BLM the opportunity to
consider comments in the Proposed
RMP/Final EIS, please ensure that the
BLM receives your comments prior to
the close of the 90-day public comment
period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later.
This notice also announces the
opening of a 90-day comment period for
proposed ACECs. To afford the BLM the
opportunity to consider comments for
proposed ACECs, please ensure that the
BLM receives your comments prior to
the close of the 90-day public comment
SUMMARY:
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period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP/EIS is
available for review on the BLM
ePlanning project website at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2023675/510. Written comments
related to the CSNM Draft RMP/EIS may
be submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510.
• Mail: ATTN: CSNM RMP Project
Manager, BLM Medford District, 3040
Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2023675/510 and at the BLM
Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle
Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Nikki Haskett, Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument RMP Project
Manager; telephone (458) 246–8861,
address 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR
97504; email blm_csnm_rmp@blm.gov.
Contact Ms. Haskett to have your name
added to our mailing list. Individuals in
the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services for
contacting Ms. Haskett. Individuals
outside the United States should use the
relay services offered within their
country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United
States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
document provides notice that the BLM
Oregon/Washington and California State
Directors have prepared a Draft RMP/
EIS, announces the opening of the
comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS,
and announces the comment period on
the BLM’s proposed ACECs. The
planning area is located in Jackson and
Klamath Counties in Oregon and
Siskiyou County, California, and
encompasses approximately 113,500
acres of BLM-administered lands. While
most of the BLM-administered lands are
within the BLM Ashland and Klamath
Falls Field Offices, approximately 5,000
acres are located within the BLM
Redding Field Office.
In response to Proclamation No. 9564,
multiple plaintiffs sued the President
and BLM, claiming that the Monument
expansion violated the 1937 Oregon and
California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon
Road Grant Lands Act of 1937 (O&C
Act). In 2017, two plaintiffs filed
separate suits in the U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia. A third
plaintiff filed suit in the District of
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Oregon. In September 2019, the District
of Oregon upheld the Monument
expansion, and the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed
the District Court in April 2023. In
November 2019, the District Court for
the District of Columbia found the
Monument expansion violated the O&C
Act by ‘‘reserving land governed by the
O&C Act from sustained yield timber
production’’ and held Proclamation No.
9564 ‘‘invalid and unenforceable as
applied to land subject to the O&C Act.’’
The government appealed this decision
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia, which reversed the
District Court on July 18, 2023, and
upheld the Monument expansion. On
March 25, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court
declined petitions for review of these
cases.
Purpose and Need for the RMP
The purpose and need serve to frame
the identification of issues, alternatives
development, and effects analyses.
Proclamation 7318 and Proclamation
9564 direct the BLM to ‘‘prepare a
management plan for this monument’’
for the specific purposes of ‘‘protecting
the objects of scientific and historic
interest identified in Proclamation 7318
and in Proclamation 9564.’’
The RMP’s purpose (40 CFR 1502.13)
is to provide a management framework,
including objectives and management
direction, that guides the BLM’s
management of the decision area to
protect and restore the resources,
objects, and values for which the area
was designated. It also serves to protect
and restore the objects of scientific and
historic interest identified in
Presidential Proclamations Nos. 7318
and 9564 by addressing the following:
• Protecting and restoring the diverse
ecosystems that provide habitat for rare
and endemic and special status wildlife
and plant species.
• Protecting and restoring landscapescale resilience for the area’s critically
important natural resources.
• Protecting intact habitats and
undisturbed corridors that allow for
animal migration and movement.
• Reducing fire risk to CSNM objects
and values, as well as within the
wildland urban interface.
• Managing discretionary uses to
protect CSNM objects and values.
The need for the action is to revise the
2008 CSNM RMP to encompass all
BLM-administered lands in the
monument under one Record of
Decision and RMP that is consistent
with the proclamations that established
and expanded the CSNM (CSNM RMP
Plan Evaluation, April 2022). The BLM’s
current RMPs for lands in the decision
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area do not address all the legal
mandates related to management of the
congressionally designated National
Conservation Lands (i.e., Soda
Mountain Wilderness; the Jenny Creek
and Spring Creek Wild and Scenic
Rivers; the Applegate Trail, which is
part of the California National Historic
Trail; and the Pacific Crest National
Scenic Trail) and the lands included in
President Obama’s enlargement of the
monument boundary. In addition, some
aspects of the existing RMPs covering
the planning area need to be updated to
be consistent with current BLM policies.
Alternatives Including the Preferred
Alternative
The BLM has analyzed four
alternatives in detail, including the no
action alternative.
Alternative A, the no action
alternative, represents current
management from the 2008 CascadeSiskiyou National Monument Approved
RMP, 2016 Southwestern Oregon
Approved RMP, and the 1993 Redding
Approved RMP. In addition to the
existing RMPs, there are several nondiscretionary designations established
by Congress that apply to lands in the
planning area and are not reflected in
the current RMPs but are part of the no
action alternative.
• In March 2009, Congress designated
the now 24,707-acre Soda Mountain
Wilderness in the original boundary of
the CSNM (Pub. L. 111–11, Section
1405).
• In 2009, Congress authorized the
Secretary to accept any grazing lease
that is donated by a lessee and to
terminate any grazing lease acquired
(Pub. L. 111–11, Section 1402(a)(1)(A)–
(B)). Congress directed that the
Secretary also not issue any new grazing
leases on those lands and ensure a
permanent end to livestock grazing on
those lands (Pub. L. 111–11, Section
1402(a)(1)(C)). Additional provisions
were described related to donations of
portions of grazing leases and
modifications to authorized levels of
grazing, as well as identifying the
permanent end to livestock grazing in
the Agate, Emigrant Creek, and Siskiyou
allotments in and near the planning area
(Pub. L. 111–11, Section 1402(a)(2)–(3)
and (b)).
• In March 2019, Congress designated
17.6 miles of Jenny Creek and 1.1 miles
of Spring Creek as scenic rivers under
the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA)
(Pub. L. 116–9). Both streams are
primarily in the CSNM but also cross
into the decision area for the
Southwestern Oregon RMP.
Alternative B emphasizes flexibility
in planning-level direction, promotes
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intensive, active management to protect
monument resources, and maximizes
the potential for an array of
discretionary actions that are
compatible with the protection of CSNM
objects and values. Alternative B would
designate both ACECs and Research
Natural Areas (RNAs).
Alternative C emphasizes flexibility
in planning-level direction but promotes
a moderate level of active management
for protection, maintenance, and
restoration of CSNM resources, and sets
some limitations on management
actions and tools available. Alternative
C utilizes ACEC designations to protect
and restore relevant and important
values in the CSNM.
Alternative D would rely primarily on
natural ecosystem processes that would
allow plant community dynamics to
unfold without active intervention.
Exceptions include the management of
young conifer stands (plantations) that
are a product of past timber harvest and
thinning around legacy trees and along
wildfire evacuation routes. Alternative
D would not designate any ACECs or
RNAs.
The BLM further considered
additional alternatives but dismissed
them from detailed analysis as
explained in the Draft RMP/EIS. The
State Directors have identified
Alternative C as the preferred
alternative. Alternative C was selected
as the preferred alternative because it
provides management decisions,
including objectives and management
direction determined to be most
effective at resolving planning issues,
protecting monument objects and
values, and meeting the purpose and
need.
Mitigation
The BLM will identify, analyze, and
consider best management practices to
mitigate the reasonably foreseeable
impacts to resources and monument
objects. The Draft EIS analyzes all
alternatives and, in accordance with 40
CFR 1502.14(e), will include
appropriate mitigation measures (best
management practices) not already
included in the proposed plan or
alternatives. Best management practices
may include measures to avoid,
minimize, rectify, reduce, or eliminate
reasonably foreseeable impacts over
time, and may be considered at multiple
scales, including the landscape scale.
ACECs
Consistent with land use planning
regulations at 43 CFR 1610.7–2(b), the
BLM is announcing a comment period
on the ACECs proposed for designation,
which will be open for 90 days.
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Comments may be submitted using any
of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section.
The proposed ACECs included in the
preferred alternative are:
• Cottonwood Glades—
approximately 115 acres. Designation
proposed to protect native fish,
meadows, complex springs, and fen
soils. Identified special management
considerations may include restricting
cattle from the area and restricting
motorized and non-motorized vehicular
use.
• Mariposa Lily—approximately 239
acres. Designation proposed to protect
rare and exemplary oak savanna with
core populations of native species, such
as the Bureau Sensitive Species Green’s
mariposa lily and Detlings microseris.
Special management considerations
may include restoration of native grass
and forb components, removal of the
invasive yellow star thistle, prescribed
fire, and restrictions on vehicular
activity and heavy equipment during
fire suppression.
The preferred alternative does not
propose to designate the following
potential ACECs or RNAs:
• Buck Prairie ACEC.
• Jenny Creek RNA.
• Lost Lake RNA.
• Mariposa Preserve Wildlife
Crossing ACEC.
• Moon Prairie ACEC.
• Old Baldy RNA.
• Oregon Gulch RNA.
• Priority Wildlife Connectivity Areas
ACEC.
• Scotch Creek RNA.
• Tunnel Creek ACEC.
Executive Order 13175, BLM Manual
Section 1780, and other Departmental
policies. Tribal Nation concerns,
including impacts on Indian trust assets
and potential impacts to cultural
resources, will be given due
consideration.
You may submit comments on the
Draft RMP/EIS in writing to the BLM at
any public meetings or to the BLM using
one of the methods listed in the
ADDRESSES section. To be considered,
comments must be received by the end
of the 90-day comment period. The
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES)
includes background information on the
CSNM and the planning process.
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.
Schedule for the Decision-Making
Process
Bureau of Land Management
16:44 Apr 04, 2024
Jkt 262001
Barry R. Bushue,
BLM Oregon/Washington State Director.
Gordon R. Toevs,
Acting BLM California State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024–07290 Filed 4–4–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–24–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[BLM_NM_FRN_MO4500177326]
The BLM will provide additional
opportunities for public participation
consistent with the NEPA and land use
planning processes, including a 30-day
public protest period and a 60-day
Governor’s consistency review on the
Proposed RMP. The Proposed RMP/
Final EIS is anticipated to be available
for public protest in the Fall of 2024
with a Record of Decision and
Approved RMP in January 2025.
The BLM will hold a total of four
public meetings. One meeting will be
held virtually, and three meetings will
be conducted in-person: in Klamath
Falls, Greensprings, and Medford,
Oregon. The dates and locations of these
meetings will be announced at least 15
days in advance through local media,
social media, newspapers, and the
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
The BLM will continue to consult
with Tribal Nations on a government-togovernment basis in accordance with
VerDate Sep<11>2014
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10,
43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.7–2)
Notice of Availability for the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument Draft Environmental Impact
Statement and Resource Management
Plan
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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 (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
New Mexico State Director is
announcing the availability of the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument (Monument) Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
and Resource Management Plan (RMP).
This notice begins a 90-day public
comment period to solicit public
SUMMARY:
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comments associated with the
Monument RMP land use allocations
and resource management goals and
objectives, and the environmental
analysis developed using best available
science to identify potential impacts to
objects of scientific and historic interest,
as well as natural resources, resource
values, and wildlife habitat located on
the Monument.
DATES: The BLM is encouraging public
involvement and input via comment
submissions on the Monument Draft
EIS/RMP. The BLM will accept
comments through June 4, 2024.
To afford the BLM the opportunity to
consider and respond to public
comment submission for the Monument
Draft EIS/RMP, please ensure your
comments are submitted and received
prior to the close of the 90-day comment
period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: The public may submit
comments on the Draft EIS/RMP to the
BLM by any of the following methods:
website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/92170/; email:
blm_nm_lcdo_mail@blm.gov; or mail:
BLM Las Cruces District Office,
Attention: Monument Manager, 1800
Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005.
Documents and information relevant
to the Monument planning effort may be
examined online at https://eplanning.
blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510
or in-person at the BLM Las Cruces
District Office address mentioned above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead;
telephone: 405–579–7154; email: prich@
blm.gov. Monument Manager,
telephone: 575–525–4358; address: 1800
Marquess Street, Las Cruces, New
Mexico 88005.
Contact Mr. Patrick Rich to add your
name 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. Patrick Rich. 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 has prepared
a Draft EIS/RMP for the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument, announces the beginning of
the 90-day public comment period for
the Monument Draft EIS/RMP, and
seeks public input and comment on the
Monument Draft RMP land use
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24028-24030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07290]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500177896]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument in Oregon/Washington and California
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA), Presidential Proclamations No. 7318
(Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument) (June 9,
2000) and No. 9564 (Boundary Enlargement of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument) (January 12, 2017), the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument (CSNM), and by this notice is providing information announcing
the opening of the comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS and the comment
period on the BLM's proposed areas of critical environmental concern
(ACECs).
DATES: This notice announces the opening of a 90-day comment period for
the Draft RMP/EIS beginning with the date following the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA's) publication of its Notice of Availability
(NOA) of the Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal Register. The EPA usually
publishes its NOAs on Fridays.
To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the
Proposed RMP/Final EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your
comments prior to the close of the 90-day public comment period or 15
days after the last public meeting, whichever is later.
This notice also announces the opening of a 90-day comment period
for proposed ACECs. To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider
comments for proposed ACECs, please ensure that the BLM receives your
comments prior to the close of the 90-day public comment period or 15
days after the last public meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP/EIS is available for review on the BLM
ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510. Written comments related to the CSNM Draft RMP/EIS
may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510.
Mail: ATTN: CSNM RMP Project Manager, BLM Medford
District, 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023675/510 and at the
BLM Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nikki Haskett, Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument RMP Project Manager; telephone (458) 246-8861,
address 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR 97504; email [email protected].
Contact Ms. Haskett to have your name added to our mailing list.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting
Ms. Haskett. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Oregon/Washington and California State Directors have prepared a Draft
RMP/EIS, announces the opening of the comment period on the Draft RMP/
EIS, and announces the comment period on the BLM's proposed ACECs. The
planning area is located in Jackson and Klamath Counties in Oregon and
Siskiyou County, California, and encompasses approximately 113,500
acres of BLM-administered lands. While most of the BLM-administered
lands are within the BLM Ashland and Klamath Falls Field Offices,
approximately 5,000 acres are located within the BLM Redding Field
Office.
In response to Proclamation No. 9564, multiple plaintiffs sued the
President and BLM, claiming that the Monument expansion violated the
1937 Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands
Act of 1937 (O&C Act). In 2017, two plaintiffs filed separate suits in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A third plaintiff
filed suit in the District of
[[Page 24029]]
Oregon. In September 2019, the District of Oregon upheld the Monument
expansion, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed
the District Court in April 2023. In November 2019, the District Court
for the District of Columbia found the Monument expansion violated the
O&C Act by ``reserving land governed by the O&C Act from sustained
yield timber production'' and held Proclamation No. 9564 ``invalid and
unenforceable as applied to land subject to the O&C Act.'' The
government appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia, which reversed the District Court on July 18,
2023, and upheld the Monument expansion. On March 25, 2024, the U.S.
Supreme Court declined petitions for review of these cases.
Purpose and Need for the RMP
The purpose and need serve to frame the identification of issues,
alternatives development, and effects analyses. Proclamation 7318 and
Proclamation 9564 direct the BLM to ``prepare a management plan for
this monument'' for the specific purposes of ``protecting the objects
of scientific and historic interest identified in Proclamation 7318 and
in Proclamation 9564.''
The RMP's purpose (40 CFR 1502.13) is to provide a management
framework, including objectives and management direction, that guides
the BLM's management of the decision area to protect and restore the
resources, objects, and values for which the area was designated. It
also serves to protect and restore the objects of scientific and
historic interest identified in Presidential Proclamations Nos. 7318
and 9564 by addressing the following:
Protecting and restoring the diverse ecosystems that
provide habitat for rare and endemic and special status wildlife and
plant species.
Protecting and restoring landscape-scale resilience for
the area's critically important natural resources.
Protecting intact habitats and undisturbed corridors that
allow for animal migration and movement.
Reducing fire risk to CSNM objects and values, as well as
within the wildland urban interface.
Managing discretionary uses to protect CSNM objects and
values.
The need for the action is to revise the 2008 CSNM RMP to encompass
all BLM-administered lands in the monument under one Record of Decision
and RMP that is consistent with the proclamations that established and
expanded the CSNM (CSNM RMP Plan Evaluation, April 2022). The BLM's
current RMPs for lands in the decision area do not address all the
legal mandates related to management of the congressionally designated
National Conservation Lands (i.e., Soda Mountain Wilderness; the Jenny
Creek and Spring Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers; the Applegate Trail,
which is part of the California National Historic Trail; and the
Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail) and the lands included in
President Obama's enlargement of the monument boundary. In addition,
some aspects of the existing RMPs covering the planning area need to be
updated to be consistent with current BLM policies.
Alternatives Including the Preferred Alternative
The BLM has analyzed four alternatives in detail, including the no
action alternative.
Alternative A, the no action alternative, represents current
management from the 2008 Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Approved
RMP, 2016 Southwestern Oregon Approved RMP, and the 1993 Redding
Approved RMP. In addition to the existing RMPs, there are several non-
discretionary designations established by Congress that apply to lands
in the planning area and are not reflected in the current RMPs but are
part of the no action alternative.
In March 2009, Congress designated the now 24,707-acre
Soda Mountain Wilderness in the original boundary of the CSNM (Pub. L.
111-11, Section 1405).
In 2009, Congress authorized the Secretary to accept any
grazing lease that is donated by a lessee and to terminate any grazing
lease acquired (Pub. L. 111-11, Section 1402(a)(1)(A)-(B)). Congress
directed that the Secretary also not issue any new grazing leases on
those lands and ensure a permanent end to livestock grazing on those
lands (Pub. L. 111-11, Section 1402(a)(1)(C)). Additional provisions
were described related to donations of portions of grazing leases and
modifications to authorized levels of grazing, as well as identifying
the permanent end to livestock grazing in the Agate, Emigrant Creek,
and Siskiyou allotments in and near the planning area (Pub. L. 111-11,
Section 1402(a)(2)-(3) and (b)).
In March 2019, Congress designated 17.6 miles of Jenny
Creek and 1.1 miles of Spring Creek as scenic rivers under the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) (Pub. L. 116-9). Both streams are primarily in
the CSNM but also cross into the decision area for the Southwestern
Oregon RMP.
Alternative B emphasizes flexibility in planning-level direction,
promotes intensive, active management to protect monument resources,
and maximizes the potential for an array of discretionary actions that
are compatible with the protection of CSNM objects and values.
Alternative B would designate both ACECs and Research Natural Areas
(RNAs).
Alternative C emphasizes flexibility in planning-level direction
but promotes a moderate level of active management for protection,
maintenance, and restoration of CSNM resources, and sets some
limitations on management actions and tools available. Alternative C
utilizes ACEC designations to protect and restore relevant and
important values in the CSNM.
Alternative D would rely primarily on natural ecosystem processes
that would allow plant community dynamics to unfold without active
intervention. Exceptions include the management of young conifer stands
(plantations) that are a product of past timber harvest and thinning
around legacy trees and along wildfire evacuation routes. Alternative D
would not designate any ACECs or RNAs.
The BLM further considered additional alternatives but dismissed
them from detailed analysis as explained in the Draft RMP/EIS. The
State Directors have identified Alternative C as the preferred
alternative. Alternative C was selected as the preferred alternative
because it provides management decisions, including objectives and
management direction determined to be most effective at resolving
planning issues, protecting monument objects and values, and meeting
the purpose and need.
Mitigation
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider best management
practices to mitigate the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources
and monument objects. The Draft EIS analyzes all alternatives and, in
accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(e), will include appropriate mitigation
measures (best management practices) not already included in the
proposed plan or alternatives. Best management practices may include
measures to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, or eliminate reasonably
foreseeable impacts over time, and may be considered at multiple
scales, including the landscape scale.
ACECs
Consistent with land use planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.7-
2(b), the BLM is announcing a comment period on the ACECs proposed for
designation, which will be open for 90 days.
[[Page 24030]]
Comments may be submitted using any of the methods listed in the
ADDRESSES section.
The proposed ACECs included in the preferred alternative are:
Cottonwood Glades--approximately 115 acres. Designation
proposed to protect native fish, meadows, complex springs, and fen
soils. Identified special management considerations may include
restricting cattle from the area and restricting motorized and non-
motorized vehicular use.
Mariposa Lily--approximately 239 acres. Designation
proposed to protect rare and exemplary oak savanna with core
populations of native species, such as the Bureau Sensitive Species
Green's mariposa lily and Detlings microseris. Special management
considerations may include restoration of native grass and forb
components, removal of the invasive yellow star thistle, prescribed
fire, and restrictions on vehicular activity and heavy equipment during
fire suppression.
The preferred alternative does not propose to designate the
following potential ACECs or RNAs:
Buck Prairie ACEC.
Jenny Creek RNA.
Lost Lake RNA.
Mariposa Preserve Wildlife Crossing ACEC.
Moon Prairie ACEC.
Old Baldy RNA.
Oregon Gulch RNA.
Priority Wildlife Connectivity Areas ACEC.
Scotch Creek RNA.
Tunnel Creek ACEC.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public
participation consistent with the NEPA and land use planning processes,
including a 30-day public protest period and a 60-day Governor's
consistency review on the Proposed RMP. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is
anticipated to be available for public protest in the Fall of 2024 with
a Record of Decision and Approved RMP in January 2025.
The BLM will hold a total of four public meetings. One meeting will
be held virtually, and three meetings will be conducted in-person: in
Klamath Falls, Greensprings, and Medford, Oregon. The dates and
locations of these meetings will be announced at least 15 days in
advance through local media, social media, newspapers, and the
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
The BLM will continue to consult with Tribal Nations on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order
13175, BLM Manual Section 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal
Nation concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential
impacts to cultural resources, will be given due consideration.
You may submit comments on the Draft RMP/EIS in writing to the BLM
at any public meetings or to the BLM using one of the methods listed in
the ADDRESSES section. To be considered, comments must be received by
the end of the 90-day comment period. The ePlanning website (see
ADDRESSES) includes background information on the CSNM and the planning
process.
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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR
1610.7-2)
Barry R. Bushue,
BLM Oregon/Washington State Director.
Gordon R. Toevs,
Acting BLM California State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-07290 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-24-P
