Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Redding and Arcata Field Offices Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan, California, 52083-52085 [2024-13463]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2024 / Notices ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Summary of the Proposed RMP The proposed RMP (Alternative G) in the final supplemental EIS draws from a combination of components from the various alternatives. Alternative G would retain the areas closed to fluid mineral leasing in the 2015 CRVFO and GJFO RMPs (same as alternative B) and would retain the fluid mineral stipulations. Within the CRVFO, areas closed to oil and gas leasing in the 2015 RMP include: all Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs); lands within municipal boundaries; the Upper Colorado River Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA); Blue Hill, Bull Gulch, Deep Creek, and Thompson Creek ACECs; Deep Creek, Flat Tops Addition, Pisgah Mountain, and Thompson Creek lands with wilderness characteristics; Deep Creek and two Colorado River segments found eligible for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; and all State wildlife areas. Within the GJFO, areas closed to oil and gas leasing in the 2015 RMP include: all WSAs; Bangs, Dolores River, and Palisade Rim SRMAs; Gunnison River Bluffs Extensive Recreation Management Area; Badger Wash, Dolores River Riparian, Juanita Arch, Rough Canyon, Sinbad Valley, The Palisade, and Unaweep Seep ACECs; Bangs, Maverick, and Unaweep lands with wilderness characteristics; Gunnison sage-grouse critical habitat and greater sage-grouse habitat within one mile of an active lek; Grand Junction and Palisade municipal watersheds; and Bureau of Reclamation withdrawal areas. Alternative G would also close the noknown and low oil and gas development potential areas to future fluid mineral leasing, except for the helium potential area in GJFO, which would remain open to leasing. Medium oil and gas development potential areas would be closed where they are surrounded by low oil and gas development potential areas within the CRVFO. Medium oil and gas development potential areas that are either adjacent to CRVFO high oil and gas development potential areas or surrounded by GJFO high oil and gas development potential areas would remain open for oil and gas leasing. The high potential areas would generally remain open for fluid mineral leasing. Within the high potential and open medium potential areas, there would be areas closed to fluid mineral leasing due to specific resource concerns. Geothermal resources would remain open to leasing, except for those within areas closed to oil and gas leasing due to specific resource concerns, and fluid VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 mineral stipulations in the approved RMPs would apply. Alternative G would also close five existing designated ACECs to fluid mineral leasing to protect their relevant and important values, including the Glenwood Springs Debris Flow Hazard Zones and Grand Hogback ACECs in CRVFO and Atwell Gulch, Indian Creek, and Pyramid Rock ACECs in GJFO. Alternative G would expand the existing Grand Hogback ACEC in CRVFO and Pyramid Rock ACEC in GJFO. Within the CRVFO, Alternative G would designate the Castle Peak Addition lands with wilderness characteristics unit as a wilderness study area and would close to oil and gas leasing the Thompson Divide Withdrawal Area in CRVFO, consistent with the boundary described in Public Land Order No. 7939. Within the GJFO, Alternative G would manage Cone Mountain, Granite Creek, Kings Canyon, Lumsden Canyon, and West Creek units for protection of their wilderness characteristics. Increased protections for the Roan and Carr Creeks ACECs and Jerry Creek, Mesa/Powderhorn, and Collbran municipal water source areas within the GJFO would be provided through application of No Surface Occupancy stipulations. 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 might be adversely affected by approval of the proposed RMP may protest its approval to the BLM. 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 with the BLM regarding the proposed RMP may be found online at the website in the ADDRESSES section above. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address or submitted electronically through the BLM ePlanning project website listed in the ADDRESSES section. Protests submitted electronically by any means other than the ePlanning project website or by fax will be invalid unless a hard copy of the protest is submitted. The BLM will render a written decision on each protest. The decision of the BLM on the protest shall be the final decision of the Department of the Interior. Responses to valid protest issues will be compiled and documented in a Protest Resolution Report made available following the protest resolution online at: https:// PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 52083 www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/protestresolution-reports. Upon resolution of protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision and Approved RMP. Before including your phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware that your entire protest—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your protest 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, BLM Colorado State Director. [FR Doc. 2024–13452 Filed 6–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4331–16–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [BLM_CA_FRN_MO4500179115] Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Redding and Arcata Field Offices Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan, California 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) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Redding Field Office and Arcata Field Office Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan and by this notice is announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the Proposed RMP. 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. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\21JNN1.SGM 21JNN1 52084 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2024 / Notices The Proposed RMP and Final EIS is available on the BLM ePlanning project website at https:// eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ project/2012803/510. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at https:// eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ project/2012803/510 and at the Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office. Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM for the Proposed Northwest California Integrated 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. The address for filing a protest is: the ePlanning website listed above or BLM Director, Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 40 (Door W–4), Lakewood, CO 80215. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Callahan, Planning and Environmental Specialist, telephone: (707) 825–2315; address: Bureau of Land Management, Arcata Field Office, 1695 Heindon Road, Arcata, California 95521–4573; email: vslaughter@blm.gov or Chad Endicott, Planning and Environmental Specialist, telephone: (530) 224–2140; address: Bureau of Land Management, Redding Field Office, 6640 Lockheed Drive, Redding, CA 96002–9003; email: cendicott@ 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 Ms. Callahan or Mr. Endicott. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM California State Director has prepared a Proposed RMP and Final EIS and provides information announcing the availability on the Proposed RMP and Final EIS. The planning area is in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, and Butte counties, California, and encompasses approximately 382,200 acres of public land and approximately 295,100 subsurface acres of Federal mineral estate. Current Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office management is identified in their respective 1992 and 1993 RMPs. All existing management as described in the Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office approved RMPs remains in effect until and unless ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 ADDRESSES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 replaced or modified by the Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan Approved RMP and Record of Decision. Separate management plans guide BLM management for National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, and similar designations within the planning area. Other non-BLM-administered lands within the planning area include the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, Lassen, Plumas, and Mendocino National Forests; Lassen Volcanic and Redwoods National Parks; the Whiskeytown and Smith River National Recreation Areas; the Sacramento Castle Rock and Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuges; and Black Butte Lake (managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers). In addition, Tribal lands and reservations for 31 federally recognized Native American Tribes fall within the planning area, and the BLMadministered lands include ancestral territories, sacred sites, gathering areas, and other places important to Tribes. The Bureau of Reclamation manages numerous land holdings and facilities within the planning area, including six hydroelectric dams and lands that are co-managed with the BLM under a memorandum of agreement with the Redding Field Office near the Shasta Dam and Keswick Reservoir. In addition to federally managed lands, there are an extensive number of State of Californiamanaged beaches, parks, wildlife areas, and recreation areas in the planning area. The Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office have taken these non-BLM-administered lands into account in this planning effort. In preparing the Proposed RMP, the BLM evaluated in detail four alternatives in the Final EIS, including the No Action Alternative (Alternative A) and three action alternatives (Alternatives B, C, and D) that were based on known resource use and issues in the planning area. Alternative B emphasizes resource connectivity and resiliency. Under Alternative B, the BLM would manage for multiple use and maintenance of corridors of relatively undeveloped areas to provide for connectivity of wildlife and fisheries habitat, and to serve as a resilient refuge from ongoing development and climate change. This, in turn, would provide recreational and aesthetic resources for public enjoyment. Alternative C emphasizes community access and development. Under Alternative C, the BLM would also manage for multiple use and public enjoyment with an emphasis on recreational opportunity and access, travel and utility opportunities, and social and economic PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 benefits. Alternative D aims to create opportunities for resource uses, such as recreation, motorized and mechanized travel, and livestock grazing, while maintaining ecological function and meeting land capability to protect habitat connectivity. All action alternatives would enable the BLM to manage for multiple use and long-term sustainability and provide for public use and enjoyment of BLM-administered lands. These action alternatives are analyzed against the No Action Alternative (current management) and comply with the BLM’s management responsibilities and regulatory requirements. The State Director has identified Alternative D as the preferred alternative. Alternative D was found to best meet the State Director’s planning guidance and, therefore, was selected as the preferred alternative. By including components of all alternatives considered, Alternative D strikes a balance between the action alternatives to provide community access and development, while ensuring wildlife connectivity and ecosystem resilience. Public review of the Draft Northwest California Integrated RMP and EIS began on September 29, 2023, and ended on December 28, 2023. The BLM held two virtual and two in-person public meetings across the planning area during the 90-day comment period. Comments received on the Draft RMP and EIS were considered and incorporated in the Proposed RMP and Final EIS as appropriate. Public and cooperating agency comments and further internal BLM review resulted in the addition of clarifying text and refinement of Alternative D, including, but not limited to, updated suitability determinations for six Wild and Scenic Rivers segments, and revised goals, objectives, and management direction for the Riparian Management Areas. 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 might 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 E:\FR\FM\21JNN1.SGM 21JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2024 / Notices in writing and mailed to the appropriate address or submitted electronically through the BLM ePlanning project website, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section earlier. Protests submitted electronically by any means other than the ePlanning project website 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 valid 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-andnepa/public-participation/protestresolution-reports. Upon resolution of protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved RMP. Before including your phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware that your entire protest—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your protest 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) Gordon R. Toevs, Acting State Director. [FR Doc. 2024–13463 Filed 6–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4331–16–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service CALIFORNIA [NPS–WASO–NRNHL–DTS#–38140; PPWOCRADI0, PCU00RP14.R50000] San Diego County Arnold and Choate’s Addition—North Florence Heights Historic District, Roughly bounded by Stephens Street, Eagle Street, Washington Place/Fort Stockton Drive, and Plumosa Way/Barr Avenue, San Diego, SG100010531 National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions National Park Service, Interior. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The National Park Service is soliciting electronic comments on the significance of properties nominated before June 8, 2024, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places. DATES: Comments should be submitted electronically by July 8, 2024. ADDRESSES: Comments are encouraged to be submitted electronically to National_Register_Submissions@ nps.gov with the subject line ‘‘Public Comment on <property or proposed SUMMARY: ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 district name, (County) State>.’’ If you have no access to email, you may send them via U.S. Postal Service and all other carriers to the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, 1849 C Street NW, MS 7228, Washington, DC 20240. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry A. Frear, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program, 1849 C Street NW, MS 7228, Washington, DC 20240, sherry_frear@nps.gov, 202–913–3763. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The properties listed in this notice are being considered for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places. Nominations for their consideration were received by the National Park Service before June 8, 2024. Pursuant to section 60.13 of 36 CFR part 60, comments are being accepted concerning the significance of the nominated properties under the National Register criteria for evaluation. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Nominations submitted by State or Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. Key: State, County, Property Name, Multiple Name (if applicable), Address/ Boundary, City, Vicinity, Reference Number. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 KANSAS Douglas County Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church, 847 Ohio Street, Lawrence, SG100010526 LOUISIANA Iberville Parish, Towles-Musso House, 775 River Road, St. Gabriel, SG100010517 Lafayette Parish, Travelodge Motel, 1101 West Pinhook Road, Lafayette, SG100010518 Orleans Parish, St. Claude General Hospital, 3419 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, SG100010515 Ouachita Parish, Price’s Beauty Shop, 2101 Grammont Street, Monroe, SG100010514 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 52085 Rapides Parish, Shiloh Baptist Church, 930 Washington Street, Alexandria, SG100010516 OHIO Butler County Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad Station, 409 Maple Avenue, Hamilton, SG100010527 Hamilton County Kerper and Melbourne Terrace Apartments, (Apartment Buildings in Ohio Urban Centers, 1870–1970 MPS), 3066–3092 Kerper Avenue and 3066–3084 Melbourne Terrace, Cincinnati, MP100010530 OKLAHOMA Pushmataha County Frisco Railroad Depot, NW corner, intersection of Pine Street and Depot Road, Clayton, SG100010524 PENNSYLVANIA Berks County Kutztown Silk Mill, 40 Willow Street, Kutztown, SG100010535 UTAH Uintah County Wong Sing Warehouse, 7267 E US–40/191, Fort Duchesne, SG100010522 Weber County Bramwell, George Walter Jr. and Isabelle, House, 4442 W 2350 North, Plain City, SG100010536 WASHINGTON King County Continental Hotel, 315 Seneca Street, Seattle, SG100010525 WISCONSIN Fond Du Lac County Little White Schoolhouse, 1074 West Fond du Lac Street, Ripon, SG100010533 An owner objection received for the following resource(s): CONNECTICUT Fairfield County Church Hill Historic District, 293 Elm St; 2 Locust Ave; 4–61 Main St; 183 Oenoke Lane; 5–40 Oenoke Ridge; 0–63 Park Street and Extension; 18–130 and 132 Seminary St; 7–88 St. John Place, New Canaan, SG100010529 A request for removal has been made for the following resource(s): GEORGIA Spalding County Hunt House, 232 S 8th St., Griffin, OT73002142 Additional documentation has been received for the following resource(s): MINNESOTA Koochiching County Oberholtzer, Ernest C., Rainy Lake Islands Historic District (Additional E:\FR\FM\21JNN1.SGM 21JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52083-52085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13463]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_CA_FRN_MO4500179115]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan 
and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Redding and Arcata 
Field Offices Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan, 
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), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Redding Field Office and 
Arcata Field Office Northwest California Integrated Resource Management 
Plan and by this notice is announcing the start of a 30-day protest 
period of the Proposed RMP.

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.

[[Page 52084]]


ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP and Final EIS is available on the BLM 
ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2012803/510. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be 
examined online at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2012803/510 and at the Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM for the Proposed 
Northwest California Integrated 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. The address for filing a 
protest is: the ePlanning website listed above or BLM Director, 
Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 
40 (Door W-4), Lakewood, CO 80215.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Callahan, Planning and 
Environmental Specialist, telephone: (707) 825-2315; address: Bureau of 
Land Management, Arcata Field Office, 1695 Heindon Road, Arcata, 
California 95521-4573; email: [email protected] or Chad Endicott, 
Planning and Environmental Specialist, telephone: (530) 224-2140; 
address: Bureau of Land Management, Redding Field Office, 6640 Lockheed 
Drive, Redding, CA 96002-9003; 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 Ms. Callahan or Mr. 
Endicott. 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 
California State Director has prepared a Proposed RMP and Final EIS and 
provides information announcing the availability on the Proposed RMP 
and Final EIS. The planning area is in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, 
Siskiyou, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, and Butte counties, California, and 
encompasses approximately 382,200 acres of public land and 
approximately 295,100 subsurface acres of Federal mineral estate.
    Current Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office management is 
identified in their respective 1992 and 1993 RMPs. All existing 
management as described in the Arcata Field Office and Redding Field 
Office approved RMPs remains in effect until and unless replaced or 
modified by the Northwest California Integrated Resource Management 
Plan Approved RMP and Record of Decision. Separate management plans 
guide BLM management for National Monuments, National Conservation 
Areas, and similar designations within the planning area.
    Other non-BLM-administered lands within the planning area include 
the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, Lassen, Plumas, and Mendocino 
National Forests; Lassen Volcanic and Redwoods National Parks; the 
Whiskeytown and Smith River National Recreation Areas; the Sacramento 
Castle Rock and Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuges; and Black Butte 
Lake (managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers). In addition, Tribal 
lands and reservations for 31 federally recognized Native American 
Tribes fall within the planning area, and the BLM-administered lands 
include ancestral territories, sacred sites, gathering areas, and other 
places important to Tribes. The Bureau of Reclamation manages numerous 
land holdings and facilities within the planning area, including six 
hydroelectric dams and lands that are co-managed with the BLM under a 
memorandum of agreement with the Redding Field Office near the Shasta 
Dam and Keswick Reservoir. In addition to federally managed lands, 
there are an extensive number of State of California-managed beaches, 
parks, wildlife areas, and recreation areas in the planning area. The 
Arcata Field Office and Redding Field Office have taken these non-BLM-
administered lands into account in this planning effort.
    In preparing the Proposed RMP, the BLM evaluated in detail four 
alternatives in the Final EIS, including the No Action Alternative 
(Alternative A) and three action alternatives (Alternatives B, C, and 
D) that were based on known resource use and issues in the planning 
area. Alternative B emphasizes resource connectivity and resiliency. 
Under Alternative B, the BLM would manage for multiple use and 
maintenance of corridors of relatively undeveloped areas to provide for 
connectivity of wildlife and fisheries habitat, and to serve as a 
resilient refuge from ongoing development and climate change. This, in 
turn, would provide recreational and aesthetic resources for public 
enjoyment. Alternative C emphasizes community access and development. 
Under Alternative C, the BLM would also manage for multiple use and 
public enjoyment with an emphasis on recreational opportunity and 
access, travel and utility opportunities, and social and economic 
benefits. Alternative D aims to create opportunities for resource uses, 
such as recreation, motorized and mechanized travel, and livestock 
grazing, while maintaining ecological function and meeting land 
capability to protect habitat connectivity. All action alternatives 
would enable the BLM to manage for multiple use and long-term 
sustainability and provide for public use and enjoyment of BLM-
administered lands.
    These action alternatives are analyzed against the No Action 
Alternative (current management) and comply with the BLM's management 
responsibilities and regulatory requirements.
    The State Director has identified Alternative D as the preferred 
alternative. Alternative D was found to best meet the State Director's 
planning guidance and, therefore, was selected as the preferred 
alternative. By including components of all alternatives considered, 
Alternative D strikes a balance between the action alternatives to 
provide community access and development, while ensuring wildlife 
connectivity and ecosystem resilience.
    Public review of the Draft Northwest California Integrated RMP and 
EIS began on September 29, 2023, and ended on December 28, 2023. The 
BLM held two virtual and two in-person public meetings across the 
planning area during the 90-day comment period. Comments received on 
the Draft RMP and EIS were considered and incorporated in the Proposed 
RMP and Final EIS as appropriate. Public and cooperating agency 
comments and further internal BLM review resulted in the addition of 
clarifying text and refinement of Alternative D, including, but not 
limited to, updated suitability determinations for six Wild and Scenic 
Rivers segments, and revised goals, objectives, and management 
direction for the Riparian Management Areas.

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 might 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

[[Page 52085]]

in writing and mailed to the appropriate address or submitted 
electronically through the BLM ePlanning project website, as set forth 
in the ADDRESSES section earlier. Protests submitted electronically by 
any means other than the ePlanning project website 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 valid 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. Upon resolution of 
protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved 
RMP.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest 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)

Gordon R. Toevs,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-13463 Filed 6-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-16-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.