Notice of Availability of the Bridge Creek Area Allotment Management Plans Draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Andrews Field Office, Burns District, Oregon, 2018-2019 [2024-30542]
Download as PDF
2018
ACTION:
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 6 / Friday, January 10, 2025 / Notices
Notice of new recreation fee
area.
Pursuant to the Federal Lands
Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA),
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Coeur d’Alene Field Office will
establish day-use fees at Mica Bay
Boater Park and Killarney Lake
Campground and Access, located in
Kootenai County; and at the
Huckleberry Campground in Shoshone
County.
DATES: Starting July 10, 2025, the BLM
Coeur d’Alene Field Office will begin
charging day-use fees.
ADDRESSES: Copies of relevant
supporting documents for this action
may be reviewed at the BLM Coeur
d’Alene Field Office, 3232 W Nursery
Rd., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815 and online
at https://on.doi.gov/3qfe3I0.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Traver-Greene, public affairs
officer, BLM Coeur d’Alene District
Office, email: BLM_ID_
CoeurdAleneOffice@blm.gov; telephone:
208–769–5000. 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.
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: The BLM
is committed to provide and receive fair
value for the use of developed
recreation facilities and services in a
manner that meets public-use demands,
provides quality experiences, and
protects important resources. The BLM’s
policy is to collect fees at specialized
recreation sites, or where the BLM
provides facilities, equipment, or
services at Federal expense in
connection with outdoor use.
To meet increasing demands for
services and maintenance at Mica Bay
Boater Park, Killarney Lake
Campground and Access, and
Huckleberry Campground, the BLM will
establish a fee program for day-use
recreation. These day-use fees address
facility maintenance and public-safety
needs, due to increased use and costs of
operation. The fees will enable the BLM
to improve services, add amenities
desired by visitors, and help offset costs.
Field office management plans to
establish day-use fees at $5 per day per
group of up to 10 individuals or per
vehicle for the 2025 recreation season.
Day-use fees will increase incrementally
over the next 4 years, reaching $10 per
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SUMMARY:
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17:28 Jan 08, 2025
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day by 2029. The phased approach will
involve two increases: the first to $7 for
the 2027 recreation season, and the final
increase to $10 two years later. The
Huckleberry Campground extra vehicle/
utility trailer fee will be the same as the
day-use fee each year. The Mica Bay
Pavilion group day-use rental fee will
increase to $80 for the 2025 recreation
season, increase to $90 for the 2027
recreation season, and increase to $100
for the 2029 recreation season.
The FLREA directs the Secretary of
the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture
to publish an advance notice in the
Federal Register of the establishment of
a new recreation fee area under their
respective jurisdictions. In accordance
with BLM policy, the business plans for
the Mica Bay Boater Park, Killarney
Lake Campground and Access, and
Huckleberry Campground explain the
fee collection process and how fees will
be used at these sites. A public
comment period on the draft business
plan, announced by news release, ran
from June 11 to July 10, 2024. The BLM
Idaho Resource Advisory Council
(RAC), functioning as a Recreation RAC,
reviewed and approved the proposals to
charge day-use fees at the above listed
sites on July 11, 2024. Fee amounts will
be posted on-site and at the BLM Coeur
d’Alene Field Office. Copies of the
business plans will be available at the
BLM Coeur d’Alene Field Office as
listed in the ADDRESSES section. Any
planned fee increases will be
implemented in phases as outlined in
the business plan. Any future
adjustments in the fee amount beyond
the phased fee increases will follow the
appropriate business plan process and
will include consultation with the Idaho
RAC and other public notice. Recreation
use fees would be consistent with other
established fee sites in the area managed
by the BLM and other Federal and State
land management agencies.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6803(b))
Kurt K. Pindel,
BLM Coeur d’Alene District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2025–00396 Filed 1–8–25; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500181460]
Notice of Availability of the Bridge
Creek Area Allotment Management
Plans Draft Environmental Impact
Statement in the Andrews Field Office,
Burns District, Oregon
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, as
amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) announces the
availability of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bridge
Creek Area Allotment Management
Plans.
SUMMARY:
To afford the BLM the
opportunity to consider comments in
the Draft EIS, please ensure that the
BLM receives your comments within 45
days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability
(NOA) of the Draft EIS in the Federal
Register. The EPA usually publishes its
NOAs on Fridays.
ADDRESSES: Written comments related
to the Bridge Creek Area Allotment
Management Plans Draft EIS may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2013546/510.
• Email: BLM_OR_BU_BCA_AMP@
blm.gov.
• Fax: (541) 573–4411.
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
Burns District, ATTN: Don Rotell BCA
Draft EIS, 28910 Hwy. 20 West, Hines,
OR 97738.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the Burns District
Office, 28910 Hwy. 20 West, Hines, OR
97738, or online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2013546/510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
District Manager, Donald Rotell, BLM
Burns District Office, 28910 Highway 20
West, Hines, Oregon 97738; telephone:
(541) 573–4422; email: BLM_OR_BU_
BCA_AMP@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.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\10JAN1.SGM
10JAN1
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 6 / Friday, January 10, 2025 / Notices
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Bridge Creek Area consists of
approximately 39,062 acres in
southeastern Oregon within the
Hammond, Mud Creek, Hardie Summer,
and Hammond Fenced Federal Range
(FFR) Allotments, located
approximately 60 miles south of Burns,
Oregon, near the town of Frenchglen.
The allotments are located within the
Andrews Field Office and partially
within the Steens Mountain Cooperative
Management and Protection Area.
There is currently no grazing
preference or grazing authorization
associated with the four allotments in
the project area. Through the
alternatives in the EIS, the BLM will
consider whether to issue 10-year
grazing permits and approve 4
Allotment Management Plans that
outline seasonal grazing systems,
grazing utilization thresholds,
monitoring, and range developments.
Following issuance of the Final EIS,
BLM would sign a Record of Decision
(ROD). If the ROD selects livestock
grazing as an action, the BLM will issue
a separate decision allocating forage and
grazing permits by following the grazing
regulations applying to conflicting
applications at 43 CFR 4130.1–2. The
BLM received multiple applications for
grazing permits following a Notice of
Available Forage issued in 2020.
In 2023, the BLM assessed these four
allotments for conformance to Standards
and Guidelines (S&Gs) for achieving
rangeland health as part of the 2023
Bridge Creek Area Land Health
Assessment and determined that not all
applicable standards within these four
allotments were achieved. Causal factors
included shrub cover reduction through
fire and historic sagebrush removal,
crested wheatgrass seeding and
maintenance, annual grass increases
following fire, juniper encroachment,
drought, upstream impacts, channel
incisions caused by grazing practices
prior to 1984, and current unauthorized
grazing.
The purpose of the action is to: (1)
respond to external requests to consider
issuing 10-year term livestock grazing
permit(s) for the Hammond, Mud Creek,
Hardie Summer, and Hammond FFR
allotments; (2) consider assigning
grazing preference to one or more base
properties; (3) respond to requests to
adjust pasture and allotment boundaries
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:28 Jan 08, 2025
Jkt 265001
and animal unit months (AUMs); (4)
respond to an external request to
increase active use AUMs in the
Hammond Allotment to manage its
higher crested wheatgrass production;
(5) implement allotment management
plans for the Hammond, Hardie
Summer, Mud Creek, and Hammond
FFR allotments; and (6) reduce standing
fine fuel biomass through biological
thinning of forage in the Hammond,
Hardie Summer, and Mud Creek
allotments.
The BLM need for the action is to: (1)
respond to external requests for
issuance of grazing permit(s) and
modification of grazing management
related activities; (2) ensure that grazing
management practices occurring on
public land meet the Standards of
Rangeland Health and conform with the
Guidelines for Livestock Grazing
Management; (3) ensure any authorized
livestock grazing is consistent with
applicable Resource Management Plans;
(4) ensure proper active use of AUM
levels, season of use, and livestock
management to maintain or improve the
land health, vigor, and ecological
processes within the allotments; and (5)
reduce fine fuel biomass accumulation
to maintain plant vigor.
The BLM is analyzing five
alternatives. Across all of the action
alternatives, a common objective is to
strive to meet or make significant
progress toward meeting Oregon/
Washington Standards for Rangeland
Health & Guidelines for Livestock
Grazing (BLM 1997), to comply with
2015 Oregon Greater Sage-Grouse
(GRSG) Resource Management Plan
Amendment (Greater Sage-Grouse
ARMPA; BLM 2015b) objectives, and
comply with the statutory and
regulatory requirements of FLPMA and
the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934.
Alternative 1 would include issuing
grazing permit(s) for the allotments with
terms and conditions identical to the
previously issued permit, which expired
in 2014. This alternative would not
include any range developments.
Alternative 2 is the Agency Developed
Alternative and would include issuance
of an allotment management plan and
grazing permit(s) with site specific
terms and conditions, range
developments, and revised allotment
and/or pasture boundaries to provide
periodic growing season rest, flexibility,
and adaptive management to all
allotments. This alternative would
increase permitted AUMs within the
PO 00000
Frm 00083
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2019
Hammond Allotment and authorize
limited non-renewable grazing,
construction of 6.5 miles of new fences,
and removal of 8.7 miles of fencing.
Alternative 3 would include issuance
of grazing permit(s) with site specific
terms and conditions, range
developments, changes to allotment and
pasture boundaries, a modified season
of use for each allotment to ensure
periodic growing season rest in all
pastures and authorize limited nonrenewable grazing. This alternative
would increase AUMs permitted within
all allotments, and authorize
construction of 1 new corral, up to 2.7
miles of water pipelines, 3 troughs, 7.6
miles of new fences, and removal of 5.6
miles of fencing.
Alternative 4 would include issuing
grazing permit(s) with reduced AUMs, a
restricted season of use, and would not
include any boundary adjustments or
constructing or removing any range
developments. Alternative 5 is the No
Action Alternative; no livestock grazing
permits would be issued, and no new
developments would be authorized or
constructed. Should the BLM determine
to hold public meetings, the specific
date(s) and location(s) of any meeting
will be announced in advance through
local media press releases and the
project’s ePlanning page shown in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Comments on the draft EIS must be
submitted in accordance with the DATES
section of this notice to the contacts
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. To assist the BLM in identifying
issues and concerns related to this
project, comments should be as specific
as possible.
Public Disclosure of Comments:
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)
(2023).)
Donald Rotell,
District Manager, Burns District.
[FR Doc. 2024–30542 Filed 1–8–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–24–P
E:\FR\FM\10JAN1.SGM
10JAN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2018-2019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30542]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500181460]
Notice of Availability of the Bridge Creek Area Allotment
Management Plans Draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Andrews
Field Office, Burns District, Oregon
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces
the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for
the Bridge Creek Area Allotment Management Plans.
DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the
Draft EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your comments within 45
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the
Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.
ADDRESSES: Written comments related to the Bridge Creek Area Allotment
Management Plans Draft EIS may be submitted by any of the following
methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013546/510.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: (541) 573-4411.
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Burns District, ATTN: Don
Rotell BCA Draft EIS, 28910 Hwy. 20 West, Hines, OR 97738.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Burns
District Office, 28910 Hwy. 20 West, Hines, OR 97738, or online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013546/510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: District Manager, Donald Rotell, BLM
Burns District Office, 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon 97738;
telephone: (541) 573-4422; 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. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered
[[Page 2019]]
within their country to make international calls to the point-of-
contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bridge Creek Area consists of
approximately 39,062 acres in southeastern Oregon within the Hammond,
Mud Creek, Hardie Summer, and Hammond Fenced Federal Range (FFR)
Allotments, located approximately 60 miles south of Burns, Oregon, near
the town of Frenchglen. The allotments are located within the Andrews
Field Office and partially within the Steens Mountain Cooperative
Management and Protection Area.
There is currently no grazing preference or grazing authorization
associated with the four allotments in the project area. Through the
alternatives in the EIS, the BLM will consider whether to issue 10-year
grazing permits and approve 4 Allotment Management Plans that outline
seasonal grazing systems, grazing utilization thresholds, monitoring,
and range developments. Following issuance of the Final EIS, BLM would
sign a Record of Decision (ROD). If the ROD selects livestock grazing
as an action, the BLM will issue a separate decision allocating forage
and grazing permits by following the grazing regulations applying to
conflicting applications at 43 CFR 4130.1-2. The BLM received multiple
applications for grazing permits following a Notice of Available Forage
issued in 2020.
In 2023, the BLM assessed these four allotments for conformance to
Standards and Guidelines (S&Gs) for achieving rangeland health as part
of the 2023 Bridge Creek Area Land Health Assessment and determined
that not all applicable standards within these four allotments were
achieved. Causal factors included shrub cover reduction through fire
and historic sagebrush removal, crested wheatgrass seeding and
maintenance, annual grass increases following fire, juniper
encroachment, drought, upstream impacts, channel incisions caused by
grazing practices prior to 1984, and current unauthorized grazing.
The purpose of the action is to: (1) respond to external requests
to consider issuing 10-year term livestock grazing permit(s) for the
Hammond, Mud Creek, Hardie Summer, and Hammond FFR allotments; (2)
consider assigning grazing preference to one or more base properties;
(3) respond to requests to adjust pasture and allotment boundaries and
animal unit months (AUMs); (4) respond to an external request to
increase active use AUMs in the Hammond Allotment to manage its higher
crested wheatgrass production; (5) implement allotment management plans
for the Hammond, Hardie Summer, Mud Creek, and Hammond FFR allotments;
and (6) reduce standing fine fuel biomass through biological thinning
of forage in the Hammond, Hardie Summer, and Mud Creek allotments.
The BLM need for the action is to: (1) respond to external requests
for issuance of grazing permit(s) and modification of grazing
management related activities; (2) ensure that grazing management
practices occurring on public land meet the Standards of Rangeland
Health and conform with the Guidelines for Livestock Grazing
Management; (3) ensure any authorized livestock grazing is consistent
with applicable Resource Management Plans; (4) ensure proper active use
of AUM levels, season of use, and livestock management to maintain or
improve the land health, vigor, and ecological processes within the
allotments; and (5) reduce fine fuel biomass accumulation to maintain
plant vigor.
The BLM is analyzing five alternatives. Across all of the action
alternatives, a common objective is to strive to meet or make
significant progress toward meeting Oregon/Washington Standards for
Rangeland Health & Guidelines for Livestock Grazing (BLM 1997), to
comply with 2015 Oregon Greater Sage-Grouse (GRSG) Resource Management
Plan Amendment (Greater Sage-Grouse ARMPA; BLM 2015b) objectives, and
comply with the statutory and regulatory requirements of FLPMA and the
Taylor Grazing Act of 1934.
Alternative 1 would include issuing grazing permit(s) for the
allotments with terms and conditions identical to the previously issued
permit, which expired in 2014. This alternative would not include any
range developments.
Alternative 2 is the Agency Developed Alternative and would include
issuance of an allotment management plan and grazing permit(s) with
site specific terms and conditions, range developments, and revised
allotment and/or pasture boundaries to provide periodic growing season
rest, flexibility, and adaptive management to all allotments. This
alternative would increase permitted AUMs within the Hammond Allotment
and authorize limited non-renewable grazing, construction of 6.5 miles
of new fences, and removal of 8.7 miles of fencing.
Alternative 3 would include issuance of grazing permit(s) with site
specific terms and conditions, range developments, changes to allotment
and pasture boundaries, a modified season of use for each allotment to
ensure periodic growing season rest in all pastures and authorize
limited non-renewable grazing. This alternative would increase AUMs
permitted within all allotments, and authorize construction of 1 new
corral, up to 2.7 miles of water pipelines, 3 troughs, 7.6 miles of new
fences, and removal of 5.6 miles of fencing.
Alternative 4 would include issuing grazing permit(s) with reduced
AUMs, a restricted season of use, and would not include any boundary
adjustments or constructing or removing any range developments.
Alternative 5 is the No Action Alternative; no livestock grazing
permits would be issued, and no new developments would be authorized or
constructed. Should the BLM determine to hold public meetings, the
specific date(s) and location(s) of any meeting will be announced in
advance through local media press releases and the project's ePlanning
page shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Comments on the draft EIS must be submitted in accordance with the
DATES section of this notice to the contacts listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this notice. To assist the BLM in identifying issues and
concerns related to this project, comments should be as specific as
possible.
Public Disclosure of Comments: 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) (2023).)
Donald Rotell,
District Manager, Burns District.
[FR Doc. 2024-30542 Filed 1-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-24-P