[Federal Register: January 30, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 20)]
[Notices]
[Page 4531]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ja04-85]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[AK-025-04-1610-DO-089L]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan and
Associated Environmental Impact Statement for the Kobuk-Seward
Peninsula Planning Area
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP)
with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Kobuk-
Seward Peninsula planning area in western Alaska.
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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) intends to prepare an RMP for the Kobuk-Seward
Peninsula planning area, which includes public lands and resources
managed by the Northern Field Office. This action will require a single
EIS. The planning area includes approximately 13 million acres of BLM-
administered lands in western Alaska and encompasses the area from
Point Lay south to the Norton Sound, and from the Bering and Chukchi
seas east to the Kobuk River. It includes the Seward Peninsula east to
the Nulato Hills. The plan will fulfill the needs and obligations set
forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM management policies. The BLM
will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the
management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and
national needs and concerns. The public scoping process will identify
planning issues and develop planning criteria.
DATES: The public scoping period will begin upon publication of this
notice. Formal scoping will end 90 days after publication of this
notice. Comments on issues and planning criteria can be submitted in
writing to the address listed below. All public meetings will be
announced through the local news media and the BLM Web site (http://aurora.ak.blm.gov/
) at least 15 days prior to the event. The minutes
and list of attendees for each meeting will be available to the public
and open for 30 days to any participants who wish to clarify the views
they expressed.
Public Participation: Public meetings will be held throughout the
plan scoping and preparation period. In order to ensure local community
participation and input, public meetings will be held in several
communities within the planning area. Early participation is encouraged
and will help determine the future management of BLM-administered lands
within the planning area. In addition to the ongoing public
participation process, formal opportunities for public participation
will be provided through comment on the alternatives and upon
publication of the BLM draft RMP/EIS.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: Field Manager, Kobuk-
Seward Peninsula Resource Management Planning, Bureau of Land
Management, Northern Field Office, 1150 University Avenue, Fairbanks,
Alaska, 99709-3844; Fax (907)-474-2282. Comments, including names and
street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at
the Northern Field Office during regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published
as part of the EIS. Individual respondents may request confidentiality.
If you wish to withhold your name or street address from public review
or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such
requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions
from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials or organizations or
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact Jeanie Cole by telephone
at (907) 474-2340 or via e-mail at jeanie_cole@blm.gov.
Dated: January 12, 2004.
Susan M. Will,
Acting Manager, Northern Field Office.
[FR Doc. 04-2050 Filed 1-29-04; 8:45 am]