[Federal Register: March 19, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 53)]
[Notices]
[Page 13322-13323]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19mr03-102]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[AK-040-02-1610-DO-086L]
Resource Management Plan; Ring of Fire
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Anchorage Field Office.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Resource Management Plan
(RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a request for
information for the scoping process, and a call for coal resource
information.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the BLM, Anchorage Field Office,
Alaska, is initiating a planning effort to prepare the Ring of Fire
RMP. This planning activity encompasses approximately 1.3 million acres
of public land. Section 201 and 202 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1711) and the regulations in
43 CFR 1600 direct this planning effort. The plan will fulfill the
needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA). As required in 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is also a
specific call for coal resource information and identification of areas
where there is an interest in future leasing and development of federal
coal.
The BLM will work closely with interested parties to identify the
management decisions that are best suited to the needs of the public.
This collaborative process will take into account local, regional, and
national needs and concerns. This notice initiates the public scoping
process to identify planning issues and to develop planning criteria.
The public is invited to nominate potential areas of critical
environmental concern (ACEC), and river segments for wild and scenic
river consideration during the planning process.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may obtain further
information or request to be placed on the mailing list for the Ring of
Fire RMP planning effort by contacting Bob Lloyd, RMP Team Leader or
Peter Ditton, Acting Field Manager, Anchorage Field Office, 6881 Abbott
Loop Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99507, (907) 267-1246.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area extends from below Dixon
Entrance in southeast Alaska to Attu Island at the end of the Aleutian
Chain and presents significant challenges. This is a lineal distance of
some 2,500 miles. The area contains 80% of the total population of the
State including Anchorage, the largest city, and Juneau, the State
capital. The boundaries are the Canadian border for the southeast part
of the planning area, the Matanuska-Susitna, Anchorage and Kenai
Boroughs in Southcentral Alaska, Kodiak Island, and the Alaska
Peninsula, and Aleutian Island Chain.
Within this 61,000,000 acre area there are approximately 1,300,000
acres (surface estate) of BLM-administered lands occurring as large
blocks to small scattered tracts. Approximately 813,000 acres of the
1.3 million acres have been selected by the State of Alaska and Native
Corporations, but have not been conveyed. Due to over selection, BLM
will retain management of some of this selected land. Lands
administered by BLM and not selected total approximately 463,000 acres.
Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by
BLM and other agencies, and in meetings with individuals and user
groups. They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the existing
issues and concerns with current management. The major issues that will
be addressed in the plan effort are subsistence; oil and gas; access;
locatable minerals; off-highway vehicle (OHV) use and designation; wild
fire and fuels management; wild, scenic and recreation rivers;
recreation; and land tenure adjustments.
DATES: The scoping comment period will commence with the publication of
this notice. Meetings and comment deadlines will be announced through
the local news media, newsletters and a web site to be developed by a
contractor. Comments on issues and planning criteria should be received
on or before the end of the scoping period at the address listed below.
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
[[Page 13323]]
scheduled in each of the planning areas. Early participation by all
those interested is encouraged and will help determine the future
management of lands within the Ring of Fire planning area. At least 15
days public notice will be given for activities where the public is
invited to attend. The minutes and list of attendees for each meeting
will be available to the public and open for 30 days to any participant
who wishes to clarify the views they expressed. Written comments will
be accepted throughout the planning process at the address shown below.
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 the Bureau of Land
Management, Anchorage Field Office, 6881 Abbott Loop Road, Anchorage,
Alaska 99507; Fax 907-267-1267. Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the Anchorage Field Office located in Anchorage,
Alaska. Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents,
will be available for public review at the Anchorage Field Office
located in Anchorage, Alaska during regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to
4 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 of organizations or
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.
After gathering public comments on what issues the plan should address,
the suggested issues will be placed in one of three categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
2. Issues resolved through policy or administrative action; or
3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
Rationale will be provided in the plan for each issue placed in
category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a number of
management questions and concerns will be addressed in the plan. The
public is encouraged to help identify these questions and concerns
during the scoping process.
An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the plan in
order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns
identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will include
specialists with expertise in fire management, geology, forestry,
outdoor recreation, archaeology, paleontology, subsistence, wildlife
and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, sociology and
economics.
Peter J. Ditton,
Field Office Manager.
[FR Doc. 03-6272 Filed 3-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P