[Federal Register: October 31, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 62096-62097]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc03-81]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
[CA-668-03-1610-DQ]
Notice of Availability of Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
National Monument Proposed Management Plan and Final Environmental
Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto
proposed Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning
regulations, title 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part
1610.2(f)(4) and title 40 CFR part 1500, the BLM and Forest Service
hereby gives notice that the proposed Management Plan/Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) has been prepared for the Santa
Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. This Management Plan
is a cooperative effort between the Department of the Interior, BLM,
and the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The 272,000 acre
National Monument encompasses 86,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management
lands and 64,400 acres of Forest Service lands in the Coachella Valley
and surrounding mountains. Additional land managing entities within the
National Monument include the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians,
the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California
Department of Fish and Game, Riverside County, local jurisdictions, and
private landowners. The management plan provides direction for
coordination between the BLM, Forest Service, and various partners and
outlines proposed strategies for protecting the values that the
National Monument was established to protect.
DATES: BLM Planning Regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) state that any person
who participated in the planning process, and has an interest that may
be adversely affected, may protest. The protest must be filed within 30
days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes
this notice in the Federal Register. Instructions for filing of
protests are described in the preface of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto
Mountains National Monument Management Plan/FEIS and are included in
the Supplementary Information section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Hill, Planning and Environmental
Coordinator, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
Management Plan, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, P.O. Box
581260, 690 W. Garnet Avenue, North Palm Springs, CA 92258. Phone
Number: 760-251-4800.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
National Monument was established by Public Law 106-351 and will be
cooperatively managed by the Bureau of
[[Page 62097]]
Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The Santa
Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Act of 2000 affects
only Federal lands and Federal interests located within the established
boundaries. The BLM and the Forest Service will jointly manage Federal
lands in the National Monument in coordination with the Agua Caliente
Band of Cahuilla Indians, other Federal agencies, State agencies, and
local governments.
Copies of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National
Monument Management Plan/FEIS have been sent to affected Federal,
State, and Local Government agencies, interested parties and those who
requested a copy of the Draft Management Plan/Draft EIS. Copies of the
proposed Plan/Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM
Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, P.O Box 581260, 690 W. Garnet
Avenue, North Palm Springs, CA 92258. Interested persons may also
review the Proposed Management Plan/FEIS on the Internet at http://www.ca.blm.gov/palmsprings.
Electronic (on CD-ROM) and paper copies may
also be obtained by contacting Greg Hill at the aforementioned
addresses and phone number.
Comments on the Draft Management Plan/EIS received from the public
and internal BLM and Forest Service review comments were incorporated
into the proposed plan. Public comments resulted in the addition of
clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed land use
decisions. The range of alternatives in this plan does not reevaluate
planning decisions included in the BLM California Desert Conservation
Area Plan (1980 as amended) or included in the Forest Service San
Bernardino National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1989 as
amended). Records of Decision will be prepared by the BLM and FS for
the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Management
Plan in accordance with planning regulations at Title 43 CFR 1610 and
NEPA. No decisions in the National Monument Management Plan are
proposed amendments to the San Bernardino National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan (1989). Those decisions within the National
Monument Management Plan that are proposed amendments to the California
Desert Conservation Area Plan are subject to protest according to BLM
regulations.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the Proposed Plan/Final EIS may be found at 43 CFR 1610.5. A
protest may only raise those issues which were submitted for the record
during the planning process. New issues raised in the protest period
should be directed to Greg Hill, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office,
(address provided previously in this notice) for consideration in plan
implementation, as potential plan amendments, or as otherwise
appropriate. Protests must be in writing, and to be considered
``timely,'' the protest must be postmarked no later than the last day
of the 30-day protest period. Also, although not a requirement, it is
recommended that the protest be sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid
protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter
by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the
protest period. Under these conditions, BLM will consider the e-mail or
faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full
consideration. If you wish to provide BLM with such advance
notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM
protest coordinator at 202-452-5112, and e-mails to Brenda_Hudgens_Williams@blm.gov. Please direct the follow-up letter to the appropriate
address provided below.
The protest must contain:
a. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the
person filing the protest.
b. A statement of the part or parts of the management plan and the
issue or issues being protested. To the extent possible, this should be
done by reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables,
maps, etc., included in the proposed management plan;
c. A copy of all documents addressing the issue(s) that the
protesting party submitted during the planning process or a statement
of the date they were discussed for the record.
d. A concise statement explaining why the protestor believes the
State Director's decision is wrong. This is a critical part of the
protest. Take care to document all relevant facts. As much as possible,
reference or cite the planning documents, environmental analysis
documents, and/or available planning records (i.e., meeting minutes or
summaries, correspondence, etc.).
A protest which merely expresses disagreement with proposed
decision without supporting data will not provide additional basis for
the Director's review of the decision. Please note that comments,
including names and street addresses of respondents, are available for
public review and/or release under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). Individual respondents may request confidentiality. Respondents
who wish to withhold name and/or street address from public review or
from disclosure under FOIA, must state this prominently at the
beginning of the written comment. Such requests will be honored to the
extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials or organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public inspection in their entirety.
All protests must be in writing and mailed to the following
address:
Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
Overnight Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L
Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
The BLM Director will promptly render a decision on the protest.
The decision will be in writing and will be sent to the protesting
party by certified mail, return receipt requested. The decision of the
BLM Director shall be the final decision of the Department of the
Interior.
Dated: August 22, 2003.
Tracy Liegler,
Acting Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, National Monument Manager.
Dated: August 20, 2003.
Laurie Rosenthal,
District Ranger, San Jacinto Ranger District, San Bernardino National
Forest.
[FR Doc. 03-26816 Filed 10-30-03; 8:45 am]
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