[Federal Register: October 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 204)]
[Notices]
[Page 60410-60411]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22oc03-132]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CO-134-1610-DP-006C]
Notice of Availability of a Draft Resource Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for the Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area, Grand Junction Field Office in Mesa County
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)
of 1976, the BLM has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement (DRMP/EIS) for the Colorado Canyons
National Conservation Area (CCNCA) and is available for a 90-day public
review and comment period. The planning area lies in Mesa County,
Colorado and Grand County, Utah. The DRMP/EIS provides direction and
guidance for the management of public lands and resources of the CCNCA,
as well as monitoring and evaluation requirements, and impact analysis
of the alternatives. The CCNCA RMP will amend the Grand Junction (CO)
Resource Area Resource Management Plan (1987) and the Grand (UT)
Resource Area Resource Management Plan (1985).
DATES: Written comments on the DRMP/EIS will be accepted for 90 days
following the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes
this notice in the Federal Register. Future public meetings and any
other public involvement activities will be announced at least 15 days
in advance through public notices, local media news releases, the
project Web site at http://www.co.blm.gov/cocanplan/, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: Jane Ross, 2815 H Road,
Grand Junction, Colorado 81506. Comments also may be sent by e-mail to Jane_Ross@co.blm.gov. Written comments, including names and addresses
of respondents, will be available for public review at the offices of
the BLM Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction,
Colorado 81506, during normal working hours (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
except holidays). Submissions from organizations or businesses will be
made available for public inspection in their entirety. Individuals may
request confidentiality with respect to their name, address, and phone
number. If you wish to have your name or street address withheld from
public review, or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. Such
requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. Comment contents
will not be kept confidential. Responses to the comments will be
published as part of the Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final
Environmental Impact Statement.
The DRMP/EIS and other associated documents or background
information may be viewed and downloaded in PDF format at the project
Web site at http://www.co.blm.gov/cocanplan/. Copies of the DRMP/EIS
are available at the BLM Grand Junction Office at the address above,
and at the BLM Moab (UT) Field Office, 82 E. Dogwood, Moab, UT 84532.
Copies are also available at the following Mesa County Public Library
District locations during regular business hours:
Central Library, 530 Grand Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501;
Fruita Branch, 325 East Aspen Avenue, Fruita, CO 81521;
Palisade Branch, 711 Iowa Street, Palisade, CO 81526;
Clifton Branch, Peachtree Shopping Center, 3225 I-70 Business Loop A-1,
Clifton, CO 81520;
Orchard Mesa Branch, 2736 Unaweep Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81503.
The planning documents and direct supporting record for the
analysis for the DRMP/EIS will be available for inspection at the BLM
Grand Junction Field Office during normal working hours, 7:30 a.m.-4:30
p.m.
[[Page 60411]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact Jane Ross (970) 244-3027, Planning and Environmental Coordinator (jane_ross@co.blm.gov), or Greg Gnesios at (970) 244-3049 (gregory_gnesios@co.blm.gov), Colorado
Canyons NCA Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction Field
Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RMP will amend the Grand Junction RMP
(1987) and may amend the Grand Resource Area [UT] RMP for the affected
lands in the planning area. Some decisions in the existing planning and
management documents may be carried forward into the new CCNCA RMP.
Once approved in a Record of Decision (ROD), the RMP for the CCNCA will
supercede all existing management plans for the public lands within the
CCNCA. The DRMP/EIS evaluates the Existing Management Alternative, the
Agency Preferred Alternative, and two other management alternatives
developed for the CCNCA.
The CCNCA was officially designated on October 24, 2000, when the
Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area and Black Ridge Canyons
Wilderness Act of 2000 was signed into public law by the President. The
purpose of the Act is to conserve, protect, and enhance, for the
benefit and enjoyment of both present and future generations, the
nationally important values of the public lands making up the CCNCA,
including the Black Ridge Canyons, Ruby Canyon, and Rabbit Valley. The
CCNCA, located west of Grand Junction, includes 122,300 rugged acres of
sandstone canyons, natural arches, spires, and alcoves carved into the
Colorado Plateau along a 24-mile stretch of the Colorado River.
Included in the CCNCA are 75,550 acres of wilderness designated as the
Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. At the western boundary of the CCNCA,
5,200 acres stretch into eastern Utah.
The DRMP/EIS analyzes four alternatives that are summarized below.
Preliminary issues identified by the BLM and used for developing
alternatives include: (1) Travel management; (2) recreation; (3) use
authorizations such as rights-of-way and grazing; (4) management of
natural resources; (5) wilderness management; (6) integration of the
CCNCA Management Plan with other agency and community plans; and (7)
consideration of private property in the planning area. Some of the
issues that have been identified in the scoping process phase of the
CCNCA planning process include: motorized and non-motorized vehicle
use, allocation of commercial recreation use, water quality, land
health, threatened and endangered and special status species and
critical habitat protection, reintroduction of native species, and
noxious weed control. Other factors considered include recreation and
resource use, protection of scenic values, the level and intensity of
dispersed and developed recreation management, cultural resource
protection and interpretation, public access, transportation and
utility corridors, and woodland product harvest.
The public collaboration program implemented for this effort
included the formation of a ten-member Advisory Council and four public
collaboration working groups, three public open houses, the
distribution of two newsletters, and also included workshops, training
courses and field trips. During this process over 100 meetings were
held with the public, during which 17 planning criteria were developed
to help ensure consideration of issues important to the public.
Planning criteria also include laws, regulations, policy, and other
guidance. The complete list of the planning criteria can be found on
the planning Web site at http://www.co.blm.gov/cocanplan/.
Alternative 1 is the no-action, or ``continuation of existing
management'' alternative, that leaves all management of the area in its
current management situation as guided by the Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area and Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Act of 2000, the
Ruby Canyon/Black Ridge Wilderness Integrated Management Plan, the
Grand Junction Resource Area Resource Management Plan, The Interim
Management Policy for BLM National Monuments and National Conservation
Areas, and the Colorado State Director's Guidance for the CCNCA.
Alternative 2, the Recreation Emphasis Alternative, maximizes
multiple-use, recreation opportunities while conserving and protecting
traditional uses and protecting natural resources to the maximum extent
possible. Objectives for Alternative 2 include preserving and enhancing
traditional recreation activities--hiking, camping, mountain biking,
OHV use, horseback riding, hunting, boating, backpacking; maintaining
current land health and improving priority areas of concern using a
higher percentage of non-native species as necessary to stabilize
soils; and concentrating activities in certain areas as a method to
control use and resource impacts and minimize dispersed resource
impacts.
Alternative 3, the Adaptive Management and Agency Preferred
Alternative, emphasizes maintaining the current level of enjoyment of
the area's recreational opportunities and unique characteristics while
recognizing that increased future use will trigger the need for
increased levels of management. Monitoring for land health and
visitors' beneficial experience will determine when increased levels of
management are required. Objectives for this alternative include
preserving the character of the area; preserving and enhancing
traditional recreation activities--hiking, camping, mountain biking,
OHV use, horseback riding, hunting, and boating; and maintaining land
health and improving priority areas of concern.
Alternative 4, the Conservation Emphasis Alternative, focuses on
maximizing the conservation of natural resources in the CCNCA while
still maintaining traditional uses and recreational opportunities to
the greatest extent possible. Objectives for this alternative include
improving land health in all areas of concern, preserving the character
of the area, and expanding education and interpretation opportunities
in all areas.
Dated: August 22, 2003.
Gregory Gnesios,
Manager, Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area.
[FR Doc. 03-26649 Filed 10-21-03; 8:45 am]