[Federal Register: September 19, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 182)]
[Notices]
[Page 54914-54915]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19se03-87]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[OR-027-1610-DP; G-03-0234]
Notice of Availability of a Draft Resource Management Plan and
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Andrews Management Unit/
Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft Resource Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement (Draft RMP/Draft EIS) for the Andrews
Management Unit and the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and
Protection Area (CMPA).
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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 202 of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, and under authority of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976, a Draft RMP/Draft EIS has been prepared for the
Andrews Management Unit and the CMPA. The planning area, which consists
of the Andrews Management Unit (public land in the Andrews Resource
Area outside of the CMPA totaling 1,221,314 acres) and public land in
the CMPA (totaling 428,156 acres), lies in Harney and Malheur Counties,
Oregon. The Draft RMP/Draft EIS provides direction and guidance for the
management of public lands and resources within the Planning Area as
well as monitoring and evaluation requirements. Once approved, the
Andrews Management Unit and CMPA RMPs will supercede all existing
management plans for the public land within the Planning Area,
including amending a portion of the Three Rivers Resource Area RMP
(1991) for those lands included within the CMPA boundary. The Draft
RMP/Draft EIS evaluates five alternative management approaches,
including a No Action (current management) Alternative.
DATES: Written comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS will be accepted for
90 days following publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's
Notice of Availability for this Draft RMP/Draft EIS 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, media news releases, the project Web site at http://www.or.blm.gov/Burns/
, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Rhonda Karges, Bureau of
Land Management, Burns District Office, 28910 Hwy 20 West, Hines,
Oregon 97738; Fax (541) 573-4411 or e-mail (Rhonda_Karges@or.blm.gov).
Comments, including names, street addresses, and other contact
information of respondents, will be available for public review.
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to
request that BLM consider withholding your name, street address, and
other contact information such as Internet address, Fax or phone
number, from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your comment. BLM will honor requests for confidentiality on a case-by-
case basis to the extent allowed by law. BLM will make available for
public inspection in their entirety all submissions from organizations
or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses.
Copies of the Draft RMP/Draft EIS have been sent to affected
Federal, Tribal, State and local Government agencies, and to interested
publics and are available at the Burns District Office. The planning
documents and direct supporting record for the analysis for the Draft
RMP/Draft EIS will be available for inspection at the Burns District
Office during normal business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday, except holidays). The Draft RMP/Draft EIS and other
associated documents may be viewed and downloaded in PDF format at the
project Web site at http://www.or.blm.gov/Burns/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact
[[Page 54915]]
Rhonda Karges (541) 573-4433 or Gary Foulkes (541) 573-4541 at the
Burns District Office.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Steens Mountain Cooperative Management
and Protection Act (Steens Act) of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-399) established
the 496,136-acre CMPA primarily within the Andrews Resource Area (a
small portion is within the Three Rivers Resource Area). The Andrews
Resource Area and the CMPA portion of the Three Rivers Resource Area
comprise the Planning Area. The remaining portion of the Andrews
Resource Area outside of the CMPA is identified as the Andrews
Management Unit. Other special designated areas were created by the
Steens Act and include the Wildland Juniper Management Area, the Steens
Mountain Wilderness (170,084 acres), new Wild and Scenic River
designations, a no livestock grazing area (97,229 acres), and the
Donner und Blitzen Redband Trout Reserve. In addition, the Steens Act
authorized five specific land exchanges, created a citizen's advisory
council (Steens Mountain Advisory Council), established a Mineral
Withdrawal Area, and created new Wilderness Study Area (WSA)
boundaries. Congress recognized that the CMPA provides for exceptional
cooperative management opportunities and offers outstanding natural,
cultural, scenic, wilderness, and recreational resources. To ensure
that these resources are appropriately managed, the Steens Act requires
that a management plan be completed within four years of passage of the
Steens Act. At the end of the planning/analysis process, the CMPA and
Andrews Management Unit RMPs will be finalized in two separate Records
of Decision.
The Draft RMP/Draft EIS contains five alternatives. Alternative A
is a no action/continuation of current management alternative.
Alternative B excludes commodity production and limits other uses to
maximize natural processes. Alternative C emphasizes protection and
active restoration of natural values. Alternative D balances cultural,
economic, ecological, and social health in a manner that encourages
cooperative management practices. Alternative D is the preferred
alternative. Alternative E emphasizes commodity production and public
uses.
Public input during scoping and review of the Summary of the
Analysis of Management Situation identified 17 issues for analysis in
the RMP/EIS. These issues are outlined in Chapter 1 of the Draft RMP/
Draft EIS. In addition, the Planning Criteria, which are the
constraints or ground rules directing development of the RMP, are
outlined in Appendix D (Legal Authorities, Planning Criteria and
Management Direction and Consistency with Other Plans).
There have been numerous opportunities for public involvement in
the process to date, including four separate public scoping meetings
held in Burns, Frenchglen, Portland, and Bend, Oregon. A newsletter was
also mailed to all interested parties requesting input on the
alternatives, planning criteria, and the goals and objectives for
resource management. In addition, the Steens Mountain Advisory Council
and the Southeast Oregon Resource Advisory Council have closely
participated in the process.
Numerous meetings have been held and coordination has been
conducted with the Burns Paiute Tribal Council, Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife, the Governor's Office, Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--Ecological
Services and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the City of Burns, the
City of Hines, Oregon Department of Water Resources, the Harney County
Court, Harney County Chamber of Commerce, and adjacent BLM offices.
Dated: July 16, 2003.
Elaine M. Brong,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 03-21072 Filed 9-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P