[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 35 (Thursday, February 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9585-9586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3251]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-100-07-1610-DP]
Supplement to Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Resource
Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Pinedale Field Office To List Proposed Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern and Specific Associated Resource Use Limitations for Public
Lands in Sublette and Lincoln Counties, WY
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: A notice of availability for the Draft Resource Management
Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pinedale
Field Office planning area in Sublette and Lincoln Counties, Wyoming
was published in the Federal Register, volume 72, number 32, on
February 16, 2007. This supplements that Notice with information on
existing and potential Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs)
considered within the Draft RMP and EIS and also provides a 60-day
comment period on the proposed ACECs as required by 43 CFR 1610.7-2.
DATES: The comment period will commence with the publication of this
notice in the Federal Register and end 60 days after its publication.
ADDRESSES: Comments on ACECs and resource use limitations (found on
pages 2-106-2-110 and 2-153-2-155) must be received within 60-days of
the date of publication of this notice. Written comments must be
submitted as follows:
1. Comments may be provided via the Pinedale RMP Revision Web site
at: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale. The Web site is designed to
allow commenter to submit comments electronically by resource subject
directly onto a comment form posted on the Web site. Comments may be
uploaded in an electronic file to the above Web site. Whenever
possible, please include reference to either the page or section in the
Draft RMP/EIS to which the ACEC-related comment applies. To facilitate
analysis of comments and information submitted, the BLM encourages
commenters to submit comments in an electronic format though the Web
site.
2. Written comments may be mailed or delivered to the BLM at:
Pinedale RMP EIS, BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W. Pine St., P.O. Box
768, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941. All postal mail must be addressed to the
post office box.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kellie Roadifer, Pinedale RMP Team
Leader, BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W. Pine Street, Pinedale,
Wyoming 82941; or by telephone at 307-367-5309.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft RMP/EIS addresses four
alternatives and provides proposed management decisions and impact
analysis of the alternatives. The number and acreages of ACECs that
would be designated vary by alternative. The four alternatives include:
1. Alternative 1 (No Action Alternative): Continues the existing
management strategy;
2. Alternative 2: Maximizes the production of resource commodities
while providing an adequate level of environmental protection for
wildlife habitat and other resource values;
3. Alternative 3: Provides a high level of environmental protection
for wildlife habitat and other resource values while allowing the
production of resource commodities; and
4. Alternative 4 (BLM Preferred Alternative): Optimizes the mix of
resource outputs, including production of resource commodities and
wildlife habitat, while providing an appropriate level of environmental
protection for all resources.
There are two ACECs in the existing Pinedale Field Office land use
plan: Rock Creek ACEC (5,300 acres) and Beaver Creek ACEC (3,590
acres). There are six potential new ACECs proposed in the Draft RMP/
EIS. The ACECs are:
Trapper's Point ACEC (550 acres [Alternative 2], 4,000
acres [Alternative 4], or 9,540 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of
concern are big game migration corridors, cultural and historic
properties, and livestock trailing. Within this ACEC, fence
construction and surface disturbing activities would be prohibited with
the exception of activities designed to increase big game migration
viability. The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-
road vehicle use would be restricted to designated roads and trails and
subject to a seasonal closure from November 15 through April 30
annually.
New Fork Potholes ACEC (1,800 acres [Alternatives 3 and
4]): Values of concern are waterfowl, trumpeter swan, and riparian
habitats. With the exception of those that would benefit wildlife
habitat, surface disturbing activities would be prohibited. The ACEC
would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-road vehicle use
would be restricted to designated roads and trails.
Upper Green River ACEC (12,270 acres [Alternative 3]):
Values of concern are big game migration routes and migration
bottlenecks, and high scenic and recreational values. The ACEC would be
unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-road vehicle use would be
restricted to designated roads and trails, and no net increase in miles
of roads would be allowed.
White-Tailed Prairie Dog (WTPD) ACEC (no acreage estimate
available, [Alternative 3]): The WTPD ACEC would not have a specific
area but would involve a number of townships where WTPD habitat is
found in future surveys. The value of concern is habitat for the WTPD.
Surveys for WTPD presence would be required prior to authorizing any
activities. Anti-raptor perching devices would be required on any
above-ground facilities located within \1/4\ mile of WTPD towns greater
than 12.5 acres in size. Surface-disturbing activities would be
prohibited in WTPD towns greater than 12.5 acres in size. Off-road
vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails. Poisoning
of WTPD would be prohibited except in cases of health and safety
emergencies.
Ross Butte ACEC (35,670 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of
concern are significant cultural resources, archeological landscapes
and Native American sacred sites, a unique community of Wyoming
sensitive plant species, high-quality paleontological resources, open
space and dispersed recreation opportunities, and unique geology and
unstable soils. The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing
and closed to the placement of new communication sites. Off-road
vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails. Surface
occupancy and disturbance would be prohibited on erosive soils,
sensitive plant species habitats, and on slopes greater than 10
percent.
CCC Ponds ACEC (5,530 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of
concern are a wildlife migration bottleneck on a well-defined mule deer
migration route and recreational values including a developed,
nonmotorized trail system, fishing ponds, and interpretive facilities.
The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing and would be
closed to mineral location and land disposal. Off-highway vehicle use
[[Page 9586]]
would be limited to designated roads and trails.
Alternative 1 proposes to maintain the status of the two existing
ACECs identified in the 1988 Pinedale RMP. Alternative 2 proposes to
eliminate the two existing ACECs, and establish a new ACEC at Trapper's
Point (550 acres). Alternative 3 proposes to maintain the existing Rock
Creek and Beaver Creek ACECs, and establish all of the new ACECs listed
above (6).
As a result of public scoping and the alternative development
process, Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative) proposes to maintain the
status of the existing Beaver Creek ACEC, maintain but reduce slightly
in size the existing Rock Creek ACEC, and establish two new ACECs at
Trapper's Point (4,000 acres) and New Fork Potholes.
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of respondents
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address
during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through
Friday, except holidays.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS were sent to affected
Federal, State, and local government agencies and interested parties
when the document first became available. Additional copies have been
supplied to interested parties on request. There are a limited number
of hard copies available upon request. The document was posted
electronically, and is still available for public review on the
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale/. Copies of the
Draft RMP EIS are also available for public review at the following
locations:
Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W. Pine
Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941.
Robert A. Bennett,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-3251 Filed 2-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P