[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 164 (Friday, August 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49701-49702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19394]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[UT-080-1610-010J]
Notice of Availability of Vernal Field Office Proposed Resource
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS)
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management
Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS) for the Vernal
Field Office.
DATES: The BLM planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) state that any
person who meets the conditions as described in the regulations may
protest the BLM's PRMP/FEIS. A person who meets the conditions and
files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date that
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice in the
Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Vernal Field Office PRMP/FEIS were sent to
affected Federal, state, and local government agencies and to
interested parties. Copies of the PRMP/FEIS are available for public
inspection at:
Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078
Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84145
Interested persons may also review the PRMP/FEIS on the Internet at
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/vernal/planning.html. All protests must
be in writing and mailed to the following addresses:
Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams,
P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams,
1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Kelly Buckner, Vernal Field Office,
170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078; phone: (435) 781-4400; or e-mail
at: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Vernal RMP planning area is located in
northeast Utah. The BLM administers approximately 1.7 million acres of
surface estate and 2.8 million acres of Federal mineral estate within
the planning area.
The Vernal RMP will provide future broad-scale management direction
for land use allocations and allowable uses on public lands within the
planning area. Implementation of the decisions of the PRMP/FEIS would
apply only to BLM-administered public lands and Federal mineral estate.
In the Vernal Field Office Draft RMP/EIS (DRMP/DEIS), which was
released for a 90-day public review and comment period in January 2005,
four alternatives were analyzed, including a No Action alternative.
These alternatives were developed through issue identification during
the scoping process. Such issues included: special designations (ACECs
and WSRs), minerals and energy development, and recreational (OHV) use.
In October 2007 a Supplemental DEIS was issued which considered an
additional alternative emphasizing the protection of non-WSA lands with
Wilderness Characteristics.
The PRMP/FEIS would designate no new Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs), and the continuation of six existing
ACECs, totaling 123,227
[[Page 49702]]
acres. Resource use limitations that apply to the proposed ACECs
include a range of different prescriptions as described in Table 1
below.
Table 1--Evaluation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
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Area name Values of concern Resource use limitations Acres
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Browns Park............................. Cultural, wildlife, Closed to OHV use, or limited 18,474
habitat, and scenic views. to designated routes.
Red Mountain--Dry Fork.................. Watershed, relict No surface occupancy, or timing/ 24,285
vegetation, and big game controlled surface use for oil
habitat. and gas; OHV use limited to
designated routes.
Nine-Mile Canyon........................ Cultural, and special The area would be open subject 44,181
status plant species. to standard lease terms or
managed as NSO for oil and gas
leasing; OHV use would be
limited to designated routes.
Lears Canyon............................ Relict vegetation......... No surface occupancy for oil 1,375
and gas, closed to mineral
material sales.
Pariette................................ Wetland, wildlife, and No surface occupancy for oil 10,437
plant habitat. and gas, closed to mineral
material sales.
Red Creek............................... Watershed and wildlife No surface occupancy and 24,475
habitat. controlled surface use; OHV
use is limited to designated
routes.
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Comments on the Vernal Field Office DRMP/DEIS received from the
public and internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as
appropriate into the PRMP/FEIS. Public comments resulted in the
addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed
land use plan decisions.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the PRMP/FEIS may be found in the Dear Reader Letter of the
PRMP/FEIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2.
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, the BLM will consider the e-mail or
faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full
consideration. If you wish to provide the 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 [email protected].
All protests, including the follow-up letter (if e-mailing or
faxing) must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as
set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
Before including your phone number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5-1.
Selma Sierra,
Utah State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-19394 Filed 8-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P