[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28872]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 23, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[OR-080-05-6350-00 GP-5-025]

 

Resource Management Plan; Salem District, Salem, OR

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management 
Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Salem District, 
Salem, Oregon.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1970, section 202(f) of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976, and 43 CFR part 1610, a proposed resource 
management plan/final environmental impact statement (PRMP/FEIS) for 
the Salem District, Oregon, has been prepared and is available for 
review and comment. The PRMP/FEIS describes and analyzes future options 
for managing approximately 398,100 acres of mostly forested public land 
and 27,800 acres of non-Federal surface ownership with federal mineral 
estate administered by the Bureau of Land Management in 12 counties in 
northwest Oregon.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Copies of the PRMP/FEIS and a summary of it may 
be obtained from the Salem District Office. Public reading copies will 
be available for review at local public libraries, government document 
depository libraries, and at the following BLM locations:

Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, Room 5647, 1849 C 
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240
Public Room, Oregon State Office, 1515 S.W. Fifth, Portland, OR 97201
Salem District Office, 1717 Fabry Road S.E., Salem, OR 97306
Tillamook Resource Area Office, 4610 Third St., Tillamook, OR 97141

    All other BLM offices in western Oregon.
    An open house with the opportunity to discuss the PRMP/FEIS will be 
held at the Salem District Office. The open house will be held on 
December 1, 1994, from 1-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
    There will be a 30-day comment/protest period beginning November 
18, 1994, when the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to 
publish its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Anyone can 
comment on the PRMP/FEIS, but only those persons or organizations who 
participated in the planning process leading to this PRMP/FEIS may 
protest. The comment/protest period will close December 19, 1994.
    A protesting party may raise only those issues which were submitted 
for the record during the planning process. Protests of proposed plan 
elements that merely adopt decisions made in the 1994 Record of 
Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 
Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (SEIS 
ROD) will be dismissed, as the director has no authority to overrule 
those decisions. Details of the protest process can be found in the 
PRMP/FEIS.
    Comments on the PRMP/FEIS should be sent to: District Manager, 
Bureau of Land Management, Salem District Office, 1717 Fabry Road SE, 
Salem, Oregon, 97306.
    Protests should be sent to the Director (760), Bureau of Land 
Management, 1849 C Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240, within the 30-
day protest period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Bob Saunders, RMP Team Leader, Salem 
District Office, Phone (503) 375-5634.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRMP/FEIS describes and analyzes seven 
alternatives which address the following issues/topics:
    (1) timber production practices;
    (2) old-growth forests and habitat diversity;
    (3) threatened and endangered and other special status species 
habitat (including habitat for the northern spotted owl);
    (4) special areas;
    (5) visual resources;
    (6) stream, riparian, and water quality;
    (7) recreation resources;
    (8) wild and scenic rivers;
    (9) land tenure; and
    (10) rural interface areas.
    The PRMP/FEIS also incorporates the land use allocations and 
management direction from the 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments to 
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within 
the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (SEIS ROD).
    In the BLM's proposed resource management plan, water quality would 
be maintained or improved primarily by a combination of best management 
practices and exclusion of selected areas from planned timber harvest. 
Particularly important exclusion areas would be riparian zones.
    The major land use allocations of the proposed resource management 
plan are as follows: Late-Successional Reserves, 211,800 acres; 
Riparian Reserves, 221,800 acres (these are included within the other 
major land use allocations); Adaptive Management Area, 123,400 acres; 
General Forest Management Area, 107,300 acres; Connectivity/Diversity 
Blocks, 27,400 acres; and 7,900 acres of wilderness and a District-
Designated Reserve.
    In addition to protecting listed or proposed threatened and 
endangered species as required by the Endangered Species Act, the BLM 
would manage habitats of Federal candidate, State-listed, and Bureau-
sensitive species to maintain their populations at a level that would 
avoid contributing to listing of the species. Additional species listed 
in the SEIS ROD would also be surveyed and managed.
    Management would provide a wide variety of recreation 
opportunities, with particular emphasis on developed recreation sites, 
areas and trails, and outstanding natural areas.
    Two river segments totaling 27.7 miles would be found suitable for 
designation by Congress as recreational river areas under the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Act. Some 36.4 other miles of river determined eligible 
for designation and studied by the BLM would be found not suitable for 
designation.
    Most BLM-administered lands with potential for occurrence would 
remain available for mineral leasing and location of mining claims, but 
6,200 acres would be closed to leasing for oil and gas resources and 
22,100 acres would be closed to location of claims.
    The PRMP/FEIS proposes continuation of designation of 19 acres of 
critical environmental concern (ACEC) and designation of 9 new ACECs. 
The proposed resource management plan would redesignate or designate 
the following ACECs and one other special area with the noted 
restrictions.

                                             Proposed Special Areas                                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Off-highway                        Locatable/                      
              Name                Acres        vehicle          Leasable     salable mineral    Timber harvest  
                                             designation     mineral entry        entry                         
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.J. Dwyer--Scenic Area........        5  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Carolyn's Crown--ACEC/RNA......      261  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Crabtree/Shafer Creek--ACEC/RNA/   961.5  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
 ONA.                                                                                                           
Elk Creek--ACEC................    1,577  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No-Primary Zone.  
                                                                                              Yes-Secondary     
                                                                                               Zone.\1\         
Forest Peak--ACEC/RNA..........      134  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Grass Mtn.--ACEC/RNA...........      726  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
High Pk.-Moon Cr.--ACEC/RNA....    1,538  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Larch Mtn.--Env. Ed. Site......      183  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Little Grass Mtn.--ACEC/ONA....       45  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Little Sink--ACEC/RNA..........       81  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Lost Prairie--ACEC.............       58  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Marys Peak--ACEC/ONA...........      104  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Middle Santiam--Terrace ACEC...      108  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Nestucca River--ACEC...........    1,062  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
North Santiam--ACEC............       31  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Rickreall Ridge--ACEC..........      177  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Saddleback Mtn.--ACEC/RNA......      151  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Sandy River Gorge--ACEC/ONA....      400  Closed..........  No.............  Closed.........  No.               
Sheridan Peak--ACEC............      299  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Open--AR.......  Yes.\1\           
Soosap Meadows--ACEC...........      343  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
The Butte--ACEC/RNA............       40  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Valley of the Giants--ACEC/ONA.       51  Closed..........  N/A\2\.........  N/A\2\.........  No.               
Walker Flat--ACEC..............       10  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
White Rock Fen--ACEC...........       51  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Wilhoit Spring--ACEC...........      170  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No Commercial     
                                                                                               Timber.          
Willamette River--Parcels......       76  Closed..........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No Commercial     
                                                                                               Timber.          
Williams Lake--ACEC............       98  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Yampo--ACEC....................       13  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No.               
Yaquina Head--ACEC/ONA.........      106  Limited.........  Open--NSO......  Closed.........  No Commercial     
                                                                                               Timber.          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Thinning in timber up to 110 years old.                                                                      
\2\Mineral resources not federally administered.                                                                
ACEC=Area of Critical Environmental Concern                                                                     
RNA=Research Natural Area                                                                                       
ONA=Outstanding Natural Area                                                                                    
NSO=No Surface Occupancy                                                                                        
AR=Additional restrictions                                                                                      
N/A=Not applicable                                                                                              

    There are three potential ACEC areas identified that meet the 
Bureau criteria of relevance and importance but are not included in 
whole or in part in the PRMP/FEIS described above. One existing ACEC 
would not be redesignated because it does not meet ACEC criteria. The 
primary values of these areas would be protected by other allocations.
    This notice meets the requirements of 43 CFR 1610.7-2 for 
designation of ACECs and the requirements of the final revised 
Department of the Interior/Department of Agriculture Guidelines for 
eligibility, Classification and Management of Rivers FR Vol. 47, No. 
173, pg. 39454).

    Dated: November 9, 1994.
Van W. Manning,
District Manager.
[FR Doc. 94-28872 Filed 11-22-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P