[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 231 (Friday, December 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29623]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 2, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[OR-013-02-4410-13: G5-036]

 

Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Klamath Falls Resource Area.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan/
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Klamath Falls Resource 
Area of the Lakeview District, 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 final resource 
management plan/environmental impact statement (RMP/EIS) for the 
Klamath Falls Resource Area of the Lakeview District, Oregon, has been 
prepared and is available to the public. The RMP/EIS describes and 
analyzes future options for managing approximately 212,000 acres of 
partially forested public land and 21,000 acres of non-federal surface 
ownership with federal mineral estate administered by the Bureau of 
Land Management in Klamath County, just east of the Cascade Range in 
southern Oregon.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The draft RMP/EIS was available for public review 
from August 21, 1992 to December 15, 1992. Written comments were 
received from agencies, organizations, and individuals. Oral comments 
were also heard in four public meetings, and at numerous meetings with 
interested groups, organizations, and individuals. The four public 
meetings were held in Klamath Falls, Keno, and Bonanza, Oregon. In 
addition, numerous meetings and formal briefings were held by Oregon 
BLM State Office personnel. All comments provided were considered 
during the preparation of the proposed final RMP/EIS.
    Copies of the proposed final RMP/EIS and a summary of it may be 
obtained from the Klamath Falls Resource Area office. Public reading 
copies will be available for review at the public libraries in Klamath 
Falls (Oregon) and Redding (California), the Klamath County Office 
Building, all government document depository libraries, all BLM State 
Offices, most BLM District Offices, and at the following BLM locations:

Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, Room 5600, 18th and 
C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240
Public Room, Oregon State Office, 1515 S.W. 5th, Portland, Oregon 97201

    The Klamath Falls Resource Area BLM will host an open house for the 
public on Wednesday, November 30, 1994 from 4 to 7 p.m. and Thursday 
December 1, 1994 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Staff will be available to 
answer questions, clarify confusing points, explain rationales, discuss 
points of concern, and generally assist the public in understanding the 
proposed plan. The open house will be held at the Klamath Falls 
Resource Area BLM office at 2795 Anderson Avenue, Building 25, Klamath 
Falls, Oregon.
    Protests should be sent to the Director (760), Bureau of Land 
Management, 18th Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20240, within the 30 day 
protest period. The period for filing a plan protest begins when the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes in the Federal Register its 
Notice of Availability of the final environmental impact statement 
concerning the proposed resource management plan or amendment. The 
protest and comment period will end 30 days after the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal 
Register, or on December 27, 1994, whichever is later. There are some 
restrictions on the protest process, so anyone wishing to protest needs 
to carefully read the introductory letter to the document. To be 
considered complete, your protest must contain, at a minimum, the 
following information:

    The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the 
person filing the protest.
    A statement of the issue or issues being protested.
    A statement of the part or parts of the plan being protested.
    A copy of all documents addressing the issue or issues that were 
submitted during the planning process, or a reference to the date 
the issue or issues were discussed for the record.
    A concise statement explaining why the BLM State Director's 
decision is believed to be incorrect.

    At the end of the 30-day protest period, the BLM may issue a Record 
of Decision approving implementation of any portions of the proposed 
plan not under protest. Approval will be withheld on any portion of the 
plan under protest, until the protest has been resolved.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. Barron Bail, Area Manager, Klamath 
Falls Resource Area office, Phone (503) 883-6916.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed final RMP/EIS describes and 
analyzes seven alternatives to resolve the following issues: (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 
management areas, (5) visual resources, (6) stream/riparian/water 
quality, (7) recreation resources, (8) wild and scenic rivers, (9) land 
tenure, (10) rural interface areas, (11) range management, and (12) 
proposed hydroelectric or alternative energy projects. The issues are 
analyzed in seven distinct alternatives that range from high resource 
production to high resource protection.
    The overall objective of the plan is to manage the resources in the 
Klamath Falls Resource Area on an ecosystem basis. Within that 
ecosystem management framework, the proposed final resource management 
plan would maintain or improve water quality through a system of 
Riparian Reserves and best management practices.
    Approximately 51,400 acres would be managed for timber production, 
with restrictions to protect or enhance other resource values. The 
annual probable timber sale quantity would be 1.11 million cubic feet 
or 6.31 million boardfeet (1.03 mmcf or 5.91 MMBF west of Highway 97 
and 0.08 mmcf or 0.40 MMBF east of Highway 97). To contribute to 
biological diversity, standing trees, snags, and dead and down woody 
material would be retained.
    Management would provide 12,978 animal unit months in the livestock 
grazing program.
    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 federal listing.
    Management would provide for a wide variety of recreation 
opportunities, with particular emphasis on enhancement of opportunities 
for dispersed recreation activities including hunting, fishing, and 
hiking, as well as providing outdoor recreation activities in areas 
that are both close to population centers and accessible by vehicles.
    Most BLM-administered lands would remain available for mineral 
leasing and location, but 300 acres would be closed to leasing for oil 
and gas and geothermal resources, and 6,400 acres would be closed to 
location of mining claims.
    The proposed final RMP/EIS proposes designation of four new areas 
of critical environmental concern with the noted restrictions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Mineral         
      Rights--area name           Acres      Vegetation      ORV use       Mining    ---------------------------
                                               harvest                    location       Leasing       Of-way   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miller Creek.................        2,000  R             P             R             R             R           
Yainax Butte.................          720  R             R             R             R             NC          
Upper Klamath River..........        4,960  R             R             R             R             R           
Old Baldy....................          520  P             P             P             R             P           
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NC = No Change from existing situation.                                                                         
R = Use is allowed but with restrictions.                                                                       
P = Use is prohibited.                                                                                          

    The Miller Creek area would be designated an area of critical 
environmental concern to maintain, protect, and/or restore natural 
processes, wildlife, and scenic values. The area would not be available 
to planned timber harvest. Livestock grazing would be restricted. 
Mineral leasing would be subject to no surface occupancy. The area 
would be closed to off-highway vehicle use (except Round Valley Road 
area).
    The upper Klamath River area, from rim to rim, would be designated 
an area of critical environmental concern to maintain, protect, and/or 
restore historic, cultural, scenic, fisheries, and wildlife populations 
and habitat. The area would not be available for planned timber 
harvest. Off-highway vehicle use would be limited to designated roads. 
Grazing would continue at or near current levels. Mineral leasing would 
be subject to no surface occupancy. The area would not be available for 
hydroelectric development. The area would be managed for semi-primitive 
motorized recreation opportunities.
    The Yainax Butte area would be designated an area of critical 
environmental concern to maintain, protect, and/or restore natural 
process and systems. The area would not be available for planned timber 
harvest. The area would be open to livestock grazing, but could be 
fenced if necessary to protect plant communities. Off-highway vehicle 
use would be limited to existing roads. Mineral leasing would be 
subject to no surface occupancy. The area would be managed for semi-
primitive motorized recreation opportunities.
    The Old Baldy area would be designated an area of critical 
environmental concern/research natural area to preserve, protect, and/
or restore natural processes or systems. The area would not be 
available for timber harvest, firewood, or salvage sales. The area 
would be closed to off-highway vehicle use. The area would remain free 
of cattle use. Mineral leasing would be subject to no surface occupancy 
and closed to mineral entry. The area would be managed for semi-
primitive motorized recreation opportunities.
    There were five potential areas of critical environmental concern 
identified that met the Bureau area of critical environmental concern 
criteria of relevance and importance that are not included in the 
proposed final resource management plan for various reasons. They 
include: Surveyor Forest Area, 150 acres; Tunnel Creek, 280 acres; 
Spencer Creek, 320 acres; The Bumpheads, 50 acres; and Pacific Crest 
Trail, 620 acres.
    One river segment covering 11.0 miles was found suitable for 
designation under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and 23.2 
miles of rivers that were found eligible for designation and studied by 
the BLM were found not suitable for designation in the proposed final 
resource management plan. After the proposed resource management plan 
went to press, the Secretary of the Interior designated the 11.0 miles 
of the upper Klamath River as scenic under section 2(a)(ii) of the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This designation was signed by the 
Secretary of the Interior on September 22, 1994. Designation of the 
upper Klamath River is not protestable in the RMP protest period as the 
Oregon State Director of the BLM does not have the authority to 
overturn a decision made by the Secretary of the Interior.
    Public participation has occurred throughout the planning process. 
A Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register, in September 
1992. Since that time, several public meetings, mailings, and briefings 
were conducted to solicit comments and ideas. The comments provided 
throughout the process have been considered.
    This Notice meets the requirements of 43 CFR 1610.7-2 for 
designation of areas of critical environmental concern 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 11, 1994.
Terry H. Sodorff,
Acting District Manager.
[FR Doc. 94-29623 Filed 12-01-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P