[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13165-13167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5852]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[MT-020-1610-00]
Availability of Proposed Final Big Dry Resource Management Plan
and Environmental Impact Statement; Montana
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 and Section 202(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, the final resource management plan (RMP) and
environmental impact statement (EIS) have been prepared for the Big Dry
Resource Area planning area. The RMP and EIS describe and analyze
future options for management of approximately 1.7 million federal
surface acres and 7.6 million federal mineral acres managed by the
Bureau of Land Management. These federal acres are located in all or
portions of Carter, [[Page 13166]] Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon,
Garfield, McCone, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, and
Wibaux Counties. The RMP and EIS provide a comprehensive plan for
managing federal resources administered by the Bureau of Land
Management.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The draft RMP and EIS were available for public
review from March 19, 1993, to June 18, 1993. A Federal Register notice
asking for comments on two newly proposed areas of critical
environmental concern was published on November 26, 1993, with the
comment period ending January 25, 1994. Written comments were received
from agencies, organizations, and individuals. All comments were
considered during the preparation of the final RMP and EIS.
Reading copies will be available at each public library in the
counties listed above. Public reading copies will also be available at
the following Bureau of Land Management locations:
Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, Room 5800, 18th and
C Streets NW, Washington, DC 20240.
External Affairs Office, Montana State Office, 222 North 32nd Street,
Billings, MT 59107.
Miles City District Office, Garryowen Road, Miles City, Montana 59301.
Big Dry Resource Area Office, Miles City Plaza, Miles City, Montana
59301.
The RMP process includes an opportunity for review through a plan
protest to the Bureau of Land Management's Director. Any person or
organization who participated in the planning process and has an
interest which is, or may be, adversely affected by approval of this
RMP may protest the plan. Careful adherence to the following guidelines
will assist in preparing a protest:
Only those persons or organizations who participated in the
planning process may protest.
A protesting party may raise only those issues which were commented
on during the planning process.
Additional issues may be raised at any time and should be directed
to the Miles City District for consideration in plan implementation as
potential plan amendments or as otherwise appropriate.
In order to be considered complete, a 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 being protested.
A statement of the portion of the plan being protested. To the
extent possible, this should be done by reference to specific pages,
paragraphs, sections, tables, and maps in the proposed RMP.
A copy of all documents addressing the issue submitted during the
planning process or a reference to the date the issue was discussed for
the record.
A concise statement explaining why the BLM State Director's
decision is believed to be incorrect is a critical part of the protest.
Take care to document all relevant facts and reference or cite the
planning documents, environmental analysis documents, and available
planning records (meeting minutes, summaries, correspondence). A
protest without any data will not provide the BLM with sufficient
information, and the Director's review will be based on existing
analysis and supporting data.
The period for filing protests begins when the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes in the Federal Register a Notice of Receipt
of the final EIS containing the proposed RMP. The protest period lasts
30 days. There is no provision for any extension of time. To be
considered ``timely,'' the protest must be sent to the Director of the
BLM and must be postmarked no later than the last day of the 30-day
protest period. Although not a requirement, sending a protest by
certified mail, return receipt requested, is recommended.
ADDRESSES: All protests must be filed in writing to: Director (480),
Resource Planning Team, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 65775,
Washington, DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Bloom, RMP/EIS Team Leader, Big
Dry Resource Area Office, Miles City Plaza, Miles City, Montana 59301,
406-232-7000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed final RMP and EIS analyzes four
alternatives to resolve two issues: special management designations and
resource accessibility and availability. Each alternative represents a
complete management plan. The alternatives can be summarized as:
(1) Current management or no action, (2) resource protection, (3)
resource production, and (4) the preferred alternative, which may be a
combination of the previous three.
The RMP and EIS designates 12 areas of critical environmental
concern.
The Big Sheep Mountain Cultural Site (360 public surface acres) in
Prairie County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed,
and rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
The Hoe Cultural Site (144 public surface acres) in Prairie County
would be designated an area of critical environmental concern. This
area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural resources.
Management actions affecting this area are: off-road vehicle travel
would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable minerals would
be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales and permits
would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be
available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a no-
surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would not be
permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, and rights-of-way
construction would be avoided.
The Jordan Bison Kill Cultural Site (160 public surface acres) in
Garfield County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed,
and rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
The Powder River Depot Cultural Site (1,386 public surface acres)
in Prairie County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be excluded
on the Powder River Depot [[Page 13167]] Special Recreation Management
Area (171 acres) located within the Powder River Depot Area of Critical
Environmental Concern, and rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
The Seline Cultural Site (80 public surface acres) in Dawson County
would be designated an area of critical environmental concern. This
area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural resources.
Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle travel
would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable minerals would
be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales and permits
would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be
available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a no-
surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would not be
permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, and rights-of-way
construction would be avoided.
The Ash Creek Divide Paleontology Area (7,931 public surface acres)
in Garfield County would be designated an area of critical
environmental concern. This area would be managed to enhance and
protect paleontology resources. Management actions affecting this area
are: Off-road vehicle travel would be limited to existing roads and
trails, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry,
mineral material sales and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy
leasable minerals and coal would not be available for leasing, oil and
gas leasing would be allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation,
geophysical exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would
be allowed, and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
The Bug Creek Paleontology Area (3,840 public surface acres) in
McCone County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect paleontology
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed,
and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
The Hell Creek Paleontology Area (19,169 public surface acres) in
Garfield County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect paleontology
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed,
and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
The Sand Arroyo Paleontology Area (9,056 public surface acres) in
McCone County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect paleontology
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed,
and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
The Black-Footed Ferret Area (11,166 public surface acres) in
Prairie and Custer Counties would be designated an area of critical
environmental concern. This area would be managed as a potential black-
footed ferret reintroduction area and for associated species.
Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle travel
would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable mineral entry
would be allowed, mineral material sales and permits would not be
allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be available
for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with controlled
surface use on 5,164 public mineral acres, geophysical exploration
would not be permitted on 5,164 public mineral acres, prairie dog
colonies would be allowed to expand within the 11,166 acre area of
critical environmental concern, livestock grazing would be allowed, and
rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
The Piping Plover Wildlife Site (16 public surface acres) in
Sheridan County would be designated an area of critical environmental
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect the piping
plover. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals would not
be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a
no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would not be
permitted, livestock grazing would not be allowed, and rights-of-way
construction would be avoided.
The Smoky Butte Area (80 public surface acres) in Garfield County
would be designated an area of critical environmental concern. This
area would be managed to protect the unique geologic values. Management
actions affecting this area are: The area would be closed to motorized
vehicles, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry
subject to valid existing rights, mineral material sales and permits
would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be
available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a no-
surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would be
permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, and rights-of-way
construction would be excluded.
Management prescriptions for these areas of critical environmental
concern vary by alternative and are described in the RMP and EIS.
Public participation has occurred throughout the RMP process. A
Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register in October 1989.
Since that time several public meetings, mailings, and briefings were
conducted to solicit comments and ideas. All comments presented
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 USDI-USDA Guidelines for Eligibility,
Classification, and Management of Rivers (47 FR 39454).
Dated: March 1, 1995.
John E. Moorhouse,
Acting Deputy State Director, Division of Lands and Renewable
Resources.
[FR Doc. 95-5852 Filed 3-9-95; 8:45 am]
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