[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 115 (Thursday, June 15, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31488-31490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14677]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[OR-120-95-6350-00-G5-108; 5-00151]


Coos Bay District, Oregon; Availability of the Approved Resource 
Management Plan and Record of Decision

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Approved Resource Management Plan 
and Record of Decision for the Coos Bay BLM District, Oregon.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (40 CFR 1550.2), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, (43 CFR 1610.2 (g)), the Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), Coos Bay District provides notice of 
availability of the Approved Resource Management Plan (ARMP) and Record 
of Decision (ROD) for the Coos Bay District. In addition to describing 
the decisions, the ARMP will provide the framework to guide land and 
resource allocations and management direction for the next 10 to 20 
years in the Coos Bay District. This ARMP supersedes the existing South 
Coast--Curry Management Framework Plan, the North Spit Plan Amendment, 
and other related documents for managing approximately 329,700 acres of 
mostly forested public land and 12,150 acres of non-federal surface 
ownership with federal mineral estate administered by the Bureau of 
Land Management in Coos, Curry, Douglas, and Lane counties in 
southwestern Oregon.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ARMP/ROD are available upon request by 
contacting the Coos Bay District Office, Bureau of Land Management, 
1300 Airport Lane, North Bend, Oregon 97459. This document has been 
sent to all those individuals and groups who were on the mailing list 
for the Proposed Coos Bay District Resource Management Plan/Final 
Environmental Impact Statement. The full supporting record for the ARMP 
is available for inspection in the Coos Bay District Office at the 
address shown above. Copies of draft RMP/EIS and proposed RMP/final EIS 
are also available for inspection in the public room on the 7th floor 
of the BLM Oregon/Washington State Office, 1515 SW Fifth Street, 
Portland, Oregon; and public libraries in Brookings, Gold Beach, 
Bandon, Myrtle Point, Coquille, Coos Bay, North Bend, Reedsport, and 
Powers during normal office hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Gunther, Planning Team Leader, 
Coos [[Page 31489]] Bay District Office, Bureau of Land Management. He 
can be reached by telephone number at 503-756-0100 or by FAX at 503-
756-9303.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coos Bay District ARMP/ROD is 
essentially the same as the Coos Bay District Proposed Resource 
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS). 
Virtually no changes to the proposed decisions have been made, except 
for some clarifying language in response to the five protests BLM 
received on the Coos Bay District PRMP/FEIS and as a result of ongoing 
staff review. The clarifying language concerns:

--Revisions intended to strengthen the link between the ARMP and 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 and Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for 
Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the 
Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (or Northwest Forest Plan/ROD).
--Revisions that incorporate guidelines issued by the Regional 
Ecosystem Office since the issuance of the 1994 Record of Decision 
named above. Such guidelines may clarify or interpret the 1994 Record 
of Decision.

    Seven alternatives that encompass a spectrum of realistic 
management options were considered in the planning process. The final 
plan is a mixture of the management objectives and actions that, in the 
opinion of the BLM, best resolve the issues and concerns that 
originally drove the preparation of the plan and also meet the plan 
elements or adopt decisions made in the Northwest Forest Plan/ROD. The 
Northwest Forest Plan/ROD was signed by the Secretary of the Interior 
who directed the BLM to adopt it in its Resource Management Plans for 
western Oregon. Further, those decisions were upheld by the United 
States District Court for the Western District of Washington on 
December 21, 1994.
    Ecosystem Management and Forest Product Production: The ARMP/ROD 
responds to the need for a healthy forest ecosystem with habitat that 
will support populations of native species (particularly those 
associated with late-successional and old-growth forests). It also 
responds to the need for a sustainable supply of timber and other 
forest products that will help maintain the stability of local and 
regional economies, and contribute valuable resources to the national 
economy on a predictable and long-term basis. BLM-administered lands 
are primarily allocated to Riparian Reserves, Late-Successional 
Reserves, General Forest Management Areas, and Connectivity/Diversity 
Blocks. An Aquatic Conservation Strategy will be applied to all lands 
and waters under BLM jurisdiction.
    Approximately 61,900 acres will be managed for timber production. 
The allowable sale quantity will be 5.3 million cubic feet (32.1 
million board feet). To contribute to biological diversity, standing 
trees, snags, and down dead woody material will be retained. A process 
for monitoring, evaluating and amending or revising the plan is 
described.
    Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC): The ARMP/ROD would 
continue the designation of one Area of Critical Environmental Concern 
(ACEC), one Research Natural Area (RNA), and will designate nine new 
ACECs. The ARMP/ROD designates or redesignates the following ACECs and 
RNA with the noted restrictions.

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                                                      Approx.     Veg.                Min.      Min.            
                     Area name                         acres      harv.    OHV use    loc.      lease      R/W  
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Cherry Creek RNA/ACEC..............................        570  NC        NC        NC        NC        NC      
New River ACEC.....................................        860  NA        R         P         P         P       
Wassen Creek ACEC..................................      3,440  R         R         P         R         P       
North Spit ACEC....................................        580  NA        R         P         P         P       
North Fork Coquille River ACEC.....................        290  P         R         P         R         P       
Tioga Creek ACEC...................................         40  P         P         P         R         P       
China Wall ACEC....................................        240  P         P         P         R         P       
North Fork Hunter Creek ACEC.......................      1,730  R         R         P         R         P       
Hunter Creek Bog ACEC..............................        570  P         R         P         R         P       
North Fork Chetco River ACEC.......................        600  P         R         P         R         P       
Upper Rock Creek ACEC..............................        460  P         R         P         R         P       
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NC=No change from existing situation.                                                                           
P=Use is prohibited.                                                                                            
R=Use is allowed but with restrictions.                                                                         
NA=Use is not applicable to this area.                                                                          

    No potential ACEC areas were identified that met the Bureau ACEC 
criteria of relevance and importance that are not included in whole or 
in part in the ARMP/ROD described above.
    Wild and Scenic Rivers: Approximately 184 miles of river found 
eligible for designation and studied by BLM are found not suitable for 
designation. Four river segments (involving approximately 168 miles) 
have been determined to be administratively eligible for further 
consideration for designation as a component of the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System under recreational river classifications, pending 
other interagency suitability studies. All eligible (pending further 
study) river segments will be managed under BLM interim management 
guidelines pending further administrative consideration. The supporting 
records for the ARMP/ROD document those river or stream segment 
analyses.
    Off-Highway-Vehicle (OHV) Use: The ARMP/ROD makes the following 
designations for OHV management in the District: approximately 80 acres 
will be open; 326,600 acres will be restricted to designated existing 
roads and trails and/or seasonally closed; and 3,000 acres will be 
closed to all use, except for specified administrative or emergency 
uses. The closed areas include wilderness or wilderness study areas, 
administratively withdrawn areas such as seed orchards and progeny test 
sites, and various ACECs. In addition, the ARMP/ROD provides for road 
closures to meet ecosystem management objectives. Such closures may be 
permanent or seasonal, and will be effected by use of signs, gates, 
barriers or total road deconstruction and site restoration.
    Land Tenure Adjustment: The ARMP/ROD identifies approximately 4,600 
acres of BLM-administered lands that will be retained in public 
ownership; 324,000 acres of BLM lands that may be 
[[Page 31490]] considered for exchange under prescribed circumstances; 
and 1,100 acres of BLM lands that may be available for sale or disposal 
under other authorized processes. The ARMP also provides criteria for 
the acquisition of lands, or interests in lands, where such acquisition 
would meet objectives of the various resource programs. The plan 
allocates approximately 600 acres as right-of-way exclusion areas and 
146,700 acres as right-of-way avoidance areas.
    Special Recreation and Visual Resource Management Areas: The ARMP/
ROD identifies seven Special Recreation Management Areas (SRMA), 
including four existing (Loon Lake/East Shore, Dean Creek Elk Viewing, 
Coos Bay Shorelands, and New River) and three new (Tioga, Gregory Point 
(Bal'diyaka), and Sixes River). The existing SRMAs total approximately 
3,700 acres and the new SRMAs total approximately 25,700 acres. The 
ARMP/ROD allocates approximately 2,065 acres of BLM-administered lands 
for 23 existing or potential recreation sites. The plan also allocates 
lands for 12 existing or potential trails, totaling between 42 and 56 
miles. The plan also identifies management objectives for four visual 
resource management classifications.
    Mineral and Energy Resource Management: Most BLM-administered lands 
will remain available for mineral leasing and location of mining 
claims, but 1,600 acres will be closed to leasing for oil and gas and 
geothermal resources, and 12,500 acres will be closed to location of 
claims.

    Dated: June 5, 1995.
Michael R. Crouse.
Acting Coos Bay District Manager.
[FR Doc. 95-14677 Filed 6-14-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P