[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 18, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36824-36826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17510]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[OR-014-95-1610-00: G5-166]


Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability, Proposed Final Upper Klamath Basin and 
Wood River Wetland Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), gives notice of the availability of the proposed Upper Klamath 
Basin and Wood River Wetland Resource Management Plan and final 
Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS). The FEIS was prepared 
pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, section 202(f) of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976, and the BLM's planning procedures (43 CFR 
1610). The PRMP/FEIS describes and analyzes the effects of restoring 
land of the acquired Wood River property, approximately 3,220 acres in 
Klamath County, Oregon, to a functioning wetland community.
    Preparation of the proposed final Upper Klamath Basin and Wood 
River Wetland Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact 
Statement (PRMP/FEIS) is a separate process from the recently completed 
Klamath Falls Resource Area Resource Management Plan and Environmental 
Impact Statement process. Although both plans are comparable (that is, 
guiding future management actions in specified areas), they were 
prepared separately due to the geographical distance between the Wood 
River property and the rest of the BLM-administered lands in the 
Resource Area.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Public participation has occurred throughout the 
planning process. A Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register 
in October 1993. Since that time, many public meetings, mailings, and 
briefings were conducted to solicit comments and ideas. The draft RMP/
EIS was available for public review from March 1, 1994 to June 17, 
1994. Written comments were received from agencies, organizations, and 
individuals. Oral comments were also heard in eighteen public meetings 
with interested groups, organizations, 

[[Page 36825]]
government agencies, and individuals. All comments provided were 
considered during the preparation of the PRMP/FEIS.
    Copies of the PRMP/FEIS 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, BLM Oregon/Washington State 
Office, BLM District Offices in Oregon/Washington, and at the following 
BLM locations:

Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, Room 5600, 18th and 
C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20240
Public Room, Oregon State Office, 1515 SW. 5th, 7th floor, Portland, 
Oregon 97201

    A public meeting on the proposed plan will be announced in the 
local print media. Information on the public meeting can also be 
obtained by calling Wedge Watkins at (503) 885-4110.
    Anyone adversely affected by the proposed plan may file a protest. 
Protests should be sent to the Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
U.S. Department of the Interior, Resource Planning (480), P.O. Box 
65775, Washington D.C. 20235, within the 30-day protest period. The 
period for filing a protest begins on the date the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of the final 
environmental impact statement concerning the proposed resource 
management plan and will end 30 days after the publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. To be considered complete, a protest 
must contain 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 PRMP/FEIS describes and analyzes four 
alternatives for BLM-administered lands in the Upper Klamath Basin near 
the Wood River to address the goals of wetland restoration and water 
quality improvement. The alternatives include a No Action alternative 
(continuation of current management) which does not include wetland 
restoration, and three alternatives that do include wetland 
restoration. In all four alternatives the following issues were 
addressed: water resources (quality and quantity), wetland restoration, 
special status species habitat, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation 
opportunities, access, livestock grazing, and public involvement.
    The No Action Alternative would maintain the current use of the 
property as predominantly for livestock grazing in an irrigated 
pasture. Livestock grazing would be limited to a maximum of 3,600 
animal unit months per year. Water would be pumped off in the spring at 
current schedules. The amounts of upland, wet meadow, and marsh habitat 
would remain constant. Recreation facilities would not be developed. 
Recreation use, limited to day use only, would neither be encouraged 
nor restrained and the area would remain closed to motorized vehicles.
    Alternative B would restore the Wood River property to a 
functioning wetland with diverse plant communities and healthy, 
productive vegetation. Initial management actions could require highly 
engineered techniques, such as restoring the Wood River and Sevenmile 
Creek to their historic meandering channels; however, in the long term, 
wetland restoration systems and methods would be designed for minimum 
maintenance using the existing landscape features. The minimum 
maintenance methods used would vary, but could include such tools as 
prescribed fire, and mechanical vegetation manipulation. Some 
recreation facilities would be developed. Recreation use and some 
motorized access would be allowed, but would be limited to certain 
areas and times of day.
    Alternative C would also restore the Wood River property to a 
functioning wetland with diverse plant communities and healthy, 
productive vegetation. Initial and long-term restoration actions could 
involve highly engineered techniques and could include experimental 
techniques, such as artificial water circulation, or other constructed 
wetlands. General design principles could be complex. The research 
would encompass both the methods used for wetland restoration and the 
examination of the effects of restoration on water quality and 
quantity, fish and wildlife habitat, etc. Recreation would be limited 
to day use only. Development of recreation facilities would emphasize 
wetland restoration education. Various tools, such as grazing, 
prescribed fire, mechanical manipulation of vegetation, chemical 
manipulation, and water level fluctuations could be used to meet the 
goals of this alternative.
    The Preferred Plan, Alternative D, would restore the Wood River 
property to its previous form and function as a wetland community, 
within unalterable constraints (such as water rights, land ownership 
patterns, and funds). Labor-intensive, highly engineered wetland 
restoration methods using complex designs would be allowed; however, 
the preference would be to use wetland restoration systems and methods 
that were designed with less labor-intensive practices using the 
existing landscape features. Long-term improvements in water quality 
entering Agency Lake would be a goal. Adaptive management, the process 
of changing land management as a result of monitoring or research, 
would be used.
    The Preferred Plan would emphasize improving and increasing 
wetland/riparian habitat to benefit federally listed fish species. It 
would also protect habitats of federally listed or proposed threatened 
or endangered species to avoid contributing to the need to list 
category 1 and 2 federal candidate, state-listed, and Bureau sensitive 
species. This alternative would emphasize management of special status 
species, including completing inventories for these species and 
maintaining a diversity of habitats. Other wildlife species would have 
habitat improved within the constraints of other resource objectives. 
Recreation would be managed for low to moderate use levels, with roaded 
natural and semi-primitive recreation experiences provided. Vehicles 
would be limited to designated, signed roads. The area would be 
identified as a Watchable Wildlife site.
    The Wood River property, approximately 3,220 acres, would be 
designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern to protect the 
area's relevant and important values (cultural, fish, and wildlife 
values, and natural processes and systems). Off-highway vehicle use 
will be prohibited; mining location will be prohibited; mineral leasing 
will be restricted; and 

[[Page 36826]]
rights-of-way will be restricted in the ACEC. The Wood River and Seven 
Mile Creek were studied for eligibility under the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Act. Neither the Wood River nor Sevenmile Creek were 
found eligible or suitable for designation under any of the 
alternatives for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System. 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 (Federal Register Vol. 47, No. 173, page 
39454).
M. Joe Tague,
District Manager, Acting.
[FR Doc. 95-17510 Filed 7-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P