[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33903-33904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16324]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[OR-020-1610-00: G-7-0210 (RMP #OR-95-01)]


Resource Management Plans

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent, Southeastern Oregon Resource 
Management Plan and Revision to the Donner und Blitzen Wild and Scenic 
River Management Plan.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2 
and 1610.3 and 43 CFR 8351, notice is given that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) in the State of Oregon, Burns District, Andrews 
Resource Area, intends to develop and analyze revised management 
direction for the Donner und Blitzen Wild and Scenic River Plan as a 
subcomponent of the ongoing Southeastern Oregon Resource Management 
Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (SEORMP/EIS). The purpose of the 
revised River Plan is to address issues raised in recent litigation 
concerning the adequacy of the current River Plan, which was developed 
and approved in May 1993. The original Notice of Intent to prepare the 
RMP was published in the Federal Register on August 24, 1995, on Volume 
60, No. 164.

DATES: Publication of this Notice of Intent in the Federal Register 
starts a 30-day comment period (initiated on the date of this 
publication) necessary to meet public notification requirements for 
both the Revised Notice of Intent, to incorporate the required elements 
of the River Plan, and limited expansion of the scope of the related 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

ADDRESSES:
Bureau of Land Management, Burns District Office, Andrews Resource 
Area, HC 74-12533 Hwy 20 West, Hines, OR 97738.
Bureau of Land Management, Vale District Office, Southeastern Oregon 
Resource Management Planning Team, 100 Oregon Street, Vale, OR 97918.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Miles Brown, Andrews Resource Area Manager, (541) 573-4425 or Gary 
Cooper, RMP Team Leader, (541) 523-1256.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Burns and Vale Districts have been 
preparing the draft SEORMP/EIS since 1995. It is intended to fully 
supersede the existing land use plans for the Burns District's Andrews 
Resource Area and the Vale District's Malheur and Jordan Resource 
Areas. The planning area includes all BLM-managed public land in the 
south half of Harney County and all of Malheur County, in extreme 
southeastern Oregon. The Donner und Blitzen River system is located on 
the west and southwest slopes of Steens Mountain, in south-central 
Harney County and drains northward into Malheur Lake. The draft SEORMP/
EIS is tentatively scheduled to be published and distributed in the 
fall of 1997. Land use and resource allocation decisions will be 
comprehensive, overlap and support numerous existing special area 
designations and management plans, including the Donner und Blitzen 
Wild and Scenic River Management Plan. In ONDA et al. v. Green et al., 
953F. Supp. 1133 (D. OR 1997) BLM is enjoined from authorizing, 
approving or allowing certain activities on public land within the 
river corridor until it prepares an EIS and approves revisions to the 
River Plan that address these activities. These activities include 
domestic livestock grazing, construction or improvement of parking lots 
and roads for motorized vehicles, and construction or

[[Page 33904]]

maintenance of any facility or project to divert or impound water. 
Those elements of the approved plan which were not challenged or found 
inadequate will remain in full force and effect. Issues expected to be 
analyzed in detail include, but are not limited to, riparian vegetation 
objectives; protection and enhancement of native plants, including 
Special Status species plants; appropriate levels, timing, intensity, 
and locations of livestock grazing within the river corridor, if any; 
improving existing roads and constructing small parking areas (to the 
National Historic Register listed Riddle Brothers Ranch) located within 
the river corridor; timing and use levels of irrigation (if any) of 
meadows; locations and design for any livestock fences designed to 
exclude livestock from the river corridor or make pasture systems 
within and residual pastures outside the corridor to form functional 
portions of livestock grazing allotments; potential reclassification of 
one river segment to more accurately reflect the actual level of 
development and use at the time of river designation; and other issues 
as identified by interest groups and individuals.
    The final decisions for the Donner und Blitzen River considered 
through this analysis will be in full conformance with the new SEORMP 
as well as the intent of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The 
environmental analysis and public and interagency review processes 
anticipated for this analysis will fully comply with the BLM's 
regulations for land use planning, including Wild and Scenic River Plan 
amendments, public involvement, and coordination with other Federal 
agencies, State, local governments, and Indian tribes, (43 CFR 1610.2, 
1610.3 and 1610.5-5).
    Any approved decisions which amend the Donner und Blitzen River 
Plan will be incorporated into the Plan and become part of the 
permanent planning record. Any refinements or clarifications of 
management direction and additional information, monitoring or 
evaluation reports will be incorporated into the applicable plans and 
documented through published plan maintenance reports, as provided 
under 43 CFR 1610.5-4. Copies of previous RMP planning project notices, 
newsletters, and existing land use and river plans are available in the 
Burns and Vale District Offices and available for inspection during 
normal working hours.
    Disciplines to be represented on the interdisciplinary team 
preparing the SEORMP and revised River Plan and EIS include, but are 
not limited to, archaeology, anthropology, economics, lands and 
minerals, recreation, wilderness, wildlife biology, fisheries, 
hydrology, botanical, soils, geology, range management, and wild horse 
herd management.
    Copies of this announcement or equivalent information are being 
distributed to those individuals already on the Wild and Scenic River 
and SEORMP/EIS mailing lists. To be added to these lists, individuals 
should contact the RMP Team Leader. The BLM is inviting comments to be 
considered in the preparation of the expanded EIS for the revisions to 
the Donner und Blitzen River Plan. Comments may be addressed to Miles 
Brown, Andrews Resource Area Manager, at the Burns District Office. 
Comments should be postmarked by July 23, 1997. No public meetings have 
been exclusively scheduled for this proposal at this time; however, 
meetings may be arranged through the Andrews Resource Area Manager or 
RMP Team Leader. A series of open houses or public meetings will be 
held during the 90-day comment period on the draft plans and EIS, in 
the fall of 1997. Any public meetings will be announced at least 15 
days in advance. The purpose of this scoping is to offer the public, 
tribes, partner agencies, and counties additional time to provide 
supplemental issues or information to the EIS process. Pursuant to 7 
CFR, Part 1, Sub-part B, Section 1.27, all written submissions in 
response to this notice shall be made available for public inspection 
including the submitter's name, unless the submitter specifically 
requests confidentially. Anonymous comments will not be accepted. All 
written submissions from business entities and organizations, submitted 
on official letterhead, in response to this notice shall be made 
available for public inspection in their entirety.
    Detailed information concerning the proposed SEORMP and revised 
River Plan, including the draft EIS, will be available at a later date 
at BLM offices in Burns, Vale, and Portland, Oregon, and at scheduled 
public meetings. In Burns and Ontario, Oregon, this information will 
also be available at the Harney and Malheur public libraries.

    Dated: June 17, 1997.
Michael T. Green,
Burns District Manager.
[FR Doc. 97-16324 Filed 6-20-97; 8:45 am]
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