[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38912-38913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-18407]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[WY-080-1610-00]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan 
and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Newcastle Field Office 
Administrative Area, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Proposed Newcastle Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The proposed RMP describes the 
proposed future management direction for approximately 291,168 acres of 
BLM-administered public land surface and 1,407,698 acres of BLM-
administered Federal mineral estate in the Wyoming portion of the 
Newcastle Field Office administrative area.
    If you are interested in being involved in future activity planning 
and implementation of management decisions addressed in the proposed 
RMP, please contact the Newcastle Field Office at the address below.
    The Proposed Newcastle Resource Management Plan and FEIS document 
is a complete reprinting of the material presented in the draft EIS 
document. It contains updated and revised chapter narratives, maps, 
tables, and appendices. Therefore, it should not be necessary to refer 
to the draft EIS in reviewing this proposed RMP and FEIS.
    The Proposed Newcastle Resource Management Plan is a comprehensive 
land use plan for the management of the BLM-administered public lands 
in the Newcastle Field Office administrative area. The proposed RMP is 
a refinement of the preferred alternative presented in the draft EIS. 
Comments from the public, review and corrections by BLM staff, and new 
information developed since the distribution of the draft EIS have 
prompted some changes in the Preferred Alternative. The environmental 
effects of the proposed RMP are not substantively different from those 
of the Preferred Alternative. The proposed RMP focuses on the 
resolution of key resource management issues that were identified with 
public involvement early in the planning process. These issues include: 
(1) split estate land management; (2) special management area 
designations; and (3) resource accessibility and manageability.
    The draft EIS for the Newcastle RMP was made available for public 
review and comment in April 1998. Comments received on the draft EIS 
were considered in preparing the Proposed Newcastle RMP and FEIS.
    The following are changes made to the draft EIS in preparing the 
FEIS as a result of the public comments received, correcting errors, 
and updating information.

--Three planning criteria have been added: biological diversity, 
leasable minerals potential, and wild and scenic rivers. None of these 
additional criteria caused any changes in the Preferred Alternative.
--The ``Socioeconomic'' section in Chapter 3 has been updated and 
revised using current data.

[[Page 38913]]

--Map 3-18, ``Elk Hunt Areas'' and Map 3-24, ``Elk and Antelope Herd 
Unit Boundaries'' have been updated to reflect current information.
--Map 3-19, ``Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat,'' from the 
draft was eliminated because the information was incomplete and 
misleading.
--Information pertaining to big game population objectives was updated 
with current data.
--An Appendix N, ``Fire Management Implementation Plan for the BLM-
Administered Public Lands in the State of Wyoming'' was added.
--Two appendices were updated with more current information: (1) 
Appendix H, ``A Detailed Discussion of Oil and Gas Activities and 
Processes in the Newcastle Resource Area,'' and (2) Appendix I, 
``Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario for Oil and Gas.''

    All or part of the Proposed Newcastle Resource Management Plan and 
FEIS may be protested by parties who participated in the planning 
process and who have an interest which is or may be adversely affected 
by the adoption of the plan. A protest may raise only those issues 
which were submitted for the record during the planning process and by 
only those parties who raised those issues.

DATES: Protests on the Proposed Newcastle RMP and FEIS must be 
postmarked no later than 30 days following the date that the 
Environmental Protection Agency Notice of Availability (NOA) is 
published in the Federal Register. That NOA is expected to be published 
on July 16, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Protests on the Proposed Newcastle RMP and FEIS should be 
sent to: Director (210), Bureau of Land Management, Attention: Brenda 
Williams, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Hill, Newcastle Field Manager, 
Bureau of Land Management, 1101 Washington Blvd., Newcastle, Wyoming 
82701, Phone: 307-746-4453.

    Dated: July 14, 1999.
Alan R. Pierson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 99-18407 Filed 7-19-99; 8:45 am]
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