[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 57123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27592]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[CA-170-1610-DH; CACA 41112]


Notice of Intent To Consider Amending the Bishop Resource 
Management Plan, Bishop Field Office, CA; Notice of R&PP Proposal: 
Bodie State Park, Mono County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to consider amending the Bishop Resource 
Management Plan's list of public land disposal parcels, adding 
364 acres; and a Notice of Proposed Disposal under the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act (R&PP) for the said 364 acres to the 
Bodie State Park in Mono County, CA.

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SUMMARY: The town of Bodie is arguably the largest and best preserved 
ghost town in the western US. In 1962, the California State Parks 
acquired 500 acres of the town to create the Bodie State Park. The 
historic Bodie Mining District (including the town and surrounding 
areas) has been a National Historic Landmark since 1964 and lies at the 
center of the BLM's Bodie Bowl Area of Environmental Concern (ACEC).
    Mineral exploration on BLM and private lands within the Bodie Bowl 
resumed in the 1980's. With passage of the Bodie Protection Act in 1994 
and acquisition of over 500 acres of private lands by the Park, the 
ACEC was essentially closed to mineral development. Due to the history 
of cultural and industrial development within the Bodie Bowl ACEC, 
properties acquired by the Park do not form a cohesive whole. There are 
three outlying Park properties that are not connected to the main Park 
unit at all. There is a major wedge of federal land separating the 
newly acquired Park property from the main unit. There are also an 
unknown number of ``slivers'' of federal property scattered throughout 
the southern and eastern portion of the Park which were due to the 
nonconforming independent surveys submitted at the time of the mineral 
patent transfers from the public domain or which were bits of public 
domain that were never subject to patent. State Parks believes that 
management efforts and implementation of necessary limited improvements 
and safety measures could be streamlined if ownership patterns were 
adjusted and clarified through this proposed first phase of a Bodie 
property consolidation.
    The proposed R&PP involves the following lands located within the 
Bodie Bowl Area of Environmental Concern and adjacent to Bodie State 
Park in the County of Mono, California:

    Selected Federal Lands, to be Patented to Bodie State Park:

Mount Diablo Meridian, California,

T. 4 N., R. 26 E.
    A. All federal lands within the current boundary of Bodie SHP.
    B. Section 9 All federal land in SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, 
W\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, E\1/2\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, and south of 
the Bodie Aurora Road in S\1/2\NE\1/4\NW\1/4\ and N\1/2\NE\1/4\, 
totaling about 208.5 ac ().
    C. Section 16 All federal land in NW\1/4\, WN\1/4\NE\1/4\, W\1/
2\SW\1/4\, and NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, totaling about 89.6 ac 
().
    D. Section 17 All federal land in SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, totaling about 
.023 ac ().
    E. Section 20 All federal land east of the Cottonwood Canyon 
Road in E\1/2\NE\1/4\ and NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, totaling about 38.7 ac 
().
    F. Section 21 All federal land in W\1/2\NW\1/4\ and north of the 
cottonwood Canyon Road in NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, totaling about 27 ac 
().

    Acreages are approximate due to the possibility of other unmapped 
federal lands within the boundaries of the existing State Historic Park 
and uncertain exterior boundaries.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Final determination on the R&PP proposal and 
the RMP amendment will be made using an environmental analysis 
following public comments. Public land within any Wilderness Study Area 
would not be involved in this proposal.
    Upon publication of this Notice in the Federal Register, the public 
lands described above are segregated from all forms of appropriation 
under the public land laws, including the mining laws for a period of 
270 days from the date of publication. The segregative effect shall 
terminate as provided by 43 CFR 2711.1-2(d).
    Detailed information concerning the RMP amendment and the proposed 
R&PP disposal is available at the BLM Bishop Field Office, 785 N. Main 
St. Suite E, Bishop, CA 93514 or by contacting Larry Primosch or 
Douglas Dodge at (760) 872-4881.

Comments

    For a period of 45 days from the initial date of publication of 
this notice, interested parties may submit valid comments on the Bishop 
RMP amendment or the proposed R&PP disposal to the BLM Bishop Field 
Manager, 785 N. Main St. Suite E, Bishop, CA 93514. A public meeting 
will be held on Monday, November 8 at 6 pm in the town of Bridgeport to 
gather comments and help define the issues which must be addressed in 
the environmental analysis.

    Dated: October 15, 1999.
Steve Addington,
Field Manager, Bishop Field Office.
[FR Doc. 99-27592 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P