[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14414-14415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6111]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-610-01-1610-DL]


Draft Northern & Eastern Colorado Desert Coordinated Management 
Plan and Environmental Impact Statement: an Amendment to the California 
Desert Conservation Area Plan, 1980 and Sikes Act Plan With the 
California Department of Fish and Game

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District Office, 
Riverside, California.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft Northern & Eastern Colorado 
Desert Coordinated Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Draft Northern and Eastern 
Colorado Desert Coordinated Management Plan (Plan) and Environmental 
Impact Statement is available for public review and comment. The Plan 
will amend BLM's 1980 California Desert

[[Page 14415]]

Conservation Area Plan, complement the existing Joshua Tree National 
Park General Management Plan and Backcountry and Wilderness Management 
Plan, and serve as a basis for a biological resources management plan 
for the Chocolate Mountains Aerial Gunnery Range, managed by U.S. 
Marine Corps. The Plan also will provide for strategic, ecosystem-
comprehensive management, including a programmatic biological opinion 
for the desert tortoise, provide for desert tortoise recovery, reduce 
the need to further species listings, and streamline the processing of 
land use permits on public land in the southeastern portion of the 
California Desert Conservation Area.

DATES: The 90-day public review and comment period for the draft Plan 
and EIS will begin February 26, 2001. Written statements on the Draft 
Plan and EIS must be submitted and postmarked no later than May 26, 
2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the document should be mailed to the Bureau of 
Land Management, Attn: Northern & Eastern Colorado Desert Coordinated 
Management Plan, 6221 Box Springs Blvd., Riverside, CA 92507. Comments 
on the draft Plan and the EIS will be considered in preparing the 
Proposed Plan and Final EIS. Public meetings also will be held in 
various cities in and around the planning area to receive comments. The 
dates, times, and locations of these meetings will be announced later.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dick Crowe, California Desert 
District, 6221 Box Springs Blvd., Riverside, California 92507; phone 
(909) 697-5216.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  A bound or CDRom copy of the draft is 
available at the California District Office in Riverside (address 
above) and offices listed below. The Draft Plan also is available 
online at http://www.ca.blm.gov/cdd/landuseplanning.html. Reading 
copies are available at most local libraries and the following BLM and 
Park Service offices: BLM California Desert District Office, 6221 Box 
Springs Blvd., Riverside, CA (909) 697-5200; BLM Barstow Field Office, 
2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA (760) 252-6000; BLM El Centro Field 
Office, 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro, CA (760) 337-4400; BLM Needles 
Field Office, 101 West Spikes Road, Needles, CA (760) 326-7000; BLM 
Palm Springs Field Office, 690 West Garnet, North Palm Springs, CA 
(760) 251-4800; BLM Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S. Richmond Road, 
Ridgecrest, CA (760) 384-5400; Joshua Tree National Park 54485 Joshua 
Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, CA (760) 367-5502.
    The planning area covers 5.5 million acres in the southeastern 
California Desert. The document describes and analyzes four 
alternatives for managing species and habitats on federal lands 
administered by the BLM, Joshua Tree National Park, and the U.S. Marine 
Corps Chocolate Mountains Aerial Gunnery Range. The alternatives 
address issues identified during public scoping: (1) recovery of the 
desert tortoise, a listed (threatened) species under both federal and 
state endangered species acts; (2) conservation of the variety of other 
species and habitats; and (3) public lands access and uses. BLM is the 
lead agency for the Plan.

    Dated: February 22, 2001,
Alan Stein,
Acting District Manager.
[FR Doc. 01-6111 Filed 3-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P