[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43591-43592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20898]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ-068-01-1820-DG-241E]


Notice of Availability of Las Cienegas Draft Resource Management 
Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DRMP/DEIS)

AGENCY: Tucson Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft 
Resource Management Plan (DRMP) and associated Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area 
(NCA) and Sonoita Valley Acquisition Planning District located in Pima 
and Santa Cruz Counties, Arizona. The DRMP and DEIS have been prepared 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the act establishing the Las 
Cienegas National Conservation Area (H.R. 2941), and BLM management 
policies. The DRMP was developed with broad public participation 
through a five-year collaborative planning process. Both land use 
planning and activity-level planning for the NCA and Acquisition 
Planning District are included in the DRMP. The DRMP provides a range 
of alternatives for management direction for the Las Cienegas National

[[Page 43592]]

Conservation Area and Sonoita Valley Acquisition Planning District. The 
DRMP addresses management on approximately 49,000 acres of public land. 
Issues addressed in the DRMP/DEIS include watershed management, fish 
and wildlife habitat management, visual resource management, cultural 
resource management, economics, mineral development, rights-of-way, 
off-highway vehicles, recreation, livestock grazing management, and 
designation of areas of critical environmental concern. The action 
alternatives were prepared in accordance with applicable planning 
procedures and are designed to conserve, protect, and enhance the 
unique and nationally important resources and values of the public 
lands within the NCA.

DATES: Public comments on the Las Cienegas DRMP/DEIS must be received 
by the Bureau of Land Management on or before November 19, 2001.
    BLM will discuss the various management alternatives and answer 
questions pertaining to the Draft Las Cienegas Resource Management Plan 
in three public open house meetings:
    1. Sonoita-Elgin Open House, September 25, 2001, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
    2. Mesa Open House, September 26, 2001, 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
    3. Tucson Open House, September 27, 2001, 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The open house meeting locations are:
    1. Sonoita-Elgin--Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, South Highway 83, 
Sonoita Arizona (520) 455-5553.
    2. Mesa--Mesa Centennial Center, Rendevous Center, Apache Room, 263 
North Center Street, Mesa, Arizona (480) 644-3311.
    3. Tucson--Pima Community College EAST Campus, Community Room, 8181 
E. Irvington, Tucson, Arizona (520) 206-7000.
    Written comments should be sent to Dave McIlnay, Acting Field 
Manager, Tucson Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 12661 E. 
Broadway, Tucson, Arizona 85748.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Simms, Ecosystem Planner, Tucson 
Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 12661 E. Broadway, Tucson, 
Arizona 85748, telephone 520-258-7200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Single copies of the DRMP/DEIS will be 
available at the start of the 90 day comment period at the BLM Tucson 
Field Office, 12661 E. Broadway, Tucson, Arizona 85748. The DRMP/DEIS 
may be reviewed via the internet at http://www.az.blm.gov. Interested 
persons not already on the mailing list may request a hard copy or a 
CDROM of the DRMP/DEIS from the BLM Tucson Field Office.

Comments on the DEIS

    Public comments may be submitted during the public open house 
meetings or in writing to the address provided above. Written comments 
on the Las Cienegas DRMP/DEIS will be considered in preparing the Final 
Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement. 
Comments on the contents of this document are being solicited, 
particularly comments that address one or more of the following: (1) 
New information that would affect the analysis; (2) possible 
improvements in the analysis; and (3) suggestions for improving or 
clarifying the proposed management direction. Specific comments are 
most useful. Please note that comments, including names and street 
addresses of respondents, are available for public review and/or 
release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Individual 
respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your 
name and/or street address from public review or from disclosure under 
FOIA, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written 
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. 
All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials or organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

Background

    The Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (NCA) and the Sonoita 
Valley Acquisition Planning District were created by act of Congress 
(HR 2941) on December 6, 2000. The NCA consists of 42,000 acres of 
federal land located in southern Pima and northeastern Santa Cruz 
counties, Arizona. The Sonoita Valley Acquisition Planning District 
includes another 7,000 acres of scattered federal lands surrounding the 
NCA. These federal lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management's 
Tucson Field Office. The Act establishing the Las Cienegas National 
Conservation Area requires BLM to prepare a management plan for the NCA 
within 2 years of the area's designation.
    The Las Cienegas NCA and Sonoita Valley Acquisition Planning 
District encompass much of the upper Cienega Creek watershed, which is 
important to Tucson for flood control and aquifer recharge. The area 
also has the following attributes: five of the rarest plant communities 
in the American Southwest; habitat for several endangered, proposed, 
and candidate species; significant cultural sites including a site on 
the National Register of Historic Places; two proposed wild and scenic 
river segments; and scenic open space.

    Dated: May 23, 2001.
Dave McIlnay,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 01-20898 Filed 8-17-01; 8:45 am]
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