[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47683-47684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22943]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-015-1610-DP; GP-01-0272]


Availability for the Draft Lakeview Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

AGENCY: Lakeview District (Oregon), Bureau of Land Management: (OR-015-
1610-DP; GP-01-0272, DOI.

ACTION: Notice of availability for the Draft Lakeview Resource 
Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
(FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this document 
provides notice that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to 
make the draft RMP/EIS available for public review and comment. This 
planning activity encompasses approximately 3.2 million acres of public 
land managed by the Lakeview Resource Area, Lakeview District and 
located in Lake and Harney Counties in southeastern Oregon. In 
addition, a small, contiguous portion of Modoc and Washoe Counties 
located in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada falling 
within the administrative boundary of the Surprise Field Office in 
Cedarville, California, but managed by the Lakeview Resource Area is 
also included for analysis purposes. The BLM has and will continue to 
work closely with all interested parties to identify the management 
decisions that are best suited to the needs of the public. This 
collaborative process will take into account local, regional, and 
national needs and concerns. This notice initiates the public review 
process on the draft RMP/EIS. The public is invited to review and 
comment on the range and adequacy of the draft alternatives and 
associated environmental effects.

DATES: The comment period will end 90 days after publication of the 
Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability of this draft 
plan and environmental impact statement in the Federal Register. 
Comments on the draft RMP/EIS should be received on or before the end 
of the comment period at the address listed below.
    Public Participation: Public meetings will be held during the 
comment period. In order to ensure local community participation and 
input, public meetings will be held in Lakeview, North Lake County, and 
Bend, Oregon. Early participation by all those interested is encouraged 
and will help determine the future management of public lands in the 
Lakeview Resource Area. At least 15 days public notice will be given 
for activities where the public is invited to attend. All individuals, 
organizations, agencies, and tribes with a known interest in this 
planning effort have been sent a copy of the document for review. 
Written comments will be accepted throughout the planning process at 
the address shown below. For comments to be most helpful, they should 
relate to specific concerns or conflicts that are within the legal 
responsibilities of the BLM and they must be able to be resolved in 
this planning process. Specific dates and locations of meetings and 
comment deadlines will be announced through the local news media, 
newsletters and the BLM Web site (www.or.blm.gov/Lakeview).

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Dwayne Sykes, RMP Team 
Leader, Bureau of Land Management, HC 10 Box 337, Lakeview, Oregon 
97630. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the 
Lakeview Resource Area office in Lakeview, Oregon and local libraries. 
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the Lakeview Resource Area office during 
regular business hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except holidays, and may be published as part of the Final EIS. 
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name or street address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 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 and businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information and/or to have your 
name added to our mailing list, contact Dwayne Sykes at (541) 947-2177 
(Phone), (541) 947-6399 (Fax), or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This land use plan focuses on the principles 
of multiple use management and sustained yield as prescribed by Section 
202 of the FLPMA. This plan will provide direction for management of 
the public lands within the Lakeview Resource Area for 15-20 years 
after the plan is completed. It will replace all or portions of three 
nearly 20 year old existing land use plans covering the Lakeview

[[Page 47684]]

Resource Area. The draft RMP/EIS considers and analyzes five (5) 
alternatives (A-E), including the No Action or Present Management 
alternative, with Alternative D identified as the agency's Preferred 
Alternative. These alternatives have been developed based on extensive 
public input following scoping (July 1999), review of the summary of 
the Analysis of the Management Situation (July 2000) and numerous 
meetings with local governments, tribes and the Southeast Oregon 
Resource Advisory Council (RAC). The alternatives provide for a wide 
array of alternative land use allocations and management direction. The 
alternatives provide for variable levels of commodity production, 
resource protection, and authorized land and resource uses, including 
utility corridors, energy and non-energy mineral leasing, livestock 
grazing and various forms of recreation. A final environmental impact 
statement and proposed Lakeview Resource Management Plan is expected to 
be available for public review in early 2002.

    Dated: August 23, 2001.
Scott R. Florence,
 Field Manager, Lakeview Resource Area.
[FR Doc. 01-22943 Filed 9-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P