[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51684-51685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25605]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Amendment to the California Desert 
Conservation Area Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area in Imperial County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, USDI.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an amendment to the California 
Desert Conservation Area Plan and an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area in Imperial County, 
California.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy Act (FLPMA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Land 
Management, California Desert District, El Centro Field Office, will 
prepare a management plan for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area 
(ISDRA). The management plan will amend the CDCA plan. The management 
plan is needed to replace the existing management plan which has been 
in place since 1987 and has become outdated as a result of the federal 
listing of Peirson's milk-vetch as a threatened species, designation of 
the North Algodones Dunes as wilderness, and substantial changes in 
visitor use.

DATES: The public is invited to submit comments on the scope of the 
plan amendment and EIS. Written comments will be accepted for 30 days 
after publication of this notice. Three (3) public meetings will be 
held in El Centro, California; San Diego, California; and Phoenix, 
Arizona. The time and place for these meetings will be published in the 
San Diego Union Tribune, Arizona Republic , Imperial Valley Press, Yuma 
Daily Sun. BLM intends to complete the management plan under an 
accelerated schedule by the Fall of 2002. This schedule will allow BLM 
to replace the proposed temporary closures of five areas within the 
Imperial Sand Dunes Federal Register: November 16, 2000 (Volume 65, 
Number 222) with a long term management plan prior to the beginning of 
the peak recreation use period next year. The proposed temporary 
closure is to be implemented to protect the Peirson's milk-vetch from 
potential impact by OHV use while consultation occurs with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act. To achieve this accelerated schedule, no 
extensions of the scoping period or the subsequent public review period 
for the draft management plan and draft EIS are contemplated.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 16, 2000, the Center for Biological 
Diversity, and others (Center) filed for injunctive relief in U.S. 
District Court, Northern District of California (Court) against BLM 
alleging that BLM was in violation of Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C Sec. 1536, by failing to enter into formal 
consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on the 
effects of adoption of the CDCA Plan, as amended, upon threatened and 
endangered species. On August 25, 2000, BLM acknowledged through a 
Court stipulation that activities authorized, permitted, or allowed 
under the CDCA Plan may adversely affect threatened and endangered 
species, and that BLM is required to consult with the FWS to insure 
that adoption and implementation of the CDCA Plan is not likely to 
jeopardize the continued existence of threatened and endangered species 
or to result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical 
habitat of listed species.
    Although BLM has received biological opinions on selected 
activities, consultation on the overall CDCA Plan is necessary to 
address the cumulative effects of all the activities authorized by the 
CDCA Plan. Consultation on the overall CDCA Plan is complex and the 
completion date is uncertain. Absent consultation on the entire CDCA 
Plan, the impacts of individual activities, when added together with 
the impacts of other activities in the desert, are not known. The BLM 
entered into negotiations with plaintiffs regarding interim actions to 
be taken to provide protection for endangered and threatened species 
pending completion of the consultation on the CDCA Plan. Agreement on 
these interim actions avoided litigation of plaintiffs' request for 
injunctive relief and the threat of an injunction prohibiting all 
activities authorized under the Plan. These interim agreements have 
allowed BLM to continue to authorize appropriate levels of activities 
throughout the ISDRA planning area during the lengthy consultation 
process while providing appropriate protection to listed species in the 
short term. By taking interim actions as allowed under Part 43 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR Subpart 8364), BLM contributes to 
the conservation of endangered and threatened species in accordance 
with Section 7(a)(1) of the ESA. BLM also avoids making any 
irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources which would 
foreclose any reasonable and prudent alternative measures which might 
be required as a result of the consultation on the CDCA plan in 
accordance with Section 7(d) of the ESA.
    The ISDRA project area, trending generally for 40 miles from the 
southeast to northwest, comprises approximately 150,000 acres of public 
lands bounded approximately to the west by the Old Coachella Canal, to 
the east by the Union Pacific Railroad, to the North by Mammoth Wash, 
and to the south by Interstate 8 and the California/Mexico border. The 
primary activities conducted in the ISDRA include recreational camping 
and use of OHVs. Technical issues to be addressed in the RMP/EIS will 
include: biological resources (wildlife and botany); cultural resources 
and paleontology; water resources; noise; land use; geology and soils; 
mineral resources; socioeconomics; hazardous materials and solid waste; 
public health; visual resources; and traffic and transportation.
    The El Centro Field Office originally started public scoping for 
this project with a series of seven (7) public scoping meetings 
conducted in January/February 2000. Comments received during the 
initial scoping have been retained and will be carried forward through 
the planning process.
    The Tentative Project Schedule is as follows:

--File Draft EIS--February 2002
--File Final EIS--July 2002
--Record of Decision--October 2002

     Public participation will be especially important at 
several points

[[Page 51685]]

during the analysis and planning process. The scoping process (40 CFR 
1501.7) for this analysis will include:

--Identification of the issues to be addressed;
--Identification of viable alternatives; and
--Identification and notification of interested groups, individuals and 
agencies to determine level of participation and obtain additional 
information concerning issues to be addressed in the RMP/EIS.

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the El Centro Field Office during normal 
working hours (7:45 AM to 4:15 PM, except holidays), and may be 
published as part of the EIS or other related documents. Individuals 
may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or 
address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, you must state this promptly at the beginning of your 
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. 
All submissions from organizations or businesses will be made available 
for public inspection in their entirety. The planning documents and 
direct supporting record for the analysis and RMP will be available for 
inspection at the El Centro Field Office during normal working hours. 
Historical records may also be posted on the BLM internet site to 
facilitate public access.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Greg Thomsen, Field Manager, El 
Centro Field Office, California Desert District, Bureau of Land 
Management, 1661 South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO SUBMIT COMMENTS CONTACT: Roxie Trost, 
Bureau of Land Management, 1661 South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243, 
(760) 337-4400.

Greg Thomsen,
Field Manager, El Centro Field Office.
[FR Doc. 01-25605 Filed 10-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P