[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 231 (Friday, November 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59811-59812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29731]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ES-020-02-1610-DU]


Notice of Availability and Protest Period of the Proposed 
Planning Analysis for Arkansas and Louisiana

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and protest period.

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

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed 
Planning Analysis and Environmental Assessment (PA/EA) and a Finding of 
No Significant Impact (FONSI) that address management of public domain 
lands in Arkansas and Louisiana. The PA/EA describes and analyzes the 
proposed action for management of approximately 575 acres in Arkansas 
and 378 acres in Louisiana. These public lands are isolated tracts in 
seven counties in Arkansas and four parishes in Louisiana. The affected 
counties in Arkansas are: Baxter, Cleburne, Crawford, Fulton, Pike, 
Searcy and Van Buren. The affected parishes in Louisiana are Desoto, 
Natchitoches, Rapides and St. Martin. Split-estate Federal minerals are 
not included in this PA/EA. These documents were prepared to fulfill 
the requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).

DATES: Protests on the Proposed PA/EA must be postmarked no later than 
December 31, 2001. The Proposed PA/EA and FONSI can be reviewed Mondays 
through Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the BLM's Jackson Field 
Office, 411 Briarwood Drive, Suite 404, Jackson, Mississippi 39206, or 
by visiting the Web site at www.es.blm.gov/jfo/pages/lupj.html.

ADDRESSES: All protests must be filed only with the Director of the BLM 
and submitted by mail or overnight mail as follows: The address for 
regular mail is: Director, Bureau of Land Management, Att: Ms. Brenda 
Williams, Protest Coordinator, WO 210/LS-1075, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240; The address for 
overnight mail is: Director, Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Ms. 
Brenda Williams, Protest Coordinator (WO 210); 1620 L Street, NW., Room 
1075, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: (202) 452-5110.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Duane Winters at (601) 977-5400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action was developed after 
review of comments on the Draft PA/EA. Public comments on the Draft PA/
EA were received by mail, public meeting, e-mail, and phone calls.
    The alternatives that were considered can be summarized as: (1) No 
Action or Custodial Management, (2) Disposal, and (3) Management 
through Partnerships. Under the Custodial Management alternative, the 
BLM would retain the tracts, but would not pro-actively manage them. 
There would be no actions taken to manage habitats or other resources. 
When presented to BLM, applications for use would be evaluated on a 
case-by-case basis. Because this alternative would essentially be a 
continuation of the current management approach, it is also referred to 
as the No Action alternative. With the Disposal alternative, BLM would 
pursue transfer of the tracts out of Federal ownership through various 
means including sale, exchange or conveyance under the Recreation and 
Public Purposes Act. In a sale or exchange, priority would be given to 
transferring the tracts to adjacent land owners. In the Partnership 
alternative, resource management objectives are developed for each 
tract. These objectives include the desired conditions, such as type of 
habitat and recreational opportunity. BLM would actively seek partners, 
and with their cooperation, develop site specific implementation plans 
to identify needed management actions.
    The Proposed PA/EA describes proposed management, including 
proposed decisions on disposal, for each of the BLM-administered tracts 
in Arkansas and Louisiana. Three of the tracts in Arkansas are proposed 
for disposal. Two tracts in Arkansas are

[[Page 59812]]

proposed for withdrawal to the U.S. Forest Service. One tract in 
Arkansas and one tract in Louisiana are proposed for management with 
partners. The other six tracts in Arkansas and three tracts in 
Louisiana are proposed for continued management by the BLM under a 
modification of the custodial alternative.
    The BLM planning process offers an opportunity for administrative 
review (43 CFR 1610.5-2). Any participant in the planning process who 
has an interest that is or may be adversely affected by the proposed 
decisions may file a protest in writing with the BLM Director. (See 
DATES and ADDRESSES sections above for the nonextendable deadline and 
specific addresses for filing protests on this Proposed Plan.) Only 
those persons or organizations that participated in the planning and 
analysis process may protest the proposed decisions in the Proposed 
Plan. Protests may raise only the issues that were previously submitted 
for the record during the planning and environmental analysis process 
by the protestor or another participant in the process.
    To be considered complete, a protest must include, at a minimum, 
the following information:
    1. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the 
person filing the protest.
    2. A statement of the part or parts of the plan and the issues 
being protested. To the extent possible, this should be done by 
reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, or maps 
included within the Proposed Plan and EA.
    3. A copy of all documents addressing the issue(s) that the 
protesting party submitted during the planning process or a statement 
of the date they were discussed for the record.
    4. A concise statement explaining why the protestor believes the 
proposed decision(s) is wrong. All relevant facts need to be included 
in the statement of reasons.
    At the end of the 30-day protest period, a decision document can be 
issued and, excluding any portions under protest, the Proposed Plan 
will become final. Approval will be withheld on any portion of the 
Proposed Plan under protest until final action has been completed on 
that protest.

    Dated: November 6, 2001.
Sammy St. Clair,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 01-29731 Filed 11-29-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P