[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 235 (Thursday, December 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63406-63407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30223]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-025-1610-DO]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the 
Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National 
Conservation Area, et al.; Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Winnemucca (Nevada) and Surprise 
(California) Field Offices, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Resource Management Plan for the 
Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National 
Conservation Area, (NCA) and associated wilderness, and other 
contiguous lands in Nevada.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Winnemucca and Surprise 
Field Offices will jointly prepare a RMP and an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the recently designated Black Rock Desert-High Rock 
Canyon Emigrant Trails NCA and associated wilderness areas, designated 
by the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National 
Conservation Area Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-554, December 21, 2000). The 
following contiguous areas also will be addressed in the plan: (1) The 
Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Instant Study Area (ISA) and a small area of 
BLM administered public lands located west of the ISA between the ISA 
and the Summit Lake Indian Reservation, both of which are contiguous to 
the northern edge of the NCA; and (2) the southern part of the Black 
Rock Desert Playa (South Playa), which is contiguous to the southern 
edge of the NCA.
    The planning area encompasses approximately 1,217,500 acres of 
public land, located in Humboldt, Pershing, and Washoe counties in 
northwestern Nevada. These public lands are jointly managed by the BLM 
Winnemucca and Surprise Field Offices. The RMP will be based on 
statutory requirements and will meet the requirements of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, the Wilderness Act of 
1964, the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National 
Conservation Area Act of 2000, and other applicable provisions of law. 
The RMP will guide BLM's management actions within the NCA, wilderness, 
and identified contiguous areas. The BLM will work closely with 
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

[[Page 63407]]

national needs and concerns. This notice initiates the public scoping 
process to identify planning issues and to develop planning criteria.

DATES: In compliance with the enabling legislation (Black Rock Desert-
High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area Act of 2000 
(Pub. L. 106-554, December 21, 2000)), the plan must be completed by 
December 20, 2003. The public is encouraged to participate in the 
planning process, beginning with the identification of issues and 
planning criteria. The scoping comment period will commence with the 
publication of this notice. Formal scoping will end 60 days after 
publication of this notice. Comments on issues and planning criteria 
would be most helpful if received on or before the end of the scoping 
period. Public participation activities, including scoping meetings to 
identify issues and planning critieria, will be announced at least 15 
days before the scheduled meeting in the local news media and in 
notices sent to persons and parties on the mailing list. In order to 
ensure local community participation, public meetings will be rotated 
among locations including, but not necessarily limited to Cedarville, 
California, and Gerlach, Reno, and Winnemucca, Nevada. In audition to 
the ongoing public participation process and the scoping meetings, 
formal opportunities for public participation will be provided through 
comment on the alternatives and upon publication of the draft RMP/draft 
EIS. A web site will also be established to display updated information 
to the public and to provide a means for submission of public comments 
via e-mail. Persons who would like to be placed on mailing lists, 
should notify the Winnemucca or Surprise Field Offices at the addresses 
listed below, or call (775) 623-1500.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the attention of the NCA 
Resource Management Plan Project Manager, 5100 East Winnemucca 
Boulevard, Winnemucca, Nevada 89445, Phone (775) 623-1500. Comments, 
including names and street addresses of respondents, may be published 
as part of the EIS. Individual respondents may require 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.
    A map of the planning area is available at the Winnemucca Field 
Office (address and phone number listed above); the Surprise Field 
Office, 602 Cressler Street, Cedarville, CA 96104, Phone (530) 279-
6101; the Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Blvd., Reno, NV 89502, 
Phone (775) 861-6400; and at the California State Office, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Suite W-1834, Sacramento, CA 95825-1886, Phone (916) 978-4600.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Reed, Field Office Manager or 
Roger Farschon, Acting NCA Manager, at the Winnemucca Field Office, 
Phone (775) 623-1500 or the Acting Surprise Field Office Manager, Phone 
(530) 279-6101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RMP will determine management of 
approximately 1,217,500 acres of federally administered public lands 
including: the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails NCA 
(Approximately 800,100 acres), ten associated wilderness areas 
(approximately 757,100 acres), the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout ISA 
(approximately 13,400 acres) and a small area of BLM administered 
public lands located west of the ISA between the ISA and the Summit 
Lake Indian Reservation (approximately 2,300 acres), and the southern 
portion of the Black Rock Desert Playa (South Playa) (approximately 
24,100 acres). Approximately 379,500 acres of wilderness are located 
within the boundaries of the NCA.
    The public is asked to assist the BLM with the identification of 
issues related to management of the planning area, including the NCA 
and wilderness. Preliminary issues and management concerns have been 
identified by BLM personnel, other agencies, and in meetings with 
individuals and user groups. Anticipated issues include, but are not 
limited to the following: how will natural, cultural, and wilderness 
resources be protected?; how can visitor use, access and safety best be 
achieved?; how will NCA management be integrated with other agency and 
community plans and needs?; and what facilities and infrastructure are 
needed to provide visitor services and administration of the NCA? After 
gathering public comments on what issues the plan should address, the 
suggested issues will be placed in one of three categories: (1) Issues 
to be resolved in the plan; (2) issues resolved through policy or 
administrative action; and (3) issues beyond the scope of the plan. BLM 
will provide feedback to the public on the final issues to be addressed 
in the plan. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the 
plan in order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will include 
specialists with expertise in rangeland management, minerals and 
geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, archaeology, paleontology, 
wildlife and fisheries, land and realty, hydrology, soils, sociology, 
and economics.
    Plan development will involve close cooperation with the State of 
Nevada, tribal, county and municipal governments, federal agencies, and 
interested groups, agencies, and individuals. The Resource Advisory 
Councils (RACs) for the planning area, the Sierra Front-Northwestern 
Great Basin RAC and the Northeast California RAC, will be used to 
provide additional public input. Consistent with the enabling 
legislation, the plan for the NCA and associated wilderness areas will 
emphasize the protection and enhancement of the NCA's and wilderness 
areas' resource values while providing the public with opportunities 
for compatible recreation activities. The plan for the specified 
contiguous areas will emphasize management consistent with applicable 
laws and regulations. The concerns and interest of area residents, 
including the activities of recreation, grazing, hunting, trapping, 
mining, energy development, and access will be addressed in the plan.
    The Plan will incorporate appropriate decisions from existing BLM 
plans such as current management plans for the area. It also will use 
information developed and management alternatives proposed in previous 
studies of the lands within or adjacent to the NCA (including the Draft 
Sonoma-Gerlach/Paradise Denio Plan Amendment).

Terry A. Reed,
Field Manager, Winnemucca, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 01-30223 Filed 12-5-01; 8:45 am]
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