[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 50 (Thursday, March 14, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11515-11516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6166]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

[CA 668-02-1610-DO-083A]


Notice of intent To Prepare a Land and Resource Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management; Palm Springs-South Coast Field 
Office, and the United States Forest Service, San Bernardino National 
Forest.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Land and Resource Management Plan 
(LRMP) for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, 
designated by Congress on October 24, 2000. This action will require a 
single Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The planning area is 
located in Riverside County, California.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) and United States Forest Service (USFS) intend to 
prepare an LRMP with an associated EIS for the Santa Rosa and San 
Jacinto Mountains National Monument located within the BLM Palm 
Springs-South Coast Field Office and the San Bernardino National 
Forest. This planning activity encompasses approximately 150,800 acres 
of Federally managed public land. The plan will fulfill the needs and 
obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Forest and 
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, the National Forest 
Management Act of 1976, the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains 
National Monument Act of 2000, and BLM and USFS management policies. 
The BLM and USFS will work collaboratively with interested parties to 
identify the management decisions that are best suited to local, 
regional, and national needs and concerns. The public scoping process 
will identify planning issues, develop planning criteria, and will 
include an evaluation of the existing BLM and USFS land and resource 
management plans in the context of the needs and interests of the 
public and conservation of natural and cultural resources specified in 
the legislation.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments on 
issues and planning criteria may be submitted in writing to the address 
listed below. All public meetings will be announced through the local 
news media, newsletters, and the BLM web site (www.ca.blm.gov) at least 
15 days prior to the event. The minutes and list of attendees for each 
meeting will be available to the public and open for 30 days to any 
participant who wishes to clarify the views they expressed.
    Public Participation: Public meetings will be held throughout the 
plan scoping and document preparation period. In order to ensure local 
community participation and input, public meeting locations will be 
rotated among the communities located within the Santa Rosa and San 
Jacinto Mountains and the cities of the Coachella Valley, Riverside 
County. Meeting sites will also be provided throughout southern 
California commensurate with interest in the National Monument. Early 
and ongoing participation is encouraged and will help determine the 
future management of Federally managed public lands within the Santa 
Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. In addition to the 
ongoing public participation process, formal opportunities for public 
participation will be provided through comment on the alternatives and 
upon publication of the draft LRMP/EIS. Written comments will be 
accepted and considered throughout the entire planning process.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. James G. Kenna--Field 
Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, Bureau of Land 
Management, P.O. Box 581260, North Palm Springs, CA 92258; or by fax at 
(760) 251-4899 or by email at [email protected]. Documents pertinent 
to this proposal, including comments with the names and addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review at the Palm Springs-
South Coast Field Office located at 690 W. Garnet Avenue, North Palm 
Springs, California, during regular business hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m.,

[[Page 11516]]

Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as part of 
the 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 CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Ms. Connell Dunning at 
(760) 251-4817, [email protected], or Elena Misquez at (760) 251-
4810, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The creation of the Santa Rosa and San 
Jacinto Mountains National Monument along with the changing needs and 
interests of the public necessitates a separate stand-alone plan for 
the Monument. This action requires a maintenance action to BLM's 
California Desert Conservation Area Plan (as amended in 1980) to change 
its planning boundary and an amendment to the USFS's San Bernardino 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. A management plan 
for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument will 
facilitate coordination and efficiency between the BLM and USFS as 
joint Federal leads, and to focus collaborative efforts with state and 
local government, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and 
interested public. This joint BLM-USFS planning document will require a 
single EIS and two separate Records of Decision (ROD).
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM and USFS personnel, other agencies, and in meetings with 
individuals and user groups. The preliminary issues identified thus far 
represent the USFS and BLM's knowledge to date on the existing issues 
and concerns with current management, but are not limited to these. The 
major issue themes that will be addressed in the plan effort include:
     Integrating monument management with community, tribal, 
and other agency needs.
     Recreation/visitor use and safety.
     Access and transportation on the public lands; management 
and protection of public land resources; and balancing multiple uses.
    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.
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
    Rationale will be provided in the plan for each issue placed in 
category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a number of 
management questions and concerns will be addressed in the plan. The 
public is encouraged to help identify these questions and concerns 
during the scoping phase.
    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 outdoor recreation, archaeology, 
paleontology, wildlife and plants, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, 
geographic information systems, rangeland management, minerals and 
geology, forestry, sociology and economics. Where necessary, outside 
expertise may be used.

    Dated: October 11, 2001.
Danella George,
Acting Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management.
Gene Zimmerman,
Forest Supervisor, Forest Service, USDA.
[FR Doc. 02-6166 Filed 3-13-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P