[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 24, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20151-20152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9588]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-174-02-1610-DO-083A]


Notice of intent to Prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, San Juan Public Lands Center, 
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Dolores, Colorado, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) 
for the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, designated June 9, 
2000. This action will require a single Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS). These lands are located in Montezuma and Dolores Counties, 
Colorado.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) intends to prepare an RMP with an associated EIS for 
the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. This planning activity 
encompasses approximately 164,000 acres of 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 monument proclamation, and BLM management policies. 
The BLM 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 and develop planning criteria, including an evaluation 
of the existing RMP in the context of the needs and interests of the 
public and protection of the objects of historic and scientific 
interest specified in the proclamation.

DATES: The publication of this notice initiates the public scoping 
comment process. Formal scoping will last a minimum of 60 days. 
Comments on issues and planning criteria can 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.co.blm.gov/canm/index.html) 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 preparation period. In order to ensure local community 
participation and input, public meeting locations will be rotated 
between the towns of Cortez and Durango, Colorado. Early participation 
is encouraged and will help determine the future management of the 
Canyons of the Ancients 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 BLM draft RMP/EIS. In addition, written 
comments will be accepted throughout the entire planning process.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Canyons of the Ancients 
Planning, Bureau of Land Management, Anasazi Heritage Center, 27501 
Highway 184, Dolores, Colorado 81323; [email protected]; Fax 
970.882.7035. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at 
the Anasazi Heritage Center, located 3 miles west of Dolores, Colorado. 
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the Anasazi Heritage Center, during 
regular business hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 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 Gary Thrash, Telephone 
970.385.1371, or Marilynn Eastin, Telephone 970.882.4811, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The creation of the Canyons of the Ancients 
National Monument along with the changing needs and interests of the 
public necessitates a completion of a new RMP for the monument. This 
action will require a single EIS with one Record of Decision (ROD). 
Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by BLM 
personnel, other agencies, individuals and user groups, and by the 
Southwest Resource Advisory Council in public meetings held prior to 
monument designation. They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the 
existing issues and concerns with current management. The major issue 
themes that will be addressed in the plan include, but are not limited 
to: preservation of cultural and natural resources; balancing multiple 
uses such as recreation, livestock grazing, energy development, 
traditional and Native American activities; integrating monument 
management with community, tribal, and other agency needs; visitor 
services; and access and transportation on the public lands.
    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; or
    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 archaeology, paleontology, 
rangeland management, minerals and geology, outdoor recreation, 
wilderness, wildlife, lands and realty, hydrology, ecology, fire, 
geographic information systems, sociology, and economics. Where

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necessary, outside expertise may be used.
    Background Information: On June 9, 2000, the President signed 
Proclamation 7317, creating the Canyons of the Ancients National 
Monument. The monument encompasses approximately 164,000 acres of 
public lands in Montezuma and Dolores Counties, Colorado, borders the 
State of Utah and the Navajo Reservation to the west, and the Ute 
Mountain Ute Reservation is located to the south. The National Park 
Service, Hovenweep National Monument, manages 400 acres inside the 
boundaries of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Mesa Verde 
National Park is 12 miles east of Canyons of the Ancients National 
Monument.
    The San Juan/San Miguel RMP completed in 1985 encompassed the 
monument (Anasazi ACEC at that time) and has been amended four times. 
Two of these amendments affected management within the area now 
designated as Canyons of the Ancients National Monument: an amendment 
for Oil and Gas Leasing and Development (1991) and an amendment to 
implement the Standards for Public Land Health and Guidelines for 
Livestock Grazing Management (1997).
    Information from the existing plan and amendments may be 
incorporated into this plan.

LouAnn Jacobson,
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-9588 Filed 4-23-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P