[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 24, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20148-20149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9595]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[AZ 020-01-1610-D0-081A-002A]
Agua Fria National Monument
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix Field Office, Phoenix, AZ
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare (1) a Resource Management Plan
(RMP) for Agua Fria National Monument, designated on January 11, 2000,
and (2) an RMP for lands collectively known as the Bradshaw Foothills.
These two actions will require a single Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
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Location: The planning area encompasses the public lands managed by
the BLM north of Phoenix, Arizona, including the Agua Fria National
Monument and the Bradshaw Foothills. The Bradshaw Foothills include the
Black Canyon Corridor and the areas around Lake Pleasant and
Wickenburg. For more information, a map can be viewed in the Public
Room of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Phoenix Field Office.
SUMMARY: The BLM provides notice that it intends to prepare two RMPs
with one associated EIS for lands north of Phoenix, Arizona, managed by
the Phoenix Field Office. One RMP will be developed for the lands
referred to as the Bradshaw Foothills, and a separate RMP will be
developed for the Agua Fria National Monument. This area is currently
managed under the Lower Gila North Management Framework Plan (MFP)
(1983) and the Phoenix RMP (1989). These plans will fulfill the needs
and obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Agua
Fria National Monument proclamation, and BLM regulations and policies.
The BLM will work closely with interested parties to identify
management decisions best suited to the needs of the public. This
collaborative process will take into account local, regional, and
national needs and concerns. This notice begins the public scoping
process to examine proposed issues and planning criteria.
DATES: The scoping comment period will commence with the publication of
this notice. Formal scoping will last a minimum of 60 days. Comments on
issues and criteria should be received on or before the end of the
scoping period at the address listed below. To ensure diverse local
community participation and input, meeting locations will include the
following communities: Wickenburg, Phoenix, Peoria, Prescott, Cave
Creek, New River, Black Canyon City, Cordes Junction and Castle Hot
Springs. At least 15 days public notice will be given for activities
where the public is invited to attend. Meetings and comment deadlines
will be announced through the local news media, newsletters, and the
BLM web site (www.az.blm.gov). Public meetings will be held throughout
the plan scoping and preparation period. Early participation by all
those interested is encouraged and will help determine future
management of the public lands.
ADDRESSES: To send written comments, obtain further information and/or
to have your name added to our mailing list, contact: Chris Horyza,
Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix Field Office, 21605 North 7th
Avenue,
[[Page 20149]]
Phoenix, AZ 85027; Telephone (623) 580-5628; Fax (623) 580-5580; e-
mail: [email protected]. Documents pertinent to this proposal may
be examined at the Phoenix Field Office at the address listed above.
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the Phoenix Field Office during regular
business hours, 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The extraordinary population growth in
Arizona, and especially the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area, as well
as the creation of Agua Fria National Monument, requires
reconsideration of previous land use plan decisions. This planning
activity will develop management plans for Agua Fria National Monument
and the Bradshaw Foothills through one planning effort. These actions
require a single EIS with two records of decision.
The BLM will develop these plans using a community-based
collaborative approach. The BLM will work with local communities to
develop creative ways to resolve community issues and BLM management
issues and establish a sense of ownership for BLM activities. BLM will
work cooperatively with Federal agencies and State, tribal, and local
governments in developing the plans. The planning area is within the
planning jurisdiction of the Arizona State Land Department, Yavapai
County, Maricopa County, Peoria, and Phoenix. Other agencies involved
in the planning process may include Arizona Department of
Transportation, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Public
Service, and Yavapai and Maricopa County Departments of Transportation
and Parks and Recreation. In addition, Tonto and Prescott National
Forests adjoin the planning area and contain similar cultural,
historic, recreational, and natural resources that should be managed in
concert with the BLM-managed lands. The collaborative planning approach
will encourage long-term support for BLM land use plan decisions and
continued community involvement in BLM projects.
Preliminary issues and management concerns have been raised by BLM
employees, other agencies, and through contacts with individuals and
user groups. BLM will address the following major issues in the plans:
(1) Meeting public needs and achieving a healthy, thriving environment
in the face of rapidly increasing urban population; (2) identifying
actions necessary to provide for visitor use and safety in the Agua
Fria National Monument; and (3) identifying actions necessary to
protect the monument's natural and cultural resources consistent with
the proclamation. These are the issues that have been raised to date.
After gathering public comments on what issues the plan should
address, BLM will place the suggested issues into one of four
categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan.
2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action.
3. Issues to be resolved independent of this planning effort.
4. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
BLM will address category one issues in the land use plan process
and give a rationale in the plan for each issue placed in category two
or four. Issues falling under category three will be passed to, and
addressed by, the appropriate management agency or entity.
In addition to the preceding major issues, management questions and
concerns to be addressed in the plans include, but are not limited to,
the following: ecosystem health, riparian condition, threatened and
endangered species habitat, wildlife habitat, reintroduction of native
species, cultural resource protection and interpretation, recreation
and visitor use, access and transportation, rangeland management, and
minerals management. The following disciplines will be represented on
the BLM planning team: wilderness, recreation, wildlife, rangeland
management, botany, fire ecology, geology, realty, cultural resources,
soils, hydrology, and geographic information systems (GIS). Where
necessary, outside expertise may be used.
Background Information: Agua Fria National Monument was created on
January 11, 2000, with the signing by the President of Proclamation
7263. The Monument contains one of the most significant systems of late
prehistoric sites in the American Southwest. At least 450 prehistoric
sites are known to exist within the monument. In addition to its rich
record of human history, the monument contains other objects of
scientific interest, including a diversity of vegetation communities, a
wide array of sensitive wildlife species, and native fish populations.
The purpose of the monument designation is to protect these
sensitive natural and cultural resources. The proclamation designated
more than 71,000 acres to be managed by the BLM for this purpose.
Establishment of the national monument necessitates development of a
land use plan.
The area in and around Phoenix, Arizona, has experienced
significant population growth in recent years. Since 1990, Maricopa
County's population has increased nearly 35 percent. During this same
time period, the City of Peoria has annexed more than 59,000 acres,
including more than 16,000 acres of BLM land, and the City of Phoenix
has added more than 19,000 acres, including nearly 700 acres of BLM
land. These are only two of the growing cities and towns expanding
their borders toward and into the Bradshaw Foothills Planning Area. The
increased pressure on public lands for recreation, rights-of-way,
mineral materials, and other purposes resulting from population
increases requires BLM to readdress its land use plan decisions.
Elaine Marquis-Brong,
Director, National Landscape Conservation System, Bureau of Land
Management.
[FR Doc. 02-9595 Filed 4-23-02; 8:45 am]
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