[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56301-56302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22403]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-172-02-5440-EQ-C028]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and Amendment to the San Juan/San Miguel Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) for a Proposed Ski Area Near Silverton, CO

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent. This notice will initiate a public scoping 
period.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and Section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) will prepare, by a third-party contractor, an EIS on a proposed 
ski area in southwestern Colorado CoreMountain Enterprises, LLC, 
proposes to use approximately 1,300 acres of BLM managed public land, 
combined with about 400 acres of their private lands, for a downhill 
ski area located about 5 miles north of Silverton, Colorado. The 
proposed action may be modified, as a result of comments received 
during scoping or during the preparation of the draft EIS.
    The proposed action will require a plan amendment if it results in 
a change in the scope of resource uses or decisions in the San Juan/San 
Miguel RMP.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until October 3, 2002. If the 
agency determines that public scoping meetings are needed, all parties 
on the project's mailing list will be notified through written 
correspondence. Additionally, public notices for these scoping meetings 
will be placed in local newspapers two weeks prior to the meetings.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Bureau of Land Management, San 
Juan Public Lands Center, Columbine Field Office, 15 Burnett Court, 
Durango, Colorado 81301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Speegle, Team Leader, 
Columbine Field Office, at (970) 375-3310.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 9, 2001, Core Mountain 
Enterprises, LLC (Silverton Outdoor Learning and Recreation Center) 
submitted a proposal for a ski area and recreation/learning facility, 
titled the ``Silverton Outdoor Learning and Recreation Center''

[[Page 56302]]

(SOLRC) on public lands north of Silverton, Colorado. The scope of the 
proposal includes lift-accessed skiing, snow boarding, and winter 
related educational courses; and hiking, mountain biking and lift-
accessed scenic chairlift rides during the summer months. Seasonal foot 
bridges would be installed across Cement Creek for skier access. In 
addition, a toilet facility and two summer use trails (one would be a 
mountaineering trail, the other a hiking/biking trail) would be 
constructed. The proposed project area encompasses about 400 acres of 
private land, owned by Core Mountain Enterprises, LLC, and about 1,300 
acres of Federal lands managed by the BLM, located within sections 20-
21, 27-34 of protracted Township 42 N., R.7 W., and, also within 
sections 3-9 of protracted Township 41 N., R. 7 W., New Mexico 
Principal Meridian.
    During the fall of 2001, while this proposal was being evaluated 
through the Environmental Assessment (EA) process, potentially 
significant impacts were identified that necessitate preparation of an 
EIS. Potential issues to be addressed in the EIS include, but are not 
limited to, avalanche safety, Canada lynx habitat, impacts on the local 
winter economy, impacts to neighboring private lands, and the need for 
temporary public access closures due to safety reasons related to 
avalanche control. As part of the earlier EA process, public meetings 
were held in Durango and Silverton to discuss the proposal and obtain 
public input. Written comments received during the previous public 
meetings held in Durango and Silverton,Colorado, in August of 2001, are 
being carried forward as part of the scoping for this EIS. It is not 
necessary to comment again if comments are the same as during the 
original EA scoping process. This notice initiates an additional formal 
30-day public scoping period during which public comments related to 
the issues to be addressed, viable alternatives that should be 
considered, and potential impacts that may occur are requested. The San 
Juan County Commissioners and the Silverton City Council have been 
consulted concerning this proposal and are supportive. Consultation 
will continue as new issues or alternatives develop through the EIS 
process.
    Detailed and supplementary information is available for review at 
the office of the Bureau of Land Management, San Juan Field Office, 15 
Burnett Court, Durango, Colorado 81301.

Thurman H. Wilson,
 Acting Center Manager, San Juan Public Lands Center.
[FR Doc. 02-22403 Filed 8-30-02; 8:45 am]
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