[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64408-64409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25949]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-670-02-1610-JP-064B]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Amendment and Associated 
Environmental Assessment to the California Desert Conservation Area 
Plan for Off-Road Vehicle Trail (Route of Travel) Designations in the 
Western Colorado Desert (WECO) Portion of Imperial County, CA

AGENCY: Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, California 
Desert District.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft amendment and associated 
environmental assessment to the California Desert Conservation Area 
Plan for off-road vehicle trail (route of travel) designations in the 
Western Colorado Desert (WECO) portion of Imperial County, California.

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DATES: Written comments on the Draft Amendment and the Environmental 
Assessment will be accepted if postmarked within 45 calendar days from 
the date this Notice of Availability is published in the Federal 
Register by the Bureau of Land Management. Instructions for submitting 
comments are included below under Supplemental Information.
SUMMARY: The draft plan amendment will establish or revise designations 
of trails (routes of travel) for off-road vehicles in accordance with 
Part 43 Code of Federal Regulations Subpart 8342. Trails (routes of 
travel) for inclusion in the State of California's Discovery Trail 
System and the route to be used as a segment of the Juan Bautista de 
Anza National Historic Trail within the Western Colorado Desert (WECO) 
project area will be identified. The proposals will pertain to public 
lands addressed by the California Desert Conservation Area Plan in the 
WECO portion of Imperial County that lie west of the Union Pacific 
Railroad and the Chocolate Mountain Gunnery Range (excluding the 
Imperial Sand Dunes and the western portion of the California Desert 
Conservation Area in San Diego County, California).

ADDRESSES: Copies of the document are being mailed to those who 
requested it. The document is available for review on line at http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro and is also available in a hard copy or a CD 
rom format at the following addresses and telephone numbers: Bureau of 
Land Management, El Centro Field Office, 1661 South 4th Street, El 
Centro, CA 92243, (760) 337-4400.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Arnold Schoeck, Bureau of Land Management, 
1661 South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243; (760) 337-4441.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Land Management published in 
the Federal Register on March 25, 2002, the Notice of Intent to prepare 
an Environmental Assessment and to make a Plan Amendment to the 
California Desert Conservation Area Plan by making off-road vehicle 
trail (route of travel) designations in the Western Colorado Desert 
portion of Imperial County. The public scoping period for the project 
began March 25, 2002 and the comment period until has been expanded 
until October 7, 2002.
    The publication of the Environmental Assessment will start a 45-day 
public comment period for the proposed designations and alternative 
plan amendments described in the environmental assessment. Public 
meetings and their locations for the public to make comments at will be 
announced in the local media and on the El Centro Field Office's Web 
site (http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro).
    The public is invited to submit comments on the alternatives to the 
plan amendment and the Environmental Assessment. Written comments 
should be sent to the above address and must be post marked by December 
2, 2002. E-mail comments may be sent to [email protected] but must be 
received by the close of business on December 2, 2002. Delays caused by 
the Internet, servers, and other related computer problems will not be 
cause for a time extension.
    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the El Centro Field Office during normal 
working hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except holidays), and may be 
published as part of the Decision Record or other related documents. 
Individuals may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your 
name or address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom 
of Information Act, you must state this promptly at the beginning of 
your comments. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by 
law. All submissions from organizations or businesses will be made 
available for public inspection in their entirety.
    After the public comment period ends, (1) a Notice of the Proposed 
Decision, (2) the effective date for the proposed decision, and (3) the 
beginning of a 30 day protest period will be published. The procedures 
for

[[Page 64409]]

protesting a decision will be described at that time.

Greg Thomsen,
Field Manager, El Centro Field Office.
[FR Doc. 02-25949 Filed 10-17-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P