[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 8 (Monday, January 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1635-1636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-611]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-015-1610-DQ; GP-02-0233]


Notice of Availability for the Lakeview Proposed Resource 
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Lakeview District (Oregon), Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Notice of availability for the Lakeview Proposed Resource 
Management Plan (PRMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
(FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) intends to make the PRMP/FEIS available for 
public review and comment. This planning activity encompasses 
approximately 3.2 million acres of public land managed by the Lakeview 
Resource Area, Lakeview District, located in Lake and Harney Counties 
in southeastern Oregon. In addition, a small, contiguous portion of 
Modoc and Washoe Counties located in northeastern California and 
northwestern Nevada, falling within the administrative boundary of the 
Surprise Field Office in Cedarville, California, but managed by the 
Lakeview Resource Area is also included for analysis purposes. The BLM 
has and will continue to work closely with all interested parties to 
identify management decisions that are best suited to the needs of the 
public. Final decisions will supercede the High Desert, Warner Lakes, 
and Lost River Management Framework Plans and provide direction for 
management of these public lands for approximately 20 years.

[[Page 1636]]


DATES: The public has the opportunity to protest the Proposed Resource 
Management Plan. The BLM Planning Regulations, 43 CFR 1610.5-2, state 
that any person who participated in the planning process and has an 
interest which may be adversely affected may protest. A protest may 
raise only those issues which were submitted for the record during the 
planning process. Any protests must be filed within 30 days of the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of 
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Specific 
dates of the protest period will be announced through the local news 
media, letters or postcards, and the BLM web site (see the internet 
address below). Written protests may be submitted during the protest 
period at the following address: Director (210), Bureau of Land 
Management, Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 
20035. To be considered timely, your protest must be postmarked no 
later than the last day of the protest period. Though not a 
requirement, we suggest that you send your protest by certified mail, 
return receipt requested. In addition you can use the overnight address 
(FedEX or USPS) as an option for next day delivery: Director (210), 
Bureau of Land Management, Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L Street, 
NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036. You are also encouraged, but not 
required, to forward a copy of your protest to the Lakeview District 
Manager at the address listed below. This may allow us to resolve the 
protest through clarification of intent or alternative dispute 
resolution methods. To be considered complete, your protest must 
contain (at a minimum) the following information:
    (1) Name, mailing address, telephone number and the affected 
interest of the person filing the protest(s).
    (2) A statement of the issue or issues being protested.
    (3) A statement of the part or parts of the proposed plan being 
protested. To the extent possible, reference specific pages, 
paragraphs, and sections of the document.
    (4) A copy of all your documents addressing the issue or issues 
which were discussed with the BLM for the record.
    (5) A concise statement explaining why the proposed decision is 
believed to be incorrect. This is a critical part of your protest. 
Document all relevant facts, as much as possible. A protest that merely 
expresses disagreement with the State Director's proposed decision 
without providing any supporting data will not be considered a valid 
protest.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Paul Whitman, Bureau of Land 
Management, 1301 South G Street, Lakeview, Oregon 97630. Telephone 
(541-947-2177), Fax (541-947-6399), e-mail ([email protected]). 
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Lakeview 
Resource Area office in Lakeview, Oregon during regular business hours 
(7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays). 
Interested persons may also review the PRMP/FEIS on the Internet at 
www.or.blm.gov/Lakeview/Planning. A hard copy or a CD-ROM of the 
document may be requested at the address and phone number above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This land use plan focuses on the principles 
of multiple use management and sustained yield as prescribed by section 
202 of the FLPMA. The Proposed RMP/FEIS considers and analyzes five 
alternatives. These alternatives have been developed based on extensive 
public input following scoping (July 1999), review of the summary of 
the Analysis of the Management Situation (July 2000), review and 
comment on the Draft RMP/EIS (October 2001-January 2002), and numerous 
meetings with local governments, tribes and the Southeast Oregon 
Resource Advisory Council. The alternatives provide for a wide array of 
alternative land use allocations and management direction. The 
alternatives provide for variable levels of commodity production, 
resource protection, and authorized land and resource uses, including 
utility corridors, energy and non-energy mineral leasing, livestock 
grazing and various forms of recreation. Alternative D (as modified by 
public comment on the Draft RMP/EIS) provides a balance of resource 
uses and protection and is identified as the agency's Proposed Plan. An 
Approved RMP/Record of Decision is expected to be available for public 
review in late 2002 after resolution of any protests.

    Dated: May 15, 2002.
Scott R. Florence,
Field Manager, Lakeview Resource Area.
[FR Doc. 03-611 Filed 1-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P