[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13322-13323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6272]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-040-02-1610-DO-086L]


Resource Management Plan; Ring of Fire

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Anchorage Field Office.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a request for 
information for the scoping process, and a call for coal resource 
information.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the BLM, Anchorage Field Office, 
Alaska, is initiating a planning effort to prepare the Ring of Fire 
RMP. This planning activity encompasses approximately 1.3 million acres 
of public land. Section 201 and 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1711) and the regulations in 
43 CFR 1600 direct this planning effort. The plan will fulfill the 
needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). As required in 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is also a 
specific call for coal resource information and identification of areas 
where there is an interest in future leasing and development of federal 
coal.
    The BLM will work closely with interested parties to identify the 
management decisions that are best suited to the needs of the public. 
This collaborative process will take into account local, regional, and 
national needs and concerns. This notice initiates the public scoping 
process to identify planning issues and to develop planning criteria. 
The public is invited to nominate potential areas of critical 
environmental concern (ACEC), and river segments for wild and scenic 
river consideration during the planning process.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may obtain further 
information or request to be placed on the mailing list for the Ring of 
Fire RMP planning effort by contacting Bob Lloyd, RMP Team Leader or 
Peter Ditton, Acting Field Manager, Anchorage Field Office, 6881 Abbott 
Loop Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99507, (907) 267-1246.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area extends from below Dixon 
Entrance in southeast Alaska to Attu Island at the end of the Aleutian 
Chain and presents significant challenges. This is a lineal distance of 
some 2,500 miles. The area contains 80% of the total population of the 
State including Anchorage, the largest city, and Juneau, the State 
capital. The boundaries are the Canadian border for the southeast part 
of the planning area, the Matanuska-Susitna, Anchorage and Kenai 
Boroughs in Southcentral Alaska, Kodiak Island, and the Alaska 
Peninsula, and Aleutian Island Chain.
    Within this 61,000,000 acre area there are approximately 1,300,000 
acres (surface estate) of BLM-administered lands occurring as large 
blocks to small scattered tracts. Approximately 813,000 acres of the 
1.3 million acres have been selected by the State of Alaska and Native 
Corporations, but have not been conveyed. Due to over selection, BLM 
will retain management of some of this selected land. Lands 
administered by BLM and not selected total approximately 463,000 acres.
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM and other agencies, and in meetings with individuals and user 
groups. They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the existing 
issues and concerns with current management. The major issues that will 
be addressed in the plan effort are subsistence; oil and gas; access; 
locatable minerals; off-highway vehicle (OHV) use and designation; wild 
fire and fuels management; wild, scenic and recreation rivers; 
recreation; and land tenure adjustments.

DATES: The scoping comment period will commence with the publication of 
this notice. Meetings and comment deadlines will be announced through 
the local news media, newsletters and a web site to be developed by a 
contractor. Comments on issues and planning criteria should be received 
on or before the end of the scoping period at the address listed below.
    Public Participation: Public meetings will be held throughout the 
plan scoping and preparation period. In order to ensure local community 
participation and input, public meetings will be

[[Page 13323]]

scheduled in each of the planning areas. Early participation by all 
those interested is encouraged and will help determine the future 
management of lands within the Ring of Fire planning area. At least 15 
days public notice will be given for activities where the public is 
invited to attend. 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. Written comments will 
be accepted throughout the planning process at the address shown below. 
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.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Bureau of Land 
Management, Anchorage Field Office, 6881 Abbott Loop Road, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99507; Fax 907-267-1267. Documents pertinent to this proposal 
may be examined at the Anchorage Field Office located in Anchorage, 
Alaska. Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, 
will be available for public review at the Anchorage Field Office 
located in Anchorage, Alaska during regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to 
4 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. 
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 process.
    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 fire management, geology, forestry, 
outdoor recreation, archaeology, paleontology, subsistence, wildlife 
and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, sociology and 
economics.

Peter J. Ditton,
Field Office Manager.
[FR Doc. 03-6272 Filed 3-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P