[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 74 (Thursday, April 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18999-19000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9366]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-190.50-1610-DO]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Amendment to the Hollister 
Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Fort Ord Public Lands Project in Monterey County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Amendment to the Hollister 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
for the Fort Ord Public Lands Project in Monterey County, California.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) intends to prepare an amendment to the Hollister RMP 
for the Fort Ord Public Lands Project. Fort Ord is the site of a former 
United States military base in Monterey County, California that was 
closed pursuant to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 
1990, Public Law 101-510. Since 1992, the BLM has worked with the 
community in Monterey County to help facilitate the reuse of the former 
Fort Ord military base. The plan amendment would incorporate management 
prescriptions for the Fort Ord Project within the broader framework of 
the Hollister RMP. The plan amendment will fulfill the needs and 
obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM management 
policies. The BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to 
identify the management decisions that are best suited to local, 
regional, and national needs and concerns. The public scoping process 
will identify planning issues and develop planning criteria.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments on 
issues and planning criteria can be submitted in writing to the address 
listed below and will be accepted for 60 days following the publication 
of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Public Participation: Public meetings will be held throughout the 
plan scoping and preparation period. In order to ensure local community 
participation and input, open houses will be held in locations most 
closely affiliated with the BLM lands at Fort Ord. Probable locations 
include Monterey/Pacific Grove, Salinas, and Seaside/Marina. 
Information concerning the planning process, including any public 
participation opportunities, will be announced by BLM through news 
releases, direct mailings or other applicable means of public 
notification. Current information about the Fort Ord planning process 
is also maintained on BLM's Web site (http://www.ca.blm.gov/hollister).

ADDRESSES: Scoping comments should be sent to Eric Morgan, Project 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Hollister Field Office, 20 Hamilton 
Court, Hollister, California, 95023; Fax 831.394.8346. BLM will 
maintain a record of public documents related to the development of the 
RMP Amendment at the Hollister Field Office at the address listed 
above. Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, 
will be available for public review at the Hollister Field Office 
located in Hollister, California during regular business hours, 7:30 
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, and 
may be published as part of the EIS. Individual

[[Page 19000]]

respondents may request confidentiality. Individuals who wish to 
withhold their name or street address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act must state this 
prominently at the beginning of their 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Eric Morgan, telephone 
(831) 394-8314 or E-Mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A plan amendment is needed because the 
existing 1984 Hollister RMP does not address management of the Fort Ord 
Project area. Approximately 7,200 acres of former Army lands at Fort 
Ord were transferred to the BLM in October 1996, and approximately 
8,000 additional acres are expected to be transferred to the BLM in the 
coming years. The new ``public lands'' transferred to the BLM are part 
of a base-wide mitigation strategy to assure the survival of numerous 
rare plants and animals. Reuse of the base is centered upon the three 
keystones of ``Education, Economics and Environment (The Three E's)''. 
BLM's management of these new public lands is currently governed by the 
BLM/Army Memorandum of Understanding (April 19, 1995), the U.S. Army 
Letter of Transfer (October 18, 1996), and the Fort Ord Multi-Species 
Habitat Management Plan. Preliminary issues and management concerns 
have been identified by BLM personnel, other agencies, and in meetings 
with individuals and user groups, including: management and protection 
of sensitive, rare, threatened or endangered species; fire management; 
management integration with other agencies; management of recreation/
visitor use and safety; management of livestock grazing; management 
consistent with community; and access and transportation on the public 
lands. Disciplines involved in the planning process will include 
specialists with expertise in wildlife management, minerals and 
geology, outdoor recreation, archaeology, lands and realty, botany, 
soils, information technology, sociology, and economics.

Eric Morgan,
Fort Ord Project Manager.
[FR Doc. 03-9366 Filed 4-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P