[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24498-24500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11250]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NM-930-03-2824-PG-YY99]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Fire and Fuels Management Plan and
Amend Resource Management Plans in New Mexico and Texas
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Fire and Fuels Management Plan
Amendment and Environmental Assessment (EA) for Nine Land Use Plans in
New Mexico and Texas.
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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the BLM, New Mexico State
Office, intends to prepare a Fire and Fuels Management Plan Amendment
with an associated EA for BLM lands in New Mexico and Texas. This Plan
Amendment will amend nine Resource Management Plans (Carlsbad 1988,
Farmington 2003, Mimbres 1993, Rio Puerco 1986, Roswell 1997, Socorro
[[Page 24499]]
1989, Taos 1988, Texas 1996, White Sands 1986) in eight Field Offices:
Albuquerque, Amarillo, Carlsbad, Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell,
Socorro, and Taos. The purpose of the amendment is to incorporate
current Fire Management Policy into Resource Management Plans, to
restore fire as an integral part of fire-adapted ecosystems in order to
meet resource management objectives, to improve the protection of human
life and property through the reduction of hazardous fuels, and to
establish consistent methods of managing fire and fuels on BLM-
administered public lands in New Mexico and Texas.
This planning activity encompasses approximately 12.8 million acres
public lands within the states of New Mexico and Texas. The planning
area includes all surface lands managed by BLM in New Mexico and Texas,
including El Malpais National Conservation area and Kasha-Katuwe Tent
Rocks National Monument, but not lands for which BLM only administers
the sub-surface, or mineral, estate. A collaborative process will be
used to involve other Federal agencies, Native American tribes,
conservation groups, recreationists, the public, and other stakeholders
throughout the planning process to ensure that local, regional, and
national issues and concerns are addressed.
This Plan Amendment will analyze fires and fuels management actions
and their impacts on the human environment for public lands
administered by the eight New Mexico and Texas BLM Field Offices in one
document in order to ensure consistency and collaboration among the
offices and the interested public.
DATES: The BLM is now soliciting written comments on issues and
concerns that should be considered during the development and analysis
of the Proposed Fire and Fuels Management Plan Amendment. While written
comments will be accepted throughout the planning process, to be most
useful, comments should be received on or before the end of the comment
period at the addresses listed below. The comment period will last 60
days from the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. To
ensure local community participation and input, public workshops will
be held during this comment period in Albuquerque, Amarillo, Carlsbad,
Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell, Socorro, and Taos. Specific dates and
locations for public participation will be published in local papers,
broadcast on local community calendars, and posted on the BLM New
Mexico/Oklahoma/Kansas/Texas Web site (http://www.nm.blm.gov) at a
later date but not less than 15 days prior to the meeting.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, request additional information, or
request to be put on the mailing list, you may do so by any of several
methods. You may mail, hand deliver, or call your comments or requests
to: Signa Larralde, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, New
Mexico State Office, 1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, (505)
438-7637. You may also comment via a comment form that will be posted
on the BLM New Mexico/Oklahoma/Kansas/Texas Web site (http://www.nm.blm.gov).
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will
be available for public review at the BLM New Mexico State Office
during regular business hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays, and may be published as part of the EA.
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. We will not, however,
consider anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public inspection in their entirety.
The current RMPs and all other documents relevant to this planning
process are available for public review at the New Mexico State Office,
1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, Monday through Friday
(excluding legal holidays), from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Signa Larralde, Project Manager, (505)
438-7637, or John Selkirk, Fire Planner, (505) 438-7431, New Mexico
State Office, 1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Plan Amendment will: (1)
Establish Field Office-wide objectives for fire and fuels management;
(2) delineate fire management areas; (3) identify broad vegetation
treatments; (4) identify general restrictions on fire management
practices; and (5) determine the criteria by which the broad treatment
areas can be changed. BLM has identified general issues for this
planning effort, including: protection of human life; protection of
property; protection of natural/cultural resources; integration of fire
and resource management; and protection of air quality. These issues,
along with others that may be identified through public participation,
will be considered during the planning process. BLM has identified the
following preliminary planning criteria to guide the planning process:
compliance with all legal mandates of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Administrative Procedures Act,
and the BLM planning regulations in 43 CFR part 1600, as well as
consistency with Fire Plans of other agencies and State and local
jurisdictions. Additional planning criteria may be identified during
the comment period.
Existing information will be used to develop the Plan Amendment and
EA. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the Plan
Amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and
concerns identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will
include but are not limited to fire and fuels management, rangeland
management, outdoor recreation management, archaeology, wildlife
management, wilderness management, hydrology, soils science, sociology,
and economics. Selectable alternatives must contribute to the
achievement of New Mexico BLM public and land standards, the purpose of
the Proposed Plan Amendment, and protection of communities at risk from
catastrophic wildfire.
The planning process will utilize a collaborative approach. This
will allow the public, Tribes, State and Federal agencies, local
elected officials, and BLM specialists to participate in identifying
issues and developing and analyzing alternatives. In addition to the
initial public comment period and workshops, the public will also be
invited, through a Federal Register notice, local newspapers, and
mailings, to review the proposed Plan Amendment and provide comments.
The Governors of New Mexico and Texas, County Commissioners for
counties in New Mexico and Potter County, Texas, and potentially
affected members of the public will be notified of all meetings and
comment periods.
Agency representatives and interested persons are invited to visit
with BLM officials at any time during the planning process.
[[Page 24500]]
Dated: January 31, 2003.
Linda S.C. Rundell,
New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 03-11250 Filed 5-6-03; 8:45 am]
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