[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26643-26644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11630]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-014-6350-DS; GP-2-0236]


Notice of availability for the Draft Upper Klamath River 
Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management 
Plan Amendments

ACTION: Notice of availability for the Draft Upper Klamath River 
Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management 
Plan Amendments (River Plan/DEIS).

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this document 
provides notice that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to 
make the River Plan/DEIS available for public review and comment. This 
plan encompasses portions of the upper Klamath River in southern Oregon 
and northern California. This plan will provide direction for 
management of the public lands within the planning area for at least 15 
to 20 years after the plan is completed. A decision on this DEIS will 
be signed by the State Directors of Oregon/Washington and California, 
and will amend both the BLM Klamath Falls Resource Area (Oregon), and 
the Redding (California) Resource Management Plans.
    The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires a management plan be 
completed for a designated wild and scenic river, and State Scenic 
Waterway. Within Oregon, the State of Oregon designated an 11-mile 
segment of the Klamath River a State Scenic Waterway in 1988. In 
addition, at the request of the Governor of Oregon, the Klamath River 
was designated as a Scenic River (part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
system), by the Secretary of the Interior in 1994. In California, the 
segment of the Klamath River within the planning

[[Page 26644]]

area was determined to be eligible for inclusion as a scenic river 
under the Wild and Scenic River Act, and is currently under interim 
protective management until a designation decision is made. This plan 
considers management of land both within and adjacent to the scenic 
river corridor. The plan is being developed jointly by the BLM Lakeview 
District (Klamath Falls Resource Area), Oregon, and the Redding 
Resource Area, California. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department 
is a cooperating agency in the development of this DEIS and has 
developed proposed administrative rules in the river management plan 
for private lands that occur within the State Scenic Waterway.
    The BLM has coordinated closely with numerous interested parties to 
identify the various management actions and alternatives that are best 
suited to the needs of the resources and has considered the input from 
the public. This notice initiates the public review process on the 
River Plan/DEIS. The public is invited to review and comment on the 
range and adequacy of the draft alternatives and associated 
environmental effects.

DATES: The comment period will end 90 days after publication of the 
Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability of this River 
Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal 
Register. All individuals, organizations, agencies, and tribes with a 
known interest in this planning effort have been offered a copy of the 
document for review. Documents may also be examined at the Klamath 
Falls Resource Area office, 2795 Anderson Avenue, Building 25, Klamath 
Falls, Oregon, 97603, at local libraries, and on the Web site: http://www.or.blm.gov/Lakeview/kfra/index.htm.

Public Participation

    Public meetings will be held during the comment period. In order to 
ensure local community participation and input, public meetings will be 
held in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Yreka, California, and Copco, 
California. Specific dates and locations of meetings and comment 
deadlines will be announced through the local news media, newsletters 
and the BLM web site. At least 15 days public notice will be given for 
activities where the public is invited to attend.
    Comments on the River Plan/DEIS should be received on or before the 
end of the comment period at the address listed below. For comments to 
be most helpful, they should relate to specific concerns or conflicts 
that can be addressed by the BLM. These concerns must also be able to 
be resolved through this planning process. Comments, including names 
and street addresses of respondents, will be available for public 
review at the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 
p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as 
part of the EIS, or other related documents. 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 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.

ADDRESSES FOR COMMENTS: Written comments should be sent to Teresa A. 
Raml, Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management, 2795 Anderson Ave., 
Building 25, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603. Comments may also be e-mailed 
to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Larry Frazier, Project 
Leader (541-883-6916), or email your request to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The total planning area encompasses 
approximately 20,000 acres of land in Oregon and California. At the 
written request of PacifiCorp, the major private landowner within the 
river corridor, approximately 6,000 acres of their private lands, 
primarily located within the California portion of the planning area, 
have been considered in this plan. PacifiCorp is considering several 
management options for the lands that are surplus to their needs for 
power production. Among these options are a long-term cooperative 
management agreement with BLM, and sale or other form of disposal of 
their lands.The River Plan/DEIS considers and analyzes four 
alternatives including the No Action alternative. These alternatives 
have been developed based on public input during and following initial 
scoping, and numerous meetings with local governments, tribes and the 
Upper Basin Subcommittee of the Klamath Provincial Advisory Committee 
(Klamath PAC). The alternatives provide for variable levels of 
maintenance or enhancement of resource values and propose a wide array 
of alternative land management actions. The ``Preferred'' Alternative 
proposes actions to enhance the values identified in the Wild and 
Scenic River designation and restore natural resources that are in a 
degraded condition, while minimizing resource management conflicts with 
recreation use. A final environmental impact statement and proposed 
Klamath River Management Plan is expected to be available for public 
review in mid-2003.

    Dated: May 5, 2003.
Teresa A. Raml,
Field Manager, Klamath Falls Resource Area.
[FR Doc. 03-11630 Filed 5-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P