[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 14 (Thursday, January 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3167-3169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1361]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NM-010-04-1610-DO-NM03]


Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Sandoval County, NM

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The BLM Field Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico, intends to 
prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks 
National Monument. The proposed RMP will replace the existing Rio 
Puerco RMP and Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Protection 
Plan for the area that has become the Monument. Public-scoping meetings 
to identify relevant issues will be announced in advance through BLM's 
Web site, a newsletter, and in local news media.

DATES: Public-scoping meetings will be announced through the local news 
media, a newsletter, and the BLM Web site (www.nm.blm.gov) at least 15 
days prior to the event. Formal opportunities for public participation 
will be provided upon publication of the BLM draft RMP/EIS.

ADDRESSES: To send written comments, and/or to have your name added to 
the mailing list, contact John Bristol, Project Leader, telephone 505-
761-8755, or Kathy Walter, Monument Manager, telephone 505-761-8794, or 
write to them at the Bureau of Land Management, Albuquerque Field 
Office, 435 Montano Road NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87107-4935 or by 
fax at 505-761-8911.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Bristol, Project Manager, at 
(505) 761-8755 ([email protected]), or Kathy Walter, Monument 
Manager, at (505) 761-8794 ([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
Field Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico, intends to prepare an RMP with 
an associated EIS for the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument 
(KKTRNM). Since the area designated as the Monument was formerly the 
Tent Rocks ACEC designated under the 1986 Rio Puerco RMP, this planning 
process will also include a review of the existing Rio Puerco RMP 
decisions in the context of the National Monument status.
    The planning area is located in Sandoval County, New Mexico, 
between

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the cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe near the Pueblo de Cochiti. The 
planning activity encompasses approximately 4,114 acres of public land. 
The plan will fulfill the needs and obligations set forth by the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act (FLPMA), the Presidential Proclamation establishing the 
Monument, and BLM management policies. In 1997, a management agreement 
with the Pueblo de Cochiti was initiated for the purpose of managing 
collaboratively the Tent Rocks ACEC, the National Recreation Trail 
within the ACEC, and the Tent Rocks Fee Demonstration Program. In 2000, 
an Inter-Government Cooperative Agreement was signed between the BLM 
and the Pueblo de Cochiti to provide for more consistent, effective, 
and collaborative management of the Federal and Pueblo de Cochiti 
lands, as well as road access to the Monument through the Pueblo. The 
BLM will work with interested parties to identify management decisions 
that are best suited to local, regional, and National concerns while 
protecting the objects specified in the proclamation.
    The Presidential Proclamation of January 17, 2001, No. 7394, set 
apart and reserved for the purpose of protecting the objects specified 
in the Proclamation, all lands and interests in lands owned or 
controlled by the United States within the boundaries of the area 
described as the KKTRNM. The Federal land and interests in land 
reserved consist of approximately 4,148 acres which is the smallest 
area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to 
be protected. The proclamation directed the Secretary of the Interior 
to manage the Monument through the BLM, pursuant to applicable legal 
authorities and in close cooperation with the Pueblo de Cochiti, and to 
prepare a management plan for the Monument.
    The area designated as the Monument was the Tent Rocks ACEC 
designated under the 1986 Rio Puerco RMP and actually includes 
approximately 4,114 acres of public lands, after recalculation. 
Therefore, the planning area includes 4,114 acres of public lands, 520 
acres of State land, and 760 acres of private land within the boundary 
of the Monument, as well as private lands immediately adjacent to the 
Monument, which would be considered for acquisition from willing 
landowners.
    This will be a stand-alone RMP for the Monument, but will include 
decisions established in the 1986 Rio Puerco RMP (maintained and 
reprinted in 1992) that have been or are being implemented for this 
area, particularly those consistent with the provisions of the 
proclamation and applicable to the Tent Rocks ACEC. The KKTRNM RMP will 
replace the existing Rio Puerco RMP and ACEC Protection Plan for the 
area that has become the Monument.
    The purpose of the public-scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and 
EIS alternatives. These issues also guide the planning process. 
Comments on issues and planning criteria can be submitted in writing to 
the BLM at any public-scoping meeting or they may be mailed or faxed to 
the BLM as directed above. To be most helpful, formal scoping comments 
should be submitted within 15 days after the last public meeting, 
although scoping comments will be accepted throughout the creation of 
the Draft RMP/Draft EIS. The minutes and list of attendees for each 
scoping meeting will be available to the public and open for 30 days 
after the meeting to any participant who wishes to clarify the views 
expressed. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you 
wish to withhold your name and/or 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, are 
available for public inspection in their entirety.
    Issues presently being considered include: (1) Land tenure 
adjustment and how land ownership will be incorporated into the 
management of the Monument; (2) how access and transportation will be 
managed for the purposes of the Monument; (3) how recreational 
activities and visitor use will be managed; (4) how ecosystem 
restoration will benefit the public and the Monument; and (5) how 
American Indian uses and traditional cultural practices will be 
incorporated into the management of the Monument. Other issues may be 
raised through the scoping process. These issues have guided the 
preliminary work on this plan. They are being submitted to the public 
for consideration and comment during the scoping process.
    The following criteria have been developed to guide the 
consideration, analysis, and resolution of these issues, as required by 
FLPMA and BLM's planning regulations (43 CFR 1610). They are open for 
discussion during the scoping process. Several of them relate to all 
issues, others relate to individual issues. Planning criteria ensure 
that plans are tailored to the identified issues, and that unnecessary 
data collection and analyses are avoided. Planning criteria are based 
on applicable law, agency guidance, public comment, and coordination 
with other Federal, State, and local governments and Native American 
Indian Tribes.
    [sbull] The plan will be completed in compliance with FLPMA and all 
other applicable laws. It will meet the requirements of the 
Proclamation to protect the objects of geological, cultural, and 
biological interest appertaining to the Monument.
    [sbull] The Monument planning team will work cooperatively with the 
Pueblo de Cochiti and other Tribal Governments, State of New Mexico, 
county and municipal governments, other Federal agencies, and all other 
interest groups, agencies, and individuals.
    [sbull] The plan will establish the guidance upon which the BLM 
will rely in managing the Monument.
    [sbull] The plan will be accompanied by an EIS based on NEPA 
standards.
    [sbull] The plan will provide opportunities to study, observe, and 
experience the geologic processes as well as other cultural and 
biological objects of interest within the Monument. It will identify 
opportunities and priorities for research and education related to 
resources for which the Monument was created, and it will describe an 
approach for incorporating research into management actions.
    [sbull] The plan will set forth a framework for managing 
recreational activities and experiences consistent with the 
Proclamation.
    [sbull] The plan will recognize valid existing rights within the 
Monument and review how valid existing rights are verified. The plan 
will also outline the process used to address applications or notices 
filed after completion of the plan on existing claims or other land-use 
authorizations.
    [sbull] The management of grazing is prescribed by laws and 
regulations; however, the Proclamation excludes grazing from within the 
Monument unless it can be determined that livestock grazing can advance 
the purpose of the Proclamation. This determination will be made 
through the plan.
    [sbull] The lifestyles of area residents will be recognized in the 
plan.
    [sbull] The Monument plan will recognize the State's responsibility 
and authority to manage wildlife, including hunting within the 
Monument.

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    [sbull] The acquisition of state and private inholdings within the 
Monument and private lands contiguous to the Monument will be 
considered.
    [sbull] The plan alternatives will address transportation, 
vehicular, and other types of access.

Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by the 
BLM personnel, other agencies, the Pueblo de Cochiti, and individuals. 
They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the existing issues and 
concerns with current management. After gathering public comments, the 
suggested issues will be placed in one of three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan.
    2. Issues to be resolved independently of the plan.
    3. Issues beyond the scope of the plan.

The BLM will address category one above in the land-use planning 
process and give rationale in the plan for issues placed in the other 
categories. Concepts for alternatives will be generated from category 
one.
    In addition to the preceding issues, management questions and 
concerns that may be addressed in the plan include but are not limited 
to the following: management of culturally sensitive areas; protection 
and interpretation of cultural resources; use of Monument resources for 
scientific and educational purposes; fire and fuels management; 
wildlife habitat; threatened and endangered species habitat; scenic 
values; facilities and infrastructure needed to administer the area and 
provide visitor services; and an appropriate level of visitor use, 
since the Monument is located within a 1-hour drive of the growing 
major cities of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7)

    Dated: January 15, 2004.
Leland G. Keesling,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 04-1361 Filed 1-21-04; 8:45 am]
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