[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 4531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2050]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-025-04-1610-DO-089L]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan and 
Associated Environmental Impact Statement for the Kobuk-Seward 
Peninsula Planning Area

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) 
with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Kobuk-
Seward Peninsula planning area in western Alaska.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) intends to prepare an RMP for the Kobuk-Seward 
Peninsula planning area, which includes public lands and resources 
managed by the Northern Field Office. This action will require a single 
EIS. The planning area includes approximately 13 million acres of BLM-
administered lands in western Alaska and encompasses the area from 
Point Lay south to the Norton Sound, and from the Bering and Chukchi 
seas east to the Kobuk River. It includes the Seward Peninsula east to 
the Nulato Hills. 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), 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: The public scoping period will begin upon publication of this 
notice. Formal scoping will end 90 days after publication of this 
notice. Comments on issues and planning criteria can be submitted in 
writing to the address listed below. All public meetings will be 
announced through the local news media and the BLM Web site (http://aurora.ak.blm.gov/) at least 15 days prior to the event. The minutes 
and list of attendees for each meeting will be available to the public 
and open for 30 days to any participants who wish to clarify the views 
they expressed.
    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 held in several 
communities within the planning area. Early participation is encouraged 
and will help determine the future management of BLM-administered lands 
within the planning area. 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: Field Manager, Kobuk-
Seward Peninsula Resource Management Planning, Bureau of Land 
Management, Northern Field Office, 1150 University Avenue, Fairbanks, 
Alaska, 99709-3844; Fax (907)-474-2282. Comments, including names and 
street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at 
the Northern Field Office during regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to 
4:30 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 or 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 Jeanie Cole by telephone 
at (907) 474-2340 or via e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated: January 12, 2004.
Susan M. Will,
Acting Manager, Northern Field Office.
[FR Doc. 04-2050 Filed 1-29-04; 8:45 am]
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