[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 89 (Friday, May 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25605-25606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10442]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ES-032-04-1610-DU]


Notice of Availability of Lower Potomac River Proposed 
Coordinated Management Plan, Charles County, MD

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in cooperation with the 
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), has prepared the 
Lower Potomac River Proposed Coordinated Management Plan (CMP) to 
determine the appropriate uses of Federal and state land located in 
Charles County, Maryland. The planning area encompasses approximately 
32,000 acres in Charles County, and includes approximately 1,300 acres 
of public land managed by the BLM-Eastern States Office and MD DNR.
    When approved, the CMP will provide land use planning level 
decisions for BLM-administered lands in the region and set criteria for 
possible future land acquisitions. The State of Maryland will also use 
the CMP to provide a context for management decisions and site-specific 
planning for the properties under its jurisdiction. An environmental 
assessment (EA) prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA) accompanies the Proposed CMP.
    This notice is issued pursuant to Title 43 CFR 1610.2(f)(3). The 
Proposed CMP followed the procedures set forth in 43 CFR 1610.5-5.
    Public Participation: The draft CMP was available for public review 
and comment from August 5, 2003, to October 5, 2003. Written comments 
were received from individuals, agencies, and interest groups. All 
comments received during the comment period were considered in the 
preparation of the Proposed CMP. A public meeting on the Draft CMP was 
held in La Plata, MD, on August 20, 2003.
    Protest Instructions: The CMP serves the planning needs of both the 
BLM and the Maryland DNR. The BLM planning

[[Page 25606]]

process includes an opportunity for review of the BLM State Director's 
proposed decisions through the mechanism of a plan protest to the BLM 
Director. Any person or organization that participated in the planning 
process and has an interest which is, or may be, adversely affected by 
approval of the Proposed CMP may protest the plan. Careful adherence to 
the following guidelines will assist in preparing a protest:
    1. Protests may only relate to proposals affecting BLM lands and 
the environmental analysis included in the CMP.
    2. Comments received by BLM that pertain to, or are relevant to the 
State-owned lands discussed in the CMP, will be forwarded to MD DNR for 
its review and consideration.
    3. Only those persons or organizations that participated in the 
planning process may file a protest.
    4. A protesting party may only raise those issues that were raised 
or commented on during the planning process.
    In order to be considered complete, a protest must contain at a 
minimum, the following information:
    1. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and the interest of 
the person filing the protest.
    2. A statement of the issue being protested.
    3. A statement of the portion of the plan being protested. To the 
extent possible, this should be done by reference to specific pages, 
paragraphs, sections, tables, and maps in the Proposed CMP.
    4. A copy of all documents addressing the issue submitted during 
the planning process or a reference to the date the issue was discussed 
for the record.
    5. A concise statement explaining why the BLM Director's decision 
is believed to be incorrect is a critical part of the protest. Take 
care to document all relevant facts and reference and/or cite the 
planning documents, environmental analysis documents and available 
planning records (summaries, correspondence). A protest without any 
supporting data will not provide the BLM with sufficient information; 
the Director's review will be based on existing analysis and supporting 
data.
    E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests 
unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either 
regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest 
period. Under these conditions, BLM will consider the e-mail or faxed 
protest as an advance copy and it will receive full consideration. If 
you wish to provide BLM with such advance notification, please direct 
faxed protests to the attention of the BLM protest coordinator at 202-
452-5112, by e-mail to [email protected]. A commenter/
protestor may request confidentiality of his/her personal information 
(i.e., name and home address) and BLM will honor such requests to the 
extent allowed by law. Organizations or businesses may not request 
confidentiality. Generally, the names and business addresses of 
individuals listed as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses are not protected and are always available for public 
review.

DATES: This notice begins the 30-day public protest period for the 
Lower Potomac River Proposed CMP. All protest letters must be 
postmarked by June 7, 2004. There is no provision for any extension of 
time. Although not a requirement, sending a protest by certified mail, 
return receipt requested, is recommended. Comment letters regarding 
State of Maryland lands and its management responsibilities should be 
postmarked by the date above.
    Protest Filing Addresses: Protests submitted electronically will 
not be accepted. All protest letters must be sent to one of the 
following addresses: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. 
Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035 or overnight mail, Director (210), 
Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L Street, NW., Room 1075, Washington, 
DC 20036. Comment letters regarding proposals affecting State of 
Maryland lands and properties and its management responsibilities 
should be mailed to Barbara Grey, Maryland Department of Natural 
Resources, Tawes State Office Building, E-4, 580 Taylor Avenue, 
Annapolis, MD 21401.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, you may 
contact Howard Levine, Milwaukee Field Office, 626 East Wisconsin 
Avenue, Suite 200, Milwaukee, WI 53202, (414) 297-4463, or by 
electronic mail at [email protected]. For information related 
specifically to state lands you may contact Barbara Grey, MD DNR at 
(410) 260-8408, or by electronic mail at [email protected]. You may 
view or download an electronic version of the Proposed CMP from the 
BLM-Eastern States Web site at http://www.es.blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2001, BLM and the MD DNR acquired a tract 
of land along the Potomac River at Douglas Point in Charles County. 
This and other State and BLM properties and lands in the region are 
located 30 miles south of the Washington Beltway and represent some of 
the last remaining undeveloped lands in the fast growing Washington, DC 
metropolitan region. The BLM and MD DNR partnership serves to protect 
the study area's varied cultural, historical and natural resources. A 
key goal of the planning process is to identify ways in which public 
land management may contribute to local economic development. The 
Proposed CMP was developed in collaboration with Charles County and 
with significant local community involvement.
    The four Alternatives analyzed in the CMP presented a reasonable 
range of management options to address the issues raised during 
planning: Alternative 1--No action; Alternative 2--Heritage; 
Alternative 3--Nature Tourism; Alternative 4--Community Vision. The 
Proposed Plan is essentially Alternative 4 with the addition of a boat 
ramp on the State's Wilson Farm tract and selective timber harvesting 
on State lands pending a Forest Management Plan. The environmental 
impacts of each alternative, including the Proposed Plan, are discussed 
in the Proposed CMP. A copy of the Proposed CMP will be sent to all 
individuals, agencies and organizations that have expressed interest in 
the project.

    Dated: December 16, 2003.
Michael D. Nedd,
State Director, BLM-Eastern States.
    Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the 
Federal Register on May 4, 2004.
[FR Doc. 04-10442 Filed 5-6-04; 8:45 am]
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