[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50210-50212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18256]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Availability of the Andrews Management Unit/Steens 
Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area Proposed Resource 
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement and the Steens 
Mountain Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
(FLPMA) of 1976, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
and the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 
2000 (Steens Act), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Proposed Resource Management Plan (PRMP) and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the Andrews Management Unit (AMU)/Steens Mountain 
Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA) and has also prepared 
the Steens Mountain Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Plan.

DATES: BLM Planning Regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) state that any person 
who participated in the planning process, and has an interest that may 
be adversely affected, may protest. The protest must be filed within 30 
days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
this notice

[[Page 50211]]

in the Federal Register. Instructions for filing of protests are 
described in the ``Dear Interested Party'' letter of the AMU/Steens 
Mountain CMPA PRMP/FEIS and included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this Notice.
    Written comments on the Steens Mountain Wilderness and Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Plan will be accepted for 30 days following publication 
of the Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability (NOA) 
for the PRMP/FEIS in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Foulkes, Project Manager, Bureau 
of Land Management, 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon, 97738, 
telephone (541-573-4400), fax (541-573-4411), or e-mail ([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This planning activity encompasses 
approximately 1,649,470 acres of public land consisting of the 
1,221,314-acre Andrews Management Unit (public land in the Andrews 
Resource Area outside of the CMPA) and public land in the 428,156-acre 
CMPA established by the Steens Act. The CMPA includes the 170,084-acre 
Steens Mountain Wilderness and 105 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers. 
These lands are managed by the Andrews Resource Area, Burns District, 
and are located primarily in Harney County in southeastern Oregon. In 
addition, 53,436 acres of the Three Rivers Resource Area, falling 
within the CMPA, are also included in this planning effort. The BLM has 
and will continue to work closely with all interested parties to 
identify management decisions that are best suited to the needs of the 
public. Final decisions will supercede the Andrews Management Framework 
Plan (1982), subsequent amendments, and the Donner Und Blitzen Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Plan (1993), and will amend the Three Rivers RMP for 
those lands within the CMPA while providing direction for management of 
these public lands for approximately 20 years.
    This land use plan focuses on the principles of multiple use 
management and sustained yield as prescribed by Section 202 of the 
FLPMA. The PRMP/FEIS considers and analyzes five alternatives. These 
alternatives were developed based on internal BLM formulation and 
extensive public input following scoping (February 2002), review of the 
Summary of the Analysis of the Management Situation (April 2002), 
newsletter (July 2002), review and comment on the Draft RMP/EIS 
(October 2003-January 2004), and numerous meetings with local 
governments, Burns Paiute Tribe, cooperating agencies, Southeast Oregon 
Resource Advisory Council, and the Steens Mountain Advisory Council 
(SMAC).
    The SMAC consists of 12 members representing various interests and 
one nonvoting member who is a liaison to the Governor of Oregon. The 
SMAC was established by the Secretary of the Interior as mandated by 
the Steens Act to advise the Secretary in preparation and 
implementation of a management plan for the CMPA including the Steens 
Mountain Wilderness. The SMAC has held 18 public meetings in various 
locations since its creation, has taken an in-depth look at management 
of the CMPA, and has provided specific advice on the Steens Mountain 
Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Plan as well as the RMP.
    The alternatives detailed in the PRMP/FEIS provide for a wide array 
of land use allocations and management direction as well as variable 
levels of resource protection, commodity production, and authorized 
land and resource uses. Alternative D, the BLM preferred alternative, 
(as modified by public comment on the Draft RMP/EIS) is now the 
Proposed RMP providing a balance of resource uses, such as livestock 
grazing and various forms of recreation, while protecting wilderness 
characteristics, Wild and Scenic Rivers and Areas of Critical 
Environmental Concern. The Proposed Plan will help BLM achieve the 
purpose of the CMPA which is to conserve, protect, and manage the long-
term ecological integrity of the area. Approved RMPs/Records of 
Decision (one for the CMPA and one for the AMU) will be made available 
for the public following resolution of any protests.
    The proposed alternatives for the Steens Mountain Wilderness and 
Wild and Scenic Rivers plan were developed during the RMP process and 
have had the same level of public involvement. The Steens Mountain 
Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers plan will be a stand-alone 
implementation plan and an Appendix to the PRMP/FEIS.
    Copies of the AMU/Steens Mountain CMPA PRMP/FEIS have been sent to 
affected Federal, State, and Local Government agencies and to 
interested parties. The PRMP/FEIS is available for public inspection at 
the Burns District Office in Hines, Oregon, during regular business 
hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays). 
Interested persons may also review the PRMP/FEIS on the internet at 
http://www.or.blm.gov/Burns. Comments on the Draft RMP/EIS received 
from the public and internal BLM review comments were incorporated into 
the proposed plan where appropriate. Public comments resulted in the 
addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed 
land use decisions.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the PRMP/FEIS may be found at 43 CFR 1610.5. A protest may 
only raise those issues that were submitted for the record during the 
planning process. 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 and e-mails to [email protected]. Please direct the follow-up letter to the appropriate 
address provided below. To be considered complete, your protest must 
contain (at a minimum) the following information:
    (1) Name, mailing address, telephone number and the affected 
interest of the person filing the protest(s).
    (2) A statement of the part or parts of the proposed plan being 
protested. To the extent possible, reference specific pages, 
paragraphs, and sections of the document.
    (3) A copy of all your documents addressing the issue or issues 
which were discussed with the BLM for the record.
    (4) A concise statement explaining why the proposed decision is 
believed to be incorrect. This is a critical part of your protest. 
Document all relevant facts, as much as possible. A protest merely 
expressing disagreement with the State Director's proposed decision 
without providing any supporting data will not be considered a valid 
protest.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to the following 
address: Regular Mail, Director, WO-210/LS-1075, Bureau of Land 
Management, Attn: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, Department of the Interior, 
P.O. Box 66538, Washington DC, 20240.
    Overnight Mail, Director, WO-210/LS-1075, Bureau of Land 
Management, Attn: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, Department of the Interior, 
1620 L Street NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
    To be considered timely, your protest must be postmarked no later 
than the last day of the protest period. Though not a requirement, we 
suggest you send

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your protest by certified mail, return receipt requested. You are also 
encouraged, but not required, to forward a copy of your protest to the 
Project Manager at the address listed below. This may allow us to 
resolve the protest through clarification of intent or alternative 
dispute resolution methods.
    The Director will promptly render a decision on the protest. This 
decision will be in writing and will be sent to the protesting party by 
certified mail, return receipt requested. The decision of the Director 
shall be the final decision of the Department of the Interior.
    Comments on the Steens Mountain Wilderness and Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Plan should be mailed to Gary Foulkes, Project Manager, Bureau 
of Land Management, 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon, 97738, faxed 
to 541-573-4411, or e-mailed to [email protected].
    Please note that comments, including names and street addresses, 
are available for public review and/or release under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. Respondents who wish to withhold name and/or street 
address from public review or from disclosure under FOIA, must state 
this prominently at the beginning of the written comment. Such request 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or official organizations or business, 
will be made available for public inspection in their entirety.

Elaine M. Brong,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 04-18256 Filed 8-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-AG-P