[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 18 (Friday, January 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4146-4147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1567]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NM-030-1610-DO]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) 
Revision, a Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA), and Associated 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); and Notice of Public Scoping 
Meetings.

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Revise the White Sands RMP, New Mexico and 
Notice of Intent to Amend the Mimbres RMP, New Mexico, and Notice of 
Public Scoping Meetings.

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SUMMARY: The BLM proposes to revise the White Sands RMP and to amend 
the Mimbres RMP. The revision and amendment and associated 
environmental analysis will update planning level decisions for public 
lands in Sierra, Otero, and Dona Ana Counties, which are managed by the 
Las Cruces Field Office (LCFO), New Mexico. The proposed RMP revision 
and amendment are intended to address issues that have developed since 
the previous RMPs were prepared in 1986 and 1994 respectively. This 
notice initiates the public scoping process to identify specific issues 
related to the proposed revision and amendment and the NEPA process.

DATES: The public scoping period for the proposal will commence with 
publication of this Notice. Comments about the proposal must be 
submitted on or before 60 calendar days from the date the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its NOI in the Federal Register. The 
BLM can best utilize your participation, comments and resource 
information submissions during the 60 day comment period and scheduled 
public meetings. Public meetings will be held in Truth or

[[Page 4147]]

Consequences, Alamogordo, and Las Cruces, New Mexico to ensure the 
opportunity for local community participation and input. All public 
meetings will be announced through the local news media and will be 
posted on the New Mexico BLM Web site (http://www.nm.blm.gov) at least 
15 days in advance.

ADDRESSES: Existing planning documents and information are available at 
the Las Cruces Field Office, 1800 Marquess St., Las Cruces, New Mexico 
88005. Written comments regarding the proposed plan revision and 
amendment should be sent to the BLM at the above address, Attention: 
RMP Team Leader. Written comments may also be faxed to 505-525-4412 or 
e-mailed to [email protected]. Comments that are faxed or e-mailed 
must include ``Scoping Comments for LCFO-RMP'' in the subject line. 
Public comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, 
will be available for public review at the LCFO 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 
of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection 
in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Phillips, RMP Team Leader, at 
(505) 525-4377. To have your name added to our mailing list, contact 
Rena Gutierrez at (505) 525-4338 or via e-mail at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The area encompassed by this planning effort 
includes Sierra, Otero, and Dona Ana Counties, New Mexico. Public lands 
in Sierra and Otero County are administered under the White Sands RMP, 
while public lands in Dona Ana County are administered under the 
Mimbres RMP. This entire Planning Area is about 6.65 million acres with 
approximately 2.88 million surface acres of public land and 5.01 
million acres of federal minerals. BLM managed lands comprise about 43 
percent of the three-county area.
    The planning process will comply with the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (NEPA) and associated Federal regulations. The BLM will work 
collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management 
decisions that are best suited to local and regional needs as well as 
national needs and concerns.
    There are several preliminary issues that BLM is seeking public 
input on through scoping. These issues were identified from evaluation 
of decisions in the current RMPs that BLM believes require updating and 
include: recreation; off highway vehicle management; threatened and 
endangered species management; renewable energy development potential 
(solar, wind, etc.); Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs); 
naturalness, solitude, and primitive recreation; special status species 
habitat management; access; travel management; rights-of-way; and land 
tenure (acquisition or disposal). The preliminary planning criteria, 
which have been identified to guide the development of the RMP 
Revision-Amendment/EIS, are:
    A. Actions must comply with laws, regulations, executive orders, 
and BLM Manuals (i.e., supplemental program guidance).
    B. Actions must be reasonable and achievable and allow for 
flexibility where appropriate (i.e., adaptive management).
    C. The Economic Profile System (EPS) developed by the Sonoran 
Institute will be used as a community involvement technique and a 
source of demographic and economic data for the planning process.
    D. Actions will be considered through an interdisciplinary 
approach.
    E. The White Sands RMP Revision and the Mimbres RMP Amendment 
planning team will work cooperatively with county and municipal 
governments, other Federal, State and local agencies, and interested 
groups and individuals. Collaborative public involvement and 
participation will be emphasized throughout this process.
    F. The revision and amendment will establish the guidance upon 
which the LCFO will manage public lands within the three counties.
    G. The planning process will include an EIS that complies with NEPA 
standards.
    H. The revision and amendment will provide for the maintenance and 
enhancement of habitats for special status species within the Planning 
Area, while allowing the public the opportunity for access to public 
lands in a productive and meaningful way.
    I. The revision and amendment will recognize valid existing rights 
related to the use of public lands. The revision and amendment will 
define the process that the LCFO will use to address applications or 
notices filed after the completion of the revision and amendment on 
existing land use authorizations.
    J. The RMP revision and amendment process will involve Native 
American tribal governments and will provide strategies for protection 
of cultural resources on public lands.
    K. Decisions in the revision and amendment will strive to be 
compatible with existing plans and policies of adjacent local, State, 
and Federal governments and agencies, as long as the decisions are in 
conformance with BLM management policies.
    Public participation will be encouraged through the three public 
meetings described above. Early participation is encouraged. In 
addition to the public meetings, opportunities for public participation 
will be available during the development of alternatives and upon 
publication of the Draft EIS. Notification of the publications and 
updates will be sent to various State and local government agencies, 
interest groups, Native American Tribes, permittees, and other 
interested public, as well as to the local news media. Federal, State 
and county governments have been asked to participate in the process 
and will be offered an opportunity to be cooperating agencies to assure 
their active participation.

    Dated: November 5, 2004.
Linda S. C. Rundell,
New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 05-1567 Filed 1-27-05; 8:45 am]
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