[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 18 (Friday, January 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4145-4146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1591]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-100-1610-DU]


Notice of Intent To Amend the Little Snake Resource Management 
Plan for Acquisition and Management of Emerald Mountain

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) will initiate a plan amendment to address acquisition 
and management of lands in Routt County, Colorado. The lands would be 
acquired in a proposed land exchange between the State of Colorado 
(Colorado State Land Board) and the United States (Little Snake Field 
Office, BLM).

DATES: All relevant public meetings will be announced through the local 
news media, newsletters, and the BLM Web site at: http://www.co.blm.gov/lsra/lsraindex.htm, at least 15 days prior to the event. 
The minutes and list of attendees from each meeting will be available 
in the Field Office and at the Web site, and will be open for 30 days 
after a meeting to any participant who wishes to clarify the views they 
expressed.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to the Bureau of Land 
Management, Little Snake Field Office, Attn: Emerald Mountain Land Use 
Amendment, 455 Emerson Street, Craig, CO 81625-1129; FAX: (970) 826-
5002. Email comments may be sent to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to the mailing list, contact Duane Johnson, Team 
Leader, at the Little Snake Field Office (LSFO) address listed below or 
by calling (970) 826-5001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed land exchange involves 129 
public land parcels totaling approximately 15,621 acres and one 6,347 
acre parcel of State land called Emerald Mountain. The proposed land 
exchange would result in BLM acquiring new Federal land and disposing 
of scattered Federal lands.

[[Page 4146]]

The parcel to be acquired is currently not under BLM management, and an 
amendment of the current Resource Management Plan (RMP) is required to 
address acquisition and future management of the parcel by BLM. As part 
of the RMP amendment, an Environmental Assessment (EA) will be prepared 
to analyze and compare the impacts of the management alternatives for 
the acquired lands. As provided by 43 CFR 1610.5-5, the BLM will 
prepare the plan amendment and associated EA simultaneously with the 
processing of the Notice of Exchange Proposal (NOEP). The plan will be 
amended in conformity with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM 
management policies. The BLM will ask state and local governments to be 
cooperators on the plan amendment. BLM will work with interested 
parties to identify the management decisions that are best suited to 
local, regional, and national needs. The public scoping process will 
identify planning issues and planning criteria. The BLM will prepare 
the land management amendment through coordination with other federal, 
state and local agencies, and affected users of BLM managed lands. The 
BLM will hold public meetings during the plan scoping period. Early 
participation is encouraged and will help determine the future 
management decisions of the BLM-administered lands involved in this 
amendment. Comments on issues and concerns can be submitted in writing 
to the address listed above and will be accepted throughout the 
creation of the Draft RMP amendment/EA. In addition to the ongoing 
public participation process, the BLM will provide formal opportunities 
for public participation by conducting scheduled public meetings and 
requesting comments upon BLM's publication of the draft RMP amendment/
EA. The BLM will notify the Governor of Colorado, the Routt County 
Commissioners, adjacent landowners, and potentially affected members of 
the public of the proposed management decisions. The Emerald Mountain 
Partnership has promoted the exchange. The Emerald Mountain Partnership 
is a non-profit group dedicated to the conservation of the natural 
resources of Emerald Mountain and surrounding lands and to the creation 
of a multi-use model of land use to ensure the compatibility of 
agriculture, wildlife, recreation, and education. A notice of exchange 
proposal (NEOP) will be prepared, published in local news media, and 
mailed to interested parties. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the 
NOEP may request one from the LSFO contact listed above.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the LSFO 
and Web site at: http://www.co.blm.gov/lsra/emerald_mtn/em.html. 
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the LSFO during regular business hours 
(7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays; and 
may be published as part of the EA. 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 or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their 
entirety.
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM personnel, other agencies, and in meetings with the Emerald 
Mountain Partnership, the Routt County Commissioners, and user groups. 
They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the existing issues and 
concerns with current management. The preliminary issues include: 
impacts to users of BLM-administered lands and adjacent private 
landowners; impacts to wildlife habitat; and impacts to water quality, 
vegetation, including riparian and wetland areas, soils, and recreation 
opportunities on Emerald Mountain. These issues, along with others that 
may be identified through public participation, will be considered in 
the planning process. After gathering public comments on what issues 
the plan amendment should address, the suggested issues will be placed 
in one of the three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues resolved through policy or administrative action; or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of the plan amendment.

Rationale will be provided in the plan for each issue placed in 
category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a number of 
management questions and concerns will be addressed in the plan 
amendment. The public is encouraged to help identify these questions 
and concerns during the scoping phase.
    An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the plan 
amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and 
concerns identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will 
include specialists with expertise in rangeland management, minerals 
and geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, law enforcement, cultural 
resources, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, 
vegetation, and fire.

    (Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2(c) and (f)).

John E. Husband,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 05-1591 Filed 1-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P