[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 53 (Monday, March 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13536-13537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5457]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-660-05-1220-DU]


South Coast Resource Management Plan Amendment for the San Diego 
County Border Mountains

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning 
regulations, Title 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 1610.5-5, 
this provides notice that the BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office 
proposes to prepare an amendment to the South Coast RMP with an 
associated environmental assessment (EA) or, if needed, an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for BLM-administered public lands 
in the Border Mountains portion of the San Diego County Management 
Area. The plan amendment proposes to establish management guidelines 
for lands acquired since 1994 and designate a route of travel network. 
This planning activity encompasses approximately 60,000 acres of 
federally managed public land, including the Otay Mountain Wilderness, 
the Hauser Mountain Wilderness Study Area, the Kuchamaa Area of 
Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and the McAlmond Canyon/Hauser 
Mountain Wildlife Management Area.
    The BLM invites the public to participate in this planning effort. 
Citizens are requested to help identify issues or concerns and to 
provide input on BLM's proposed planning criteria as described below 
under Supplementary Information.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. All comments 
received shall be taken into consideration prior to issuance of the 
Decision Record. Please submit any scoping or proposed planning 
criteria comments in writing, by April 20, 2005, to ensure inclusion in 
the draft plan/EA. Comments on issues and planning criteria may be 
submitted in writing to the address listed below.
    Public Participation: Public meetings will be held during the plan 
scoping and document preparation period. In order to ensure local 
community participation and input, public meetings will be held in 
Dulzura, located within and adjacent to the planning area in 
southwestern San Diego County. Early and ongoing participation is 
encouraged and will help determine the future management of federally 
managed public lands within the San Diego County Management Area. All 
public meetings will be announced through the local news media, 
newsletters, and the BLM Web site (http://www.ca.blm.gov) at least 15 
days prior to the event. The minutes for each meeting will be available 
to the public and open for 30 days to any participant who wishes to 
clarify the views they expressed. Upon publication of the draft Plan 
Amendment/EA, additional public meetings will be announced to provide 
the public opportunities to comment on the alternatives and submit oral 
comments. Written comments will be accepted and considered throughout 
the planning process. 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.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Gail Acheson--Field 
Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, Bureau of Land

[[Page 13537]]

Management, P.O. Box 581260, North Palm Springs, CA 92258; or by fax at 
(760) 251-4899, or by e-mail at [email protected]. Documents pertinent 
to this proposal, including comments with the names and addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review at the Palm Springs-
South Coast Field Office located at 690 W. Garnet Avenue, North Palm 
Springs, California, or the San Diego Project Office located at 10845 
Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 102, San Diego, California, during regular 
business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays, and may be published as part of the EA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list contact Greg Hill at (760) 251-
4840, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Border Mountains planning area 
encompasses the BLM public lands east of Otay Mesa, south of Interstate 
8, and west of the California Desert Conservation Area boundary (T.17 
S., R.1 E.; T.18 S., R.1 E.; T.17 S., R.2 E.; T.18 S., R.2 E.; T.17 S., 
R.3 E.; T.18 S., R.3 E.; T.17 S., R.4 E.; T.18 S., R.4 E.; T.17 S., R.5 
E.; T.18 S., R.5 E.; T.17 S., R.6 E.; T.18 S., R.6 E.; T.17 S., R.7 E., 
and T.18 S., R.7 E.).
    Since completion of the South Coast RMP in 1994, new circumstances 
have prompted the need for an amendment to the plan, particularly in 
the Border Mountains area. The following is a summary of the major 
issues and new circumstances BLM proposes to address in this plan 
amendment. An important management action required under BLM policy and 
land use planning requirements is designation of Off Highway Vehicle 
(OHV) roads and trails. Although OHV Area designations were completed 
in 1994, vehicle route designations were not completed. Since 1994, the 
BLM has also acquired several thousand acres of public lands for which 
OHV Area designations have not been assigned and where roads and trails 
have not been inventoried.
    The creation of the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Plan 
(MSCP) and the Otay Mountain Wilderness, along with associated land 
acquisitions and the changing needs and interests of the public, also 
necessitates a plan amendment. The MSCP, covering 85 species and 
intended to preserve over 170,000 acres of habitat, was signed in 1997 
to meet requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (as 
amended), and the California Natural Communities Conservation Program 
(NCCP). The MSCP was signed by the City of San Diego and 13 other 
jurisdictions, San Diego County, the San Diego Association of 
Governments (SANDAG), the California Department of Fish and Game 
(CDFG), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The MSCP 
identified over 24,700 acres of BLM managed public land as the Otay/
Kuchamaa Cooperative Management Area and as a ``core area'' of the 
MSCP. In a Memorandum of Understanding between BLM, local governments, 
and state and federal wildlife agencies, the BLM agreed to cooperate in 
the design, land acquisition, and management of the MSCP to promote 
biological diversity and facilitate permitting in the planning area. 
Since 1994 the BLM has acquired over 6,000 acres of sensitive habitat 
in support of the MSCP. These new federal lands and MSCP designations 
are not addressed by the 1994 South Coast RMP. Additional issues and 
concerns would be considered as identified through the public 
participation process.
    In compliance with 43 CFR 1610.4-2, the BLM requests public input 
on the following proposed planning criteria, which will guide 
development and establish ``sideboards'' for preparation of the South 
Coast Plan Amendment. Please submit any comments in writing to the BLM 
address listed above no later than 30 days from the date of this 
Federal Register notice.
    Selection of the preferred alternative will be based on the 
following proposed planning criteria:
     Promote long-term recovery and viability of native flora 
and fauna.
     Would not unduly burden Bureau resources and funding 
capability, including maintenance activities.
     Would consider the ability to manage and implement 
approved actions relative to the urban/wildland interface, the public/
private interface, and border related national security concerns.
     Seek to achieve common goals set forth in the MSCP.
     Selection of the preferred alternative shall be conducted 
in close coordination with the local jurisdictions to promote land 
management consistency, effectiveness, and cost efficiency across 
jurisdictional boundaries.
    Development of the South Coast RMP Amendment shall be conducted:
     In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Otay 
Mountain Wilderness Act (1999), and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
as amended.
     In compliance with all applicable environmental laws, 
regulations and policies which address such pertinent topics as BLM's 
multiple use mandate, valid existing rights, the Bureau's energy 
policy, route designation, habitat and range management, and critical 
elements of the human environment such as ACEC's, threatened and 
endangered species, cultural resources, Native American consultation, 
water quality, air quality, wilderness, and other topics.
     In close coordination with the local jurisdictions, State, 
and other Federal agencies to facilitate consistency with the MSCP.
     To facilitate consistency with relevant plans such as 
Recovery Plans prepared by the USFWS.
     Such that nothing in the proposed plan amendment shall 
have the effect of terminating any validly issued rights-of-way or 
customary operation, maintenance, repair, and/or replacement activities 
in such rights-of-ways in accordance with sections 509(a) and 701(a) of 
FLPMA.
    An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the plan in 
order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will include 
specialists with expertise in outdoor recreation, archaeology, wildlife 
and plants, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, geographic information 
systems, rangeland management, minerals and geology, sociology, and 
economics.

Gail Acheson,
Field Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office.
[FR Doc. 05-5457 Filed 3-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P