[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 57 (Friday, March 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15347-15348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5880]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Availability of Draft Resource Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement for the Sloan Canyon National 
Conservation Area

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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    Cooperating Agencies: Nevada Department of Wildlife, Nevada State 
Historic Preservation Office, Clark County Department of Comprehensive 
Planning, City of Henderson, City of Boulder City, Las Vegas Paiute 
Tribe, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, and 
the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act 
of 2002 (Clark County Act) (Pub. L. 107-282), the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft RMP/EIS to analyze alternative 
approaches to management of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area 
(NCA).

DATES: Written comments on the Draft Resource Management Program 
Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) will be accepted for 90 days 
following the date of publication of the Notice of Availability by the 
Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register. Future 
meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities will 
be announced at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media 
news releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.sloancanyon.org.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (702) 515-5023 (Attn: Sloan Canyon NCA).
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas Field Office, 
Attn: Sloan Canyon NCA, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 
89130-2301.

Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name and 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 and 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety. 
Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS are available on the Web site and upon 
request. The Draft RMP/EIS is available for review at public 
information repositories (BLM Nevada State Office in Reno, Paseo Verde 
Library in Henderson, Boulder City Library in Boulder City, North Las 
Vegas Library--Main Branch in North Las Vegas, and Summerlin Library in 
Las Vegas), and at the BLM Las Vegas Field Office at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to the mailing list, visit the web site or contact: 
Charles Carroll, BLM Las Vegas Field Office, Telephone (702) 515-5000, 
and e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In November 2002 Congress designated the 
Sloan Canyon NCA to preserve and protect a portion of southern Nevada's 
Mojave Desert as a permanent asset for future generations. The Clark 
County

[[Page 15348]]

Act established both the Sloan Canyon NCA of 48,438 acres and the North 
McCullough Wilderness Area (14,763 acres entirely contained within the 
NCA), which are located southeast of the City of Las Vegas, adjacent to 
the City of Henderson in Clark County, Nevada. The Clark County Act 
requires the BLM to develop a plan for the appropriate use and 
management of the Sloan Canyon NCA and Wilderness within three years of 
enactment. The Draft RMP/EIS fulfills the needs and obligations set 
forth by NEPA, FLPMA, the Clark County Act, and BLM management policies 
described in the Las Vegas RMP of 1998. Upon completion, this RMP/EIS 
will amend the Las Vegas RMP regarding management of the 48,438 acres 
within Sloan Canyon NCA and North McCullough Wilderness Area. The 
management alternatives considered in the Draft RMP/EIS include: 
Continuing current management practices (no action alternative), an 
alternative that emphasizes natural character, one that allows moderate 
developed use while maintaining natural character, and another that 
emphasizes developed uses. The no action alternative is required by 
NEPA, and would continue current management as described in the Las 
Vegas RMP, in conjunction with the requirements of the Clark County 
Act. The alternatives contain both land use planning decisions and 
implementing decisions to provide planning structure to facilitate 
management of the Sloan Canyon NCA. The analysis of the alternatives 
includes an evaluation of indirect, direct, and cumulative impacts.
    Major resources and activities addressed in the Draft RMP/EIS 
include: Recreation, the North McCullough Wilderness Area, cultural 
resources, special designations, visual resources, interpretation, 
facilities, lands and realty, transportation, vegetation management, 
wildlife management, wildland fire management, water resources and 
quality, air quality, livestock grazing, geology and soils, minerals, 
abandoned mines, hazardous materials, and socioeconomics and 
environmental justice.

    Dated: January 10, 2005.
Helen Hankins,
Field Manager, Las Vegas.
[FR Doc. 05-5880 Filed 3-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5865-DP-P