[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53249-53250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17641]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-130-1020-PH; HAG-145]


Notice of Intent To Prepare Resource Management Plan Revisions 
and an Associated Environmental Impact Statement for Six Western Oregon 
Districts of the Bureau of Land Management

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice that the BLM intends to revise 
six Resource Management Plans (RMP) with a single associated 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Coos Bay District, Eugene 
District, Medford District, Roseburg District, Salem District, and the 
Klamath Falls Resource Area of the Lakeview District (planning area).

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments on 
the scope of the plan revisions, including issues or concerns that 
should be considered, must be submitted in writing to the address 
listed below by October 21, 2005. Dates and locations for public 
meetings or other events will be announced through mailings, the local 
news media, newsletters, and the BLM internet site at least 15 days 
prior to any event. These plan revisions are scheduled to be complete 
in 2008.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to: BLM, Attn: Western 
Oregon Planning Revision (OR-930.1), P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. 
In addition, the BLM intends to provide a Web site for the public to 
use to submit electronic comments. When the Web site is available, more 
information will be posted at http://www.or.blm.gov.
    All public comments, including names and mailing addresses of 
respondents, 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, please state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written correspondence. The BLM will honor such 
requests 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 to the public in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Individuals, organizations, and 
government agencies wishing more information or to have their name 
placed on an electronic or postal mailing list are urged to register on 
the Web site (when it is available; see above), or by sending a request 
to the Portland address above, or by contacting Alan Hoffmeister, 
Western Oregon Planning Revision Public Outreach Coordinator, at (503) 
808-6629 or at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area for the RMPs includes 
approximately 2,550,000 acres of public land and 69,000 acres of split-
estate, where the lands only involve the Federal mineral estate.
    The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 requires the 
development, maintenance, and revision of land use plans. The vast 
majority of the public lands in the planning area are Revested Oregon 
and California Railroad (O&C) lands, or Coos Bay Wagon Road (CBWR) 
lands, and are managed under the statutory authority of the Oregon and 
California Revested Railroad Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act, Pub. L. 75-
405). Preparation of the RMPs and EIS will conform to the above land 
management laws and will also comply with other Federal laws such as 
the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and the National 
Environmental Policy Act. Additionally, plan revisions will follow 
Federal regulations and BLM management policies.
    Congress, in 1866, established a land grant to promote the 
completion of the Oregon and California Railroad from Portland, Oregon, 
to San Francisco, California. In 1916, Congress revested, or brought 
back into Federal ownership, the title to approximately 2.2 million 
acres of land deeded to the Oregon and California Railroad after the 
company violated the terms of the land grant. Congress also revested 
about 93,000 acres of CBWR lands due to similar circumstances in 1919. 
The O&C Act of 1937 placed management jurisdiction of these lands under 
the United States Department of the Interior and directed that timber 
thereon be managed for permanent forest production using the principle 
of sustained yield. The benefits of sustained yield forest management, 
as described in the O&C Act, are a permanent source of timber, 
protection of watersheds, regulation of streamflow, and a contribution 
to the stability of local communities and timber industries and 
recreation facilities. The O&C Act also required that 50 percent of the 
revenue generated for management of the lands be returned to the 18 
counties that contained revested lands.
    The Northwest Forest Plan was completed in 1994 and provided 
direction to achieve the following five goals: (1) Never forget human 
and economic dimensions of the issues; (2) Protect the long-term health 
of forests, wildlife, and waterways; (3) Focus on scientifically sound, 
ecologically credible, and legally responsible strategies and 
implementation; (4) Produce a predictable and sustainable level of 
timber sales and nontimber resources; and (5) Ensure that Federal 
agencies work together.
    All of the BLM districts have current RMPs that were completed in 
1995. These 1995 RMPs incorporated the land use allocations and 
Standards and Guidelines from the Northwest Forest Plan. They also 
included decisions on other issues or programs such as land tenure, 
off-highway vehicles, etc. The RMPs provide guidance for all activities 
that occur on BLM-administered lands. The BLM will continue to manage 
these lands in accordance with the existing RMPs until the revised RMPs 
are completed and a Record of Decision is signed.
    After the 1995 RMPs were completed, the American Forest Resource 
Council (AFRC) and others filed a lawsuit against the Secretaries of 
Agriculture and the Interior alleging that the Record of Decision for 
the Northwest Forest Plan violated the O&C Act and numerous other laws. 
The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the AFRC, 
and the Association of O&C Counties agreed to settle this lawsuit in 
August of 2003. The settlement agreement requires the BLM, contingent 
on funding, to revise the current RMPs and consider at least one 
alternative that will not create any reserves on O&C lands except as 
required to avoid jeopardy to species listed as threatened or 
endangered under the Endangered Species Act or adverse modification to 
critical habitat for such species.
    The revisions to the existing RMPs will answer the question 
regarding how the BLM should manage the O&C lands to achieve the O&C 
Act requirement of permanent forest production [as interpreted by the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit] while complying 
with applicable laws such as

[[Page 53250]]

the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.
    Through a public participation process, the BLM will work 
collaboratively with interested parties to identify which management 
direction is best suited to manage the O&C lands as described in the 
O&C Act and other provisions of laws considering local, regional, and 
national interests. The first step in this process is formal public 
scoping to help identify planning issues and provide for public comment 
on the proposed planning criteria.

Issues

    The BLM has identified the following preliminary planning issues. A 
planning issue is identified as a ``matter of controversy or dispute 
over resource management activities or land use that is well-defined or 
topically discrete and entails alternatives between which to choose'' 
(H-1601-1 III.A.3). These preliminary issues are not final and may be 
refined or augmented based on public participation and comments 
received during scoping.
     Vegetation--How should BLM-administered forest lands be 
managed, both temporally and spatially, to provide a sustainable supply 
of wood and other forest products mandated by the O&C Act while meeting 
applicable laws and regulations?
     Habitat--How should the O&C lands be managed to contribute 
to the conservation of species consistent with the Endangered Species 
Act?
     Watershed management and water quality--How should BLM 
lands be managed to contribute to meeting the Clean Water Act and the 
Safe Drinking Water Act?
     Wildland fire and fuels--How should BLM-administered land 
be managed to reduce the risk of wildfires and integrate fire back into 
the ecosystem?

Planning Criteria

    The BLM has also identified some preliminary criteria to guide the 
development of the RMPs, to avoid unnecessary data collection and 
analysis, and to ensure the RMPs are tailored to the issues. These 
criteria may be modified or other criteria identified after the public 
scoping process. The public is invited to comment on the following 
preliminary planning criteria:
    Purpose and need for the plan revisions:
     The BLM will manage the O&C lands to achieve the O&C Act 
requirement of permanent forest production [as interpreted by the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit] while complying 
with applicable laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean 
Water Act.
    Alternatives to be considered:
    A reasonable range of alternatives will be considered. All 
alternatives will be designed to comply with existing laws. Two 
alternatives known at this time are:
     No Action--continue management under the current RMPs.
     An alternative which will not create any reserves on O&C 
lands except as required to avoid jeopardy to species listed as 
threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
    In choosing a preferred alternative for the involved lands, the BLM 
will consider factors such as:

     The quality of habitats created.
     The impacts on water quality limited streams.
     The amount of timber produced.
     The contributions to community stability.
     Costs of implementation.
    As part of this RMP process, the BLM will analyze areas for 
potential designation as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) 
in accordance with 43 CFR 1610.7-2. Public nominations for potential 
ACECs to be considered in these revisions must be made by October 28, 
2005.

James G. Kenna,
Associate State Director, Oregon/Washington, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 05-17641 Filed 9-6-05; 8:45 am]
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