[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 198 (Friday, October 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60103-60105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20617]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan 
and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Sloan Canyon National 
Conservation Area (SCNCA)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

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,

[[Page 60104]]

Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (RMP/FEIS) for the Sloan Canyon National Conservation 
Area is available to the public for a 30-day protest period. The 
proposed plan and associated FEIS were developed in accordance with 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).

DATES: BLM will accept written protests on the FEIS if postmarked 
within 30 calendar days of the date that a Notice of Availability is 
published in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection 
Agency. Instructions for filing a protest are described in the Dear 
Reader letter in the PRMP and are also included in the Supplementary 
Information section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: The PRMP/FEIS and other associated documents or background 
information may be viewed and downloaded in PDF format at the project 
Web site at http://wwwblm.gov/nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm. 
Copies of the PRMP/FEIS are available at the BLM Las Vegas Field 
Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301. 
Reference copies are available for review during regular business hours 
at the following locations:
    BLM Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Blvd., Reno, NV 89502.
    Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Pkwy, Henderson, NV 89012.
    Boulder City Library, 701 Adams Blvd., Boulder City, NV 89005.
    North Las Vegas Library, 2300 Civic Center Dr., North Las Vegas.
    Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89134.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information visit the Web 
site (http://www.blm.gov/nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm), E-
mail: [email protected], or contact: Charles Carroll, BLM Las 
Vegas Field Office, Attn: Sloan Canyon NCA, 4701 North Torrey Pines 
Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301, Telephone (702) 515-5000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SCNCA was officially designated in 
November, 2002 when the President signed into law the Clark County Act 
[Pub. L. 107-282] to preserve and protect a portion of southern 
Nevada's Mojave Desert for the benefit and enjoyment of present and 
future generations. The Clark County Act requires the BLM to develop a 
plan for the appropriate use and management of the Sloan Canyon NCA and 
North McCullough Wilderness within three years of enactment.
    The Draft Resource Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DRMP/DEIS) for the Sloan Canyon NCA was released for public 
review on March 25, 2005. Comments that were received on the DRMP/DEIS 
during the 90-day review period from the public, cooperating agencies, 
and internal BLM review were considered in developing the PRMP.
    The PRMP provides a framework for the future management direction 
and appropriate use of the Sloan Canyon NCA and North McCullough 
Wilderness. The Sloan Canyon NCA is comprised of approximately 48,400 
acres of Mojave Desert terrain immediately south of Henderson, NV. The 
North McCullough Wilderness is entirely contained within the NCA and 
consists of approximately 14,800 acres.
    The PRMP contains the proposed plan and summary of the changes made 
between the Draft RMP/EIS and PRMP. The agency preferred alternative, 
Alternative C, was developed to allow moderate development of 
facilities and uses while conserving and protecting the resources of 
the SCNCA. Some elements of the draft Alternative C were modified in 
consideration of comments received on the Draft RMP/EIS and further 
review by BLM and the cooperating agencies listed above. The PRMP/FEIS 
describes the predictable impacts of the proposed plan and contains a 
summary of written and verbal comments received during the public 
review period, and responses to the comments received. The PRMP focuses 
on the comprehensive management of resources in the Sloan Canyon NCA 
including managing recreational uses and the protection of the Sloan 
Canyon Petroglyph Site.
    The resource management planning process includes an opportunity 
for public administrative review of the proposed land use planning 
decisions during a 30-day protest period following the publication of 
the PRMP. Any person who participated in the planning process for this 
PRMP, and has an interest which is or may be adversely affected, may 
protest approval of this PRMP and land use planning decisions contained 
within it (see 43 CFR 1610.5-2) during this 30-day period. Only those 
persons or organizations who participated in the planning process 
leading to the PRMP may protest. The protesting party may raise only 
those issues submitted for the record during the planning process 
leading up to the publication of this PRMP. These issues may have been 
raised by the protesting party or others. New issues may not be brought 
into the record at the protest stage. The 30-day period for filing a 
plan protest begins when the EPA publishes in the Federal Register its 
Notice of Availability of the final environmental impact statement 
containing the PRMP. There is no provision for any extension of time. 
To be considered ``timely'' the protest, along with all attachments, 
must be filed and postmarked no later than the last day of the protest 
period. A letter of protest must be filed in accordance with the 
planning regulations, 43 CFR 1610.5-2(a)(1). Protests must be in 
writing. E-mail or faxed protests will not be accepted as valid 
protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter 
by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the 
protest period. Under these conditions, BLM will consider the E-mail or 
faxed protests as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM 
protest coordinator at 202-452-5112, and e-mails to [email protected]. If sent by regular mail, send to: Director (210), 
Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035. For 
overnight mailing, send to: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 
1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036. In order to be 
considered complete, the protest must contain, at minimum, the 
following information:
    1. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the 
person filing the protest.
    2. A statement of the part or parts of the PRMP and the issue or 
issues being protested. To the extent possible, this should be done by 
reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, maps, etc., 
included in the document.
    3. A copy of all documents addressing the issue(s) that the 
protesting party submitted during the planning process or a statement 
of the date they were discussed for the record.
    4. A concise statement explaining why the protestor believes the 
Nevada BLM State Director's proposed decision is believed to be 
incorrect. This is a critical part of your protest, therefore document 
all relevant facts. As much as possible, reference or cite the planning 
documents, or available planning records (e.g. meeting minutes or 
summaries, correspondence, etc.).

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    Upon resolution of any protests, an Approved Plan and Record of 
Decision will be issued. The Approved Plan will be mailed to all who 
participated in the planning process and will be available to all 
interested parties through the above Web site, or by mail upon request.

Juan Palma,
Field Manager, Las Vegas.
[FR Doc. 05-20617 Filed 10-13-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P