[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67189-67190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22037]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NM-110-1610-DS]


Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument 
Resource Management Plan (RMP)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Interior.

ACTION: NOA of a Draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact 
Statement (DRMP/EIS) for the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, 
New Mexico.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 202 of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the BLM announces the availability of the 
DEIS for the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument RMP. The DEIS 
documents the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of 
three alternative management plans for BLM-administered public lands 
within the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. When completed, 
the RMP will fulfill the obligations set forth by NEPA, the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act, and associated Federal regulations.

DATES: The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument DRMP/EIS will be 
available for review for 90 calendar days from the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its NOA in the Federal 
Register. In order to assure your comments and resource information 
submissions are fully considered they must be received within the 90-
day review period identified above.
    Open House meetings will be scheduled to provide the public 
additional opportunities to submit written comments on the Kasha-Katuwe 
Tent Rocks National Monument DRMP/EIS. All meetings and any other 
public involvement activities will be announced at least 15 days in 
advance through public notices, media news releases, New Mexico BLM Web 
site announcements, or mailings.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the DRMP/EIS has been sent to affected Federal, 
State, and local government agencies and to interested parties. The 
document may

[[Page 67190]]

be available electronically on the following web site: http://www.blm.gov/nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm. Copies of the DRMP/
EIS will be available for public inspection at the following locations: 
BLM New Mexico State Office, 1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505; BLM 
Rio Puerco Field Office, 435 Monta[ntilde]o Road NE, Albuquerque, NM 
87107. The current RMPs, EISs, and all other documents relevant to this 
planning process, are available for public review at the Rio Puerco 
Field Office at the above address.
    Written comments may be mailed directly, or delivered to the BLM 
at: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, DRMP/EIS, BLM Rio Puerco 
Field Office, 435 Monta[ntilde]o Road NE., Albuquerque, NM 87107. 
Comments may be electronically mailed to: [email protected].
    Comments may be faxed to the BLM at: (505) 761-8911. Comments that 
are e-mailed or faxed must include ``Comments on Kasha-Katuwe Tent 
Rocks National Monument DRMP/EIS'' in the subject line. Interested 
parties may also provide written comments during the public open house 
meetings. In order to assure that your comments are fully considered 
they must be submitted in one of the four ways described above. To be 
given consideration by the BLM all DRMP/EIS comment submittals must 
include the commentor's name and street address.
    Our practice is to make comments, including the name and street 
address of each respondent, available for public review at the BLM 
office listed above during business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays). Your comments may 
be published as part of the EIS process. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street 
address, or both, from public review or from disclosure under the 
Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written comments. Such requests will be honored to 
the extent allowed by law. We will not consider anonymous comments. All 
submissions from organizations and businesses will be made available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Mr. John Bristol, RMP Team 
Leader, at the BLM Rio Puerco Field Office (see address above), 
telephone (505) 761-8755. Requests for information may be sent 
electronically to: [email protected] with ``Attention: KKTR NM 
DRMP/EIS Information Request'' in the subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2001, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National 
Monument, was designated a National Monument by Presidential 
Proclamation 7394. The proclamation directed management of the monument 
by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management. 
It required the development of a Management Plan in close cooperation 
with the Pueblo de Cochiti and the promulgation of regulations for its 
management as the Secretary of the Interior deems appropriate. The 
monument is located in Sandoval County, New Mexico. Within the monument 
boundaries are 4,124 acres federally owned land, 521 acres of State 
owned land and 757 acres land in private ownership, for a total of 
5,402 acres.
    The DRMP/EIS describes the physical, biological, cultural, 
historic, and socioeconomic resources in the ``Decision Area'' (5,402 
acres) and the ``Planning Area'' (15,635 acres--includes edge-
holdings). The focus for impact analysis was based on resource issues 
and concerns identified during scoping and public involvement 
activities and opportunities. Issues of concern regarding possible 
management direction and planning decisions (not in priority order) 
are: land tenure adjustments, access and transportation, recreation 
(use and development), ecosystem restoration, and American Indian uses 
and traditional cultural practices.
    Three alternatives were analyzed in detail: Alternative A is the No 
Action Alternative representing the continuation of existing management 
plans, policies, and decisions established in the 1986 Rio Puerco RMP, 
as amended, and as implemented through the Tent Rocks ACEC Protection 
Plan, with minimal compliance with proclamation requirements. 
Alternative B represents the agency proposed resource use and 
conservation alternative. Alternative C emphasizes an adaptive 
management approach (particularly for recreation management) with the 
inclusion of additional monitoring. The monitoring results would 
trigger management changes to maximize recreational use and facility 
development while minimizing natural resource degradation and 
depletion. The BLM's preferred alternative is Alternative B.
    Since the publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 
RMP/EIS in the Federal Register on January 22, 2004, open house 
meetings, scoping meetings, and mailings have been conducted to solicit 
public comments and input. The Rio Puerco Field Office has been 
providing updates on the development of this DRMP/EIS to the Sandoval 
County Manager, Pueblo de Cochiti and the New Mexico Resource Advisory 
Council. Other tribal governments with interests in the monument area 
were also consulted. From the publication date of the NOI in the 
Federal Register, through June 30, 2005, the BLM solicited and received 
approximately 30 submissions from interested parties. In addition, 
three public meetings were held to provide the public with an 
opportunity to acquire information about the RMP/EIS process and its 
status, and to submit comments. These public meetings were held in Pena 
Blanca, New Mexico, on February 24, 2004, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, 
February 25, 2004 and in Santa Fe, New Mexico, February 26, 2004. All 
comments received throughout the process have been considered. 
Background information and maps used in developing the DRMP/EIS are 
available for public viewing at the Rio Puerco Field Office at the 
above address.

    Dated: September 6, 2005.
Jesse J. Juen,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 05-22037 Filed 11-3-05; 8:45 am]
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