[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 73790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7253]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-080-1610-DP-010J]


Supplement to Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource 
Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Vernal 
Field Office To List Proposed Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 
and Specific Associated Resource Use Limitations for Public Lands in 
Daggett, Duchesne, Uintah and Grand Counties, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: A notice of availability for the Draft Resource Management 
Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Vernal 
Field Office planning area in Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties, 
Utah was published in the Federal Register, volume 70, number 10, on 
Friday, January 14, 2005. This supplements that Notice with information 
on existing and potential Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 
(ACECs) considered within the Draft RMP and EIS, as required in 43 CFR 
1610.7-2. The CFR also provides an associated 60-day comment period on 
the potential ACECs.

DATES: The comment period will commence with the publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register and end 60 days after its publication.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on ACECs should be sent to the Bureau of 
Land Management, Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 
84078; Fax 435-781-4410. If you have already submitted comments during 
the comment period for the Draft RMP and EIS held from January 14, 
2005, to June 24, 2005, they will be considered for the Proposed RMP 
and Final EIS, and there is no need to resubmit them in response to 
this notice.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the Vernal Field Office during 
regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except holidays and will be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). They may be published as part of the EIS and 
other related documents. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality with respect to their name, address, and phone number. 
If you wish to withhold your name or street address from public review 
and disclosure under the FOIA, 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 or businesses 
will be made available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Kenczka, Planner, BLM Vernal 
Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078, phone 435-781-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Vernal Field Office planning area 
includes all of the public land and Federal mineral ownership managed 
by the Vernal Field Office in Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties, 
in northeast Utah, and about 3,000 acres in Grand County. This area 
includes approximately 1.8 million acres of BLM administered surface 
lands and 2.1 million acres of Federal mineral lands under Federal, 
state, private, and Ute Tribal surface in the four county areas.
    The Draft RMP/EIS addresses four alternatives and provides proposed 
management decisions and impact analysis of the alternatives. The 
number and acreages of ACECs that would be designated vary by 
alternative. For example, Alternative D would designate seven ACECs 
comprising 165,944 public surface acres, while Alternative C would 
designate 13 ACECs comprising 681,310 acres. Resource use limitations 
often vary by ACEC and alternative as well.
    There are presently 7 designated ACECs (165,944 acres) in the 
Vernal Field Office, which were established by the Diamond Mountain 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) (1994). These are reflected in the No 
Action Alternative (Alternative D) of the Draft RMP and EIS. There are 
also 6 potential ACECs (515,366 acres), each of which is being 
considered in at least one alternative. Specific ACEC proposals, 
including resource use limitations, are described in detail by 
alternative in Chapter 2 of the Draft RMP/EIS. A summary of this 
information follows:
    The 7 currently designated ACECs that are being reconsidered are as 
follows (acreage figures shown are for existing ACEC boundaries): Red 
Mountain-Dry Fork ACEC (24,285 acres), Nine Mile Canyon ACEC (44,181 
acres), Browns Park ACEC (52,721 acres), Lower Green River ACEC (8,470 
acres), Lears Canyon ACEC (1,375 acres) and Pariette Wetlands ACEC 
(10,437 acres), and the Red Creek Watershed ACEC (24,475 acres). 
Resource use limitations for these ACECs would vary by alternative, and 
relate to oil and gas leasing, visual resource management (VRM) and 
management of off-highway vehicle (OHV) use. In addition, there are 
limitations regarding disposal of mineral materials within the Lears 
Canyon and Pariette Wetlands ACECs. The Red Mountain-Dry Fork ACEC, 
Browns Park ACEC, Lears Canyon ACEC, Pariette Wetlands ACEC, Red Creek 
Watershed ACEC, and Nine Mile Canyon ACEC would continue to be 
designated in all alternatives, although boundaries and acreages vary 
by alternative for the Nine Mile Canyon and Brown's Park ACEC. The 
Lower Green River ACEC would continue to be designated in Alternatives 
A, C, and D, and boundaries and acreages for this ACEC would vary by 
alternative.
    The 6 potential ACECs being considered are as follows: Middle Green 
River Potential ACEC (6,768 acres), Four Mile Wash Potential ACEC 
(50,280 acres), Main Canyon Potential ACEC (100,915 acres), Coyote 
Basin Potential ACEC, White River Potential ACEC, and Bitter Creek 
Potential ACEC. Boundaries and acreages would vary by alternative for 
the Coyote Basin, White River, and Bitter Creek Potential ACECs. When 
included in more than one alternative, resource use limitations for 
these ACECs would vary and relate to oil and gas leasing, visual 
resource management, and management of OHV use.

    Dated: October 18, 2005.
Jeff Rawson,
Acting State Director.
 [FR Doc. E5-7253 Filed 12-12-05; 8:45 am]
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