[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2271-2272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-285]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NM-030-1610-DT]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan 
Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement for McGregor Range, 
Otero County, NM

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
(FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Proposed 
Resource Management Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(PRMPA/FEIS) for McGregor Range in Otero County, New Mexico. The 
planning area encompasses approximately 608,000 surface acres of public 
land withdrawn by the Department of Army and jointly managed by the Las 
Cruces District Office and Fort Bliss Texas. It is located in south 
central Otero County in southern New Mexico. The BLM has and will 
continue to work closely with all interested parties to identify 
management decisions that are best suited to the needs of the public. 
Final decisions will supersede those in the previous RMPA for McGregor 
Range that was completed in 1990, and will provide direction for 
management of the resources and public uses of the withdrawn public 
land.

DATES: The PRMPA/FEIS for McGregor Range will be available for a 30-day 
protest period in accordance with BLM's land use planning regulations 
(43 CFR 1610.5-2). Protests must be filed within 30 days of the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of 
availability of the FEIS.

ADDRESSES: Written protests must be submitted to: Director, Bureau of 
Land Management, Attention: Ms. Brenda Hudgens-Williams, Protests 
Coordinator, WO-210, P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035.
    Alternatively, and to expedite delivery, you may send your protest 
using an express delivery service to: Director, Bureau of Land 
Management, Attention: Ms. Brenda Hudgens-Williams, Protests 
Coordinator, WO-210, 1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 
20036.
    E-mail and 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 
protest 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].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Phillips, BLM Las Cruces District 
Office, 1800 Marquess, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005 or by telephone 
(505) 525-4377; Fax (505) 525-4412.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This land use plan amendment focuses on the 
principle of multiple-use management and sustained yield as prescribed 
by Section 202 of FLPMA. The Proposed RMPA/FEIS considers and analyzes 
four alternatives. These alternatives have been developed based on 
extensive public input following scoping (July 2001), review and 
comment on the Draft RMPA/EIS (January 2005-April 2005), and numerous 
meetings with local governments, interested groups, local citizens, and 
the New Mexico Resource Advisory Council. Alternative A is the proposed 
plan and provides for a balance of resource use and conservation.
    The BLM Planning Regulations, 43 CFR 1610.5-2, state that any 
person who participated in the planning process and has an interest 
which may be adversely affected may protest. A protest may raise only 
those issues which were submitted for the record during the planning 
process. Protests must be filed within 30 days of the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of availability of 
the FEIS. Specific dates of the protest period will be announced 
through the local news media and the following BLM Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm. To be considered 
timely, your protest must be postmarked no later than the last day of 
the protest period. Though not a requirement, we suggest that you send 
your protest by certified mail, return receipt requested. You are also 
encouraged, but not required, to forward a copy of your protest to the 
Las Cruces District Manager at 1800 Marquess, Las Cruces, New Mexico 
88005. To be considered complete, your protest must contain (at a 
minimum) the following information:
    (1) Name, mailing address, telephone number and the affected 
interest of the person filing the protest(s).

[[Page 2272]]

    (2) A statement of the issue or issues being protested.
    (3) A statement of the part or parts of the proposed plan being 
protested. To the extent possible, reference specific pages, 
paragraphs, and sections of the document.
    (4) A copy of all your documents addressing the issue or issues 
which were discussed with the BLM for the record.
    (5) A concise statement explaining why the proposed decision is 
believed to be incorrect. This is a critical part of your protest. 
Document all relevant facts, as thoroughly as possible. Disagreement, 
by itself, with a proposed decision or with how the data are used, or 
unsupported allegations of violations of regulation, law, legal 
precedents, or other guidance, will not meet the requirement of the 
regulations.
    Freedom of Information Act Considerations: Public submissions for 
this planning effort, including names and street addresses or 
respondents, will be available for public review in their entirety 
after the protest period closes at the Las Cruces District Office 
during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish for BLM to withhold your name or street 
address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
the submission. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by 
law. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from 
individuals representing organizations or businesses, will be made 
available for public inspection in their entirety.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Las 
Cruces District Office in Las Cruces, New Mexico during regular 
business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays. A hard copy of the document may be requested from the BLM Las 
Cruces District Office at the address and phone number above. After 
resolution of any protests an approved RMPA/Record of Decision will be 
prepared and is expected to be available in early 2006.

    Dated: October 17, 2005.
Linda S.C. Rundell,
New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 06-285 Filed 1-12-06; 8:45 am]
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