[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8868-8869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2388]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[4310-32-P HAG-06-0036]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the 
John Day Basin Portion of the Central Oregon Resource Area and 
Associated Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Prineville District 
Office, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an 
associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the John Day Basin, 
and by this notice is announcing public scoping meetings. The RMP will 
amend or replace certain decisions within the John Day RMP (1985) and 
the portions of the Two Rivers RMP (1986) and Baker RMP (1989) that 
guide the management of public lands located in the Planning Area.

DATES: The BLM will announce public scoping meetings through local news 
media, newsletters, and the BLM Web site at http://www.or.blm.gov/landuseplanning.htm at least 15 days prior to the first meeting. We 
will provide formal opportunities for public participation upon 
publication of the Draft RMP/EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit scoping comments by any of the following 
methods:
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (541) 416-6798.
     Mail: BLM, Prineville District Office, 3050 NE 3rd St., 
Prineville, OR 97754.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM 
Prineville Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, please contact Brent Ralston, 
Planning Team Leader, telephone (541) 416-6713; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in parts of 
Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla, Grant, Wheeler, Jefferson, and 
Wasco Counties in the State of Oregon. This planning area encompasses 
approximately 452,000 acres of BLM-managed land. The plan will fulfill 
the needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), 
and BLM management policies. The BLM will work collaboratively with 
interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best 
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
    The public scoping process identifies relevant issues that will 
influence the scope of the environmental analysis and EIS alternatives. 
These issues also guide the planning process. You may submit comments 
on issues and planning criteria in writing to the BLM at any public 
scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the BLM using one of the 
methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To be most helpful, you 
should submit formal scoping comments within 30 days after the last 
public meeting. The minutes and list of attendees for each meeting will 
be available to the public and open for 30 days after the meeting to 
any participants who wish to clarify the views they expressed. 
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, 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 and businesses, and from individuals

[[Page 8869]]

identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their 
entirety.
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM personnel, other agencies, and various individuals and user groups. 
The major preliminary issues to be addressed in this planning effort 
include: vegetation management (including upland and watershed 
management, riparian areas and wetlands, forests and woodlands, fire 
and fuels management, wildlife habitat management, special status 
species, and noxious weeds), water quality/aquatic resources/fisheries, 
special management areas (including Areas of Critical Environmental 
Concern, significant caves, wild and scenic rivers, and wilderness 
study areas); recreation management; cultural and paleontological 
resources; socioeconomics and environmental justice; energy and 
minerals; lands and realty; and transportation (including off highway 
vehicle management and public access).
    After public comments are gathered on these and other issues that 
the plan should address, they will be placed in one of three 
categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the plan as to why we placed 
an issue in category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a 
number of management questions and concerns will be addressed in the 
plan. The public is encouraged to help identify these questions and 
concerns during the scoping phase.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan 
in order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines 
will be involved in the planning process: Rangeland management, 
minerals and geology, forestry, fire and fuels, botany, outdoor 
recreation, archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands 
and realty, hydrology, soils, civil engineering, sociology, and 
economics.

    Dated: December 19, 2005.
Elaine M. Brong,
State Director, Oregon/Washington BLM.
[FR Doc. E6-2388 Filed 2-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P