[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 241 (Friday, December 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75578-75579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21311]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ 320-06-1610-DP-091A-241E]


Notice of Availability of Yuma Field Office Draft Resource 
Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of Yuma Field Office (YFO) Draft 
Resource Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DRMP/DEIS).

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan and 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DRMP/DEIS) for the Yuma Field 
Office (YFO), Arizona, and by this notice is announcing the opening of 
the public review and comment period.

DATES: Written comments on the DRMP/DEIS will be accepted for 90 days 
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its 
NOA in the Federal Register. Future meetings or hearings and any other 
public involvement activities will be announced at least 15 days in 
advance through local media.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be mailed to Rebecca Heick, Bureau of 
Land Management, Yuma Field Office, 2555 East Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, 
Arizona 85365 or by e-mail at [email protected]. You may also hand-
deliver comments to the above listed address. A minimum of five public 
meetings will be held during the 90-day public review and comment 
period during which oral comments will be accepted. Exact dates, 
places, and times of public meetings will be posted on the BLM Arizona 
Web page at http://www.blm.gov/az/, news releases and Planning 
Bulletin, or you may contact Micki Bailey at (928) 317-3215, for 
further information.
    Public comments, including names and street addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review at the Bureau of Land 
Management, Yuma Field Office, 2555 East Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, Arizona 
85365, during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday 
through Friday, except holidays. 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 comments. 
Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Micki Bailey, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator, Bureau of Land Management, Yuma Field 
Office, 2555 East Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, Arizona 85365; telephone (928) 
317-3200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A copy of the YFO DRMP/DEIS is available for 
review via the internet from a link at http://www.blm.gov/az/LUP/planning.htm (subject to change), electronic (on CD-ROM), and paper at 
the BLM YFO. Electronic (on CD-ROM) and paper copies may also be 
obtained by contacting Micki Bailey at the aforementioned address and 
phone number.
    The planning area encompasses more than 1.3 million acres of BLM-
administered public land. The DRMP/DEIS includes strategies for 
protecting and preserving the biological, cultural, recreational, 
geological, educational, scientific, and scenic values that balance 
multiple uses of the BLM-administered lands throughout the YFO planning 
area.
    The agency-preferred alternative attempts to accomplish the above 
while achieving consistency among the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona 
State Land Department, Arizona Game and Fish Department, California 
Department of Fish and Game, the BLM, and other land managing agencies 
within the boundaries of the planning area. The range of alternatives 
in this draft evaluates planning decisions brought forward from the 
current BLM planning documents, the Yuma District Resource Management 
Plan (1987), the Lower Gila South Resource Management Plan (1988), and 
the Lower Gila North Management Framework Plan (1983).
    The agency-preferred alternative identifies one new proposed Area 
of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC): Dripping Springs Natural and 
Cultural ACEC (11,700 acres). One existing ACEC would be expanded under 
the agency-preferred alternative: Gila River Cultural ACEC (3,700 to 
28,500 acres). The Gila River Cultural ACEC would be renamed the Sears 
Point Cultural ACEC.
    A total of seven ACECs are represented within the [proposed] range 
of alternatives. The existing Big Maria Mountains Cultural ACEC (4,500 
acres) would be carried forward within Alternatives A, B, C, and E. An 
expansion of this ACEC is proposed within Alternative D (from 4,500 
acres to 9,200 acres). Dripping Springs Natural and Cultural ACEC is 
proposed within Alternatives C (11,700 acres), D (9,800 acres), and E 
(11,700 acres). The Gila River Terraces and Trails Cultural ACEC is 
proposed within Alternative D only (140,400 acres). The Limitrophe is 
proposed as an ACEC within Alternative D only (4,500 acres). Palomas 
Plain Natural ACEC is proposed within Alternative D only (429,900 
acres). The Gila River Cultural ACEC would be carried forward within 
Alternatives A and B (3,700 acres), and expanded within Alternatives C, 
D, and E (28,500 acres). Walter's Camp Natural and Cultural ACEC is 
proposed within Alternative D only (3,500 acres).
    The following types of resource-use limitations would apply to 
these ACECs: (1) Allowable uses would be limited to those that are 
compatible with the natural or cultural resources for which the area is 
designated, (2) Recreation facilities would be limited to projects that 
protect ACEC values, and (3) Travel would be permitted only on 
designated open and signed routes. For detailed information on specific 
management for each proposed ACEC, see Chapter 2,

[[Page 75579]]

Description of Alternatives, Special Designations section.
    After reviewing and considering all public comments received during 
this comment period, a Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final 
Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared by the BLM in 
accordance with planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610 and NEPA at 40 CFR 
1502.

Elaine Y. Zielinski,
Arizona State Director.
 [FR Doc. E6-21311 Filed 12-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P