[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 27 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6284-6285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2247]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-100-1610-DP]


Notice of Availability of Draft Little Snake Resource Management 
Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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/
Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) for the Little Snake Field 
Office and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment 
period.

DATES: To assure that they will be considered, BLM must receive written 
comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes their Notice of Availability 
in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or 
hearings and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days 
in advance through public notices, media news releases, and/or 
mailings.

ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP/EIS will be posted on the Internet at http://www.co.blm.gov/lsra/rmp. You may submit comments by any of the 
following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (970) 826-5002.
     Mail: Jeremy Casterson, BLM--Little Snake Field Office, 
455 Emerson St., Craig, CO 81625.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Casterson, Planning and

[[Page 6285]]

Environmental Coordinator, BLM--Little Snake Field Office, 455 Emerson 
St., Craig, CO 81625. Phone: (970) 826-5071. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in Northwest 
Colorado in Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco Counties. The plan will 
provide a framework to guide subsequent management decisions on 
approximately 1.3 million acres of BLM-administered public lands and 
1.1 million acres of subsurface mineral estate administered by the BLM. 
Little Snake Field Office is currently being managing under its 1989 
RMP, which has been amended for Oil and Gas Leasing (1991), Black-
Footed Ferret Reintroduction (1996) and Land Health Standards (1997).
    The Little Snake Field Office has worked extensively with the 
community, interested and affected publics, and cooperating agencies in 
development of the Draft RMP/EIS. An independent local citizen-based 
stewardship group, the Northwest Colorado Stewardship (NWCOS), has been 
very engaged in the RMP revision. NWCOS has provided input on issues 
that will be addressed in the planning process, the range of 
alternatives and the impact analysis. Cooperating agencies include 
Moffat County, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service Division of Ecological Services, the City of Steamboat 
Springs and the Juniper Water Conservancy District.
    The Draft RMP/EIS addresses many issues important to the area, 
including energy development, special designations, transportation and 
travel management, wildlife habitat and socio-economic values. Four 
alternatives were analyzed in the Draft RMP/EIS.
    Alternative A would maintain present uses by continuing present 
management direction and activities. Mineral and energy development and 
unrestricted off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel would be allowed 
throughout a majority of the planning area.
    Alternative B would allow the greatest extent of resource use 
within the planning area, while maintaining the basic protection needed 
to sustain resources. Under this alternative, constraints on commodity 
production for the protection of sensitive resources would be the least 
restrictive possible within the limits defined by law, regulation and 
BLM policy.
    Alternative C, the Preferred Alternative, would emphasize multiple 
resource use in the planning area by protecting sensitive resources and 
applying the most current information that allows BLM to set priorities 
for flexible, proactive management of public lands (adaptive 
management). Commodity production would be balanced with providing 
protection for wildlife and vegetation.
    Alternative D would allow the greatest extent of resource 
protection within the planning area, while still allowing resource 
uses. Commodity production would be constrained to protect natural 
resource values or to accelerate improvement in their condition.
    In the preferred alternative, Alternative C, Irish Canyon is 
designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The 
ACEC objective would be to protect sensitive plants, remnant plant 
communities, cultural and geologic values, and scenic quality. The area 
would be closed to oil and gas leasing, limited to designated routes 
for off-highway vehicles, withdrawn from locatable mineral entry, 
managed as Visual Resource Management Class II, and Right-of-way 
exclusion area unless associated with valid existing rights.
    ACEC proposals which were determined to meet the relevance and 
importance criteria but not designated ACECs in the preferred 
alternative because they were deemed not to warrant special management 
attention include Lookout Mountain, Limestone Ridge, Cross Mountain 
Canyon, White-tailed Prairie Dog habitat, and eleven areas proposed to 
protect sensitive plants and plant communities: Cold Desert Shrublands 
occurrences, Gibben's Beardtongue occurrences, Bull Canyon, G Gap, 
Little Juniper Canyon, the Bassett Spring, No Name Spring, Pot Creek, 
Whiskey Springs, Willow Spring, and Deception Creek.
    All submissions will be available for public inspection in their 
entirety. Copies of the Little Snake Draft RMP/EIS are available in the 
Little Snake Field Office at the above address during regular business 
hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.

    Dated: May 26, 2006.
John E. Husband,
Field Manager.

    Editorial Note: This document was received at the Office of the 
Federal Register on February 6, 2007.
 [FR Doc. E7-2247 Filed 2-8-07; 8:45 am]
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