[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 41 (Friday, March 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9584-9586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3627]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-120-1610-DO-022C]


Notice of Intent to Prepare a Resource Management Plans for the 
Kremmling and Glenwood Springs Field Office and Associated 
Environmental Impact Statement, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Kremmling and Glenwood 
Springs Field Office, Colorado intends to prepare Resource

[[Page 9585]]

Management Plans (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Kremmling and Glenwood Springs planning areas 
and by this notice is announcing public scoping meetings. The Field 
Offices will simultaneously revise their respective RMPs for the BLM-
administered public lands within each Field Office under one EIS. The 
RMPs will replace the existing Kremmling and Glenwood Springs RMPs.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments and 
resource information should be submitted to the BLM within 60 days of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
announce public scoping meetings to identify relevant issues through 
local news media, newsletters, and the BLM Web site (http://www.blm.gov/rmp/co/kfo-gsfo) at least 15 days prior to the first 
meeting.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Web site: (http://www.blm.gov/rmp/co/kfo-gsfo).
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (970) 724-9590.
     Bureau of Land Management, Kremmling Field Office, Joe 
Stout, RMP Project Manager, P.O. Box 68, Kremmling, CO 80459.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the 
Kremmling and Glenwood Springs Field Offices. Respondents' comments, 
including their names and street addresses, will be available for 
public review at the Kremmling Field Office during regular business 
hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and at the Glenwood Springs Field 
Office during regular business hours from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as part of 
the EIS. 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 comments. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information 
and[bs]or to have your name added to our mailing list, 
contact Joe Stout, Kremmling Field Office, at (970) 724-3003. Comments 
may be sent electronically to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Kremmling planning area is located in 
Grand, Eagle, Jackson, Larimer, and Summit Counties, Colorado. The 
Glenwood Springs planning area is located in Eagle, Garfield, Mesa, 
Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties, Colorado. This planning 
activity encompasses approximately 964,000 acres of BLM-administered 
public lands. The plan will fulfill the needs and obligations set forth 
by the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act, 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 purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and 
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. 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 comments. Such requests will be honored to 
the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations and 
businesses, and from individuals 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 in meetings with individuals and 
user groups. They represent the BLM's knowledge to date regarding the 
existing issues and concerns with current land management. The EIS will 
describe and analyze a range of alternatives, comprised of the No 
Action alternative (continued management) and a number of action 
alternatives, each of which will describe options for addressing the 
major issues. The major issues that will be addressed in this planning 
effort include:
     Oil and gas development;
     Range health/upland management;
     Water/riparian issues;
     Increased recreation demands and uses;
     Comprehensive travel management and transportation;
     High concentration of cultural sites;
     Maintaining habitat for Sage Grouse and Sagebrush obligate 
species; and
     Rapidly expanding urban interface areas.
    Issues identified through public comments will be placed into one 
of four categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action;
    3. Issues beyond the scope of the plan; or
    4. Issues that have already been addressed but should be better 
communicated to the issue holder.
    Rationale will be provided for each issue placed in categories two, 
three, and four. The public is encouraged to help identify these 
questions and concerns during the scoping phase.
    An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the plan in 
order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will include 
specialists with expertise in minerals and geology, forestry, range, 
fire and fuels, outdoor recreation, archaeology, paleontology, 
wildlife, fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, sociology, 
environmental justice and economics.
    The following planning criteria have been proposed to guide 
development of the plan, avoid unnecessary data collection and 
analyses, and to ensure the plan is tailored to the issues. Other 
criteria may be identified during the public scoping process. After 
gathering comments on planning criteria, the BLM will finalize the 
criteria and provide feedback to the public on the criteria to be used 
throughout the planning process. Some of the planning criteria that are 
under consideration include:
     The plans will be completed in compliance with the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act.
     The plan will recognize valid existing rights.
     Public participation will be encouraged throughout the 
process. The BLM will collaborate and build relationships with tribes, 
state and local governments, federal agencies, local stakeholders and 
others in the community of interest of the plan as normal business.

    Editorial Note: This document was received at the Office of the 
Federal Register on February 26, 2007.


[[Page 9586]]


    Dated: November 8, 2006.
Peter McFadden,
Acting Kremmling Field Manager.
    Dated: November 9, 2006.
Jamie Connell,
Glenwood Springs Field Manager.

[FR Doc. E7-3627 Filed 3-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1610-DO-P