[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 110 (Friday, June 8, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31850-31851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11140]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Availability of Sierra Proposed Resource Management 
Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement, California

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 Proposed Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sierra 
planning area managed by the Folsom Field Office.

DATES: 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 BLM's approval or amendment of an 
RMP. Protests must be filed within 30 days of the date that the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes their Notice of Availability 
in the Federal Register. Instructions for filing protests are described 
in the front cover of the Sierra Proposed RMP and Final EIS and in the 
Supplementary Information section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandra McGinnis, (916) 985-4474, 
Bureau of Land Management, 63 Natoma Street, Folsom, CA 95630; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area for the Sierra RMP is the 
Folsom Field Office's area of management responsibility. The planning 
area encompasses portions of 15 California counties: Yuba, Sutter, 
Colusa, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, San 
Joaquin, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Sacramento, Stanislaus, and Merced. A 
total of 230,000 acres of public lands and 300,000 acres of subsurface 
mineral estate are administered by BLM. The decisions in the RMP will 
only apply to BLM lands and mineral estate in the planning area. The 
Sierra Proposed RMP and Final EIS have been developed through 
collaborative planning and consider four alternatives. Primary issues 
include: recreation, wild and scenic river recommendations, sensitive 
natural and cultural resources, livestock grazing, wildland fire risk 
and fuel reduction, energy and mineral development, land ownership 
adjustments, and motorized vehicle route designations. The Proposed RMP 
includes two wild and scenic river suitability recommendations: South 
Fork American River (8.8 miles--recreational) and North Fork and Main 
Mokelumne River (13.7 miles--wild, scenic, recreational). The Proposed 
RMP includes eight new Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs): 
Pine Hill Preserve (3,236 acres), Cosumnes River Preserve (2,035 
acres), Spivey Pond (54 acres), Deadman's Flat (796 acres), Dutch Flat/
Indiana Hill proposed Research Natural Area, which is a type of ACEC 
(320 acres), Bagby Serpentine

[[Page 31851]]

(5,775 acres) and North Fork Cosumnes (1,129 acres). Additionally, the 
Proposed RMP would expand three existing ACECs: Red Hills, Ione 
Manzanita, and Limestone Salamander ACECs. Use of public lands in these 
ACECs would vary depending on their individual resources and values but 
would include limitations on motorized use, mining, and other surface 
disturbing activities. Copies of the Sierra Proposed RMP and Final EIS 
have been sent to affected Federal, state, and local government 
agencies and to interested parties. Copies are available for public 
inspection on the internet at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/folsom/nepa2.2.html. The document is also available at some local libraries, 
BLM's Folsom Field Office (63 Natoma Street, Folsom, CA 95630) and upon 
request by emailing or calling BLM (see contact information, above). 
Comments on the Sierra Draft RMP/EIS received from the public and 
internal BLM review were incorporated into the proposed RMP. Public 
comments resulted in corrections, clarifying text, and the proposal to 
establish a 1,129 acre ACEC along the North Fork Cosumnes River. The 
public has 60 days from this notice to comment on this ACEC proposal. A 
final decision on the RMP will not be issued until after this 60 day 
comment period and until all protests are resolved.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed RMP and Final EIS are described in 43 CFR 
1610.5-2. A protest may only raise issues that were submitted for the 
record during the planning process. Emailed and faxed protests will not 
be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides 
the original letter by regular or overnight mail postmarked by the 
close of the protest period. Under these conditions, BLM will consider 
the emailed 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].
    Please direct the follow-up letter to the appropriate address 
provided below.
    The protest must contain:
    a. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the 
person filing the protest.
    b. A statement of the part(s) of the plan and the issue(s) being 
protested.
    c. A copy of all documents addressing the issue(s) that the 
protesting party submitted during the planning process or a statement 
of the date they were discussed for the record.
    d. A concise statement explaining why the protestor believes the 
State Director's decision is wrong.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following 
addresses:
    Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
    Overnight Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L 
Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    The Director will promptly render a decision on any protests. The 
decision will be in writing and will be sent to the protesting party by 
certified mail, return receipt requested. The decision of the Director 
is the final decision of the Department of the Interior.

    Dated: March 13, 2007.
William S. Haigh,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. E7-11140 Filed 6-7-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P