[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 35 (Thursday, February 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9585-9586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3251]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-100-07-1610-DP]


Supplement to Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Resource 
Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Pinedale Field Office To List Proposed Areas of Critical Environmental 
Concern and Specific Associated Resource Use Limitations for Public 
Lands in Sublette and Lincoln Counties, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: A notice of availability for the Draft Resource Management 
Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pinedale 
Field Office planning area in Sublette and Lincoln Counties, Wyoming 
was published in the Federal Register, volume 72, number 32, on 
February 16, 2007. This supplements that Notice with information on 
existing and potential Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) 
considered within the Draft RMP and EIS and also provides a 60-day 
comment period on the proposed ACECs as required by 43 CFR 1610.7-2.

DATES: The comment period will commence with the publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register and end 60 days after its publication.

ADDRESSES: Comments on ACECs and resource use limitations (found on 
pages 2-106-2-110 and 2-153-2-155) must be received within 60-days of 
the date of publication of this notice. Written comments must be 
submitted as follows:
    1. Comments may be provided via the Pinedale RMP Revision Web site 
at: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale. The Web site is designed to 
allow commenter to submit comments electronically by resource subject 
directly onto a comment form posted on the Web site. Comments may be 
uploaded in an electronic file to the above Web site. Whenever 
possible, please include reference to either the page or section in the 
Draft RMP/EIS to which the ACEC-related comment applies. To facilitate 
analysis of comments and information submitted, the BLM encourages 
commenters to submit comments in an electronic format though the Web 
site.
    2. Written comments may be mailed or delivered to the BLM at: 
Pinedale RMP EIS, BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W. Pine St., P.O. Box 
768, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941. All postal mail must be addressed to the 
post office box.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kellie Roadifer, Pinedale RMP Team 
Leader, BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W. Pine Street, Pinedale, 
Wyoming 82941; or by telephone at 307-367-5309.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft RMP/EIS addresses four 
alternatives and provides proposed management decisions and impact 
analysis of the alternatives. The number and acreages of ACECs that 
would be designated vary by alternative. The four alternatives include:
    1. Alternative 1 (No Action Alternative): Continues the existing 
management strategy;
    2. Alternative 2: Maximizes the production of resource commodities 
while providing an adequate level of environmental protection for 
wildlife habitat and other resource values;
    3. Alternative 3: Provides a high level of environmental protection 
for wildlife habitat and other resource values while allowing the 
production of resource commodities; and
    4. Alternative 4 (BLM Preferred Alternative): Optimizes the mix of 
resource outputs, including production of resource commodities and 
wildlife habitat, while providing an appropriate level of environmental 
protection for all resources.
    There are two ACECs in the existing Pinedale Field Office land use 
plan: Rock Creek ACEC (5,300 acres) and Beaver Creek ACEC (3,590 
acres). There are six potential new ACECs proposed in the Draft RMP/
EIS. The ACECs are:
     Trapper's Point ACEC (550 acres [Alternative 2], 4,000 
acres [Alternative 4], or 9,540 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of 
concern are big game migration corridors, cultural and historic 
properties, and livestock trailing. Within this ACEC, fence 
construction and surface disturbing activities would be prohibited with 
the exception of activities designed to increase big game migration 
viability. The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-
road vehicle use would be restricted to designated roads and trails and 
subject to a seasonal closure from November 15 through April 30 
annually.
     New Fork Potholes ACEC (1,800 acres [Alternatives 3 and 
4]): Values of concern are waterfowl, trumpeter swan, and riparian 
habitats. With the exception of those that would benefit wildlife 
habitat, surface disturbing activities would be prohibited. The ACEC 
would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-road vehicle use 
would be restricted to designated roads and trails.
     Upper Green River ACEC (12,270 acres [Alternative 3]): 
Values of concern are big game migration routes and migration 
bottlenecks, and high scenic and recreational values. The ACEC would be 
unavailable for oil and gas leasing. Off-road vehicle use would be 
restricted to designated roads and trails, and no net increase in miles 
of roads would be allowed.
     White-Tailed Prairie Dog (WTPD) ACEC (no acreage estimate 
available, [Alternative 3]): The WTPD ACEC would not have a specific 
area but would involve a number of townships where WTPD habitat is 
found in future surveys. The value of concern is habitat for the WTPD. 
Surveys for WTPD presence would be required prior to authorizing any 
activities. Anti-raptor perching devices would be required on any 
above-ground facilities located within \1/4\ mile of WTPD towns greater 
than 12.5 acres in size. Surface-disturbing activities would be 
prohibited in WTPD towns greater than 12.5 acres in size. Off-road 
vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails. Poisoning 
of WTPD would be prohibited except in cases of health and safety 
emergencies.
     Ross Butte ACEC (35,670 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of 
concern are significant cultural resources, archeological landscapes 
and Native American sacred sites, a unique community of Wyoming 
sensitive plant species, high-quality paleontological resources, open 
space and dispersed recreation opportunities, and unique geology and 
unstable soils. The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing 
and closed to the placement of new communication sites. Off-road 
vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails. Surface 
occupancy and disturbance would be prohibited on erosive soils, 
sensitive plant species habitats, and on slopes greater than 10 
percent.
     CCC Ponds ACEC (5,530 acres [Alternative 3]): Values of 
concern are a wildlife migration bottleneck on a well-defined mule deer 
migration route and recreational values including a developed, 
nonmotorized trail system, fishing ponds, and interpretive facilities. 
The ACEC would be unavailable for oil and gas leasing and would be 
closed to mineral location and land disposal. Off-highway vehicle use

[[Page 9586]]

would be limited to designated roads and trails.
    Alternative 1 proposes to maintain the status of the two existing 
ACECs identified in the 1988 Pinedale RMP. Alternative 2 proposes to 
eliminate the two existing ACECs, and establish a new ACEC at Trapper's 
Point (550 acres). Alternative 3 proposes to maintain the existing Rock 
Creek and Beaver Creek ACECs, and establish all of the new ACECs listed 
above (6).
    As a result of public scoping and the alternative development 
process, Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative) proposes to maintain the 
status of the existing Beaver Creek ACEC, maintain but reduce slightly 
in size the existing Rock Creek ACEC, and establish two new ACECs at 
Trapper's Point (4,000 acres) and New Fork Potholes.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of respondents 
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address 
during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through 
Friday, except holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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. Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS were sent to affected 
Federal, State, and local government agencies and interested parties 
when the document first became available. Additional copies have been 
supplied to interested parties on request. There are a limited number 
of hard copies available upon request. The document was posted 
electronically, and is still available for public review on the 
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale/. Copies of the 
Draft RMP EIS are also available for public review at the following 
locations:

 Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
 Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 1625 W. Pine 
Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941.

Robert A. Bennett,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-3251 Filed 2-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P