[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 70 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19527-19528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7587]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-012-08-1220-DA-WSDL]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Amendment to the East Alaska 
Resource Management Plan (EARMP) for the Delta River Special Recreation 
Management Area (SRMA)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management; Glennallen Field Office.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Glennallen Field Office, 
Alaska, intends to prepare a land use plan amendment for the East 
Alaska Resource Management Plan (EARMP). This amendment will address 
recreation management decisions in the Delta River Special Recreation 
Management Area (SRMA), as defined in the EARMP. The Delta River SRMA 
includes all portions of the Delta National Wild and Scenic River 
corridor managed by the BLM. This planning activity encompasses 
approximately 45,000 acres of unencumbered BLM-administered public 
lands. The plan amendment will fulfill the needs and obligations set 
forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and 
BLM management policies. The BLM will work collaboratively with 
interested parties to identify the management decisions best suited to 
local, regional, and national needs and concerns. The public scoping 
process will identify planning issues and develop planning criteria.

DATES: A 30-day public comment period will be announced through local 
news media outlets, mailings to interested individuals, and on the BLM-
Alaska Web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/fo/gdo.html. Comments 
may be submitted in writing to the address listed below. Associated 
planning documents can be viewed on the BLM-Alaska Web site, or they 
can be requested in a paper or electronic copy format by contacting the 
Glennallen Field Office at the address and phone number listed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: Delta River Special 
Recreation Management Area Planning, Bureau of Land Management, 
Glennallen Field Office, P.O. Box 147, Glennallen, AK 99588; phone 907-
822-3217, Fax 907-822-3120. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name and/or address from 
public review or disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you 
must state this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. 
The BLM will honor such requests 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 available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Heath Emmons, phone 907-
822-3217 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 7, 2007, the BLM published a 
Record of Decision (ROD) for the East Alaska Resource Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement. Among other decisions, this document 
created the Delta River SRMA, which encompasses all BLM-managed 
portions of the Delta National Wild and Scenic River corridor. 
Subsequent to the development of the EARMP, the BLM developed new 
recreation planning requirements (see BLM Manual H-1601-1 Land Use 
Planning Handbook) that were not included in the EARMP. The new 
planning policy requires recreation-related land use allocations and 
development of recreation management zones (RMZ). Although the EARMP 
did identify RMZs within the Delta River SRMA, some boundaries require 
minor changes. For public lands within the Delta River SRMA, the 
proposed land use plan amendment will:
     Identify the corresponding recreation niche within each 
RMZ to be served,
     develop explicit recreation management objectives for the 
specific recreation opportunities to be produced and the outcomes to be 
attained (activities, experiences and benefits),
     prescribe recreation-setting character conditions required 
to produce recreation opportunities and facilitate the attainment of 
both recreation experiences and beneficial outcomes, as targeted above, 
and
     briefly describe an activity planning framework that 
addresses recreation management, marketing, monitoring, and 
administrative support actions (e.g., visitor services, permits and 
fees, recreation concessions, and appropriate use restrictions) 
necessary to achieve explicitly stated recreation management objectives 
and setting prescriptions.
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM personnel, other agencies, and in focus group meetings with 
stakeholder groups. The major issue themes that will be addressed in 
the planning effort include: managing human uses and activities to 
preserve prescribed recreation-setting character conditions, protecting 
and conserving lands having special or unique features and resource 
values, and managing and conserving natural resources of the Delta 
River. The public is encouraged to help identify other questions, 
concerns, and issues during the scoping phase. An interdisciplinary 
team of specialists with expertise in outdoor recreation, minerals and 
geology, forestry, archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, 
lands and realty, hydrology, soils, vegetation, sociology and economics 
will develop the plan with full consideration of the variety of 
resource issues and concerns identified. The BLM has identified the 
following preliminary planning criteria to guide the planning process:
    1. The plan amendment will be consistent with the standards and 
guidance set forth in the FLPMA, the NEPA, the Council on Environmental 
Quality, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), and other Federal laws, regulations, 
and policies as required;
    2. the plan amendment will conform to Section 810 of ANILCA, 
Subsistence and Land Use Decisions;
    3. the plan amendment will recognize the existence of valid 
existing rights;
    4. the lands covered in the plan amendment will be public lands 
managed by the BLM and decisions will be made only on lands managed by 
the BLM;
    5. the BLM will work cooperatively with the State and Federal 
agencies, Native corporations, Tribes, and Municipal governments. 
Agencies (including federally recognized tribal governments) with 
jurisdiction by law or special expertise will be consulted during the 
planning process;
    6. public participation by interested groups and individuals will 
be encouraged throughout the planning process;

[[Page 19528]]

    7. wildlife habitat management will be consistent with Alaska 
Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) objectives and/or the Federal 
Subsistence Board requirements and mandates;
    8. off-highway vehicles designations for all public lands within 
the planning area will be completed according to the regulations found 
in 43 CFR part 8342;
    9. the BLM will make all possible attempts to ensure that its 
management prescriptions and planning actions complement other planning 
jurisdictions, within the boundaries described by law and policy;
    10. the BLM will, to the extent possible, use current scientific 
information, research, new technologies and the results of resource 
assessments, monitoring and coordination to determine appropriate 
management strategies that will enhance resource values;
    11. implementation plans prepared by the BLM will conform to the 
Bureau's H-1601-1 Land Use Planning Handbook, Appendix C, Program-
Specific and Resource-Specific Decision Guidance and supplemental 
program guidance manual for Recreation and Visitor Services; and
    12. the plan amendment will supersede only sections of the existing 
EARMP that relate to the Delta River SRMA. Additional planning criteria 
may be identified during the comment period.

    Dated: April 3, 2008.
Vincent Galterio,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-7587 Filed 4-9-08; 8:45 am]
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