[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 71 (Friday, April 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19871-19872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7622]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ-320-1610-DQ-091A]


Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan and 
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Yuma Field Office

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management 
Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS) for the Yuma 
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 that may 
be adversely affected, may protest the BLM's Proposed RMP. The protest 
must be filed within 30 days of the date that the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes its notice of availability in the Federal 
Register. Instructions for filing of protests are described in the Dear 
Reader letter of the Yuma Field Office PRMP/FEIS and included in the 
Supplementary Information section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Yuma Field Office PRMP/FEIS have been sent to 
affected Federal, state, and local government agencies and to 
interested parties. Copies of the proposed Plan/Final EIS are available 
for public inspection at Yuma Field Office, 2555 Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, 
Arizona 85365. Interested persons may also review the proposed plan/
Final EIS on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/az/LUP/yuma/yuma_plan.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Daniels, Bureau of Land 
Management, 2555 Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, Arizona 85365 or 928-317-3200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area encompasses more than 1.3 
million acres of BLM-administered lands. The PRMP/FEIS includes 
strategies for protecting and preserving the biological, cultural, 
recreational, geological, educational, scientific, and scenic values 
that balance multiple uses of the BLM-administered lands throughout the 
Yuma Field Office planning area. Four primary issues were raised and 
addressed through this planning process: (1) Determining appropriate 
management of transportation and public access regarding off-highway 
use, proliferation of routes, and vehicle restrictions and/or 
limitations, (2) determining appropriate provisions for recreational 
demand and use that are compatible with natural, biological, and 
cultural resources on BLM-administered lands, (3) the need to manage 
and protect fish and wildlife habitat including threatened and 
endangered species including the southwestern willow flycatcher, Yuma 
clapper rail, razor back sucker, Mojave desert tortoise, and Sonoran 
pronghorn and (4) the management of BLM-administered public lands with 
wilderness characteristics.
    The Proposed Plan attempts to accomplish the above through 
coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona State Land 
Department, Arizona Game and Fish Department, California Department of 
Fish and Game, the BLM, and other land-managing agencies within the 
boundaries of the planning areas. The range of alternatives in this 
PRMP/FEIS evaluates planning decisions brought forward from current BLM 
planning documents; the Yuma District Resource Management Plan (1987), 
the Lower Gila South Resource Management Plan (1988), and the Lower 
Gila North Management Framework Plan (1983).
    The Proposed Plan identifies two existing Areas of Critical 
Environmental Concern (ACECs): Big Marias ACEC (4,500 acres) and Gila 
River Cultural ACEC (3,700 acres). The Proposed Plan identifies one 
potential ACEC: Dripping Springs ACEC (11,700 acres). The Proposed Plan 
also identifies the expansion of the Gila River Cultural ACEC (28,500 
acres), which would officially be renamed the Sears Point Cultural 
ACEC.
    The following types of resource use limitations would generally 
apply to these ACECs: (1) Allowable uses would be limited to those 
which are compatible with the natural or cultural resources for which 
the area is designated, (2) recreation facilities would be limited to 
projects that protect ACEC values; (3) travel would be permitted only 
on designated open and signed routes. For detailed information see 
Chapter 2 of the Proposed Plan, Description of Alternatives, Special 
Designations Management.
    Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS received from the public and 
internal BLM review were incorporated into the Proposed Plan. Public 
comments resulted in eliminating Backcountry Byways, eliminating new 
OHV open areas and the addition of clarifying text, but did not 
significantly change proposed land use decisions.
    As noted above, instructions for filing a protest with the Director 
of the BLM regarding the Proposed Plan/Final EIS may be found at 43 CFR 
1610.5. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid 
protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter 
by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the 
protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-
mail or faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide the 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].
    All protests, including the follow-up letter (if e-mailing or 
faxing) must be in writing and mailed to the following address: 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 phone number, e-mail address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.


[[Page 19872]]


    Dated: December 11, 2007.
Helen M. Hankins,
Arizona Associate State Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-7622 Filed 4-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P