[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 139 (Friday, July 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 41374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16359]



[[Page 41374]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-110-1610-029J]


Notice of Availability of the Kanab Field Office Proposed 
Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(PRMP/FEIS)

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 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 Kanab 
Field Office.

DATES: The BLM planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) state that any 
person who meets the conditions as described in the regulations may 
protest the BLM's PRMP/FEIS. A person who meets the conditions and 
files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date that 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Kanab Field Office PRMP/FEIS were sent to 
affected Federal, state, and local government agencies and to 
interested parties. Copies of the PRMP/FEIS are available for public 
inspection at:

Kanab Field Office, 318 East 100 North, Kanab, UT 84741
Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84145

    Interested persons may also review the PRMP/FEIS on the Internet at 
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/kanab/planning.html. All protests must 
be in writing and mailed to the following addresses:

Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 
P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 
1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Keith Rigtrup, Kanab Field Office, 
318 East 100 North, Kanab, UT 84741; phone: (435) 644-4600; or e-mail 
at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Kanab RMP planning area is located in 
south-central Utah. The BLM administers approximately 0.6 million acres 
of surface estate and 0.7 million acres of Federal mineral estate 
within the planning area.
    The Kanab RMP will provide future broad-scale management direction 
for land use allocations and allowable uses on public lands within the 
planning area. Implementation of the decisions of the PRMP/FEIS would 
apply only to BLM-administered public lands and Federal mineral estate. 
In the Kanab Field Office Draft RMP/EIS (DRMP/DEIS), which was released 
for a 90-day public review and comment period in October 2007, four 
alternatives were analyzed, including a No Action alternative. These 
alternatives were developed through issue identification during the 
scoping process. Such issues included: non-WSA lands with wilderness 
characteristics, recreation, transportation, minerals and energy 
resources, ACECs, and WSAs.
    The PRMP/FEIS would designate no new Areas of Critical 
Environmental Concern (ACECs), and the continuation of one existing 
ACEC, totaling 3,800 acres. Resource use limitations that apply to the 
proposed ACECs include a range of different prescriptions as described 
in Table 1 below.

                         Table 1.--Evaluation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Area name                       Values of concern         Resource use limitations      Acres
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Cottonwood Canyon.......................  Scenic, Cultural, Hazard/     VRM Class II......        3,800
                                            Safety/Public Welfare.       OHV limited to
                                                                         designated routes..
                                                                         Open to oil and
                                                                         gas leasing subject to No
                                                                         Surface Occupancy..
                                                                         Closed to mineral
                                                                         material.
                                                                         Recommend
                                                                         withdrawal from mineral
                                                                         entry.
                                                                         Close the Water
                                                                         Canyon allotment (48 AUMs)
                                                                         to livestock grazing for
                                                                         the life of the plan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Comments on Kanab Field Office the DRMP/DEIS received from the 
public and internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as 
appropriate into the PRMP/FEIS. Public comments resulted in the 
addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed 
land use plan decisions.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the PRMP/FEIS may be found in the Dear Reader Letter of the 
PRMP/FEIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. 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 appropriate address, as 
set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
    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.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5-1.

    Dated: June 5, 2008.
Selma Sierra,
Utah State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-16359 Filed 7-17-08; 8:45 am]
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