[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57144-57145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22766]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[9000; CA-690-08-1020-EE]


Notice of Intent To Amend the California Desert Conservation Area 
Plan, California

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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[[Page 57145]]

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Needles Field Office 
intends to prepare an amendment to the California Desert Conservation 
Area (CDCA) Plan with an associated environmental assessment (EA). This 
notice initiates the public participation and scoping processes for the 
CDCA Plan amendment and environmental assessment.

DATES: Public comments will be accepted throughout the plan amendment 
and EA process, but to be most beneficial comments on issues and 
potential impacts should be submitted in writing to the address listed 
below within 30 days following the publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments and other correspondence regarding issues and 
planning criteria should be sent to the BLM, Needles Field Office, 
attention George R. Meckfessel, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, 
Needles Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 1303 South US Highway 
95, Needles, California 92363. Documents pertinent to this notice, 
including comments of respondents, will be available for public review 
at the Needles Field Office, California during regular business hours 
(7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to have 
your name added to the project mailing list, contact George R. 
Meckfessel, (760) 326-7008, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM, 
Needles Field Office intends to prepare an amendment to the CDCA Plan 
with an associated environmental assessment that would make all or a 
portion of the Valley Wells Allotment unavailable for grazing. The 
allotment consists of 223,000 acres and is located in northeastern San 
Bernardino County, California. The allotment includes portions of the 
North Mesquite Mountains Wilderness, Mesquite Wilderness, Kingston 
Range Wilderness, and the Hollow Hills Wilderness areas.
    The proposal to make a portion or all of the allotment unavailable 
for grazing livestock does not conform to the CDCA Plan and, therefore, 
requires the development of a plan amendment.
    Approximately half of the allotment is within a Desert Wildlife 
Management Area (DWMA), designated by the BLM through the Northern and 
Eastern Mojave Plan amendment (2002) to the CDCA Plan. Most, but not 
all, of the DWMA contains critical habitat for the threatened desert 
tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (USFWS). Making all or a portion of the allotment unavailable 
for grazing would complement and enhance implementation of the USFWS 
Desert Tortoise (Mojave Population) Recovery Plan (1994). Comparable 
desert tortoise habitat within the allotment is contained in, and 
outside, the DWMA.
    Additional benefits to non-listed species and habitats, such as the 
BLM sensitive Rusby's desert mallow (Sphaeralcea rusbyi ssp. eremicola) 
and the Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia), would also be 
realized by removal of cattle grazing from all or portions of the 
allotment.
    Preliminary issues identified include: air quality; areas of 
critical environmental concern; cultural resources; environmental 
justice; livestock grazing; Native American religious concerns; 
socioeconomics; soils, water quality; wetlands/riparian zones; 
wilderness; wildlife, including threatened or endangered species; and 
vegetation, including invasive species.
    Preliminary planning criteria include: 1. Developing the plan 
amendment in compliance with Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 
all other applicable laws, regulations, executive orders, and BLM 
supplemental program guidance; 2. developing an EA in the planning 
process that will comply with National Environmental Policy Act 
standards; 3. initiating government to government consultation, 
including tribal interests; 4. incorporating by reference the Standards 
for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management 
into the plan amendment/EA; 5. complying with Appendix C of BLM's 
Planning Handbook (H 1601-1) in making resource specific 
determinations; 6. assuring that the plan amendment is compatible, to 
the extent possible, with existing plans and policies of adjacent 
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies; and, 7. consider the extent 
to which the plan amendment achieves the recovery goals outlined in the 
Desert Tortoise (Mojave Population) Recovery Plan and the Northern and 
Eastern Mojave Plan amendment to the CDCA Plan.
    You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing 
to the BLM using one of the methods listed in the ``ADDRESSES'' section 
above. To be most helpful, you should submit comments within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. 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 BLM will place issues identified during scoping into one of 
three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the plan as to why an issue 
was placed in category two or three. The public is also encouraged to 
help identify any management questions and concerns that should be 
addressed in the plan amendment. The BLM will work collaboratively with 
interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best 
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan 
amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and 
concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following 
disciplines that will be involved in the planning process include but 
are not limited to rangeland management, wilderness, sensitive species 
(plants and animals,) cultural resources, and recreation.

    Dated: September 16, 2008.
Rodney Mouton,
Acting Field Manager.
 [FR Doc. E8-22766 Filed 9-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P