[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 202 (Friday, October 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61777-61778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24676]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 202 / Friday, October 17, 2008 / 
Notices  

[[Page 61777]]



ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION


Notice Seeking Public Input on Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation Formal Comments Regarding the Bureau of Land Management's 
Mohave Valley Shooting Range (AZA-31733) Proposed Resource Management 
Plan Amendment and Recreation and Public Purpose Act Disposal Near 
Bullhead City, AZ

AGENCY: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

ACTION: Notice Seeking Public Input on Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation Formal Comments Regarding the Bureau of Land Management's 
Mohave Valley Shooting Range (AZA-31733) Proposed Resource Management 
Plan Amendment and Recreation and Public Purpose Act Disposal Near 
Bullhead City, Arizona.

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SUMMARY: The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is soliciting 
public comment in preparation for issuing formal comments, under the 
National Historic Preservation Act, to the Bureau of Land Management 
regarding its intent to amend a land use management plan to allow for 
the disposal of the land under the authority of the Recreation and 
Public Purpose Act for the construction of a shooting range near 
Bullhead City, Arizona.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 28, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments to John L. Nau, III, Chairman, c/o 
Nancy Brown, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 1100 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 803, Washington, DC 20004. Comments may 
also be submitted by electronic mail to [email protected]. Please 
include ``BLM Mohave Valley Shooting Range'' in the subject line of the 
message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Brown, (202) 606-8582. E-mail: 
[email protected]. Further information may be found on the ACHP Web site: 
http://www.achp.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation (ACHP) is an independent federal agency, established by 
the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which promotes the 
preservation, enhancement, and productive use of our nation's historic 
resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic 
preservation policy. Among other things, the ACHP issues formal 
comments to federal agencies per Section 106 of the NHPA.
    Section 106 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to take into 
account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and 
afford the ACHP a reasonable opportunity to comment on such 
undertakings. The procedures in 36 CFR part 800 define how federal 
agencies meet these statutory responsibilities. When a federal agency 
is unable to reach an agreement to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the 
adverse effects of its undertaking, it must seek the formal comments 
from the ACHP per 36 CFR part 800.
    On September 18, 2008, the ACHP received a letter from the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) informing the ACHP that the BLM has terminated 
the consultation toward reaching such an agreement with regard to the 
undertaking described below, and has requested the formal comments of 
the ACHP. The ACHP by regulation has 45 days from receipt of a notice 
of termination to provide its comments to the director of the BLM and 
other consulting parties. This notice seeks public input on the ACHP 
formal comments that will be sent to the BLM.

Undertaking Summary

    The Bureau of Land Management has proposed to authorize the 
construction of a firearm shooting range (undertaking) on BLM-managed 
land near Bullhead City, Arizona. The shooting range, referred to as 
the Mohave Valley or Tri-State Shooting Range, has been proposed by the 
Arizona Department of Game and Fish (AZDGF) and would be constructed 
after BLM amends its land use plan to allow for the disposal and 
transfers ownership of the proposed land to AZDGF through a patent 
issued under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. The land use plan 
amendment, transfer of land, and construction of the shooting range is 
the undertaking that has been the subject of Section 106 review and 
will be the subject of the ACHP formal comments. Consultation on the 
undertaking has not resulted in an agreement on the resolution of the 
effects, and BLM has determined that further consultation would be 
unproductive. BLM has notified the ACHP that it is terminating 
consultation and requesting ACHP comment as provided in regulation 36 
CFR 800.7(a)(1). Following the 45-day comment period, the ACHP will 
provide its comments to the director of BLM by November 3, 2008.

Affected Historic Properties

    Boundary Cone Butte is a geologic promontory located in the western 
foothills of the Black Mountain Range, Mohave County, Arizona. Several 
Indian tribes attach religious and cultural significance to the butte 
as well as much of the surrounding landscape. In March 2006, the BLM 
determined and the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer (AZ 
SHPO) concurred that Boundary Cone Butte is eligible for inclusion on 
the National Register of Historic Places for its associative values 
(National Register Criteria A and B) as a property of traditional, 
religious, and cultural importance to several Indian tribes. The 
determination of eligibility was limited to Boundary Cone Butte and did 
not encompass any of the associated landscape of the Mohave Valley or 
other landscape features to which Indian tribes may also attach 
religious and cultural significance. BLM has found that this 
undertaking will have an adverse effect on Boundary Cone Butte. Effects 
to Boundary Cone Butte, which is located approximately two miles to the 
east, include visual, auditory, and other impacts, and there are direct 
impacts to the broader surrounding landscape to which Indian tribes 
attach cultural and religious significance.

History of Consultation

    In October 2002, AZDFG submitted a land use application under the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act requesting the transfer of land 
through patent for the purpose of constructing a shooting range. Soon 
after, BLM began

[[Page 61778]]

consultation through National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on the 
proposal to authorize the AZDGF to build the proposed Mohave Valley 
Shooting Range, which also required an amendment to the land use plan 
to allow for the disposal. After considering several other locations, 
BLM identified two alternatives, the Boundary Cone Road and Willow Road 
alternatives. Several years of consultation between the BLM, Indian 
tribes, and local community organizations within the NEPA process 
followed, including a formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 
process with the tribes and other parties that ended in 2005. The BLM 
determined that the undertaking had the potential to cause adverse 
effects to a property of cultural and religious significance to several 
Native American tribes. In March 2006, in consultation with the AZ 
SHPO, BLM formally determined the Boundary Cone Butte eligible for the 
NRHP and began consultation to resolve effects. The BLM also invited 
the AZ SHPO and the ACHP to formally consult on the undertaking in 
August 2006.
    In March 2007, BLM identified the Boundary Cone alternative as the 
only viable location for the proposed shooting range in part due to 
access issues with the Willow Road location. In April 2007, BLM held a 
field visit attended by representatives of the ACHP, SHPO, AZDGF, 
Hualapai Tribe, Fort Mojave Tribe, proponents, and others. Tribal 
representatives noted early in the process and again at the field visit 
the role of the Boundary Cone Butte, the sacred landscape of the 
broader Mojave Valley, and the adverse effects that would occur to 
these places if a shooting range were constructed at the Boundary Cone 
Road location. They asserted that mitigation measures cannot mitigate 
the damage to their places of religious and cultural significance that 
would occur as the result of constructing a shooting range at this 
location. On September 18, 2008, BLM notified the ACHP of its decision 
to terminate consultation and seek the formal comments from the ACHP on 
this undertaking.
    Again, the ACHP seeks public input on those formal comments that it 
will send to the BLM.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 470s.

    Dated: October 8, 2008.
John M. Fowler,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. E8-24676 Filed 10-16-08; 8:45 am]
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