[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 240 (Friday, December 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75764-75765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29443]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNML00000 L16100000.DP0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Amendment to the Mimbres Resource 
Management Plan (RMPA), and Associated Environmental Assessment (EA), 
Las Cruces District Office, New Mexico

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The BLM Las Cruces District Office, New Mexico, intends to 
prepare an RMPA with an associated EA to analyze the possible disposal 
by either exchange or sale, of BLM-administered public lands in Grant 
County in southwestern New Mexico.

DATES: This Notice initiates the 30-day public scoping period to 
identify relevant issues. The scoping period will also be announced 
through local news media and on the BLM Web site (http://www.blm.gov/nm). The BLM will accept scoping comments for 30 days from the date of 
the publication of this Notice.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 575-525-4412, Attention: Jennifer Montoya.
     Mail or personal delivery: District Manager, BLM Las 
Cruces District Office, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Las 
Cruces District Office at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Montoya, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator, at the Las Cruces District Office; Telephone 
575-525-4316; or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
Las Cruces District Office, Las Cruces, New Mexico, intends to prepare 
an RMPA with an associated EA for the Mimbres Planning Area and 
announces the beginning of the scoping process and seeks public input 
on issues and planning criteria.
    The BLM is currently considering disposal of public lands in Grant 
County, New Mexico, and the exact acreage and legal descriptions will 
be determined by a Cadastral survey. The public lands proposed for 
disposal are currently identified for retention in Federal ownership in 
the 1993 Mimbres RMP. Therefore, the RMP must be amended to identify 
the public lands as suitable for exchange and/or sale. These public 
lands are a portion of and within the following areas:

New Mexico Principal Meridian

T. 17 S., R. 12 W.,
    Secs. 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 24 and 31.
T. 17 S., R. 11 W.,
    Secs. 19 and 20.
T. 19 S., R. 15 W.,
    Secs. 8, 16, 17, 21, 27 and 28.

    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the planning process. Preliminary 
issues for the planning area have been identified by the BLM personnel, 
other agencies, and in meetings with individuals and user groups. These 
issues are:
    1. Should public lands adjacent to the Gila National Forest be 
identified for disposal? If so, which public lands?
    2. What potential impacts would this proposed action have on the 
Gila National Forest?
    3. What effects would this proposed action have on mining in the 
area?
    Proposed planning criteria include the following:
    1. The RMPA/EA process will be in compliance with the Federal Land

[[Page 75765]]

Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and 
applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
    2. The land use plan amendment process will be governed by the 
planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610 and the BLM Land Use Planning 
Handbook H-1601-1.
    3. Lands affected by the proposed plan amendment only apply to 
public surface and mineral estate managed by the BLM. No decisions will 
be made relative to non-BLM-administered lands or non-Federal minerals.
    4. Public participation will be an integral part of the planning 
process.
    5. The plan amendment will recognize all valid existing rights.
    6. The RMPA/EA will strive to be consistent with existing non-
Federal plans and policies, provided the decisions in the existing 
plans are consistent with the purposes, policies, and programs of the 
BLM and other Federal laws. The RMPA will consider present and 
potential uses of public lands.
    7. The RMPA will consider impacts of uses on adjacent or nearby 
non-Federal lands and on non-Federal land surface over Federally-owned 
minerals.
    The public may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in 
writing directly to the BLM using one of the methods listed in the 
ADDRESSES section above. Comments should be submitted within 30 days 
from the date of the publication of this Notice. Before including your 
address, phone number, e-mail 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. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety.
    The BLM will evaluate identified issues to be addressed in the plan 
amendment and will place them 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 amendment 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 will be 
involved in the planning process: minerals and geology, outdoor 
recreation, archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands 
and realty, hydrology, soils, water and air.

Linda S.C. Rundell,
State Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-29443 Filed 12-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VC-P