[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 103 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30054-30055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12838]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWY930000 L16100000.DS0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Resource Management Plan Amendments for the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, 
Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins Field Offices, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming 
State Office intends to prepare Resource Management Plan (RMP) 
amendments with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins 
Resource Management Plans (RMPs) and by this

[[Page 30055]]

notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit 
public comments and identify issues. The RMP amendments will revise 
sage-grouse and sagebrush management direction in the existing Casper, 
Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins RMPs to 
incorporate policies set forth in BLM Wyoming Instruction Memoranda 
(IM) 2010-012 and 2010-013. The IMs may be accessed at the following 
Web address: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/wildlife.html.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMP 
amendments with associated EIS. Comments on issues may be submitted in 
writing until June 28, 2010. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local 
media and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/amendments/sage-grouse.html. In order to be included in the 
Draft RMP amendments, all comments must be received prior to the close 
of the scoping period or 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later. We will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation upon publication of the Draft RMP amendments.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and 
Rawlins RMP amendments by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/amendments/sage-grouse.html;
     E-mail: [email protected];
     Fax: (307) 352-0329; and
     Mail: BLM Wyoming State Office (WY 930), 5353 Yellowstone 
Rd., Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.

Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Casper, 
Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Newcastle, and Rawlins field offices.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Bill Hill, Deputy State 
Director, Resources Policy and Management; at (307) 775-6113; 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
Wyoming State Office intends to prepare RMP amendments with an 
associated EIS for the Casper, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rock Springs, 
Newcastle, and Rawlins RMPs, announces the beginning of the scoping 
process, and seeks public input on issues and planning criteria. The 
planning area is located in Converse, Goshen, Natrona, and Platte 
counties (Casper Field Office); Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta counties 
(Kemmerer Field Office); Sublette, Lincoln, and Fremont counties 
(Pinedale Field Office); Albany, Carbon, Laramie, and Sweetwater 
counties (Rawlins Field Office); Sweetwater, Sublette and Fremont 
counties (Rock Springs Field Office); and Niobrara, Weston and Crook 
counties (Newcastle Field Office) in Wyoming. The planning area 
encompasses approximately 15 million acres of public land. 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 BLM personnel; Federal, 
state, and local agencies; and other stakeholders. The issues include: 
Sagebrush habitat management practices directly applicable to 
protection of the sage grouse, sagebrush habitat management science 
directly applicable to protection of the sage grouse, and the effects 
of sagebrush habitat management on other public land resources. 
Preliminary planning criteria include: Incorporation of sage-grouse 
policies in Wyoming IMs 2010-012 and 2010-013; incorporation of the 
policies established by the Wyoming Governor's Executive Order on sage-
grouse (Wyoming EO 2008-2), as appropriate; and consideration of and 
consistency with the BLM National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation 
Strategy (November 2004). The RMP amendment process will comply with 
NEPA, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and other 
applicable laws and policies. You may submit comments on issues and 
planning criteria in writing or orally to the BLM at any public scoping 
meeting, or you may submit them 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 last public meeting. 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 may 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 minutes 
and list of attendees for each scoping meeting will be available to the 
public and open for 30 days after the meeting to any participant who 
wishes to clarify the views he or she expressed. The BLM will evaluate 
identified issues to be addressed in the plan amendments, and will 
place them into one of three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the amendments;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of these amendments.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the Draft RMP amendments/EIS 
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 amendments. 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 amendments 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: Rangeland 
management, minerals and geology, outdoor recreation, archaeology, 
paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, 
soils, sociology, and economics.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2.

Donald A. Simpson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-12838 Filed 5-27-10; 8:45 am]
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