[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52687-52688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21560]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLIDT02000.L12200000.MA0000.241A.00]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP)
Amendment and Associated Environmental Assessment for the Castle Rocks
and Cedar Fields Areas, Burley Field Office, ID
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Burley Field
Office, Burley, Idaho intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan
(RMP) amendment with an associated Environmental Assessment (EA) for
the Cassia and Monument RMPs to consider closing BLM-managed lands to
certain activities to protect cultural and historic properties, and by
this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to
solicit public comments and identify issues.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMP
[[Page 52688]]
amendment with an associated EA. Comments on issues may be submitted in
writing until September 22, 2011. The date(s) and location(s) of any
scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through
local media, newspapers and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/info/nepa.html. In order to be included in the EA, all comments
must be received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 30
days after the last public meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to Castle Rocks and Cedar Fields Land Use Plan Amendment by any
of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/info/nepa.html
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 208-677-6699
Mail: 15 East 200 South, Burley, Idaho 83318
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Burley
Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Dennis Thompson, Outdoor
Recreation Planner, for further information and/or to have your name
added to the Burley BLM's mailing list, at telephone 208-677-6664;
address 15 East 200 South, Burley, Idaho 83318; or e-mail [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Field Office, Burley Idaho, intends to prepare an RMP Amendment with an
associated EA for the Cassia and Monument RMPs, announces the beginning
of the the scoping process, and is seeking public input on issues and
planning criteria. The planning area is located in Cassia and Power
Counties, Idaho and encompasses approximately 1,556 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. The
BLM has identified the following preliminary issues: the potential for
damage to cultural resources within the American Falls Archeological
District at Cedar Fields from rock climbing and other recreational
activities; potential adverse affects on Historic Properties at Castle
Rocks from rock climbing and other recreational activities; and the
impact that closures to certain activities would have on recreational
climbing in the area.
At Cedar Fields, ongoing climbing activities have the potential to
damage cultural resources located within an Archeological District. In
2010, the BLM prepared an EA to address similar concerns at Castle
Rocks. The proposed action within the Castle Rocks EA would have
allowed limited climbing and trail construction. However, due to
potential adverse cumulative effects of rock climbing activities on
Historic Properties (as defined in 36 CFR 800.5(a)(1) and
800.16(l)(1)), a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) could not be
reached for the Castle Rocks EA (EA ID-220-2009-EA-3768). The EA was
finalized on March 29, 2010, sent out to interested members of the
public, and posted to the BLM Idaho Web site. Subsequently, a temporary
closure notice was published in the Federal Register in November 2010,
which closed BLM-managed lands in the Castle Rocks Inter-Agency
Recreation Area to climbing, staging, camping, and construction of new
trails. This closure will remain in effect until November 16, 2012.
The RMP Amendment and associated EA will consider the permanent
designation of no climbing, no staging, no camping, and no construction
of new trails on BLM-managed lands at Castle Rocks Inter-Agency
Recreation Area and at Cedar Fields. If a closure is necessary to
protect Historic Properties at Castle Rocks and cultural resources in
the Archeological District at Cedar Fields, the BLM will make a
decision about whether to amend the Cassia and Monument RMPs and will
address allowable uses of resources, and intensity and limits of use.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria for the
Plan Amendments in writing 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
by the close of the 30-day scoping period or within 30 days after the
last public meeting, whichever is later. 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.
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
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, wildlife, and soils.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2
Michael Courtney,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 2011-21560 Filed 8-22-11; 8:45 am]
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