[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11154-11155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4039]



[[Page 11154]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLAKF02000.16100000.MR0000.L.X.S.S.094L0000]


Notice of Availability for the Eastern Interior Draft Resource 
Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance 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) has prepared a 
Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Eastern Interior Planning Area (Alaska), and by this 
notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS by July 23, 2012. The BLM will 
announce future meetings or hearings and any other public participation 
activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media 
releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Eastern Interior 
Draft RMP/EIS by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/planning.html.
     Fax: 907-474-2282.
     Mail: Eastern Interior Field Office, Attention--Eastern 
Interior Draft RMP/EIS, Bureau of Land Management, 1150 University 
Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.

Copies of the Eastern Interior Draft RMP/EIS are available at the 
Fairbanks District Office at the above address; at the Alaska State 
Office, Public Information Center, Bureau of Land Management, 222 West 
7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99513; and on the following Web site: 
http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/planning.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeanie Cole, telephone 907-474-2340 or 
email [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: The Eastern Interior Draft RMP/EIS covers 
approximately 6.7 million acres of BLM-administered lands in interior 
Alaska and is divided into four geographic areas: The Fortymile, 
Steese, Upper Black River, and White Mountains subunits. The planning 
area encompasses four areas managed under the BLM's National Landscape 
Conservation System (NLCS): The Birch Creek, Beaver Creek, and 
Fortymile National Wild and Scenic Rivers; and the Steese National 
Conservation Area. In addition to these NLCS areas, the planning area 
includes the White Mountains National Recreation Area. These five areas 
were designated and are covered by special provisions in the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, as amended (ANILCA).
    The following BLM plans currently guide management decisions for 
4.2 million acres in the planning area: Fortymile Management Framework 
Plan (1980), Fortymile River Management Plan (1983), Birch Creek River 
Management Plan (1983), Beaver Creek River Management Plan (1983), 
Record of Decision and RMP for the Steese National Conservation Area 
(1986), and Record of Decision and RMP for the White Mountains National 
Recreation Area (1986). The remaining 2.5 million acres are not covered 
by any land use plans.
    The BLM published a Notice of Intent to prepare an RMP/EIS in the 
Federal Register on February 29, 2008 (73 FR 11140), beginning a 120-
day scoping and public comment period. The following issues were 
identified during scoping: Climate change, fisheries, minerals, 
recreation, rights-of-way, subsistence, travel management, water 
quality, lands with wilderness characteristics, and wildlife.
    The Draft RMP/EIS presents four alternatives, including the No 
Action Alternative. The BLM's preferred alternative (Alternative C) 
proposes a balanced level of protection, use, and enhancement of 
resources and services, and represents the mix and variety of actions 
that the BLM believes best resolves the issues and management concerns 
in consideration of all resource values and programs.
    Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7-2, areas with potential for designation 
as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and protective 
management are considered during the planning process. Four potential 
ACECs are considered for designation in Draft RMP/EIS. Boundaries, 
size, and management direction within potential ACECs vary by 
Alternative. Table 1 lists the three ACECs considered for designation 
in the Agency Preferred Alternative (Alternative C). The White 
Mountains ACEC is not considered for designation in Alternative C, but 
is considered for designation in one other alternative. All 
alternatives will retain the four existing Research Natural Areas.
    The following table includes the names and acreages of each 
proposed ACEC and provides summary descriptions of resource use 
limitations for Alternative C.

   Table 1--Proposed New ACECs Under the Agency Preferred Alternative,
                              Alternative C
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         Proposed ACEC name                Acres          Limitations
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Fortymile ACEC......................         547,000  Limited Off-
                                                       Highway Vehicle
                                                       (OHV)
                                                       designation;
                                                       seasonal
                                                       limitation on
                                                       uses within one
                                                       mile of ungulate
                                                       mineral licks;
                                                       360,000 acres of
                                                       core caribou
                                                       habitat closed to
                                                       locatable mineral
                                                       entry and mineral
                                                       leasing.
Steese ACEC.........................         460,000  Limited OHV
                                                       designation;
                                                       winter motorized
                                                       use in Dall sheep
                                                       habitat may be
                                                       restricted if
                                                       monitoring
                                                       indicates sheep
                                                       displacement;
                                                       development of
                                                       trails and
                                                       recreational
                                                       facilities must
                                                       be compatible
                                                       with caribou and
                                                       Dall sheep
                                                       habitat; seasonal
                                                       limitation on
                                                       uses within one
                                                       mile of ungulate
                                                       mineral licks;
                                                       closed to
                                                       locatable mineral
                                                       entry and mineral
                                                       leasing.
Salmon Fork ACEC....................         621,000  Limited OHV
                                                       designation;
                                                       closed to mineral
                                                       leasing.
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    Pursuant to section 810 of ANILCA, the BLM evaluated the effects of 
the alternatives presented in this Draft RMP/EIS on subsistence 
activities and determined that some decisions in the Draft RMP/EIS may 
significantly restrict subsistence uses. The BLM will hold public 
hearings related to Section 810 of ANILCA, in conjunction with public

[[Page 11155]]

meetings on the Draft RMP/EIS, in potentially affected regions. The BLM 
will announce notice of specific dates and locations for ANILCA 
hearings at least 15 days in advance, through public notices, media 
releases, and/or mailings.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who 
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    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.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 1506.10, and 43 CFR 1610.2

Bud Cribley,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-4039 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
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