[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 122 (Monday, June 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37886-37887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15349]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Public Meetings for the Barry M. Goldwater Range, 
Arizona

AGENCY: United States Air Force and United States Marine Corps.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is being issued pursuant to Section 3031(b)(5)(B) 
of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act (MLWA) of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-65, 
Title XXX) regarding opportunities for public review and comment on a 
Public Report that is being prepared in association with an update of 
the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) for the Barry 
M. Goldwater Range (BMGR), Arizona.
    The process to update the 2007 BMGR INRMP is being initiated by the 
U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps. The Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a) 
provides that INRMPs must be reviewed as to their operation and effect 
not less often than every five years. The BMGR INRMP will

[[Page 37887]]

be updated in accordance with this Sikes Act provision and will be 
prepared in coordination with the Director of the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service and the Director of Arizona Game and Fish Department. 
In accordance with the MLWA and in support of the INRMP update, the 
U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps are also preparing a Public Report 
to summarize current military use of the BMGR, changes in military use 
of the lands since the 2007 INRMP was implemented, and efforts related 
to the management of natural and cultural resources and environmental 
remediation of the lands during the previous five years.
    Two public meetings are scheduled to familiarize the public with 
progress made in the management of natural resources since completion 
of the 2007 INRMP, to seek review and input on the Public Report to 
guide development of the INRMP update, and to share information about 
projects planned to support natural resource management during the next 
five years. The meeting scheduled for 17 July 2012 in Yuma, Arizona 
will focus on BMGR West and a second meeting focused on BMGR East is 
scheduled for 18 July 2012 in Gila Bend, Arizona. Public meetings will 
be announced in the following Arizona newspapers: Yuma Sun, West Valley 
View (Glendale), the Gila Bend Sun, Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), and 
the Ajo Copper News. Federal, state, and local agencies; Native 
American tribes; and interested individuals are encouraged to take 
these opportunities to participate in the INRMP update process.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Public meetings are scheduled for 17 and 18 July, 
2012 for BMGR West and BMGR East, respectively. Both meetings will be 
an open house format with presentation boards and project team members 
available to answer questions.

17 July 2012, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Yuma County Main Library, Conference 
Room, 2951 S. 21st Drive, Yuma, Arizona,
18 July 2012, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Gila Bend Resource Center, Training Room, 
303 E. Pima St., Gila Bend, Arizona.

    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments related to the 
updating of the BMGR INRMP to: Beth Defend, URS Corporation, 7720 N. 
16th Street, Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ 85020, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: BMGR East, Daniel Garcia, Luke Air 
Force Base, (623) 856-4265 or [email protected] BMGR West, Ron 
Pearce, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, (928) 269-3401 or 
[email protected]. The Public Report can be accessed from the 
following Web sites: http://www.luke.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5028 http://www.yuma.usmc.mil/range/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BMGR was established in 1941 and 
continues to be used by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps, and 
other Department of Defense components, primarily to train military 
aircrews to fly air combat missions. Encompassing more than 1.7 million 
acres of land in southwest Arizona, the BMGR is also nationally 
significant as a critical component in the largest remaining tract of 
relatively unfragmented and undisturbed Sonoran Desert in the United 
States.
    In October 1999, Congress reconfirmed the nation's continuing need 
for the BMGR by passing the MLWA. This Act extended authorization for 
the BMGR as a military reservation for 25 years until 2024 and provided 
that the Secretaries of the Air Force, Navy, and Interior were to 
jointly prepare an INRMP for the range. As prescribed by the MLWA, the 
INRMP must include provisions for the proper management and protection 
of the natural and cultural resources of the BMGR, and for sustainable 
use by the public of such resources to the extent consistent with the 
military purposes of the range.
    The MLWA assigned natural and cultural resource management 
authority for the BMGR to the Secretaries of the Air Force and the Navy 
for the east and west range lands, respectively. Thereafter, an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared--in coordination with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (led by the Cabeza Prieta National 
Wildlife Refuge), Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM)--to evaluate alternative methods to manage the natural 
resources and, where applicable, public use of the BMGR. The management 
decisions made based on the EIS and Record of Decision were used to 
develop the INRMP that was finalized in March 2007.
    The MLWA also provided that the INRMP be prepared and implemented 
in accordance with the Sikes Act. The Sikes Act sets forth the Nation's 
resource management policies and guidance for U.S. military 
installations and requires the preparation of INRMPs for all 
installations with significant natural resources. The Sikes Act 
provides that the Secretary of Defense shall carry out a program to 
provide for the conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources 
that is consistent with the use of military installations to ensure the 
preparedness of the Armed Forces. The INRMP programs are to provide for 
(a) the conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources on 
military installations; (b) the sustainable multipurpose use of the 
resources, which shall include hunting, fishing, trapping and non-
consumptive uses; and (c) public access to facilitate use, subject to 
safety requirements and military security.
    The MLWA also mandates preparation of the aforementioned Public 
Report concurrent with each INRMP review cycle. The Public Report 
includes a summary of current military use of the lands, any changes in 
military use of the lands since the previous report, and efforts 
related to the management of natural and cultural resources and 
environmental remediation of the lands during the previous five years. 
Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment on 
the report. Public meetings are planned to facilitate that review and 
provide a forum for public input. The Public Report is available for 
review on the following Web sites: http://www.luke.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5028 and http://www.yuma.usmc.mil/range/.

Henry Williams Jr.,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-15349 Filed 6-22-12; 8:45 am]
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