[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39009-39010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15512]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLIDT03100.L17110000.DO0000.241A.00]


Notice of Intent To Amend the Management Plan for the Craters of 
the Moon National Monument and Preserve and To Prepare an Associated 
Environmental Impact Statement, 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 (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Shoshone Field Office, Shoshone, Idaho, intends to prepare a Land Use 
Plan amendment (Plan amendment) with an associated Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Craters of the Moon National Monument and 
Preserve (Craters of the Moon). This notice announces the beginning of 
the scoping process for the Plan amendment and associated EIS to 
solicit public comments and identify issues.

DATES: Comments on issues related to management of livestock grazing 
and conservation measures for sage-grouse in the Craters of the Moon 
may be submitted in writing until July 29, 2013. 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 http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/craters_of_the_moon.html.
    To be included in the analysis, 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. We will provide additional 
opportunities for public participation as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the Craters of the Moon Plan amendment by any of the 
following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/craters_of_the_moon.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 208-732-7317.
     Mail: 400 West F Street, Shoshone, ID 83352.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the 
Shoshone Field Office or online at http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/planning.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Holly Hampton, Monument Manager, 
telephone 208-732-7200; address 400 West F Street, Shoshone, ID 83352; 
email [email protected]. Contact Ms. Hampton if you wish to have 
your name added to our mailing list. 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 BLM Shoshone Field Office, Shoshone, 
Idaho, intends to prepare a Plan amendment with an associated EIS for 
the Craters of the Moon Management Plan. This notice announces the 
beginning of the scoping process and seeks public input on issues and 
planning criteria. The planning area is located in south central Idaho 
and encompasses approximately 750,000 acres of BLM and National Park 
Service (NPS) managed lands in the Craters of the Moon. 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.
    In 2008, Western Watersheds Project (WWP) filed a complaint in the 
United States District Court for the District of Idaho (Court) alleging 
the Secretary of the Interior and the BLM violated NEPA and FLPMA when 
the BLM issued Records of Decision on 16 Resource Management Plans 
(RMP) between 2004 and 2008, including the Craters of the Moon 
Management Plan. After briefing and oral argument, the Court found that 
although livestock grazing was deemed by the agency to be a major 
contributing factor to the decline of sage-grouse habitat in the 
Craters of the Moon, the Management Plan/EIS failed to adequately 
address the best science and the agency's own policies designed to

[[Page 39010]]

protect that habitat. Moreover, the Management Plan/EIS failed to 
discuss alternatives to the status quo regarding livestock grazing in 
Craters of the Moon. Specifically, the Court found that the EIS 
supporting the Management Plan violated NEPA and FLPMA by failing to: 
(1) Consider a no-grazing alternative; (2) Consider the recommendations 
for sage-grouse conservation contained within a 2004 Nature Conservancy 
Report and the 2004 Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 
Conservation Assessment; (3) Fully discuss the agency's Special Status 
Species Policy and National Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy; 
and (4) Consider any alternative that would have reduced grazing 
levels. In November 2012, the Court remanded all issues concerning the 
Craters of the Moon Management Plan to the BLM, without vacatur, for 
the purpose of revising the Management Plan. Accordingly, through the 
amendment process announced in this Notice, the BLM will analyze a no-
grazing alternative and reduced grazing alternative(s) for BLM-managed 
lands within the Craters of the Moon.
    The BLM's ongoing Idaho and Southwestern Montana Sub-Regional EIS/
RMP amendment process (Sub-Regional EIS/RMP amendment) will address 
measures for sage-grouse conservation and is expected to result in a 
plan amendment to the existing Craters of the Moon Management Plan. The 
BLM anticipates that the Sub-Regional EIS/RMP amendment effort will be 
completed in the fall of 2014. The amendment announced in this Notice 
is expected to primarily address issues related to management of 
livestock grazing in the Craters of the Moon planning area. However, 
the BLM may also address additional issues relating to the conservation 
measures for sage-grouse identified in the U.S. District Court's Orders 
that are not addressed in the Sub-Regional EIS/RMP amendment process.
    The BLM has identified the following preliminary issues: The need 
to comply with the Idaho District Court's September 28, 2011, and 
November 20, 2012, Orders by analyzing Land Use Plan-level grazing 
allocations, including a no grazing alternative and a reduced grazing 
alternative in Craters of the Moon; and the need to develop 
conservation measures for sage-grouse in Craters of the Moon. 
Preliminary planning criteria include: Compliance with FLPMA, NEPA, and 
all other relevant Federal law, Executive orders, and management 
policies of the BLM; valid existing rights will be recognized; and 
Native American Tribal consultations will be conducted in accordance 
with policy and tribal concerns will be given due consideration.
    You may submit comments to the BLM on issues and planning criteria 
for the plan amendment at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit 
them using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. 
The public is encouraged to help identify concerns specifically related 
to livestock grazing and sage-grouse conservation that should be 
addressed during the plan amendment process. 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.
    The BLM will use the NEPA public participation requirements to 
assist the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements 
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 
U.S.C. 470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about 
historic and cultural resources within the area potentially affected by 
the proposed action will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating 
impacts to such resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 
of the NHPA.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes and 
other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate 
in the scoping process.
    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. The BLM will evaluate all submissions and identify 
issues to be addressed in the Plan amendment.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the Plan 
amendment. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines will 
be involved in the planning process: rangeland management, outdoor 
recreation, archaeology, wildlife, botany, fire ecology, and soils.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.5-5(b).

Holly Hampton,
Monument Manager.
[FR Doc. 2013-15512 Filed 6-27-13; 8:45 am]
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