[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41947-41949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16630]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYR0000.L16100000.DP0000.LXSS042K0000]


Notice of Availability of a Supplement to the Bighorn Basin Draft 
Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Cody and 
Worland Field Offices, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is 
announcing the availability of a Supplement to the Draft Resource 
Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

[[Page 41948]]

for the Bighorn Basin Planning Area and announcing the opening of the 
comment period.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Supplement to the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days 
after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its notice of 
availability of the Supplement in the Federal Register. 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 written comments related to the Supplement to 
the Draft RMP/EIS by any of the following methods:
     Web site: www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/RMPs/bighorn.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Worland Field Office, Attn: RMP Project Manager, 101 
South 23rd, Worland, WY 82401.
    Copies of the Supplemental Draft RMP/EIS are available at the 
following locations:
     Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 82003.
     Bureau of Land Management, Cody Field Office, 1002 
Blackburn Street, Cody, WY 82414.
     Bureau of Land Management, Worland Field Office, 101 South 
23rd Street, Worland, WY 82401
    The Supplement is also available on the Web site: www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/RMPs/bighorn.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caleb Hiner, RMP Project Manager, 
telephone 307-347-5171; address 101 South 23rd Street, Worland, WY 
82401; 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 Planning Area for the RMP supplement 
includes lands within the BLM Cody and Worland Field Offices 
administrative boundaries, in all of Big Horn, Park and Washakie 
Counties, and most of Hot Springs County in north-central Wyoming. The 
Planning Area includes all lands, regardless of jurisdiction, totaling 
5.6 million acres; however, the BLM will only make decisions on lands 
that fall under the BLM's jurisdiction. Lands within the Planning Area 
under the BLM's jurisdiction make up the Decision Area. The Decision 
Area consists of BLM-administered surface, totaling 3.2 million acres, 
and mineral estate, totaling 4.2 million acres. The BLM-administered 
surface acreage and the Federal mineral estate acreage overlap in some 
areas.
    The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare the Bighorn Basin RMP/EIS was 
published in the Federal Register on October 17, 2008 (73 FR 61900), 
and the Draft RMP/EIS was released to the public on April 22, 2011. On 
December 9, 2011, the NOI for the BLM's National Greater Sage-grouse 
Planning Strategy was published in the Federal Register (76 FR 77008). 
The planning area for National Greater Sage-grouse Planning Strategy 
included the Bighorn Basin Planning Area. The National Greater Sage-
grouse Planning Strategy NOI invited the public to nominate or 
recommend areas on public lands for Greater Sage-grouse and their 
habitat to be considered as areas of critical environmental concern 
(ACECs). Through the scoping process, numerous nominations were 
presented, including a nomination for all priority Greater Sage-grouse 
habitats to be included. The two additional alternatives that will be 
analyzed in this Supplement to the Draft RMP/EIS were prepared to 
include these ACEC nominations, since these nominations were not 
received during the initial scoping period for the RMP/EIS in 2008. The 
two additional alternatives in the Supplement to the Draft RMP/EIS 
analyze all BLM lands within identified Greater Sage-grouse Key Habitat 
Areas (1.2 million acres--Alternative E) and Sage-grouse Core 
Population Areas (1.1 million acres--Alternative F), regardless of 
jurisdiction, as ACECs, as well as constraints on development and 
management of non-wilderness study area lands with wilderness 
characteristics. Both geographic boundaries have been identified as 
priority Sage-grouse habitat (PH), having the highest conservation 
value to maintaining sustainable Sage-grouse populations. These areas 
include breeding, late brood-rearing, and winter concentration areas.
    Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7-2(b), this notice announces a public 
comment period on the proposed ACECs. A total of two ACECs are proposed 
in the Supplement. The proposed ACECs and the proposed resource use 
limitations that will occur for each proposed ACEC if formally 
designated are:
     Key Habitat Areas (1.2 million acres): Value of Concern: 
Greater Sage-grouse Habitat. Proposed Use Limitations: Right-of-Way 
Exclusion Areas, 3 percent surface disturbance limit, closed to fluid 
mineral leasing, closed to livestock grazing, closed to mineral 
material disposals, and recommend a withdrawal from appropriation under 
the mining laws.
     Core Areas (1.1 million acres): Value of Concern: Greater 
Sage-grouse Habitat. Proposed Use Limitations: Right-of-Way Avoidance 
Areas, 5 percent surface disturbance limit, and timing and surface use 
restrictions. The Preferred Alternative (Alternative D) within the 
existing Draft RMP/EIS was developed with consideration of specific 
issues raised through the 2008 public scoping period, recommendations 
from cooperating agencies, consideration of planning criteria, impact 
analysis and conformance with local land use plans. The Preferred 
Alternative remains unchanged in the Supplement to the Draft RMP/EIS. 
The final agency decision will follow a public protest period for the 
Proposed RMP, scheduled for release later in 2013. The Proposed RMP and 
Final EIS will reflect changes or adjustments based on information 
received during public comment, new information, or changes in BLM 
policies or priorities. The Proposed RMP may include portions of any 
analyzed alternatives or decisions otherwise within the spectrum of 
alternatives analyzed.
    You may submit comments in writing to the BLM at any public 
meeting, or you may submit them to the BLM using one of the methods 
listed in the ADDRESSES section above. In order to reduce the use of 
paper and control costs, the BLM strongly encourages the public to 
submit comments electronically at the project Web site or via email. 
Only comments submitted using the methods described in the ADDRESSES 
section above will be accepted. Comments submitted must include the 
commenter's name and street address. Whenever possible, please include 
reference to either the page or section in the Supplement to the Draft 
RMP/EIS to which the comment applies.
    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 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.


[[Page 41949]]


    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 1506.10, and 43 CFR 1610.2, 1610.7-2.

Mary Jo Rugwell,
Associate State Director, Wyoming.
[FR Doc. 2013-16630 Filed 7-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P