[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42970-42972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17224]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAKA01000.L16100000.DO0000.LXSILBSW0000]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the
Bering Sea-Western Interior Planning Area, Alaska and Associated
Environmental Impact Statement
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)
Anchorage Field Office, Anchorage, Alaska, intends to prepare a
Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the RMP for the Bering Sea-Western Interior (BSWI)
Planning Area and by this notice announces the beginning of the scoping
process to solicit public comments and identify issues. The RMP will
replace the existing 1981 Southwest Planning Area Management Framework
Plan and portions of the 1986 Central Yukon RMP Record of Decision.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMP and
associated EIS. Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until
December 16, 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 at: www.blm.gov/ak. All comments must be received
prior to the close of the 150-day scoping period or 15 days after the
last public meeting, whichever is later. Additional opportunities for
public participation will be announced upon publication of the Draft
RMP/EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to the Bering Sea-Western Interior RMP/EIS by any of the
following methods:
In person at public scoping meetings in communities within
the planning area. The BLM will announce the meeting dates, times and
specific locations through news releases and on the BLM Web site at
www.blm.gov/ak
Web site: www.blm.gov/ak
email: [email protected]
fax: 907-267-1267
mail: BLM Anchorage Field Office, Attention--BSWI RMP,
4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507
Documents pertinent to this planning effort may be examined at the
BLM Anchorage Field Office, 4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507, and on
the BLM Alaska Web site: www.blm.gov/ak.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact RMP Team Lead, Anchorage
Field Office, telephone: 907-267-1246; address: BLM Anchorage Field
Office, 4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507; 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. FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Anchorage Field Office, Anchorage, Alaska, intends to prepare an RMP
with an associated EIS for the Bering Sea-Western Interior Planning
Area, announces the beginning of the public scoping process, and seeks
public input on issues and planning criteria. The
[[Page 42971]]
Planning Area is located in western Alaska and encompasses
approximately 62 million acres of land, including 10.6 million acres
managed by the BLM. The planning area includes all lands south of the
Central Yukon watershed to the southern boundary of the Kuskokwim River
watershed, and all lands west of Denali National Park and Preserve to
the Bering Sea, including Saint Lawrence, Saint Matthew and Nunivak
islands. The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis,
including alternatives, and guide the planning process. Preliminary
issues for the planning area have been identified by the BLM; Federal,
state, and local agencies; and other stakeholders. The issues include:
Subsistence resource uses, special recreation permitting, mineral
development, the Iditarod National Historic Trail and Unalakleet Wild
River National Landscape Conservation System units, air, soil and
water, vegetation, special status species, fish and wildlife, cultural
resources, paleontology, traditional cultural properties, visual
resources, wildland fire management, lands with wilderness
characteristics, forestry, livestock grazing, recreation and visitor
service, trails and travel management, lands and realty, social and
economic conditions, renewable energy, hazardous materials and sites,
and climate change.
The preliminary planning criteria include:
1. Opportunities for public comment and participation in the
formulation of the plan will be encouraged throughout the RMP/EIS
process;
2. Valid existing rights will be recognized and protected;
3. The BLM will consider subsistence uses and minimize adverse
impacts in accordance with Section 810 of the ANILCA;
4. In accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(F),
salmon will be accorded recognition as an international subsistence
resource pursuant to the provisions of the Pacific Salmon Treaty of
1985 and those of the Yukon River Salmon Act of 2000, Public Law 106-
450, 16 U.S.C. 5727 et seq., November 7, 2000;
5. The BLM will work cooperatively with State and Federal agencies,
federally recognized tribes, and municipal governments. Agencies
(including federally recognized tribal governments) with jurisdiction
by law or special expertise will be consulted to determine if
cooperating agency status is appropriate and desired;
6. Department of the Interior guidance, Alaska Department of Fish
and Game objectives, and Federal Subsistence Board requirements and
mandates will be considered in decisions related to wildlife
management;
7. The RMP will be consistent with the Bureau's H-1601-1 Land Use
Planning Handbook, Appendix C; Program-Specific and Resource-Specific
Decision Guidance and supplemental program guidance manuals and
handbooks;
8. The plan will be consistent with the standards and guidance set
forth in FLPMA, NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Trails System Act, the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act, ANILCA, the Surface Mine Reclamation and Enforcement
Act of 1977, and other pertinent Federal laws, regulations, and
policies;
9. The plan will be consistent with the BLM-Alaska Land Health
Standards;
10. Designations for Off-Highway Vehicles for all public lands
within the Planning Area will be completed according to the regulations
found in 43 CFR Subpart 8342;
11. Multiple-Use classifications will be consistent with the
provisions of 43 CFR Parts 2400, 2410, 2420, 2430, 2440, 2450, 2460 and
2470;
12. Current and potentially new special management areas, such as
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), will be considered
using the criteria found in 43 CFR 1610.7-2;
13. Lands addressed in the RMP will be BLM-administered surface
lands and subsurface estate. No decisions will be made for lands not
managed by the BLM;
14. Review and classification of waterways as eligible for
inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic River System will be
consistent with the Bureau's Manual 6400--Wild and Scenic Rivers--
Policy and Program Direction for Identification, Evaluation, Planning,
and Management;
15. The BLM will incorporate Environmental Justice considerations
in the planning alternatives to respond to Environmental Justice issues
facing minority populations, low income communities, and tribes living
near public lands and using public land resources;
16. Social scientific data and methods will be integrated into the
entire planning process, from preparing the pre-plan to implementation
and monitoring;
17. Impacts from the alternatives considered in the RMP will be
analyzed in an EIS developed in accordance with regulations at 43 CFR
Subpart 1610 and 40 CFR Part 1502;
18. Decisions in the plan will be compatible with existing plans
and policies of adjacent local, state, and Federal agencies to the
maximum extent possible while remaining consistent with the purposes,
policies, and programs of Federal law, and regulations applicable to
public lands;
19. The plan will assess all BLM-managed lands in the planning area
for wilderness characteristics using criteria established by BLM Manual
6310. The RMP will examine options for managing lands with wilderness
characteristics and determine the most appropriate land use allocations
for these lands. Considering wilderness characteristics in the land use
planning process may result in several outcomes, including, but not
limited to: (1) Emphasizing other multiple uses as a priority over
protecting wilderness characteristics; (2) emphasizing other multiple
uses while applying management restrictions (conditions of use,
mitigation measures) to reduce impacts to wilderness characteristics;
and, (3) the protection of wilderness characteristics as a priority
over other uses.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 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. All
comments must be received prior to the close of the 150-day scoping
period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is later.
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 identified issues and will place them into
one of three categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action;
or
3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
The BLM will provide an explanation in the Draft RMP/Draft EIS as
to why an issue was placed in category two or three. The public is also
encouraged to help identify any management questions and concerns that
should be addressed in the plan. The BLM will work collaboratively with
interested parties to identify the management decisions that
[[Page 42972]]
are best suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
The BLM will use NEPA public participation requirements to assist
the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements under
Section 106 of the 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. Pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)
of 1971, as well as Executive Order 13175, the BLM will also consult
with Alaska Native corporations. Tribal concerns, including impacts on
Indian trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources, will
be given due consideration. 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 and, if eligible, may request or
be requested by the BLM to participate in the development of the
environmental analysis for the RMP as a cooperating agency.
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: Lands and realty, wildlife,
fisheries, subsistence, vegetation, outdoor recreation, fire
management, forestry, minerals and geology, air quality, paleontology,
hydrology, soils, socioeconomics and visual resource management.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2.
Bud C. Cribley,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-17224 Filed 7-17-13; 8:45 am]
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