[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53777-53778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21118]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWY93000 L16100000.DU0000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Visual Resource Management 
and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Amendment to the Resource 
Management Plan for the Rawlins Field Office and Associated 
Environmental Assessment, WY

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 Visual Resources Management and Area of Critical Environmental 
Concern (ACEC) Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and a Draft 
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Draft Amendment for the Rawlins 
Field Office, Wyoming, 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 Amendment and Draft EA within 60 days 
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce 
future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities 
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, 
and/or mailings, and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/rawlins.html.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Visual Resource 
Management and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Amendment to the 
RMP for the Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming, and associated Draft EA by 
any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Please reference 
Rawlins VRM Review in the subject line.
     Fax: 307-328-4224.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, 
1300 North Third Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301, or P.O. Box 2407, 
Rawlins, Wyoming 82301-2407.
    All comments must include a legible full name and address on the 
envelope, letter, fax, postcard, or email. Copies of the Draft Visual 
Resource Management and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 
Amendment to the RMP for the Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming, and 
associated Draft EA are available at the Rawlins Field Office, at the 
above address, and at the following locations:
     Bureau of Land Management, High Desert District Office, 
280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901, and
     Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 82009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Lehman, Rawlins Field Office 
Planning and Environmental Coordinator:
     Telephone: 307-328-4200
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, 
1300 North Third Street, Rawlins, WY 82301-2407
     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: This document provides notice that the BLM 
Field Office in Rawlins, Wyoming, has prepared a Draft RMP amendment 
with an associated EA, is announcing the beginning of the 60-day 
comment period, and seeks public comment on Visual Resource Management 
issues and proposed ACECs. The planning area is located in Albany, 
Carbon, Laramie, and eastern Sweetwater counties, Wyoming, and 
encompasses approximately 2,791,721 acres. The planning area does not 
include public land affected by the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Visual 
RMP Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Notice of 
Intent to prepare the amendment to the RMP was published on April 11, 
2012 (77 FR 21803), and a 30-day public scoping period was held 
following publication from April 11, 2012, through May 10, 2012. The 
scoping comments were used during the preparation of the RMP Amendment 
and associated EA to help identify issues and concerns associated with 
the amendment, and to form the following alternatives:
     Alternative 1: No Action--Continuation of existing 
management direction for Visual Resources and ACECs; new information 
and data would not be incorporated;
     Alternative 2: Emphasis on the Development of Resources; 
incorporating new Visual Resource Inventory information and reducing 
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC;
     Alternative 3: Emphasis on the Protection of Resources; 
incorporating new Visual Resource Inventory information and expanding 
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC;
     Alternative 4: Emphasis on the Conservation of Resources; 
incorporating new Visual Resource Inventory information and expanding 
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC (Preferred Alternative).
    This plan amendment addresses protests received following the 
publication of the 2008 Rawlins Proposed RMP/Final EIS, which 
identified issues with the Rawlins Field Office's analysis of both 
Visual Resources and the designation of ACECs. The Visual Resource 
Management decisions in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS were remanded and 
not approved in the Record of Decision until a complete Visual 
Resources Inventory was completed and a Visual Resource Management RMP 
amendment could be developed. In addition, comments received during 
initial scoping of the 2008 Rawlins RMP included nominations of five 
additional ACECs within the Rawlins Field Office boundary. Because the 
BLM did not review or consider relevance and importance criteria for 
the nominated ACECs in the 2008 Rawlins RMP planning process, these 
nominated areas are analyzed for ACEC designation in this planning 
process. The following ACEC nominations were evaluated to determine if 
the relevance and importance criteria were met, but were not included 
in any alternative because they did not meet relevance or importance 
criteria:
     McCarty Canyon; for scenic quality and wildlife habitat;
     Seminoe and Pathfinder Reservoirs; for sensitive plant 
species, scenic quality, and wildlife habitat;
     Flattop Mountain; for sensitive plant species, scenic 
quality, and wildlife habitat; and
     Ferris Mountain; for sensitive plant species and scenic 
quality.
    The Ferris Dunes area was nominated as an ACEC in the 2008 Rawlins 
RMP for several sensitive plant species, a unique sand dune community 
and habitat, the desert kangaroo rat, and for scenic quality. The 
nominated Ferris

[[Page 53778]]

Dunes ACEC area includes the current Blowout Penstemon ACEC and 
additional area surrounding the existing ACEC. The nominated area was 
found to meet the relevance and importance criteria. The area is 
considered in this EA with additional use restrictions which would 
occur if the area is formally designated including limiting off-road 
travel and locatable/leasable mineral entry, intensive management of 
surface disturbing activities, and control of pesticide use. The RMP 
plan amendment will comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, 
the Federal Land Policy Management Act, and other applicable laws, 
executive orders, regulations, and be consistent with applicable 
policies. The planning effort will recognize valid existing rights. 
Decisions in the amendment will apply only to the BLM-administered 
public lands and Federal mineral estate in the planning area.
    A collaborative and multi-jurisdictional approach will be used to 
jointly determine the desired future condition and management direction 
for Visual Resources and ACECs in the Rawlins Field Office Planning 
Area. To the extent possible and consistent with applicable laws, 
regulations and policies, the BLM management and planning decisions 
will complement the planning and management decisions of other 
agencies, State and local governments, and Native American tribes, with 
jurisdictions intermingled with, and adjacent to, the planning area.
    A total of 9,369 comments were received during scoping, of which 
214 were considered to be unique. A majority of the comments were 
received by individuals and non-governmental organizations, and 
identified the following key issues:
    1. Impacts to historic trails and roads;
    2. Potential changes to existing land use planning and consistency 
with current management;
    3. Continuation of public involvement;
    4. Socioeconomic impacts; and
    5. Impacts of additional ACEC designations.
    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. 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. 
For your comments to be most effective and fully considered, you should 
submit comments by the close of the 60-day comment period.
    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.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2

Donald A. Simpson,
State Director, Wyoming.
[FR Doc. 2013-21118 Filed 8-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P