[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57878-57880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22785]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCOS00000 L16100000.DJ0000]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Bureau of Land Management 
Tres Rios Field Office and San Juan National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement

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 
Proposed Land and Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (LRMP/Final EIS) for the San Juan Public Lands Planning Area 
in Colorado, and by this notice is announcing its availability. The 
LRMP/Final EIS is a jointly prepared BLM and

[[Page 57879]]

United States Forest Service (USFS) document and also addresses 
management of National Forest System lands administered by the San Juan 
National Forest. Release of the USFS document is addressed under a 
separate notice.

DATES: The BLM planning regulations provide that any person who meets 
the conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's 
LRMP/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions and files a protest 
must file the protest within 30 days of the date that the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes it in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Tres Rios Field Office LRMP/Final EIS have 
been sent to affected Federal, State and local government agencies; and 
interested parties. A list of the locations where copies of the LRMP/
Final EIS are available for public inspection can be found in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Interested persons may also 
review the LRMP/Final EIS on the Internet at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/sanjuan/landmanagement/planning, http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/sjplc/land_use_planning.html.
    All protests to the BLM must be in writing and mailed to one of the 
following addresses:
    Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-
Williams, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
    Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-
Williams, 20 M Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Manfredi, Plan Revision Team 
Leader, telephone 970-385-1229; 15 Burnett Court, Durango, CO 81301; 
email [email protected]. For BLM-specific issues, contact Gina Jones, 
BLM Southwest District NEPA Specialist, telephone 970-240-5381; 2465 S. 
Townsend Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401; 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 BLM planning area is located within 
Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose, San Juan, and San 
Miguel counties in southwestern Colorado. Approximately 504,400 surface 
acres and 704,300 acres of subsurface mineral estate administered by 
the BLM Tres Rios Field Office are addressed by the proposed management 
decisions in the LRMP and analyzed in the Final EIS. The lands within 
the planning area are currently managed under the 1985 San Juan/San 
Miguel Resource Management Plan, as amended. The current RMP was 
approved in 1985 and has been amended seven times. The BLM inventoried 
Wilderness Study Areas in 1980, recommended to Congress in 1991, and 
manages them consistent with BLM Manual 6330-Management of BLM 
Wilderness Study Areas so as not to impair the suitability of such 
areas for preservation as wilderness until such time that Congress 
makes a final wilderness decision.
    The BLM worked extensively with communities, interested and 
affected publics and cooperating agencies to develop the LRMP/Final 
EIS. Cooperating agencies include the Town of Rico, Colorado. Comments 
received from the public on the Draft LRMP/Draft EIS and from internal 
agency review were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the 
LRMP/Final EIS. Based on public comments, the BLM identified the need 
to prepare a Supplement to the Draft EIS to consider the Reasonable 
Foreseeable Development potential of oil and gas in the Gothic Shale 
Gas Play. In addition to the Supplement, public comments resulted in 
the addition of updated information and clarifying text, but did not 
substantially change proposed land use plan decisions. The following 
four alternatives are analyzed in the Final EIS:
    Alternative A represents the continuation of current management 
direction under the existing San Juan/San Miguel Resource Management 
Plan (1985), as amended. Alternative B, the proposed alternative, 
provides for a mix of multiple-use activities, with a primary emphasis 
on maintaining most of the large, contiguous blocks of undeveloped 
lands; enhancing various forms of recreation opportunities; and 
maintaining the full diversity of uses including mineral development 
and rangeland vegetation management. Alternative C provides for a mix 
of multiple-use activities with a primary emphasis on maintaining the 
undeveloped character of the planning area. Management of resource uses 
would be more constrained than proposed under Alternatives A, B and D. 
In some cases and in some areas, uses would be excluded to protect 
sensitive resources. Alternative D, provides for a mix of multiple-use 
activities, identifying the most lands for maximum development to 
produce a higher level of commodity goods and services compared to the 
other alternatives.
    The proposed LRMP (Alternative B) would establish two Areas of 
Environmental Concern (ACEC), Gypsum Valley and Anasazi Culture Area, 
totaling approximately 14,274 acres to provide special management to 
protect relevant and important cultural, historic, scenic, and natural 
resource values. The proposed plan would also apply protective 
management to approximately 11,869 acres of inventoried lands with 
wilderness characteristics in two different areas. Public lands 
available for renewable energy development, mineral development, land 
use authorization, systems of designated travel routes, and other uses 
would be provided for under the proposed plan, which would delineate 
and, as necessary, apply limitations on these uses. In addition, 
management parameters and prescriptions would be applied to a variety 
of natural, cultural and visual resources including air and water 
quality; wildlife habitat; forests and woodlands; and other components 
of the biological, physical and cultural environment.
    Copies of the Tres Rios Field Office LRMP/Final EIS are available 
for public inspection at the Web sites listed in the ADDRESSES section 
above, and at the following locations:
     San Juan Public Lands Center, 15 Burnett Court, Durango, 
CO 81301
     Dolores Public Lands Office, 29211 Highway 184, Dolores, 
CO 81323
     Columbine Ranger District, 367 Pearl Street, Bayfield, CO 
81122
     Pagosa Ranger District, 180 Pagosa Street, Pagosa Springs, 
CO 81147
     BLM Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield Street, 
Lakewood, CO 80215
     USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, 740 Simms St., 
Golden, CO 80401
     Libraries in the following locations in Colorado: Cortez; 
Durango; Pagosa Springs; Dove Creek; Norwood; Silverton; Colorado State 
University, Ft. Collins; University of Colorado, Boulder; and Fort 
Lewis College, Durango.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the LRMP/Final EIS may be found in the ``Dear Reader'' Letter 
of the LRMP/Final EIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. Emailed protests will not 
be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides 
the original letter by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by 
the close of the protest period. Under

[[Page 57880]]

these conditions, the BLM will consider the emailed protest as an 
advance copy and it will receive full consideration. If you wish to 
provide the BLM with such advance notification, please direct emails to 
[email protected]. All protests, including the follow-up letter to 
emails, must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address as set 
forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest 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, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 
1610.5.

Helen M. Hankins,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-22785 Filed 9-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310&ndashJB-P