[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 196 (Thursday, October 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61094-61095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24077]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[14X.LLAZG02200.L16100000.DO0000.LXSS206A0000.241A]


Supplemental Notice of Intent To Prepare a Travel Management Plan 
Concurrent With the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area 
Resource Management Plan and Associated Environmental Impact Statement, 
Arizona

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 61095]]

SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (FLPMA), as amended, and the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 
1988 (creating the San Pedro National Conservation Area), the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) Tucson Field Office, Tucson, Arizona, intends to 
prepare a Travel Management Plan (TMP) concurrent with the preparation 
of a Resource Management Plan (RMP) and associated Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area 
(SPRNCA). This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to 
solicit public comments and identify issues for the TMP.

DATES: Comments on issues related to travel management planning may be 
submitted in writing until November 10, 2014. 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: 
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/fo/tucson_field_office.html. In order to be 
included in the TMP, 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 upon publication of the TMP and Draft RMP/Draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the TMP by any of the following 
methods:

     Email: [email protected]
     Project Web site: https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=renderDefaultPlanOrProjectSite&projectId=36503&dctmId=0b0003e8804c8caa
     Regular mail: Bureau of Land Management Tucson Field 
Office, 3201 East Universal Way, Tucson, AZ 85756

Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Tucson 
Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David McIntyre, SPRNCA RMP Project 
Manager, telephone 520-258-7259; address 3201 East Universal Way, 
Tucson, AZ 85756; 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: A Notice of Intent for the SPRNCA RMP and 
EIS was published on April 30, 2013 (78 FR 25299), with a 90-day 
scoping period that included scoping meetings during the summer. Due to 
public interest, the RMP scoping period was extended until September 
27, 2013, for a total of 150 days. This document provides notice that 
the BLM Tucson Field Office, Tucson, Arizona, intends to prepare a TMP 
concurrent with the preparation of an RMP and associated EIS for the 
SPRNCA. It announces the beginning of the TMP scoping process, and 
seeks public input on travel and transportation issues and route 
designation within the SPRNCA. The SPRNCA, which encompasses 56,347 
acres of public land located within Cochise County, Arizona, was 
designated by Congress on November 18, 1988. The Arizona-Idaho 
Conservation Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-696) established that the land 
must be managed to conserve, protect and enhance the riparian area and 
the aquatic, wildlife, archaeological, paleontological, scientific, 
cultural, educational, and recreational resources of the area. It also 
requires the designation of roads for motorized vehicle use be included 
in a comprehensive long-range plan for the area. Developing the TMP in 
conjunction with the RMP and associated EIS will satisfy this 
requirement. In addition to considering the designation of roads for 
motorized use, the TMP will identify and consider primitive roads and 
trails available for non-motorized use. Decisions in the TMP will be 
limited to BLM-administered land within the planning area boundary. The 
purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues 
that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and 
alternatives to be considered in development of the TMP. Preliminary 
issues for the TMP have been identified by BLM personnel; Federal, 
State, and local agencies; and other stakeholders. They represent the 
BLM's knowledge to date of the existing issues and concerns with 
current management. Some of these issues and concerns include:
     Impacts to other public land users and adjacent private 
landowners;
     Impacts to wildlife habitat;
     Impacts to water quality, cultural sites, vegetation, 
including riparian and wetland areas, and soils; and
     Identification of recreational opportunities.
     Possible use of hierarchical mitigation strategies that 
include avoidance, minimization, and compensation, on a local or 
regional scale, if appropriate.
    The BLM will use 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 TMP 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. 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 
that may be interested in or affected by the proposed TMP the BLM is 
evaluating in conjunction with the SPRNCA RMP and associated EIS 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 as a cooperating agency.
    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 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.

     Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2

Raymond Suazo,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-24077 Filed 10-8-14; 8:45 am]
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