[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31063-31065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-13060]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCOF02000.L16100000.DP0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare the Eastern Colorado Resource 
Management Plan and an Associated Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Royal Gorge Field Office, Colorado

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) Royal 
Gorge Field Office (RGFO), Ca[ntilde]on City, Colorado, intends to 
prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). By this notice, the BLM is 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues. The RMP will replace the existing 1996 
Royal Gorge RMP and the 1986 Northeast RMP. The BLM is also soliciting 
resource information for coal and other resources in the planning area.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMP 
with an associated EIS. Comments on issues may be submitted in writing 
until July 31, 2015. 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/co/st/en/fo/rgfo.html. In order to be included in the Draft EIS, all comments 
must be received prior to the close of the 60-day scoping period or 15 
days after the last public meeting, whichever is later. We will provide 
additional opportunities for public participation upon publication of 
the Draft RMP/EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the RGFO RMP/EIS by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 719-269-8599.
     Mail: BLM Royal Gorge Field Office, 3028 E. Main St., 
Ca[ntilde]on City, CO 81212.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the RGFO at 
the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Smeins, RMP Project Manager; 
telephone, 719-269-8581; BLM Royal Gorge Field Office (see ADDRESSES 
section); email, [email protected]. Contact Mr. Smeins to add 
your name to our mailing list. 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, seven days 
a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours.

[[Page 31064]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
intends to prepare an RMP with an associated EIS for the RGFO, 
announces the beginning of the scoping process, and seeks public input 
on issues and planning criteria. The RMP will be titled ``Eastern 
Colorado RMP''. The planning area is located in 38 counties in eastern 
Colorado and encompasses approximately 668,000 surface acres of public 
land and 6.6 million acres of mineral estate. A Master Leasing Plan for 
the South Park area will be considered. The purpose of the public 
scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will influence the 
scope of the environmental analysis, seek nominations for Areas of 
Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and guide the planning process. 
The following preliminary issues to be analyzed in the planning area 
were identified by BLM personnel; Federal, State and local agencies; 
and other stakeholders:
     Identifying authorized and permitted land uses for growing 
populations and expanding urban interface with consideration for 
community interests and needs;
     Addressing increasing numbers and types of human 
activities and uses;
     Managing vegetative and water resources, terrestrial and 
aquatic habitat, and special management areas (ACEC nominations), while 
sustaining biological diversity and native species populations;
     Managing minerals, and renewable and nonrenewable energy 
resources;
     Considering land tenure adjustments, split estate, areas 
recommended for withdrawal, and utility/energy corridors;
     Managing and protecting cultural, historical, and 
paleontological resources, and Native American heritage resources; and
     Considering opportunities for appropriate regional 
mitigation, including identifying priority areas for both conservation 
and development.
    Preliminary planning criteria include:
     Complying with FLPMA, NEPA and other applicable laws and 
regulations;
     Encouraging public participation and collaboration;
     Consulting with American Indian tribes and strategies for 
protecting recognized sacred areas, Traditional Cultural Properties, 
and traditional use areas;
     Establishing collaborative partnerships with cooperating 
agencies and other interested groups, agencies, and individuals;
     Incorporating the BLM Colorado Standards for Public Land 
Health;
     Continuing management of Wilderness Study Areas under the 
Interim Management Policy for Lands under Wilderness Review until 
Congress acts on a designation or releases lands from consideration;
     Recognizing valid existing land use and ownership rights;
     Including adaptive management criteria to explore 
alternative ways to meet management objectives in the future;
     Complying with existing plans and policies of adjacent 
local, State and Federal agencies and local American Indian tribes; and
     Using the best available scientific information and 
research where practicable for the planning effort.
    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. To 
be most helpful, you should submit comments by the close of the 60-day 
scoping period or within 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 to be addressed in the 
plan, 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 management decisions that are best 
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
    Parties interested in leasing and development of Federal coal in 
the planning area should provide coal resource data for their area(s) 
of interest. Specifically, information is requested on the location, 
quality and quantity of Federal coal with development potential, and on 
surface resource values related to the 20 coal mining unsuitability 
criteria described in 43 CFR part 3461. This information will be used 
for any necessary updating of coal screening determination (43 CFR 
3420.1-4) in the Decision Area and in the environmental analysis for 
the RMP. Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted in 
response to this call for coal information. Please submit all 
proprietary information to the address listed above. The BLM will treat 
submissions marked as ``Confidential'' in accordance with applicable 
laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of such information.
    The BLM is also requesting nominations of areas for ACEC 
designation. To be considered as a potential ACEC, an area must meet 
the criteria of relevance and importance as established and defined in 
43 CFR 1610.7-2. Nominations must include descriptive materials, 
detailed maps and evidence supporting the relevance and importance of 
the resource or area. There are currently nine ACECs within the RGFO 
boundary designated by the 1996 Royal Gorge RMP: Arkansas Canyonlands, 
Beaver Creek, Browns Canyon, Cucharas Canyon, Droney Gulch, Garden 
Park, Grape Creek, Mosquito Pass and Phantom Canyon. All ACEC 
nominations within the planning area will be evaluated through the RMP 
process.
    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 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. Tribal interests, 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 
as a cooperating agency.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan 
to

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consider the variety of resource issues and concerns identified. 
Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines will be 
involved in the planning process: Wildlife; threatened and endangered 
species; vegetation; riparian and wetlands; soils; invasive and noxious 
weeds; rangeland management; fire ecology and management; cultural 
resources and Native American interests; hydrology; geology and 
minerals; lands and realty; recreation; visual resource management; 
public safety; law enforcement; and Geographic Information Systems.

Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2
[FR Doc. 2015-13060 Filed 5-29-15; 8:45 am]
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