[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 200 (Friday, October 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62562-62563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26370]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCON05000 L16100000.DU0000]


Notice of Intent To Amend the Resource Management Plan for the 
White River Field Office and Prepare an Associated Environmental 
Assessment for Travel and Transportation Management, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior

ACTION: Notice.

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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) White 
River Field Office (WRFO), Meeker, Colorado, intends to prepare a 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendment with an associated 
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the WRFO. By this notice the WRFO is 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues.

DATES: Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until November 
16, 2015. The BLM will announce the date(s) and location(s) of any 
scoping meetings at least 15 days in advance through local news media, 
newspapers and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/wrfo.html. The BLM must receive all comments prior to the close of the 
30-day scoping period or 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later, in order for them to be included in the analysis. 
We will provide additional opportunities for public participation as 
appropriate.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the WRFO's Travel and Transportation Management RMP 
amendment/EA by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/wrfo.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 970-989-3805.
     Mail: BLM, White River Field Office, 220 East Market St., 
Meeker, CO 81641.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the White 
River FO.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Sauls, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator; telephone 970-878-3855; address White River 
FO (see address above); email [email protected]. Contact Ms. Sauls to have 
your name added 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the WRFO, 
Meeker, Colorado, intends to prepare an RMP amendment with an 
associated EA for the White River Planning Area, announces the 
beginning of the scoping process, and seeks public input on issues and 
planning criteria. The RMP amendment will address comprehensive 
transportation and travel management planning and will amend the 1997 
WRFO RMP. At a minimum, the RMP amendment will consider designation of 
all public lands within the planning area as ``open areas'' for off-
road vehicle use, ``limited areas'' for off-road vehicle use, or 
``closed areas'' to off-road vehicle use. The RMP amendment will also 
consider whether to further restrict other modes of transport (e.g., 
mechanized and non-motorized) through area allocations and allowable 
use decisions. The BLM will also address whether or not exceptions 
should be granted within closed or limited areas and provide general 
direction for how to address resource conflicts during future 
implementation-level planning. The planning area is located in Rio 
Blanco, Moffat and Garfield counties, Colorado, and encompasses 
approximately 1.5 million acres of public land.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the planning process. BLM personnel; 
Federal, State and local agencies; and other stakeholders identified 
the following preliminary issues for the RMP amendment area:
     Is there a recreational need for an open area?
     Are there areas that should be managed with seasonal 
closures on motorized vehicle use to allow for non-motorized hunting 
experiences?
     Should the White River FO provide exceptions for off-road 
motorized travel in limited areas for the purposes of camping, firewood 
gathering, or retrieval of downed big game?
     Should the WRFO provide exceptions for physically 
challenged individuals to travel off-road?
     Should the WRFO limit motorized over-the-snow travel by 
vehicle type, season, snow-depth, or other conditions?
     Should Pike Ridge be managed as closed to motorized 
vehicles?
     Should travel on existing energy and mineral development 
access roads be restricted to authorized use?
     Should right-of-way exclusion areas also be managed as 
closed areas?
     What types of uses are appropriate (e.g., motorized, 
mechanized, horseback) within right-of-way avoidance and exclusion 
areas?
     Should the WRFO implement seasonal or permanent road or 
trail closures in Greater Sage-Grouse habitat?
     Should construction of new roads be allowed within lands 
with wilderness characteristics?
     What types of uses are appropriate (e.g., motorized, 
mechanized, horseback) within lands with wilderness characteristics?

[[Page 62563]]

Preliminary Planning Criteria Include
    1. The RMP amendment will be limited to making land use planning 
decisions specific to transportation and travel management.
    2. The BLM will designate all public lands within the planning area 
as open, limited, or closed areas to off-road vehicle use.
    3. Lands addressed in the RMP amendment will be surface lands 
managed by the BLM and will not include split-estate lands (i.e., 
private surface with Federal mineral estate).
    4. The RMP amendment, if approved, will comply with FLPMA, NEPA, 
Council on Environmental Quality regulations at 40 CFR 1500-1508, 
Department of the Interior regulations at 43 CFR 46 and 43 CFR 1600, 
the BLM Land Use Planning Handbook (H-1601-1), the BLM NEPA Handbook 
(H-1790-1), the BLM Travel and Transportation Management Handbook (H-
8342-1), and all other applicable laws and BLM policies and guidance.
    5. Land use decisions in Greater Sage-Grouse habitat considered in 
the RMP amendment will be consistent with land use decisions in the 
Northwest Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse RMP amendment.
    6. The RMP amendment will recognize valid existing rights.
    7. The BLM will use a collaborative approach to planning.
    8. The BLM will consult with Indian tribes to identify sites, areas 
and objectives important to their cultural and religious heritage.
    9. The BLM will coordinate and communicate with State, local and 
tribal governments to ensure the BLM considers provisions of pertinent 
plans; seek to resolve inconsistencies between State, local and tribal 
plans; and provide ample opportunities for State, local and tribal 
governments to comment on the development of the amendment.
    10. The BLM will address socioeconomic and Environmental Justice 
impacts of the alternatives.
    11. Land use allocations made for Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) must 
be consistent with the BLM Management of WSA manual (BLM Manual 6330) 
and with other laws, regulations and policies related to WSA 
management.
    12. The BLM will consider public welfare and safety when addressing 
fire management in the context of travel and transportation management 
planning.
    13. The BLM will not consider creating any new special 
designations, such as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, through 
this RMP amendment.
    14. The BLM will conduct implementation (route-by-route 
designations) travel management planning in a separate effort 
subsequent to completing this RMP amendment.
    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 30-day 
scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later.
    The BLM will use the NEPA public participation requirements to 
assist 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. The BLM will give tribal concerns, including impacts on 
Indian trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources, due 
consideration. Federal, State and local agencies, along with tribes and 
other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed action 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.
    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 RMP amendment;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this RMP amendment.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the Draft RMP amendment/
preliminary EA as to why an issue was placed in category two or three. 
The BLM also encourages the public 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 are best suited to local, regional, and 
national needs and concerns.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan 
amendment 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: Rangeland 
management, vegetation, riparian and wetlands, invasive and noxious 
weeds, minerals and geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, visual 
resource management, cultural resources and Native American concerns, 
paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, threatened and endangered 
species, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, wild horses, fire ecology 
and management, sociology and economics, public safety, law 
enforcement, and geographic information systems.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-26370 Filed 10-15-15; 8:45 am]
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