[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2179-2180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00518]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[18X LLUT030000 L17110000.XZ0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare Resource Management Plans for the 
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument--Grand Staircase, 
Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyon Units and Federal Lands Previously 
Included in the Monument That Are Excluded From the Boundaries and 
Associated Environmental Impact Statement, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended (FLPMA), and Presidential Proclamation 6920 as 
modified by Proclamation 9682, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) and Kanab Field 
Office, Kanab, Utah, intends to prepare Resource Management Plans 
(RMPs) for the GSENM-Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyon 
Units, and Federal lands previously included in the Monument that were 
excluded from the boundaries by Proclamation 9682. The BLM will prepare 
a single Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to satisfy the NEPA 
requirements for these RMPs. By this Notice, the BLM is announcing the 
beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and 
identify issues. The RMPs will replace the existing Grand Staircase 
Escalante National Monument Management Plan (the ``1999 Monument 
Management Plan''), which was completed in 1999.

DATES: This Notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMPs 
and associated EIS. 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 website at: https://www.blm.gov/utah. In order 
to be considered in the Draft EIS, all comments must be received prior 
to March 19, 2018 or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever 
is later. We will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation upon publication of the Draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the planning process by any of the following methods:
     Website: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: 
https://goo.gl/EHvhbc.
     Mail: 669 S Hwy. 89A Kanab, UT 84741.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the GSENM 
and the BLM Kanab Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Betenson, Associate Monument 
Manager, telephone (435) 644-1200; address 669 S Hwy. 89A Kanab, UT 
84741; email [email protected]. Contact Mr. Betenson to add 
your name to our mailing list. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business 
hours. FRS 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 
GSENM and Kanab Field Office, Kanab, Utah, intend to prepare RMPs for 
the GSENM-Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyon Units, and 
Federal lands previously included in the GSENM that are excluded from 
the boundaries by Proclamation 9682. The BLM will prepare a single EIS 
for this planning process. This document announces the beginning of the 
scoping process, and seeks public input on issues and planning 
criteria. The planning area is located in Kane and Garfield Counties, 
Utah and encompasses approximately 1.87 million acres of public land.
    On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump signed Presidential 
Proclamation 9682 modifying the boundaries of the GSENM as established 
by Proclamation 6920 to exclude from designation and reservation 
approximately 861,974 acres of land. Lands that remain part of the 
GSENM are included in three units, known as the Grand Staircase, 
Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyons Units of the monument and are 
reserved for the care and management of the objects of historic and 
scientific interest described in Proclamation 6920 as modified by 
Proclamation 9682.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues

[[Page 2180]]

that will inform the scope of the environmental analysis, including 
alternatives, and guide the planning process. Preliminary issues for 
the planning area have been identified by BLM personnel; Federal, 
State, and local agencies; and other stakeholders. These preliminary 
issues include paleontology, geology, cultural and historic resources, 
travel management, livestock grazing, vegetation and fire management, 
outdoor recreation, wildlife, and other resources. Preliminary planning 
criteria include: (1) The public planning process for the RMPs will be 
guided by Presidential Proclamation 6920 as modified by Proclamation 
9682 in addition to FLPMA and NEPA. (2) Those Federal lands excluded 
from the Monument will remain in Federal ownership and will be managed 
by the BLM under applicable laws. (3) The BLM will use current 
scientific information, and results of inventory, monitoring, and 
coordination to determine appropriate management. (4) The BLM will 
strive for consistency of management decisions with other adjoining 
planning jurisdictions, both Federal and non-Federal. (5) Decisions 
made in the planning process will only apply to Federal lands and, 
where appropriate, to split-estate lands where the subsurface mineral 
estate is managed by the BLM. (6) Existing Wilderness Study Areas 
(WSAs) will continue to be managed to prevent impairment and ensure 
continued suitability for designation as wilderness. Should Congress 
release all or part of a WSA from wilderness study, resource management 
will be determined by preparing an amendment to the RMPs. (7) A 
baseline reasonably foreseeable development scenario will be developed 
for oil and gas and other mineral resources for Federal lands 
previously included in the GSENM that are now excluded from the 
monument boundaries. (8) The BLM will consider changes to off-highway 
vehicle (OHV) area designations. (9) The public is invited to nominate 
or recommend areas on public lands that are excluded from the modified 
monument boundaries as potentially new special management areas as part 
of this planning process (BLM Manual 1613.3.31). (10) Parties 
interested in leasing and development of Federal coal in areas that are 
excluded from the monument should provide coal resource data for their 
area(s) of interest. Specifically, information is requested on surface 
resource values related to the 20 coal unsuitability criteria described 
at 43 CFR part 3461. This information will be used for any necessary 
updating of coal screening determinations (43 CFR 3420.1-4) and in the 
environmental analysis, completion of which would be necessary before 
any proposal to lease or develop Federal coal in such areas.
    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, and to ensure inclusion in the Draft EIS, you should 
submit comments prior to the close of the 60-day scoping period or 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 plans, and will place 
them into one of three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plans;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of the plans.
    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 plans. 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 utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to 
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 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.
    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 full 
consideration consistent with these authorities and policies. 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 
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, 
minerals and geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, archaeology, 
paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, 
soils, sociology and economics.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2.

Edwin L. Roberson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-00518 Filed 1-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P