[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 65 (Friday, April 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 19018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06890]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[19X.LLID930000.L11700000.DF0000.LXSGPL000000.241A.4500132602]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for Fuels Reduction and Rangeland Restoration in the 
Great Basin; California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington

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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Fuels 
Reduction and Rangeland Restoration in the Great Basin and by this 
notice is announcing for the opening of the comment period. The BLM 
will hold public meetings throughout the project area to share 
information with the public and answer questions.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft Programmatic EIS for Fuels Reduction and 
Rangeland Restoration in the Great Basin within 60 days following the 
date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future 
meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities at 
least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or 
mailings and will ensure that the last public meeting is held at least 
15 days before the public comment period ends.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Programmatic 
EIS for Fuels Reduction and Rangeland Restoration in the Great Basin by 
any of the following methods:
     Website: https://go.usa.gov/xdfgV.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 208-373-3805.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office, ATTN: 
Fuels Reduction Draft PEIS, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 83709.
    Copies of the Draft Programmatic EIS for Fuels Reduction and 
Rangeland Restoration in the Great Basin are available for public 
inspection during regular business hours at the BLM Idaho State Office, 
1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 83709. Interested persons may also 
review the Draft Programmatic EIS online at: https://go.usa.gov/xdfgV. 
Additional copies are available upon request at the BLM California, 
Nevada, Oregon/Washington, and Utah State Offices.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ammon Wilhelm, telephone 208-373-3824; 
address BLM Idaho State Office, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 
83709; 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 sagebrush communities in the Great Basin 
are home to over 350 species of plants and wildlife and are a vital 
part of Western working landscapes. Wildfire and cheatgrass invasions 
are threatening these vegetative communities; approximately 45% of the 
historical range of sagebrush has been lost. Between 2009 and 2018, 
over 13.5 million acres burned on BLM land within the project area. 
Many sagebrush communities, both burned and unburned, are being 
overtaken by invasive annual grasses and encroaching pinyon-juniper. 
Fuels reduction and rangeland restoration treatments can reduce fire 
severity, which increases the vegetative communities' resistance to 
invasive annual grasses and improves their ability to recover after 
wildfire.
    The Project Area covers approximately 223 million acres, including 
portions of California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. 
Restoration projects would be implemented within an analysis area 
covering approximately 38.5 million acres of sagebrush communities 
managed by the BLM within the project area boundary. The analysis area 
is defined by the current and historical presence of sagebrush on BLM-
administered lands.
    The purpose of future treatments is to enhance the long-term 
function, viability, resistance, and resilience of vegetative 
communities and to protect, conserve, and restore sagebrush communities 
within the project area. Functioning and viable sagebrush communities 
provide multiple-use opportunities for all user groups as well as 
habitat for sagebrush-dependent species.
    Intact sagebrush communities are disappearing within the Great 
Basin due to increased wildfires, the spread of invasive annual 
grasses, and the encroachment of pinyon-juniper. Restoration treatments 
such as fuels reduction and revegetation are needed to increase intact 
sagebrush communities and improve their ability to resist annual grass 
invasion and recover from disturbance such as wildfire.
    The preferred alternative (Alternative B) analyzes a full suite of 
manual, chemical and mechanical treatments, including prescribed fire, 
seeding, and targeted grazing, to restore degraded vegetative 
communities within the 38.5 million-acre sagebrush analysis area.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who 
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    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.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

John F. Ruhs,
Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-06890 Filed 4-2-20; 8:45 am]
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