[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 125 (Friday, July 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 35329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14033]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCON02000.L51010000.ER0000.LVRWC16C8700.16X]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Blue Valley Land Exchange, Grand and Summit
Counties, CO
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
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Blue Valley Land
Exchange.
DATES: The BLM will issue a final decision on the proposal a minimum of
30 days after the date that the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Blue Valley Land Exchange Final EIS are
available in the Kremmling Field Office at 2103 Park Avenue, Kremmling,
CO 80459 and online at https://go.usa.gov/xnBJ5.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Annie Sperandio, Blue Valley Land
Exchange Project Manager, telephone 970-724-3000; address Kremmling
Field Office, 2103 Park Avenue, Kremmling, CO 80549; email:
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-
8339 to contact Ms. Sperandio during normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM proposes to exchange certain Federal
lands for properties owned by Galloway, Inc., the owners of the Blue
Valley Ranch. Pursuant to Section 206 of the Federal Land Management
and Policy Act of 1976, as amended, the proposed land exchange must be
determined to be in the public's interest and appraisals of the Federal
and non-Federal parcels must show that the exchange parcels are equal
in value. The Federal and non-Federal lands are located within the
BLM's Kremmling Field Office and the White River National Forest.
The Final EIS describes and analyzes the Proposed Action (BLM's
preferred alternative), another action alternative (Alternative 3), and
the No Action alternative. The BLM's preferred alternative would convey
approximately 1,489 acres of Federal lands managed by the BLM in Grand
County, Colorado, to Blue Valley Ranch in exchange for approximately
1,830 acres of non-Federal lands in Summit and Grand counties,
Colorado. It also provides a series of recreation design features along
the lower Blue River, including public access easements, ADA-accessible
facilities, fishing access, boater rest stops, trails, parking, boat
ramps, and picnic facilities. Alternative 3 responds to public comments
on the draft EIS, analyzing a reconfigured boundary for BLM parcel I
that retains existing public fishing access and drops ranch-owned
parcels 3 and 4 from the exchange to balance land values. Also dropped
from Alternative 3 are the recreation design features that are part of
the Proposed Action.
The BLM sought public participation through a scoping period
initiated in April 2016 prior to preparation of the Draft EIS, which
assisted the BLM in identifying issues to be addressed in the Draft EIS
for the proposed land exchange.
Issues identified by the public during scoping included changes to
public fishing access, perceived changes to float boating on the Blue
River, concerns about changes to public access for hunting, changes to
wildlife management and habitat, changes to the availability of Federal
minerals for development, transfer of historic water rights, and issues
common for all proposed land exchanges such as concerns about large
landowners realizing a benefit from the exchange. These issues are
addressed in the analysis in the Final EIS. The BLM would manage lands
acquired through the land exchange in accordance with applicable laws
and regulations, as well as the 2015 Kremmling Field Office Resource
Management Plan, as amended. The White River National Forest would
manage approximately 300 acres of lands acquired under the White River
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The Blue Valley
Ranch would manage lands acquired in accordance with applicable State,
county, and local laws and ordinances.
The Draft EIS was available for a 45-day public comment period,
which began on May 11, 2018, and ended on June 25, 2018. The comment
period included two public meetings: On June 4, 2018, at the Summit
County Library in Silverthorne, Colorado, and on June 6, 2018, at the
Grand County Extension Office in Kremmling, Colorado. The BLM received
52 comments during the public comment process. Comment responses are in
the Final EIS.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6)
Jamie E. Connell,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-14033 Filed 7-1-21; 8:45 am]
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