[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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