[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44742-44743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17359]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[212.LLHQ230000.L11700000.PI0000. LXSGCO000000]


Notice to Re-Initiate Proposed Withdrawal; Sagebrush Focal Areas

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of re-initiation.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with an Order from the United States District 
Court for the District of Idaho (the Court), this notice announces that 
the Secretary of the Interior is re-initiating consideration of the 
September 24, 2015, proposal by the Assistant Secretary for Land and 
Minerals Management, as amended on December 30, 2016, to withdraw 
approximately 10 million acres of public and National Forest System 
lands from location and entry under the United States mining laws to 
protect the Greater Sage-Grouse and its habitat, subject to valid 
existing rights. The lands included in this proposal are referred to as 
Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs). The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had 
previously canceled the withdrawal application. The Court vacated 
cancellation of the withdrawal application and proposal and remanded to 
the BLM for further

[[Page 44743]]

proceedings and consideration of whether the withdrawal is needed for 
sage grouse conservation. Accordingly, this notice announces that the 
BLM is now re-initiating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
process to inform the Secretary's consideration of whether to withdraw 
any of the lands proposed for withdrawal. This notice does not 
segregate any of the lands described in the proposal, which, subject to 
any overlapping withdrawals, remain open to location and entry under 
the mining laws.

DATES: The BLM will shortly issue a new draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) initiating a 
public comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Deibert, National Sage-grouse 
Coordinator (Acting), BLM Headquarters, at email: 
[email protected]; telephone: 307-757-3709. 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. Seibert 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: On September 24, 2015, a Notice of Proposed 
Withdrawal was published in the Federal Register (80 FR 57635), as 
corrected (80 FR 63583), which provided notice of the proposal to 
withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands in Idaho, 
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming from location and entry 
under the United States mining laws for 20 years, subject to valid 
existing rights. The lands included in the proposed action are National 
System of Public Lands and National Forest System lands administered by 
the BLM and the United States Forest Service (USFS). The BLM is the 
agency lead for this proposed withdrawal.
    On December 30, 2016, a Notice of Amended Proposed Withdrawal, 
Release of Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and Notice of Public 
Meetings; Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming was 
published in the Federal Register (81 FR 96478). The amended proposal 
added 387,981.42 acres in the State of Nevada and proposed boundary 
refinements in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming that 
were identified because of legal land description refinements. The 
notice released for public comment a draft EIS, which analyzed and 
disclosed the impacts of the proposed withdrawal. The notice included a 
summary of scoping comments, the issues analyzed, and the alternatives 
considered in the draft EIS. The draft EIS can be found on BLM's 
National NEPA Register at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/70697/510 (DOI-BLM-WO-WO3500-2016-0002-EIS). The BLM sought 
comments on the draft EIS from December 30, 2016, through March 28, 
2017. The BLM received approximately 4,200 comment submissions on the 
draft EIS, of which approximately 192 submissions were unique.
    A Notice of Cancellation of Withdrawal Application and Withdrawal 
Proposal and Notice of Termination of Environmental Impact Statement 
was published on October 11, 2017, in the Federal Register (82 FR 
47248), which stated that the BLM had determined the lands were no 
longer needed in connection with the proposed withdrawal, and 
terminated the preparation of an EIS evaluating the application and 
proposal. The BLM canceled the application prior to responding to 
public comments and publishing a final EIS.
    The cancellation was then vacated by the Court on February 11, 2021 
(Western Watersheds Project v. Bernhardt, Case No. 1:16-cv-00083-BLW, 
EFC 264). The Court ordered the BLM to consider ``whether the 
withdrawal is needed for sage-grouse conservation,'' and that ``[s]ich 
proceedings shall include re-initiation of the NEPA process.''
    To comply with the Court's order and to review issues raised during 
the initial scoping and comment period for the draft EIS published on 
December 30, 2016, the BLM will issue a new draft EIS and publish an 
NOA initiating a public comment period. The withdrawal proposal will 
continue to be processed in accordance with the regulations set forth 
in 43 CFR part 2300. The process will inform a final decision as to 
whether to withdraw any of the lands proposed for withdrawal from 
location and entry under the mining laws. This notice does not 
segregate the lands because the segregation period for this withdrawal 
proposal expired on September 24, 2017. All the lands (unless subject 
to an existing withdrawal) remain open to location and entry under the 
mining laws.
    The lands included in the withdrawal application were published in 
the previous notices. A description of the lands is posted on BLM's 
National NEPA Register at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/70697/510 (DOI-BLM-WO-WO3500-2016-0002-EIS). Non-Federal 
mineral lands located within the boundaries of the proposed withdrawal 
areas will not be affected.
    Thirty-one agencies and two American Indian Tribes entered into 
cooperating agency agreements with the BLM for the EIS process. The BLM 
will re-initiate participation with cooperating agencies for this NEPA 
process.
    The BLM also contacted 53 American Indian governments via letter or 
face-to-face meetings during scoping and prior to the release of the 
draft EIS. The governments were provided a project update, an offer to 
provide more information, and an offer for government-to-government 
consultation. The BLM will re-initiate consultation with Indian tribes 
on a government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 
13175 and other policies for this NEPA process.
    In accordance with 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), the BLM previously 
determined that the proposed SFA withdrawal is an undertaking that has 
no potential to affect historic properties, assuming such historic 
properties were present, and therefore the agency official has no 
further obligation under the National Historic Preservation Act. The 
BLM informed 53 American Indian governments; the Idaho, Montana, 
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming State Historic Preservation Offices; 
and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation of this determination 
of effect. This previous determination by the BLM remains accurate and 
will not be changed during re-initiated consideration of the withdrawal 
proposal.

David Jenkins,
Assistant Director, Resources and Planning.
[FR Doc. 2021-17359 Filed 8-12-21; 8:45 am]
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