[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 14 (Friday, January 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3328-3329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01184]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLESJ02400-L16100000-DU0000-223L1109AF]


Notice of Intent To Amend the 1995 Florida Resource Management 
Plan and To Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 as amended (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Southeastern States District Office, Flowood, Mississippi, intends to 
prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment to the 1995 Florida 
Approved RMP, with an associated Environmental Assessment (EA), to 
evaluate proposed future management guidance for the Jupiter Inlet 
Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (ONA). This notice announces the 
beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and 
identify potential issues for consideration in the EA. This notice also 
announces the beginning of the 30-day review of the proposed planning 
criteria the BLM would use in the analysis of the RMP Amendment, and 
calls for nominations for new proposals or modifications to the 
existing area of critical environmental concern (ACEC) within the 
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse ONA.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing by February 22, 2022. The 
BLM will announce date(s), time(s), and detail(s) of any scoping 
meetings at least 15 days in advance through local news media, 
newspapers, social media channels, and the BLM website at: www.blm.gov/JupiterONA. The BLM must receive all comments prior to the close of the 
30-day scoping period in order to include them in the analysis. We will 
provide additional opportunities for public participation as 
appropriate.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 
related to the Florida RMP Amendment EA by any of the following 
methods:
     Florida RMP Amendment ePlanning website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2002316/510;
     Mail: Program Manager, Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse ONA, 
Bureau of Land Management, 600 State Road 707, Unit B, Jupiter, Florida 
33469; or
     Email: [email protected].
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online on the 
BLM ePlanning website provided above. The ePlanning site can also be 
accessed via links provided on the ONA official website here: 
www.blm.gov/JupiterONA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter DeWitt, Program Manager; 
telephone: (561) 295-5955; 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 Mr. DeWitt 
during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week, to leave a message. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ONA was designated by Congress in 2008. 
It is a protected land area designation within the National Landscape 
Conservation System. This document provides notice that the BLM 
Southeastern States District intends to prepare an EA and RMP Amendment 
to the 1995 Florida RMP, exclusive to the ONA. The planning area is in 
Palm Beach County, Florida, and encompasses approximately 126 acres of 
both Federal and non-Federal surface lands that make up the ONA. The 
BLM, as directed by the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 
(CNRA), manages the ONA in coordination with local partners to protect, 
preserve, and enhance the unique and nationally important historical, 
natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, and recreational 
values at the ONA, with an emphasis on restoring native ecological 
systems. The proposed amendment will identify land management decisions 
for lands acquired within the planning area that currently have no 
land-use planning level decisions, evaluate land-use planning level 
decisions for recreation management, consider the availability of all 
or portions of the planning area for certain land-use authorizations, 
and evaluate the Jupiter Inlet tract ACEC decisions to address the need 
for the designation within the ONA.
    The 54-acre ACEC was designated by the 1995 Florida RMP as relevant 
and important for wildlife and cultural resources. An ACEC Evaluation 
Report published in Volume 3 of the draft Southeastern States RMP/EIS 
on October 24, 2016, determined that the ACEC and an 83-acre expanded 
nomination area continue to meet the relevance and importance criteria. 
No further areas or configurations for ACECs applicable to the planning 
area have been identified from previous planning efforts or from pre-
planning activities on the current land-use plan amendment effort. Both 
the existing ACEC and the expanded nomination area are wholly within 
the ONA boundaries.U.S.C
    BLM identified preliminary issues for planning, which include: (1) 
Absence of land-use planning level guidance for the recreation and 
visitor services program; (2) necessity of, or lack thereof, special 
management for the existing ACEC or the expanded nomination area; and 
(3) availability of all or a portion of the ONA for issuing certain 
land-use authorizations. Public scoping is intended to determine 
relevant issues that will influence the scope of the EA, formulate 
alternatives, and guide the planning process.
    Preliminary planning criteria include: (1) Comply with FLPMA, CNRA, 
and all other laws, regulations, and policies; (2) recognize valid 
existing rights and allow for appropriate partner uses consistent with 
applicable laws; (3) establish new land-use planning level guidance and 
identify existing guidance for managing the ONA; (4) strive to protect, 
conserve, and enhance the unique and nationally important values at the 
ONA with an emphasis on conservation; (5) provide the framework for 
accommodating visitors for a range of educational, interpretive, and 
passive recreational experiences while ensuring that the ONA is 
preserved; (6) remain fiscally responsible with reasonable and 
achievable management decisions; and (7) provide for safe facilities, 
infrastructure, and grounds that are compatible with achieving the 
resource objectives for the ONA.
    You may submit comments on issues, planning criteria, the ACEC and 
its expanded nomination area, or new ACEC nominations 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 earlier. 
Comments must be submitted by the date identified in the DATES section 
earlier for consideration during the NEPA and land-use planning 
process. In accordance with FLPMA, the BLM will use and coordinate the 
NEPA scoping process to fulfill the public involvement process and 
compliance under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)), pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 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 in

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the context of both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.
    The BLM will consult with Native American Tribes on a government-
to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including potential impacts to cultural 
resources, will be given due consideration. 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 to participate in the environmental analysis as a 
cooperating agency.
    The BLM will evaluate identified issues and place them into one of 
three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the RMP Amendment,
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action, 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of these plans.
    The BLM will provide an explanation 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 RMP Amendment. 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 use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the EA/
RMP Amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and 
concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in National 
Conservation Lands, recreation and visitor services, archaeology, 
wildlife, and vegetation may be involved in the EA/RMP Amendment.
    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 1501.9, 43 CFR 1610.2)

Mitchell Leverette,
BLM Eastern States State Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-01184 Filed 1-20-22; 8:45 am]
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