[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57508-57509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20278]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLORM06000.L63000000.DD0000-HAG22-0017]


Notice of Recreational Target Shooting Closure on Public Lands in 
the Anderson Butte Area of Jackson County, OR

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of temporary closure.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is temporarily closing 11 
sites, totaling 50 acres, in the Anderson Butte area of Jackson County, 
Oregon, south of the cities of Jacksonville and Medford, to 
recreational target shooting for 2 years.

DATES: The lands described later in this notice will be temporarily 
closed to recreational target shooting for 2 years from 12:01 a.m., 
October 20, 2022.

ADDRESSES: A notice, a map of the target shooting closure, and other 
documents associated with the temporary recreational target shooting 
closure are available at the BLM Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle 
Rd., Medford, Oregon 97504, and on the BLM's National NEPA Register 
ePlanning website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/123432/510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Brown, Ashland Field Office 
Manager, telephone: (541) 618-2232, email: [email protected], or by mail 
at the Medford District Office.
    Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make

[[Page 57509]]

international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The temporary closure order applies to 11 
sites that encompass approximately 4.5 acres (250-foot radius circle) 
each and will collectively total approximately 50 acres of BLM-
administered lands in the Anderson Butte area of Jackson County, 
Oregon. This temporary closure is necessary to protect persons, 
property, public lands, and resources from the discharge or use of 
firearms at unsafe locations. The temporary closure applies only to 
recreational target shooting. It does not prohibit public access to 
this portion of the Anderson Butte or apply to legal hunting in the 
area.
    The Anderson Butte area of BLM-administered lands consists of 
approximately 11,459 acres located immediately south of the cities of 
Jacksonville and Medford, Oregon. The area is used for a variety of 
outdoor recreational activities including, but not limited to, hiking, 
horseback riding, hunting, mountain biking, off-highway vehicle use, 
and recreational target shooting. Despite more than 5 years of efforts 
to reduce conflicts and dangers associated with recreational target 
shooting, the BLM continues to receive reports of stray bullets 
traveling across recreational trails and roads or onto nearby private 
property. Eleven sites were identified as posing a high risk of 
potential harm to recreational users of the area and nearby residents 
due to recreational target shooting activities occurring at those 
sites.
    To ameliorate the dangerous and unsafe target shooting activities 
at the 11 locations, the BLM Ashland Field Office signed a Decision 
Record on March 10, 2022, authorizing a temporary closure to 
recreational target shooting on select public lands. As stated earlier, 
the temporary closure only affects recreational target shooting; it 
does not affect legal hunting.
    The BLM will monitor recreation uses and site conditions during the 
2-year temporary closure to determine if it resolves the identified 
safety issues. The findings will help guide long-term solutions to 
these land management challenges.
    The BLM will post recreational target shooting closure signs at 
main entry points to the Anderson Butte area and at the 11 target 
shooting locations.
    Description of Closed Areas: The legal description of the affected 
public lands is:

  Table 1--Center Point of Restriction Site Locations, 250' Buffer From
                                 Center
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                                                        Township, range,
           Site No.               Latitude, longitude     section, and
                                                           subsection
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1.............................  42[deg]13'50.92'' N,    T38S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]55'32.47'' W.   27, SW\1/4\
2.............................  42[deg]13'05.97'' N,    T38S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]55'42.47'' W.   34, SW\1/4\
3.............................  42[deg]12'22.14'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]55'59.83'' W.   3, SW\1/4\
4.............................  42[deg]13'02.40'' N,    T38S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]54'26.51'' W.   35, SW\1/4\
5.............................  42[deg]12'31.66'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]54'10.50'' W.   2, NE\1/4\
6.............................  42[deg]12'29.14'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]54'23.39'' W.   2, NW\1/4\
7.............................  42[deg]12'08.84'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]54'56.21'' W.   3, SE\1/4\
8.............................  42[deg]11'42.75'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]53'15.56'' W.   12, NW\1/4\
9.............................  42[deg]11'43.92'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]53'27.04'' W.   12, NW\1/4\
10............................  42[deg]10'41.22'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]55'47.82'' W.   15, SW\1/4\
11............................  42[deg]11'16.57'' N,    T39S, R2W, Sec.
                                 122[deg]56'33.62'' W.   9, SE\1/4\
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Closure: The 11 sites that each encompass approximately 4.5 acres 
(250-foot radius circle) and totaling approximately 50 acres as 
described above will be temporarily closed to recreational target 
shooting.
    Exceptions to Closure: The following persons are exempt from this 
order: Federal, State, and local officers and employees in the 
performance of their official duties; members of organized rescue or 
fire-fighting forces in the performance of their official duties; and 
persons with written authorization from the BLM.
    Enforcement: Any person who violates the restriction may be tried 
before a United States magistrate and fined in accordance with 18 
U.S.C. 3571, imprisoned no more than 12 months under 43 U.S.C. 1733(a) 
and 43 CFR 8360.0-7, or both. In accordance with 43 CFR 8365.1-7, State 
or local officials may also impose penalties for violations of State 
law.
    Effect of Closure: The 11 sites that encompass approximately 4.5 
acres (250-foot radius circle) totaling approximately 50 acres as 
described earlier and for the duration as described are temporarily 
closed to recreational target shooting unless specifically excepted as 
described above.

(Authority: 43 CFR 8364.1)

Lauren Brown,
Ashland Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 2022-20278 Filed 9-19-22; 8:45 am]
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