[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24030-24032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07106]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_NM_FRN_MO4500177326]


Notice of Availability for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks 
National Monument Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Resource 
Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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) New 
Mexico State Director is announcing the availability of the Organ 
Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (Monument) Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) and Resource Management Plan (RMP). This notice 
begins a 90-day public comment period to solicit public comments 
associated with the Monument RMP land use allocations and resource 
management goals and objectives, and the environmental analysis 
developed using best available science to identify potential impacts to 
objects of scientific and historic interest, as well as natural 
resources, resource values, and wildlife habitat located on the 
Monument.

DATES: The BLM is encouraging public involvement and input via comment 
submissions on the Monument Draft EIS/RMP. The BLM will accept comments 
through June 4, 2024.
    To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider and respond to public 
comment submission for the Monument Draft EIS/RMP, please ensure your 
comments are submitted and received prior to the close of the 90-day 
comment period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is 
later.

ADDRESSES: The public may submit comments on the Draft EIS/RMP to the 
BLM by any of the following methods: website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/; email: 
[email protected]; or mail: BLM Las Cruces District Office, 
Attention: Monument Manager, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 
88005.
    Documents and information relevant to the Monument planning effort 
may be examined online at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510 or in-person at the BLM Las Cruces District Office 
address mentioned above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Patrick Rich, RMP Team Lead; 
telephone: 405-579-7154; email: [email protected]. Monument Manager, 
telephone: 575-525-4358; address: 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, New 
Mexico 88005.
    Contact Mr. Patrick Rich to add your name to our mailing list. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting 
Mr. Patrick Rich. Individuals outside the United States should use the 
relay services offered within their country to make international calls 
to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
New Mexico State Director has prepared a Draft EIS/RMP for the Organ 
Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, announces the beginning of 
the 90-day public comment period for the Monument Draft EIS/RMP, and 
seeks public input and comment on the Monument Draft RMP land use

[[Page 24031]]

allocations and resource management goals and objectives identified in 
the four land use management alternatives, as well as the environmental 
analysis developed in the Draft EIS to identify potential effects 
associated with the four land use management alternatives developed for 
the Monument Draft RMP. The Monument planning area is in Do[ntilde]a 
Ana County, New Mexico, and encompasses approximately 496,591 acres of 
BLM-managed public land. The Monument's current management is directed 
by the existing 1993 Mimbres RMP, relevant amendments that apply to 
this planning area, and interim Monument guidance.
    Presidential Proclamation 9131 established the Monument through 
identification of 496,591-acres of BLM-managed public lands in 
Do[ntilde]a Ana County, New Mexico, surrounding the City of Las Cruces; 
and directed the BLM to develop an RMP for the Monument. The Draft RMP 
provides four management alternatives with associated land use 
allocations and resource management goals and objectives for the 
protection and preservation of objects of scientific and historic 
interest, as well as the conservation of natural resources, resource 
values, and wildlife habitat located on the Monument.

Purpose and Need

    The BLM's purpose for developing the Monument EIS/RMP is to respond 
to: (1) Presidential Proclamation 9131 (79 FR 30431), signed by 
President Barack Obama on May 21, 2014, establishing approximately 
496,591-acres of Federal lands and interest in lands owned or 
controlled by the government of the United States as the Monument; and 
(2) the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation 
Act (Dingell Act; Pub. L. 116-9), enacted on March 12, 2019, 
designating approximately 239,596-acres falling within the established 
boundaries of the Monument as wilderness and components of the National 
Wilderness Preservation System, in accordance with the Wilderness Act 
of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). The designated wilderness encompasses 
10 BLM-managed public land areas within New Mexico: Aden Lava Flow 
Wilderness, Broad Canyon Wilderness, Cinder Cone Wilderness, East 
Potrillo Mountains Wilderness, Mount Riley Wilderness, Organ Mountains 
Wilderness, Potrillo Mountains Wilderness, Robledo Mountains 
Wilderness, Sierra De Las Uvas Wilderness, and Whitehorn Wilderness.
    The need to develop the Monument EIS/RMP is found in FLPMA, which 
states the BLM shall ``develop, maintain, and, when appropriate, revise 
land use plans'' (43 U.S.C. 1712(a)); NEPA of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190); 
and the BLM's planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.4-6). The BLM is 
preparing an EIS to identify and analyze reasonably foreseeable direct, 
indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts associated with the 
Monument RMP proposed land use allocations and the resource management 
goals and objectives.

Alternatives

    The BLM developed and analyzed the potential effects of four 
distinct alternatives, demonstrating a reasonable range of 
alternatives. These were developed and analyzed by the BLM, as mandated 
by NEPA. Alternative A is the No Action alternative, which is required 
by Federal law and utilizes existing land use management allocations 
and resource management goals and objectives. The No Action alternative 
serves as a base point of reference from which the three action 
alternatives may be compared and measured for potential effects, both 
beneficial and adverse. Three action alternatives (Alternatives B, C, 
and D) were developed and analyzed for potential effects. Each 
alternative demonstrates a unique means of achieving the purpose and 
need through varying land use allocations and resource management goals 
and objectives. The following is a brief synopsis of the themes used to 
develop each alternative:
     Alternative A (No Action): Maintains the 1993 Mimbres RMP 
land use allocations and resource management goals and objectives. 
Incorporates Monument management direction and guidance from 
Presidential Proclamation 9131 and the 2019 Dingell Act.
     Alternative B (Protection-focused): Protects objects of 
scientific and historic interest. Protects, preserves, and enhances 
habitat, natural resources, and resource values while providing limited 
recreation and travel opportunities. Most proactive in promoting land 
use management activities focused on preservation, restoration, and 
enhancement.
     Alternative C (Agency Preferred Alternative): Preserves 
objects of scientific and historic interest within the Monument. 
Provides an objective approach to land use management, employing 
preservation and conservation principles for habitat management, 
natural resource management, and resource values. Alternative C employs 
targeted preservation goals and objectives, while allowing uses that 
promote sustained socioeconomic progression.
     Alternative D (Recreation and Use-focused): Preserves 
objects of scientific and historic interest within the Monument. 
Institutes foundational conservation management principles for the 
management of habitat, natural resources, and resource values, while 
simultaneously providing an enhanced visitor experience that emphasizes 
a more diverse array of recreational opportunities. Includes targeted 
preservation goals and objectives where appropriate and necessary.
    The BLM New Mexico State Director has identified Alternative C as 
the agency preferred alternative. Alternative C was determined to be 
effective at protecting and preserving Monument objects while balancing 
resource uses and meeting the purpose and need. The preferred 
alternative includes important conservation and preservation measures 
that will protect Monument objects of scientific and historic interest, 
as well as other resources and resource values, including:
     Wilderness areas: Emphasizes preservation of wilderness 
character, with allowance for compatible uses;
     Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC): Designates 
two ACECs comprised of 38,085 acres within the Do[ntilde]a Ana 
Mountains (1,427 acres) and the Organ Mountains (36,658 acres);
     Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA): Designates 
SRMAs comprised of 45,871 acres within the Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains 
(5,858 acres) and Organ Mountains (36,658 acres). Recreational focus on 
camping, equestrian, and pedestrian use;
     Soils: provides for protection and active management of 
soils, while limiting soil disturbing activities;
     Vegetative communities: provides for the protection, 
preservation, and restoration of reference vegetative communities;
     Wildlife: preserves and restores native habitat, while 
enhancing wildlife corridors and connectivity;
     Visual resources: preserves high value visual resources 
through protective management goals and objectives;
     Livestock grazing: establishes goals and objectives 
developed to ensure appropriate preservation and conservation of 
Monument objects, natural resources, and resource values, and defers to 
a subsequent site-specific evaluation of compatibility of grazing with 
the Presidential Proclamation and land health evaluations to make 
further adjustments to grazing management guidance and decisions;

[[Page 24032]]

     Travel management: establishes protective goals and 
objectives by limiting off-highway vehicles to designated roads and 
mechanized vehicles to designated roads and trails; and
     Lands and realty: provides resource preservation and 
conservation through establishment of right-of-way exclusion and 
avoidance areas across the Monument.

Public Involvement Process

    The date(s) and location(s) of public meeting(s), in-person or 
virtual, will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local 
media, social media, and the ePlanning website (https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510).
    The ePlanning website https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510 includes information about the Monument, a BLM 
planning process overview, issues identified for planning, and interim 
management guidance. The BLM encourages broad public involvement and 
the submission of substantive comments on: (1) the issues identified 
for analysis; (2) the land use allocations and resource management 
goals and objectives associated with the four alternatives; (3) other 
relevant information; and (4) the environmental analysis conducted in 
the Monument Draft EIS. However, the public may comment on any aspect 
of the Monument Draft EIS/RMP.
    A substantive comment is one that is based on or uses a rational 
and/or science-based approach to critique the information, data, or 
methodology employed to develop the Monument Draft EIS/RMP; the 
construct of the alternative(s); or the methodology and projected 
effects derived from the environmental analysis and utilized to develop 
the Monument Draft EIS. All public comments received during the 90-day 
public comment period will be accepted, reviewed, and logged into the 
administrative record. However, substantive comments submitted to the 
BLM during the 90-day public comment period will be accepted, reviewed, 
responded to by the BLM, and potentially used for document amendment 
through incorporation of comment substance.

Responsible Official

    The New Mexico State Director is the deciding official for the 
Monument EIS/RMP and the Record of Decision.

Decision To Be Made

    The BLM New Mexico State Director will select from the four 
alternatives developed and analyzed in the Monument Draft EIS/RMP or a 
combination of those alternatives, and the specific land use 
allocations and resource management goals and objectives to be employed 
for the protection, preservation, restoration, enhancement, 
conservation, administration, and management of the objects of 
scientific and historic interest, natural resources, resource values, 
and wildlife habitat located on Monument lands.

BLM Interdisciplinary Team

    The BLM used an interdisciplinary approach to develop the Monument 
Draft EIS/RMP through careful consideration of the issues and concerns 
identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines 
were involved in the development and analysis of the Monument Draft 
EIS/RMP: botany/vegetation; lands and realty; renewable energy; fire 
ecology and management; wilderness characteristics; wildlife and 
special status species; public health and safety; geology and minerals; 
paleontology; air resources; climate change; water resources; 
recreation; transportation; visual resources; rangeland management; 
cultural resources; Tribal resources; soils; sociology; and economics.
    Additional Information: The BLM interdisciplinary team identified, 
analyzed, and considered mitigation to address reasonably foreseeable 
impacts associated with land use allocations and resource management 
goals and objectives employed to develop the alternatives, in 
accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(e). The BLM interdisciplinary team 
included appropriate mitigation measures in the proposed alternatives. 
Mitigation includes avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction, 
or elimination over time, and compensation and was considered at 
multiple planning scales, including the landscape level.
    The BLM interdisciplinary team proactively coordinated the NEPA and 
land use planning processes early in the planning effort to ensure 
compliance with applicable procedural requirements under the Endangered 
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108), as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), 
including public involvement requirements of Section 106. Information 
concerning historic and cultural resources and threatened and 
endangered species within the area potentially affected by the draft 
plan assisted the BLM interdisciplinary team in identifying and 
evaluating potential impacts to those resources.
    The BLM engaged in consultation with thirteen federally recognized 
Tribes on a government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive 
Order 13175, BLM Manual section 1780, and other Departmental policies. 
Tribal concerns, including potential impacts to Indian trust assets and 
cultural resources, were given due consideration. Federal, State, and 
local agencies, along with Indian Tribal Nations and other stakeholders 
that demonstrated interest in or could have been impacted by the 
Monument RMP, were invited to participate in the scoping process and, 
if eligible, were invited to participate as a cooperating agency. The 
BLM intends to continue government-to-government consultation meetings 
and will continue to solicit input and develop opportunities for 
meaningful consultation with potentially affected Tribal Nations 
throughout the land use planning process.
    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 and 43 CFR 1610.2)

Melanie G. Barnes,
BLM New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-07106 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
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