[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 82 (Friday, April 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32457-32458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08966]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_AK_FRN_MO4500178463]


Notice of Availability for the Central Yukon Proposed Resource 
Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska

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, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Central Yukon Planning Area, and by this notice 
is announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the Proposed RMP.

DATES: This notice announces the beginning of a 30-day protest period 
to the BLM on the Proposed RMP. Protests must be postmarked or 
electronically submitted on the BLM's ePlanning site within 30 days of 
the date that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its 
Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA usually 
publishes its NOAs on Fridays.

ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is available on the BLM's 
ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/35315/510. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined 
online at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/35315/570 and 
at the BLM Alaska State Office, BLM Alaska Public Information Center, 
222 West 7th Avenue (1st Floor), Anchorage, Alaska, 99513; or at the 
Fairbanks District Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska 
99709.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM for the Central 
Yukon Proposed RMP/Final EIS can be found at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest 
and in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 43 CFR 1610.5-2.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melinda Bolton, BLM Alaska Planning 
and Environmental Specialist, telephone: (907) 271-3342 or email: 
[email protected]. 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 
for contacting Ms. Bolton. 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: The Central Yukon Proposed RMP/Final EIS is 
a comprehensive framework for future public land management actions in 
the Central Yukon region of Alaska. The planning area consists of about 
55.7 million acres of land, including approximately 13.3 million acres 
of public lands managed by the BLM Central Yukon Field Office.
    The Central Yukon RMP will guide management of these public lands 
for the benefit of current and future generations as part of the BLM's

[[Page 32458]]

multiple-use mission. This planning effort updates management decisions 
for public land uses and resources, including subsistence resources, 
mineral exploration and development, and recreation. When complete, the 
updated Central Yukon RMP will replace the Utility Corridor RMP (1991), 
the original Central Yukon RMP (1986), and portions of the Southwest 
Management Framework Plan (1981), as well as provide RMP-level 
decisions for unplanned lands west of Fairbanks. The proposed plan 
provides consolidated direction under one resource management plan to 
address land and resource use and development on BLM-managed public 
lands within the planning area.
    The Central Yukon Proposed RMP/EIS evaluates six alternatives for 
managing the planning area. Alternatives B, C1, C2 (preferred 
alternative from Draft RMP/EIS), and D were developed using input from 
the public, Tribes, stakeholders, and cooperating agencies. Alternative 
E is the BLM's Proposed RMP. This alternative was developed after 
considering public comments on the Draft RMP/EIS and provided in the 
ANILCA section 810 hearings, internal BLM discussions, government-to-
government consultation, and cooperating agency input.
    The Proposed RMP is drawn from components of the Alternatives 
analyzed in the Draft RMP/EIS and, as such, the management provisions 
are within the range of alternatives presented to the public. 
Alternative A, the no action alternative, represents existing 
management described by current land use plans and provides the 
benchmark against which to compare the other alternatives. Alternative 
B emphasizes reducing the potential for competition between development 
uses and subsistence resources by identifying key areas for additional 
management actions. Alternative C1 emphasizes a blend of resource 
protection and development at the planning level to maintain the long-
term sustainability of resources while providing for multiple resource 
uses. Alternative C2 emphasizes management to facilitate resource 
development while applying habitat management and administrative 
designations to accommodate multiple uses. Alternative D focuses on 
maximizing BLM-managed public lands for development potential with 
fewer management restrictions at the planning level. Unlike the action 
alternatives from the Draft RMP/EIS, the Proposed RMP (Alternative E) 
recommends retention of Public Land Order (PLO) 5150. The Proposed RMP 
also does not recommend full revocation of the ANCSA 17(d)(1) PLOs, but 
does recommend revoking the withdrawals in part to allow for selection 
by Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans where the PLOs currently do not 
allow for it. For most resources, the Proposed RMP is similar to 
Alternative C (either Alternative C1 or Alternative C2). The Proposed 
RMP designates twenty-one Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 
(ACECs) or Research Natural Areas, encompassing approximately 3,601,000 
acres. For a detailed comparison of Alternatives, including ACEC 
acreages proposed for designation, see Table 2-1 and corresponding maps 
in Appendix A of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS.
    Major planning issues addressed include subsistence resources, 
subsistence access, water resources, fisheries, wildlife, forestry, 
minerals, mining, recreation, travel management, and ACECs.
    Protest of the Proposed RMP: The BLM planning regulations state 
that any person who participated in the preparation of the RMP and has 
an interest which will or might be adversely affected by approval of 
the Proposed RMP may protest its approval to the BLM Director. Protest 
on the Proposed RMP constitutes the final opportunity for 
administrative review of the proposed land use planning decisions prior 
to the BLM adopting an approved RMP. Instructions for filing a protest 
regarding the Proposed RMP with the BLM Director may be found online at 
https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. All protests must be in 
writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth in the 
ADDRESSES section earlier, or submitted electronically through the BLM 
ePlanning project website as described previously. Protests submitted 
electronically by any means other than the ePlanning project website or 
by fax will be invalid unless a protest is also submitted as a hard 
copy.
    The BLM Director will render a written decision on each protest. 
The Director's decision shall be the final decision of the Department 
of the Interior. Responses to valid protest will be compiled and 
documented in a Protest Resolution Report made available following the 
protest resolution online at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports. Upon 
resolution of protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision and 
Approved RMP.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest- including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 
1610.5)

Steven M. Cohn,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2024-08966 Filed 4-25-24; 8:45 am]
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