[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 232 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75556-75557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30929]
[[Page 75556]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNMF02000 L16100000.DP0000 LXSS026G0000]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan
and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Taos Field Office, New
Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared the Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental
Impact Statement (Proposed RMP/Final EIS) for the Taos Field Office,
New Mexico, and by this Notice is announcing its availability.
DATES: The BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the Proposed
RMP/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions must file the protest
within 30 days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes this Notice in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS have been sent to
affected Federal, Tribal, state, and local government agencies and to
other stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS are available
for public inspection at the Taos Field Office in Taos, New Mexico, and
New Mexico State Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Interested persons may
also review the Proposed RMP/Final EIS at: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/fo/Taos_Field_Office/taos_rmpr.html. All protests must be in writing
and mailed to one of the following addresses:
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Regular mail Overnight mail
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BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda BLM Director (210),
Williams, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC Attention: Brenda Williams,
20024-1383. 20 M Street SE., Room
2134LM, Washington, DC
20003.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Higdon, Planning and
Environmental Coordinator, Taos Field Office, telephone (575) 751-4725;
address 226 Cruz Alta Road, Taos, New Mexico 87571; email
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
(800) 877-8339 to contact the above individuals during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individuals. You will receive a
reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed RMP/Final EIS analyzes the
environmental consequences of four alternative land use plans under
consideration by the BLM for managing approximately 595,100 acres of
surface estate and 1.5 million acres of mineral estate administered by
the Taos Field Office within Colfax, Harding, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio
Arriba, Santa Fe, Taos, San Miguel, and Union Counties in northern New
Mexico. This land use plan would replace the 1988 Taos RMP, as amended,
and approval thereof is needed to provide updated management decisions
regarding land tenure adjustments, land use authorizations, mineral
resources, recreation, renewable energy, special designations,
transportation and access, visual resources, and other resource uses
and considerations. Upon approval, the Proposed RMP/Final EIS will
apply only to BLM-administered public lands and Federal mineral estate.
The four alternatives analyzed in detail in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS
are the No Action Alternative, or a continuation of the existing
management decisions; Alternative A, the Proposed RMP, which strives to
balance resource uses with protections; Alternative B, which emphasizes
resource conservation and protection; and Alternative C, which allows
greater opportunity for resource use and development.
The Proposed RMP/Final EIS would establish eleven Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern, totaling approximately 407,855 acres, to provide
special management for the protection of relevant and important
cultural, historic, scenic, and natural resource values. The proposed
plan would also apply protective management to approximately 67,032
acres of lands with wilderness characteristics in four different areas.
Public lands available for renewable energy development, mineral
development, land use authorization, systems of designated travel
routes, and other uses would be provided for under the proposed plan,
which would delineate and, as necessary, apply limitations on these
opportunities. In addition, management parameters and prescriptions
would be applied to a variety of natural, cultural, and visual
resources, including air and water quality, wildlife habitat, forests
and woodlands, and other components of the biological, physical, and
cultural environment.
The land use planning process was initiated on May 26, 2006,
through a Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register (71 FR
30446). A Notice of Availability of the Draft RMP/Draft EIS was
published on June 10, 2010, in the Federal Register (75 FR 32963) to
announce a 90-day public review and comment period of the draft
document. During that period, the BLM held public open-house meetings
in Santa Fe, Espa[ntilde]ola, and Taos to assist the public in their
review of the Draft and to solicit their comments. The Draft RMP/EIS
was sent to multiple Federal, Tribal, State, and local government
agencies and interested parties and was made publicly available for
viewing at the Taos Field Office, the New Mexico State Office, and on
the Internet. During the comment period, the Taos Field Office received
approximately 94 comments from comment forms, which were completed
during one of the public open-house meetings, comment letters, or
emails.
Each submission was carefully reviewed to identify substantive
comments in accordance with regulations on the implementation of NEPA
(40 CFR 1503.4). Comments received from the public were considered and
incorporated upon internal BLM reviews as appropriate into the Proposed
RMP/Final EIS. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying
text, but did not significantly change the proposed land use plan
decisions. Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the
BLM regarding the proposed plan may be found in the ``Dear Reader
Letter'' of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. Emailed
and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless the
protesting party also provides the original letter by either regular or
overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under
these conditions, the BLM will consider the emailed or faxed protest as
an advance copy and it will receive full consideration. If you wish to
provide the BLM with such advanced notification, please send protests
to fax phone number (202) 912-7212, attention BLM Protest Coordinator
Brenda Hudgens-Williams or email [email protected].
All protests, including the follow-up letter to emails or faxes,
must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth
in the ADDRESSES section above.
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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.
Jesse Juen,
Acting State Director.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6; 40 CFR 1506.10; 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR
1610.5-2.
[FR Doc. 2011-30929 Filed 12-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-OW-P