[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 70 (Friday, April 11, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20227-20228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08213]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD07000; L16100000.DU0000; 14XL1109AF]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment and an
Associated Land Use Plan Amendment To Close the Airport Mesa Target
Shooting Area, Imperial, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) El
Centro Field Office, California, intends to prepare an Environmental
Assessment (EA) to consider amending the Eastern San Diego County
(ESDC) Resource Management Plan (RMP) to close the Airport Mesa to
recreational target shooting. This notice announces the beginning of
the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.
DATES: Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until May 12,
2014. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping meetings will be
announced at least 15 days in advance through local media, newspapers
and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro.html.
In order to be included in the analysis, all comments must be received
prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 30 days after the
last public meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will provide
additional opportunities for public participation as appropriate.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to the proposed Airport Mesa target shooting closure by any of
the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro.html.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 760-337-4490.
Mail: BLM El Centro Field Office, Attn: Nicollee Gaddis,
1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the El
Centro Field Office at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicollee Gaddis, BLM Planning and
Environmental Coordinator; telephone 760-337-4427; address 1661 S. 4th
Street, El Centro, CA 92243; or email [email protected]. Contact Ms.
Gaddis if you wish to add your name to our mailing list. 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 Ms.
Gaddis during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question for Ms. Gaddis. You
will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This publication provides notice that the
BLM El Centro Field Office, El Centro, California, intends to prepare
an amendment to the 2008 ESDC RMP and an associated EA; announces the
beginning of the scoping process; and seeks public input on issues and
planning criteria. Airport Mesa is located in Eastern San Diego County,
east of the town of Jacumba, south of U.S. Highway 80. The area
described as the Airport Mesa/Carrizo Creek shooting area covers
approximately 210 acres along the eastern slope of Airport Mesa.
San Bernardino Base and Meridian (SBBM)
Township 18 South, Range 8 East,
Section 3, S\1/2\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\ and S\1/2\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\ (20
acres, more or less);
Section 10, Lot 9 (17.15 acres); N\1/2\NE\1/4\ (80 acres); SE\1/
4\NE\1/4\ (40 acres);
Section 11, Lot 12 (13.05 acres); SW\1/4\NW\1/4\ (40 acres).
The Secure Border Initiative (SBI) congressionally authorized and
funded the California Border Patrol (U.S. Border Patrol) to increase
its presence along the US/Mexico Border to improve our national
security. The U.S. Border patrol has indicated that the Airport Mesa
area is critical to its efforts to protect this area because the high
elevation of the mesa gives agents the ability to monitor the nearby
valleys for illegal activities. As part of this effort to increase its
effectiveness in this area, the U.S. Border Patrol has constructed
pedestrian and vehicle border barriers, as well as roads for access and
maintenance. One of these access roads traverses the east slope of
Airport Mesa. The U.S. Border Patrol now uses the top of the mesa as a
vantage point to monitor this area. The Airport Mesa area has
historically been an important recreational shooting area for residents
of San Diego and Imperial Counties. The eastern slope of the mesa is
easily accessible and provides a safe back-stop for target shooting.
The U.S. Border Patrol's new access road crosses this eastern slope and
is within the line-of-fire for recreational target shooters. This has
created an unsafe situation, subjecting U.S. Border Patrol agents to
the dangers of stray bullets or ricochets.
Since construction of the road in October 2009, the U.S. Border
Patrol has worked to inform shooters of the dangers associated with
shooting in this area and has requested that shooters move elsewhere to
shoot. On August 18, 2009, the U.S. Border Patrol issued a letter to
the BLM requesting that the BLM formally close Airport Mesa to target
shooting in order to protect its agents in the area.
A temporary closure has been in place since October 2009. This
proposal for an area closure would initiate a land use plan amendment
to the ESDC RMP with an associated EA. The plan amendment would be
limited to closure of target shooting only and not consider use
restriction of approved hunting or hiking in the area.
The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant
issues that will influence the scope of the EA, including alternatives,
and guide the process for developing the EA.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria 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 above. To
be most helpful, you should submit comments by the close of the 30-day
scoping period.
A preliminary list of the potential planning criteria that will be
used to help guide and define the scope of the plan amendment includes:
1. The plan amendment will be completed in compliance with FLPMA,
NEPA, and all other relevant Federal laws, executive orders, and BLM
policies;
2. Existing valid plan decisions will not be changed and any new
plan decisions will not conflict with existing plan decisions; and
3. The plan amendment(s) will recognize valid existing rights.
The BLM will evaluate identified issues to be addressed in the plan
amendment and will place them into one of three categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action;
or
[[Page 20228]]
3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
The BLM will provide an explanation in the Scoping Report or the EA
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 plan. 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 the NEPA public participation requirements to
assist the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16
U.S.C. 470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The 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 the context of both NEPA and Section 106
of the NHPA.
The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
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 or be requested by
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis
as a cooperating agency.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.
Thomas F. Zale,
Field Manager, El Centro Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2014-08213 Filed 4-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P