02-980. New Mexico Resource Advisory Council Meeting

AGENCY:

The Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of Council meeting.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), 5 U.S.C. Appendix 1, The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), announces a meeting of the New Mexico Resource Advisory Council (RAC). New Mexico Resource Advisory Council Meetings are planned in conjunction with the representative of the Governor of the State of New Mexico; the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

DATES:

The meeting will be held on February 28 and March 1, 2002, with an optional Field Trip preceding on Wednesday, February 27. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. and end by 5 p.m. both days.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will take place at the Crowne Plaza Pyramid, 5151 San Francisco Road NE, Albuquerque, NM.

Agenda: The draft agenda for the RAC meeting on Thursday, February 28, includes agreement on the meeting agenda, any RAC comments on the draft minutes of the last RAC meeting which was held on December 13 and 14, 2001, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and a check-in from the RAC members.

Main topics will be to finalize draft Recommendations for Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Use on public lands, discussions on NEPA 101 and implementation of the Standards and Guidelines for Grazing, and an overview of Otero Mesa oil and gas leasing issues.

Reports from the seven Field Offices and from the three established subcommittees will be presented at various times throughout the two day meeting. The three established RAC subcommittees may have late afternoon or evening meetings on Wednesday, February 27 or on Thursday, February 28. The exact time and location of possible subcommittee meetings will be established by the chairperson of each subcommittee and be available to the public at the front desk of the hotel on those two days. The subcommittee meetings may be attended by the public. The Energy Subcommittee has established that they will meet after the Field Trip, at the hotel, on Wednesday, February 27. If there is unfinished business, they will continue at breakfast Thursday morning, before the meeting. The meeting is open to the public, and starting at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2001, there will be an additional 15 minute Public Comment Period for members of the public who are not able to be present to address the RAC during the regular two hour Public Comment Period on Friday, March 1, from 10 a.m to 12 noon. The RAC may reduce or extend the end time of 12 noon depending on the number of people wishing to address the RAC.

A RAC assessment of the current meeting and development of draft agenda items and selection of a location for the next RAC meeting will take place Friday afternoon. On Friday, March 1, the ending time of the meeting may be changed depending on the work remaining for the RAC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary White, New Mexico State Office, Office of External Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, 1474 Rodeo Road, P.O. Box 27115, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502-0115, telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The purpose of the Resource Advisory Council is to advise the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of planning and management issues associated with the management of public lands. The Council's responsibilities include providing advice on long-range planning, establishing resource management priorities and assisting the BLM to identify State and regional standards for rangeland health and guidelines for grazing management.

Dated: December 17, 2001.

Carsten F. Goff,

Acting State Director.