98-1147. Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, Medford and Coos Bay Districts and Klamath Falls Resource Area, Oregon; Intent to Initiate Third Year Evaluations of Approved Resource Management Plans

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2691-2692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1147]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[OR-933-4310-00; GP8-0073]


Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, Medford and Coos Bay Districts and 
Klamath Falls Resource Area, Oregon; Intent to Initiate Third Year 
Evaluations of Approved Resource Management Plans

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to collect and analyze data as part of third 
year evaluations for the Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, Coos Bay, 
Klamath Falls and Upper Klamath Basin Resource Management Plans and 
invitation for the public to participate.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, 
Medford, and Coos Bay Districts and Klamath Falls Resource Area (in the 
Lakeview District) are initiating the collection of the supplemental 
information and analyses required for simultaneous Resource Management 
Plan (RMP) evaluations. All of the comprehensive land use plans were 
completed and approved in 1995 and included a commitment to evaluations 
based on three full years of implementation. The seven plans guide and 
control management actions on over 2,560,000 acres of BLM surface 
ownership throughout western Oregon. The public is invited to review 
the available annual District program summary reports and quarterly 
project update reports, as well as the approved plans and their plan 
monitoring and evaluation appendices. The public may contribute by 
identifying new sources of information or analyses which may have a 
bearing on the continued validity of the individual or collective 
plans. The evaluations will be based on the implementation actions and 
plan and project monitoring from the dates of approval through 
September 30, 1998. BLM staff have already taken actions to determine 
if there has been any significant change in the related plans of other 
federal agencies, state or local governments, or Indian tribes, or 
whether there is other new data of significance to the plan.

EFFECTIVE DATE: There is no specific legal or regulatory requirement 
for public notification or participation in BLM plan evaluations. This 
notice, together with similar notices to electronic and print media in 
the local areas, initiates a 60-day comment period ending March 17, 
1998. During this time period, local BLM staff will be scheduling open 
houses or other forums where members of the public may visit field 
offices and talk directly with key staff about the annual reports, 
quarterly updates, and RMP monitoring and evaluation schedule. The 
actual evaluations will be conducted during fiscal year 1999 (October 
1998 through September 1999) by BLM staff from the Oregon State Office. 
Any supplemental analyses on regional, provincial, watershed or other 
level issues will be made available for public review as they are 
completed and approved. For example, analyses are expected on 
cumulative economic and employment effects and changes in regional 
conditions which may be attributed to Bureau natural resource product 
sales and ecosystem recovery actions, such as stream restoration and 
road closure projects. All of the supplemental analyses and RMP 
evaluations are expected to be completed by the summer of 1999, when 
they will be available for public review, prior to State Director 
approval. The State Director's findings will indicate whether or not 
the plans are individually or collectively still valid for continued 
management direction or require plan amendments or revisions, together 
with the appropriate environmental analyses and public participation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO SUBMIT COMMENTS, CONTACT ANY OF THE 
FOLLOWING:

Salem District: Mark Lawrence, Assoc. District Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, 1717 Fabry Road, SE, Salem, OR 97306, [phone]
Eugene District: Denis Williamson, District Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, 2890 Chad Drive, P.O. Box 10226, Eugene, OR 97440, (541) 
683-6600
Roseburg District: Cary Osterhaus, District Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, 777 NW Garden Valley Blvd., Roseburg, OR 97470, (541) 440-
4930
Medford District: Van Manning, Acting District Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504, [phone]
Coos Bay District: Neil Middlebrook, Acting Assoc. District Manager, 
Bureau of Land Management, 1300 Airport Lane, North Bend, OR 97459, 
[phone]
Klamath Falls Resource Area: Barron Bail, Area Manager, 2795 Anderson 
Avenue, Bldg. 25, Klamath Falls, OR 97603, [phone]
Oregon State Office: William Bradley, Deputy State Director for 
Resource Planning, Use, and Protection, Bureau of Land Management, 1515 
SW 5th

[[Page 2692]]

Avenue, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208, [phone]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau's procedures for Monitoring and 
Evaluation are found at 43 Code of Federal Regulations 1610.4-9. Each 
District has distributed annual District program summaries to report 
plan monitoring by fiscal year and quarterly updates for the applicable 
approved RMPs to their lists of known interested addressees. There is 
no fixed public review or comment period for the annual and quarterly 
reports, and comments or questions may be raised to the applicable 
office staff at any time. Interested persons may request copies of past 
reports and to be added to the applicable mailing lists by contacting 
the applicable District offices. Each District has a limited number of 
the approved RMPs and the supporting Environmental Impact Statement 
document(s) available upon request. Each plan contains an appendix for 
plan monitoring evaluation, which includes up to 20 pages of specific 
monitoring questions which will form the basis for the specific RMP 
evaluations. Portions of the documents listed above may be available in 
an electronic format and some may be available on Bureau electronic 
Internet ``web sites.'' Interested individuals should contact the 
individual District offices to determine availability of planning 
documents and reports in local libraries or in electronic formats. 
Single copies of all of the plans and annual reports are also available 
for inspection during normal working hours in the Oregon State Office 
(7th floor Lands Office) at the address listed above.

    Dated: January 5, 1998.
Elaine Y. Zielinski,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 98-1147 Filed 1-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P