[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 190 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52742-52744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25220]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[MT-020-1610-00]
Availability of Environmental Assessment and Proposed Resource
Management Plan Amendment for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern;
Montana, South Dakota
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 and Section 1501 of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, an environmental assessment and proposed resource
management plan amendment has been prepared for the Powder River,
Billings, and South Dakota planning areas. The Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern Environmental Assessment and Proposed Resource
Management Plan Amendment describes and analyzes future options for
management of proposed areas of critical environmental concern on
39,145 federal surface acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management
within the following counties: Carbon, Carter, Musselshell, Powder
River, Rosebud, Treasure, Yellowstone, Montana; Big Horn County,
Wyoming, and Fall River County, South Dakota. The Resource Management
Plan Amendment provides a comprehensive plan for managing the federal
surface and mineral resources in these areas.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
Environmental Assessment and Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment
was available for public review from December 29, 1997 to March 9,
1998. Written comments were received from agencies, individuals and
organizations. All comments were considered in the preparation of the
Environmental Assessment and Proposed Resource Management Plan
Amendment.
The resource management planning process includes an opportunity
for review through a plan protest to the BLM's Director. Any person or
organization who participated in the planning process and has an
interest which is or may be adversely affected by the approval of this
resource management plan amendment may protest the plan. Careful
adherence to the following guidelines will assist in preparing a
protest that will assure the greatest consideration for your point of
view.
Only those persons or organizations who participated in the
planning process may protest the plan.
A protesting party may raise only those issues which were commented
on during the planning process.
Additional issues may be raised at any time and should be directed
to the Miles City Field Office for consideration in plan
implementation, as potential plan amendments, or as otherwise
appropriate.
DATES: The protest period lasts 30 days and begins the day the Notice
of Availability for this document is published in the Federal Register.
There is no provision for an extension of time. Protests filed late, or
filed with the State Director or Field Manager shall be rejected by the
Director. To be
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considered ``timely'' your protest must be sent to the Director of BLM
and must be postmarked no later than November 2, 1998. Although not a
requirement, sending your protest by certified mail, return receipt
requested, is recommended.
ADDRESSES: Reading copies of the environmental assessment and proposed
resource management plan amendment will be available at the following
Bureau of Land Management locations:
Miles City Field Office, 111 Garryowen Road, Miles City, Montana 59301
Billings Field Office, 810 East Main, Billings, Montana 59105
South Dakota Field Office, 310 Roundup Street, Belle Fourche, South
Dakota 57717
All protests must be filed in writing to: Director, Bureau of Land
Management, Attention: Ms. Brenda Williams, Protests Coordinator, WO-
210/LS-1075, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.
The Overnight Mail address is: Director, Bureau of Land Management,
Attention: Ms. Brenda Williams, Protests Coordinator, 1620 L Street,
N.W. Room 1075, Washington, D.C. 20036.
To expedite consideration, in addition to the original sent by mail
or overnight mail, a copy of the protest may be sent by: FAX to (202)
452-5112; or Email to bhudgens@wo.blm.gov
In order to be considered complete, your protest must contain, at a
minimum, the following information:
The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the
person filing the protest.
A statement of the issue being protested.
A statement of the portion of the plan being protested. To the
extent possible, this should be done by reference to specific pages,
paragraphs, sections, tables, and maps in the proposed resource
management plan amendment.
A copy of all documents addressing the issue submitted during the
planning process or a reference to the date the issue was discussed for
the record.
A concise statement explaining why the BLM State Director's
decision is believed to be incorrect is a critical part of the protest.
Take care to document all relevant facts and to reference or cite the
planning documents, environmental analysis documents, and available
planning records (meeting minutes, summaries, correspondence). A
protest without data will not provide us with the benefit of your
information and insight, and the Director's review will be based on the
existing analysis and supporting data.
At the end of the 30-day protest period, the BLM may issue a
Decision Record, approving implementation of any portion of the
proposed plan not under protest. Approval will be withheld on any
portion of the plan under protest, until the protest is resolved.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aden Seidlitz, (406) 233-2816.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Environmental Assessment and Proposed
Resource Management Plan Amendment analyzes three alternatives for the
management and designation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.
Each alternative represents a complete management plan. The
alternatives can be summarized by (1) current management or no action,
(2) resource protection and (3) the preferred alternative, which may be
a combination of the previous two.
The Environmental Assessment and Proposed Resource Management Plan
Amendment recommends designating 12 Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern: Bridger Fossil, Castle Butte, Meeteetse Spires, Petroglyph
Canyon, East Pryor Mountains, Stark Site, Weatherman Draw, Battle
Butte, Finger Buttes, Howrey Island, Reynolds Battlefield, and Fossil
Cycad.
The Bridger Fossil area (575 public surface acres) in Carbon
County, Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental
Concern and managed to protect paleontological resources. Management
actions affecting this area are: rights-of-way, mineral material sales
and permits, and oil and gas leasing would not be allowed; off-road
vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails; and
noncommercial collection of common invertebrate and plant fossils would
be allowed.
Castle Butte (185 public surface acres) in Yellowstone County,
Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed to protect significant cultural resources. Management
actions affecting this area are: fire would be managed with conditional
fire suppression, wood product sales would not be allowed. Rights-of-
way that avoid the significant cultural resource sites in the area
would be allowed, and geophysical exploration for oil and gas (surface
methods and vibroseis) that avoids the significant cultural resource
sites would be allowed.
East Pryor Mountains (29,500 public surface acres) in Carbon
County, Montana and Big Horn County, Wyoming would be designated an
Area of Critical Environmental Concern and managed to protect and
enhance the wild horse, wildlife habitat and paleontology values.
Management actions affecting this area are: oil and gas leasing would
not be allowed, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from entry, and
noncommercial collection of common invertebrate and plant fossils would
be allowed.
Meeteetse Spires (960 public surface acres) in Carbon County would
be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and managed to
provide recreation for the public while protecting the area's unique
vegetation. Management actions affecting this area are: fire would be
managed with conditional fire suppression, selected timber harvests
would be allowed, wood product sales would not be allowed, rights-of-
way would not be allowed, livestock grazing, except for sheep, would be
allowed, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from entry, geophysical
exploration for oil and gas would not be allowed in the sensitive plant
area, and in the remaining area geophysical exploration for oil and gas
would be accessed by air only (vibroseis would not be allowed,) and
off-road vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails.
Petroglyph Canyon (240 public surface acres) in Carbon County,
Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed to protect significant cultural resources. Management
actions affecting this area are: wood product sales, oil and gas
leasing and geophysical exploration for oil and gas would not be
allowed, and the area would be closed to off-road vehicle use.
Stark Site (800 public surface acres) in Musselshell County,
Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed to protect significant cultural resources. Management
actions affecting this area are: fire would be managed with conditional
fire suppression, wood product sales, rights-of-away, mineral material
sales and permits, and oil and gas leasing would not be allowed.
Geophysical exploration for oil and gas would not be allowed on the
significant cultural resource sites, and off-road vehicle use would be
limited to designated roads and trails.
Weatherman Draw (4,268 public surface acres) in Carbon County,
Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed to enhance significant cultural resources. Management
actions affecting this area are: fire would be managed with conditional
fire suppression, wood product sales would not be allowed, rights-of-
way associated with valid
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existing oil and gas lease rights would be allowed, other rights-of-way
would not be allowed, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from entry,
oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a No Surface Occupancy
stipulation, the area would be closed to geophysical exploration for
oil and gas, and off-road vehicle use would be limited to authorized
use.
Battle Butte (120 public surface acres) in Rosebud County, Montana
would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and
managed to protect significant cultural resources. Management actions
affecting this area are: fire would be managed with conditional fire
suppression, rights-of-way would not be allowed, mineral material sales
and permits would not be allowed, oil and gas leasing would be allowed
with a No Surface Occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration for
oil and gas would be allowed on designated roads and trails with
restrictions, and off-road vehicle use would be limited to designated
roads and trails.
Finger Buttes (1,520 public surface acres) in Carter County,
Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed for its scenic values. Management actions affecting this
area are: fire would be managed with conditional fire suppression,
rights-of-way would avoid the area, livestock grazing and range
improvements would be allowed, mineral material sales and permits and
nonenergy mineral leasing would not be allowed, oil and gas leasing
would be allowed with a No Surface Occupancy stipulation, geophysical
exploration for oil and gas would be allowed on designated roads and
trails with restrictions, and off-road vehicle use would be allowed
with restrictions.
Howrey Island (321 public surface acres) in Treasure County,
Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed to protect and enhance its special wildlife habitat.
Management actions affecting this area are: fire would be managed with
conditional fire suppression, wood product sales would be allowed with
restrictions, rights-of-way would not be allowed, livestock grazing
would be allowed, range improvements would be allowed when they do not
degrade the values of the Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Off-
road vehicle use would be limited to the BLM road except from February
15 to June 1. During that time, no vehicles would be allowed, including
on the BLM road.
Reynolds Battlefield (336 public surface acres) in Powder River
County, Montana would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental
Concern and managed to protect its significant cultural resources.
Management actions affecting this area are: fire would be managed with
conditional fire suppression, timber and wood product sales would be
allowed with restrictions, rights-of-way would avoid the area,
livestock grazing and range improvements would be allowed, coal leasing
would not be allowed, mineral material sales and permits and oil and
gas leasing would not be allowed, geophysical exploration for oil and
gas would be allowed on designated roads and trails with restrictions,
and off-road vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and
trails.
Fossil Cycad (320 public surface acres) in Fall River County, South
Dakota would be designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern
and managed to protect its significant paleontological values.
Management actions affecting this area are: the surface and minerals
would be retained in public ownership, fire would be managed with
conditional fire suppression, timber sales and wood products sales
would not be allowed, rights-of-way would not be allowed, livestock
grazing would be allowed, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from
entry, geophysical exploration for oil and gas would not be allowed,
off-road vehicle use would be limited to designated roads and trails,
and noncommercial collection of common invertebrate and plant fossils
would be allowed.
Management prescriptions for these proposed areas of critical
environmental concern vary by alternative and are described in the
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Environmental Assessment and
Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment.
Public participation has occurred throughout the resource
management planning process. A Notice of Intent was filed in the
Federal Register in April 1995. All comments presented throughout the
process have been considered.
This notice meets the requirements of 43 CFR 1610.7-2 for
designation of areas of critical environmental concern.
Dated: September 14, 1998.
Aden Seidlitz,
Associate Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 98-25220 Filed 9-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P
