[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 57123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27592]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CA-170-1610-DH; CACA 41112]
Notice of Intent To Consider Amending the Bishop Resource
Management Plan, Bishop Field Office, CA; Notice of R&PP Proposal:
Bodie State Park, Mono County, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to consider amending the Bishop Resource
Management Plan's list of public land disposal parcels, adding
364 acres; and a Notice of Proposed Disposal under the
Recreation and Public Purposes Act (R&PP) for the said 364 acres to the
Bodie State Park in Mono County, CA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The town of Bodie is arguably the largest and best preserved
ghost town in the western US. In 1962, the California State Parks
acquired 500 acres of the town to create the Bodie State Park. The
historic Bodie Mining District (including the town and surrounding
areas) has been a National Historic Landmark since 1964 and lies at the
center of the BLM's Bodie Bowl Area of Environmental Concern (ACEC).
Mineral exploration on BLM and private lands within the Bodie Bowl
resumed in the 1980's. With passage of the Bodie Protection Act in 1994
and acquisition of over 500 acres of private lands by the Park, the
ACEC was essentially closed to mineral development. Due to the history
of cultural and industrial development within the Bodie Bowl ACEC,
properties acquired by the Park do not form a cohesive whole. There are
three outlying Park properties that are not connected to the main Park
unit at all. There is a major wedge of federal land separating the
newly acquired Park property from the main unit. There are also an
unknown number of ``slivers'' of federal property scattered throughout
the southern and eastern portion of the Park which were due to the
nonconforming independent surveys submitted at the time of the mineral
patent transfers from the public domain or which were bits of public
domain that were never subject to patent. State Parks believes that
management efforts and implementation of necessary limited improvements
and safety measures could be streamlined if ownership patterns were
adjusted and clarified through this proposed first phase of a Bodie
property consolidation.
The proposed R&PP involves the following lands located within the
Bodie Bowl Area of Environmental Concern and adjacent to Bodie State
Park in the County of Mono, California:
Selected Federal Lands, to be Patented to Bodie State Park:
Mount Diablo Meridian, California,
T. 4 N., R. 26 E.
A. All federal lands within the current boundary of Bodie SHP.
B. Section 9 All federal land in SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\,
W\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, E\1/2\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, and south of
the Bodie Aurora Road in S\1/2\NE\1/4\NW\1/4\ and N\1/2\NE\1/4\,
totaling about 208.5 ac ().
C. Section 16 All federal land in NW\1/4\, WN\1/4\NE\1/4\, W\1/
2\SW\1/4\, and NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, totaling about 89.6 ac
().
D. Section 17 All federal land in SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, totaling about
.023 ac ().
E. Section 20 All federal land east of the Cottonwood Canyon
Road in E\1/2\NE\1/4\ and NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, totaling about 38.7 ac
().
F. Section 21 All federal land in W\1/2\NW\1/4\ and north of the
cottonwood Canyon Road in NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, totaling about 27 ac
().
Acreages are approximate due to the possibility of other unmapped
federal lands within the boundaries of the existing State Historic Park
and uncertain exterior boundaries.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Final determination on the R&PP proposal and
the RMP amendment will be made using an environmental analysis
following public comments. Public land within any Wilderness Study Area
would not be involved in this proposal.
Upon publication of this Notice in the Federal Register, the public
lands described above are segregated from all forms of appropriation
under the public land laws, including the mining laws for a period of
270 days from the date of publication. The segregative effect shall
terminate as provided by 43 CFR 2711.1-2(d).
Detailed information concerning the RMP amendment and the proposed
R&PP disposal is available at the BLM Bishop Field Office, 785 N. Main
St. Suite E, Bishop, CA 93514 or by contacting Larry Primosch or
Douglas Dodge at (760) 872-4881.
Comments
For a period of 45 days from the initial date of publication of
this notice, interested parties may submit valid comments on the Bishop
RMP amendment or the proposed R&PP disposal to the BLM Bishop Field
Manager, 785 N. Main St. Suite E, Bishop, CA 93514. A public meeting
will be held on Monday, November 8 at 6 pm in the town of Bridgeport to
gather comments and help define the issues which must be addressed in
the environmental analysis.
Dated: October 15, 1999.
Steve Addington,
Field Manager, Bishop Field Office.
[FR Doc. 99-27592 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
