[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70278-70279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32579]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-100-00-1610-DG]
Resource Management Plan, Pinedale Field Office, Wyoming
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
and resource management plan, request for information for scoping
process, call for coal resource information, and notice of public
meetings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Pinedale Field Office
invites the public to provide information on BLM-administered public
lands and resources in the Snake River planning area and to identify
issues and concerns to be addressed in the environmental impact
statement (EIS) for the Snake River Resource Management Plan (RMP). As
required in 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is also the specific call for
coal resource information and identification of areas where there is an
interest in future leasing and development of Federal coal.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may obtain further
information or request to be placed on the mailing list for the Snake
River RMP planning effort by contacting Kellie Roadifer, RMP Team
Leader, or Prill Mecham, Field Manager, Pinedale Field Office, 432 East
Mill Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941, (307) 367-5300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Snake River corridor and adjacent areas,
collectively known as Jackson Hole, in Teton County, Wyoming, make up
the Snake River RMP planning area.
Within the Snake River corridor, BLM-administered public lands to
be addressed in the RMP include about 1,345 acres of public land
surface and Federal mineral estate, plus about 740 acres of public land
surface underlain by State or privately-owned mineral estate.
In addition, the BLM is responsible for administering various
recreation easements on private lands within the river corridor. These
easements, combined with the public land parcels, provide almost
continuous recreational access to the river channel for public uses
such as anchoring a boat to fish and wading in the river. A few of the
Snake River levees are within these easements, supporting several miles
of public access by foot and vehicle in places, but most of the
easements allow access only by boat from the river.
The BLM is also responsible for administering mineral exploration
and development on an additional 12,000 acres of Federal mineral
estate. This mineral estate, which is mostly outside the river
corridor, underlies lands owned or administered by private individuals,
the State of Wyoming, or local governments.
The Snake River RMP planning area includes all lands in Jackson
Hole between the Forest Service boundaries on the east, west, and
south, and the National Park Service boundary on the north, for the
purpose of evaluating environmental impacts (including the cumulative
impacts) of BLM land-use planning decisions. However, the planning and
management decisions to be made by the BLM will apply only to the BLM-
administered land surface, the Federal mineral estate, and the
recreational easements mentioned in the four paragraphs above.
The Snake River RMP is in the preplanning stage. Preplanning
activities include identifying planning issues and concerns, developing
a schedule for plan preparation, and establishing public participation
activities.
Some preliminary planning issues and concerns have been identified
which may be addressed by the following questions: (1) What types and
levels of recreational and interpretive development are appropriate on
public land surface to help satisfy existing and future demand for
public recreation and education? (2) Consistent with valid existing
rights, what other activities, including livestock grazing and mineral
extraction, are appropriate on these lands? (3) What levels of mineral
activity are appropriate for the exploration and development of the
BLM-administered mineral estate? (4) What requirements or restrictions
on land use will be necessary to protect important public resources
such as recreational opportunities, scenic quality, wildlife habitat,
sensitive plants, and cultural resources? (5) Which, if any, of the
BLM-administered public lands along the Snake River meet the
eligibility criteria and suitability factors to be given future
consideration
[[Page 70279]]
for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System?
The public is invited to identify other issues and concerns that
should be addressed in the planning process and to comment on those
identified by the BLM staff.
The BLM is also requesting resource data and information that will
be used to further define issues and concerns, update the inventory
base, help develop planning alternatives, and analyze environmental
consequences. The BLM will conduct very little new inventory work;
therefore, development of the RMP will rely mostly upon existing
available resource information and data.
A contingent valuation methodology (CVM) survey or study is planned
as part of the RMP analysis to consider the economic value of certain
non-market goods and services such as clean air, open space, and
wildlife habitat, associated with BLM-administered lands in the
planning area. This survey will involve the collection of random public
responses through questionnaires and interviews.
Pursuant to 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is a formal request for
coal resource information and identification of any substantiated
interest in future leasing and development of Federal coal in the Snake
River planning area. Specifically, information on the location, quality
and quantity of Federal coal with development potential, and on surface
resource values related to the twenty coal unsuitability criteria
described in 43 CFR 3481.1 is requested and will be used to conduct any
necessary coal screening (43 CFR 3420.1-4) during the planning process.
The BLM has limited coal resource data for the planning area and will
be unable to conduct further inventories. Parties interested in Federal
coal leasing and development will be expected to provide coal and other
resource data for their areas of interest. Information concerning areas
of leasing interest, coal resource data, and other resource information
related to unsuitability criteria must be submitted to the Pinedale
Field Office, at the address above.
Federal coal leasing in the planning area outside designated coal
production regions may be considered apart from the competitive leasing
process set out in 43 CFR 3420.3 through 3420.5-2. Since the Snake
River planning area is not within a coal production region, any Federal
coal leasing will be considered on a case-by-case basis, called
``Leasing on Application'' under the appropriate provisions of 43 CFR
part 3425 and 43 CFR 3420.1-4 through 3420.1-8. Note that the sale and
issuance of Federal leases under these provisions is still done through
a competitive bidding process.
Identification at this time of definite interests in future Federal
coal leasing, substantiated with adequate coal and other resource data,
will allow these interests to be considered in the planning process. In
this way, unnecessary administrative delays or revisions in the plan
may be avoided if coal lease applications are submitted in the future.
Public participation activities will be initiated with an open
house to be held at the Teton County Administration Building, County
Commissioners' Meeting Room, at the corner of Willow and Simpson, in
Jackson, Wyoming, on Thursday, January 27, 2000, from 4 to 8 p.m. At 5
and 7 p.m., BLM representatives will give short presentations.
The public will have opportunities to participate throughout the
planning process including input and comment on issues and planning
criteria, and on the draft and final EIS for the resource management
plan. Future public participation activities will be announced in the
Federal Register and in the local media, and through mailings to
parties included on the Snake River RMP mailing list.
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will
be available for public review at the Pinedale Field Office, 432 East
Mill Street, Pinedale, Wyoming, during regular business hours (7:45
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be
published as part of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS).
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If individuals wish
to withhold their name or address from public review or from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act, they must state this prominently
at the beginning of their comments. Such requests will be honored to
the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public inspection in their entirety.
Dated: December 9, 1999.
Alan R. Pierson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 99-32579 Filed 12-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P
