[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 7784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3274]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[ID-056-1610-00]
Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the Bennett Hills Draft Resource
Management Plan and Amendment to the Jarbridge Resource Management
Plan, Idaho
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management; Interior.
ACTION: The Shoshone District Bureau of Land Management announces the
intent to prepare a supplement to the Bennett Hills Draft Resource
Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and Amendment to
the Jarbridge Resource Management Plan.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c) implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Bureau of Land Management's Idaho
State Director has determined the need to prepare a supplement to the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Bennett Hills Draft
Resource Management Plan issued for public comment on April 1, 1994.
This action is taken to allow the agency to fully consider and
incorporate comments received on the draft.
DATES: No date has been set for the release of the Supplement.
Notification of release will be made in the Federal Register and local
news media. The Supplement will be circulated for an additional 90-day
public comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Manager William H. West,
Shoshone District Bureau of Land Management, P.O. 2-B, Shoshone, Idaho
83352, telephone (208) 886-7203.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 20, 1990, the Shoshone District
Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Intent to prepare a
Draft Resource Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
the Bennett Hills Resource Area. On March 25, 1992, the Boise District
of the Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Intent to
prepare an Amendment to the Jarbridge Resource Management Plan to be
incorporated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Bennett Hills Draft Resource Management Plan. On April 1, 1994, a
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was
published in the Federal Register and the public was invited to
comment.
The public comment period ended on July 1, 1994, with 170 comment
letters received containing over 400 individual comments. The comments
identified new actions, standards and guidelines not contained in the
Draft. The comments include specific suggestions for livestock
management prescriptions in riparian areas, proposals for new Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern, and land exchanges to accommodate
recent community expansion needs that were not contained or analyzed in
the Draft.
The comments also provided clarity and focus to the public's
desires and needs not found in the original scoping for the Draft in
1990. At the time of the original scoping, five open houses were held
at different locations in the valley; however, less than 30 people
attended and, despite concerted efforts to solicit public opinion, only
66 total comments were received during the formal scoping period. The
scoping comments were very broad in nature and often dealt with general
BLM policy questions not directed toward actions within the
jurisdiction of the RMP. Comments received on the Draft were directed
toward management actions on the planning area and within the scope of
a Resource Management Plan decision. Additionally, because of the long
lag time from the scoping to the publication of the Draft, the public's
wishes for management of the public land had changed.
Dated: January 31, 1995.
Robert D. Cordell,
Area Manager, Bennett Hills Resource Area.
[FR Doc. 95-3274 Filed 2-8-95; 8:45 am]
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