[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23297-23298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11195]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NV-040-1610-00]
Draft Caliente Management Framework Plan Amendment and
Environmental Impact Statement for the Management of Desert Tortoise
Habitat
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Caliente Management
Framework Plan amendment and environmental impact statement for the
management of desert tortoise habitat, Lincoln County, NV; and notice
of 90 day public comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Draft Plan Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement for
the Caliente Management Framework Plan would implement management goals
and actions for Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered desert
tortoise habitat in Lincoln County, Nevada. The Mojave desert tortoise
(Gopherus agassizii) was listed as a threatened species in 1990, based
on declining numbers in some areas of its range. These goals and
actions, recommended in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's approved
Desert Tortoise (Mojave Population) Recovery Plan, would assist the
recovery and delisting of the desert tortoise in the Northeastern
Mojave Recovery Unit. This amendment is required to comply with the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 which mandates that all federal agencies
will conserve and recover listed species within their administrative
units. The accompanying EIS satisfies the National Environmental Policy
Act, which mandates that federal agencies analyze the environmental
consequences of major federal action.
The planning area for this amendment consists of approximately
754,600 acres of public land in southern Lincoln County, administered
by the Caliente Field Station, within BLM's Ely District. No private
lands would be directly affected by management direction described
under the Proposed Action or alternatives. The planning area is located
within the Northeastern Mojave Recovery Unit, as defined by the
Recovery Plan. The document discusses several alternatives for the
protection of desert tortoise habitat and recovery of the species.
DATES: Public Meetings will be held on June 17, 1998 at the Texas
Station, 2101 Texas Star Lane in North Las Vegas, NV between 7 p.m. to
9 p.m. and on June 18, 1998 at the Caliente Youth Center in Caliente,
NV between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The Caliente public meeting will be held
in conjunction with the Mojave-Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory
Council. Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted until
August 14, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Public comments may be sent to: Bureau of Land Management,
Ely Field Office, Gene L. Drais, Project Manager, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely,
NV 98301-9408.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Write to the above address or call Gene L. Drais, Project Manager at
(702) 289-1880.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
supplementary information: The Proposed Action would assist desert
tortoise recovery, while minimizing effects on human activities that
occur within Desert Tortoise habitat. It includes recommendations
derived from the Recovery Plan and public input, multiple use
considerations, as well as management actions designed to be consistent
with those proposed by adjacent BLM districts. The Proposed Action
would: (1) Designate three Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACECs); (2) implement management prescriptions for desert tortoise
habitat outside of the ACECs; (3) ensure BLM participation in a USFWS-
developed environmental education program; and (4) implement a USFWS-
approved interagency monitoring program. The three ACECs, totaling
212,500 acres, would protect 83 percent of designated critical habitat.
Management prescriptions, designed to improve desert tortoise
habitat, would modify or restrict some multiple uses, including
livestock grazing, off-highway vehicle recreation, land use
authorizations, and mineral development within the ACECs. Section 7
consultation would continue to be conducted with the USFWS on any
federal action that might affect listed species.
Alternative A (Habitat Management Alternative) contains management
goals
[[Page 23298]]
and actions that are similar to the Proposed Action, with the exception
of the management direction proposed for livestock grazing and
recreation. Under this alternative, three ACECs would be designated and
managed to achieve the recovery of the desert tortoise through
modifications to multiple use within those special management areas.
Livestock grazing within the ACECs would be managed according to forage
production criteria intended to meet the desert tortoise recovery
objectives. Recreation management direction would also be modified to
minimize conflicts with recovery efforts. Section 7 consultation would
continue to be conducted with the USFWS on any federal action that
might affect listed species.
Alternative B (DWMA Alternative) contains most of the management
goals and prescriptions recommended in the Recovery Plan, with less
emphasis on multiple use management of the public lands. Two special
management areas, labeled Desert Wildlife Management Areas (DWMAs),
would protect 52 percent of the desert tortoise designated critical
habitat. The DWMAs would contain approximately 300,800 acres and would
be managed primarily for the recovery of the desert tortoise.
Management prescriptions would not authorize livestock grazing, mineral
development, many land use authorizations, and some types of
recreational activities within the DWMAs. No special management
attention, other than required Section 7 consultation on federal
actions that might affect listed species, would be directed to the
approximately 454,000 acres of desert tortoise habitat outside of the
DWMAs, unless the desert tortoise populations occupying that habitat
were in jeopardy.
Alternative C (No Action Alternative) would continue management
under the approved Caliente MFP. Management recommendations from the
Recovery Plan either would not be implemented or would not be
systematically or comprehensively implemented. Section 7 consultation
with the USFWS would continue to be conducted prior to the
authorization of any federal action affecting listed species.
Management direction would also be provided through the issuance of
Biological Opinions by the USFWS through Section 7 consultation.
Current management directions for livestock grazing and off-highway
vehicle events were developed as a result of Biological Opinions issued
to minimize effects on desert tortoise habitat. The No Action
Alternative forms the baseline against which to assess the effects of
the alternatives and is required for a comprehensive NEPA analysis.
Dated: April 15, 1998.
Robert V. Abbey,
State Director, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 98-11195 Filed 4-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-M
