[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33903-33904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16324]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[OR-020-1610-00: G-7-0210 (RMP #OR-95-01)]
Resource Management Plans
ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent, Southeastern Oregon Resource
Management Plan and Revision to the Donner und Blitzen Wild and Scenic
River Management Plan.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2
and 1610.3 and 43 CFR 8351, notice is given that the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) in the State of Oregon, Burns District, Andrews
Resource Area, intends to develop and analyze revised management
direction for the Donner und Blitzen Wild and Scenic River Plan as a
subcomponent of the ongoing Southeastern Oregon Resource Management
Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (SEORMP/EIS). The purpose of the
revised River Plan is to address issues raised in recent litigation
concerning the adequacy of the current River Plan, which was developed
and approved in May 1993. The original Notice of Intent to prepare the
RMP was published in the Federal Register on August 24, 1995, on Volume
60, No. 164.
DATES: Publication of this Notice of Intent in the Federal Register
starts a 30-day comment period (initiated on the date of this
publication) necessary to meet public notification requirements for
both the Revised Notice of Intent, to incorporate the required elements
of the River Plan, and limited expansion of the scope of the related
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
ADDRESSES:
Bureau of Land Management, Burns District Office, Andrews Resource
Area, HC 74-12533 Hwy 20 West, Hines, OR 97738.
Bureau of Land Management, Vale District Office, Southeastern Oregon
Resource Management Planning Team, 100 Oregon Street, Vale, OR 97918.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Miles Brown, Andrews Resource Area Manager, (541) 573-4425 or Gary
Cooper, RMP Team Leader, (541) 523-1256.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Burns and Vale Districts have been
preparing the draft SEORMP/EIS since 1995. It is intended to fully
supersede the existing land use plans for the Burns District's Andrews
Resource Area and the Vale District's Malheur and Jordan Resource
Areas. The planning area includes all BLM-managed public land in the
south half of Harney County and all of Malheur County, in extreme
southeastern Oregon. The Donner und Blitzen River system is located on
the west and southwest slopes of Steens Mountain, in south-central
Harney County and drains northward into Malheur Lake. The draft SEORMP/
EIS is tentatively scheduled to be published and distributed in the
fall of 1997. Land use and resource allocation decisions will be
comprehensive, overlap and support numerous existing special area
designations and management plans, including the Donner und Blitzen
Wild and Scenic River Management Plan. In ONDA et al. v. Green et al.,
953F. Supp. 1133 (D. OR 1997) BLM is enjoined from authorizing,
approving or allowing certain activities on public land within the
river corridor until it prepares an EIS and approves revisions to the
River Plan that address these activities. These activities include
domestic livestock grazing, construction or improvement of parking lots
and roads for motorized vehicles, and construction or
[[Page 33904]]
maintenance of any facility or project to divert or impound water.
Those elements of the approved plan which were not challenged or found
inadequate will remain in full force and effect. Issues expected to be
analyzed in detail include, but are not limited to, riparian vegetation
objectives; protection and enhancement of native plants, including
Special Status species plants; appropriate levels, timing, intensity,
and locations of livestock grazing within the river corridor, if any;
improving existing roads and constructing small parking areas (to the
National Historic Register listed Riddle Brothers Ranch) located within
the river corridor; timing and use levels of irrigation (if any) of
meadows; locations and design for any livestock fences designed to
exclude livestock from the river corridor or make pasture systems
within and residual pastures outside the corridor to form functional
portions of livestock grazing allotments; potential reclassification of
one river segment to more accurately reflect the actual level of
development and use at the time of river designation; and other issues
as identified by interest groups and individuals.
The final decisions for the Donner und Blitzen River considered
through this analysis will be in full conformance with the new SEORMP
as well as the intent of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The
environmental analysis and public and interagency review processes
anticipated for this analysis will fully comply with the BLM's
regulations for land use planning, including Wild and Scenic River Plan
amendments, public involvement, and coordination with other Federal
agencies, State, local governments, and Indian tribes, (43 CFR 1610.2,
1610.3 and 1610.5-5).
Any approved decisions which amend the Donner und Blitzen River
Plan will be incorporated into the Plan and become part of the
permanent planning record. Any refinements or clarifications of
management direction and additional information, monitoring or
evaluation reports will be incorporated into the applicable plans and
documented through published plan maintenance reports, as provided
under 43 CFR 1610.5-4. Copies of previous RMP planning project notices,
newsletters, and existing land use and river plans are available in the
Burns and Vale District Offices and available for inspection during
normal working hours.
Disciplines to be represented on the interdisciplinary team
preparing the SEORMP and revised River Plan and EIS include, but are
not limited to, archaeology, anthropology, economics, lands and
minerals, recreation, wilderness, wildlife biology, fisheries,
hydrology, botanical, soils, geology, range management, and wild horse
herd management.
Copies of this announcement or equivalent information are being
distributed to those individuals already on the Wild and Scenic River
and SEORMP/EIS mailing lists. To be added to these lists, individuals
should contact the RMP Team Leader. The BLM is inviting comments to be
considered in the preparation of the expanded EIS for the revisions to
the Donner und Blitzen River Plan. Comments may be addressed to Miles
Brown, Andrews Resource Area Manager, at the Burns District Office.
Comments should be postmarked by July 23, 1997. No public meetings have
been exclusively scheduled for this proposal at this time; however,
meetings may be arranged through the Andrews Resource Area Manager or
RMP Team Leader. A series of open houses or public meetings will be
held during the 90-day comment period on the draft plans and EIS, in
the fall of 1997. Any public meetings will be announced at least 15
days in advance. The purpose of this scoping is to offer the public,
tribes, partner agencies, and counties additional time to provide
supplemental issues or information to the EIS process. Pursuant to 7
CFR, Part 1, Sub-part B, Section 1.27, all written submissions in
response to this notice shall be made available for public inspection
including the submitter's name, unless the submitter specifically
requests confidentially. Anonymous comments will not be accepted. All
written submissions from business entities and organizations, submitted
on official letterhead, in response to this notice shall be made
available for public inspection in their entirety.
Detailed information concerning the proposed SEORMP and revised
River Plan, including the draft EIS, will be available at a later date
at BLM offices in Burns, Vale, and Portland, Oregon, and at scheduled
public meetings. In Burns and Ontario, Oregon, this information will
also be available at the Harney and Malheur public libraries.
Dated: June 17, 1997.
Michael T. Green,
Burns District Manager.
[FR Doc. 97-16324 Filed 6-20-97; 8:45 am]
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