[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 18, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36824-36826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17510]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[OR-014-95-1610-00: G5-166]
Notice of Availability
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability, Proposed Final Upper Klamath Basin and
Wood River Wetland Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), gives notice of the availability of the proposed Upper Klamath
Basin and Wood River Wetland Resource Management Plan and final
Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS). The FEIS was prepared
pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, section 202(f) of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976, and the BLM's planning procedures (43 CFR
1610). The PRMP/FEIS describes and analyzes the effects of restoring
land of the acquired Wood River property, approximately 3,220 acres in
Klamath County, Oregon, to a functioning wetland community.
Preparation of the proposed final Upper Klamath Basin and Wood
River Wetland Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement (PRMP/FEIS) is a separate process from the recently completed
Klamath Falls Resource Area Resource Management Plan and Environmental
Impact Statement process. Although both plans are comparable (that is,
guiding future management actions in specified areas), they were
prepared separately due to the geographical distance between the Wood
River property and the rest of the BLM-administered lands in the
Resource Area.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Public participation has occurred throughout the
planning process. A Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register
in October 1993. Since that time, many public meetings, mailings, and
briefings were conducted to solicit comments and ideas. The draft RMP/
EIS was available for public review from March 1, 1994 to June 17,
1994. Written comments were received from agencies, organizations, and
individuals. Oral comments were also heard in eighteen public meetings
with interested groups, organizations,
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government agencies, and individuals. All comments provided were
considered during the preparation of the PRMP/FEIS.
Copies of the PRMP/FEIS and a summary of it may be obtained from
the Klamath Falls Resource Area office. Public reading copies will be
available for review at the public libraries in Klamath Falls (Oregon)
and Redding (California), the Klamath County Office Building, all
government document depository libraries, BLM Oregon/Washington State
Office, BLM District Offices in Oregon/Washington, and at the following
BLM locations:
Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, Room 5600, 18th and
C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20240
Public Room, Oregon State Office, 1515 SW. 5th, 7th floor, Portland,
Oregon 97201
A public meeting on the proposed plan will be announced in the
local print media. Information on the public meeting can also be
obtained by calling Wedge Watkins at (503) 885-4110.
Anyone adversely affected by the proposed plan may file a protest.
Protests should be sent to the Director, Bureau of Land Management,
U.S. Department of the Interior, Resource Planning (480), P.O. Box
65775, Washington D.C. 20235, within the 30-day protest period. The
period for filing a protest begins on the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of the final
environmental impact statement concerning the proposed resource
management plan and will end 30 days after the publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. To be considered complete, a protest
must contain the following information: The name, mailing address,
telephone number, and interest of the person filing the protest; a
statement of the issue or issues being protested; a statement of the
part or parts of the plan being protested; a copy of all documents
addressing the issue or issues that were submitted during the planning
process, or a reference to the date the issue or issues were discussed
for the record; a concise statement explaining why the BLM State
Director's decision is believed to be incorrect.
At the end of the 30-day protest period, the BLM may issue a Record
of Decision approving implementation of any portions of the proposed
plan not under protest. Approval will be withheld on any portion of the
plan under protest, until the protest has been resolved.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. Barron Bail, Area Manager, Klamath
Falls Resource Area Office, Phone (503) 883-6916.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRMP/FEIS describes and analyzes four
alternatives for BLM-administered lands in the Upper Klamath Basin near
the Wood River to address the goals of wetland restoration and water
quality improvement. The alternatives include a No Action alternative
(continuation of current management) which does not include wetland
restoration, and three alternatives that do include wetland
restoration. In all four alternatives the following issues were
addressed: water resources (quality and quantity), wetland restoration,
special status species habitat, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation
opportunities, access, livestock grazing, and public involvement.
The No Action Alternative would maintain the current use of the
property as predominantly for livestock grazing in an irrigated
pasture. Livestock grazing would be limited to a maximum of 3,600
animal unit months per year. Water would be pumped off in the spring at
current schedules. The amounts of upland, wet meadow, and marsh habitat
would remain constant. Recreation facilities would not be developed.
Recreation use, limited to day use only, would neither be encouraged
nor restrained and the area would remain closed to motorized vehicles.
Alternative B would restore the Wood River property to a
functioning wetland with diverse plant communities and healthy,
productive vegetation. Initial management actions could require highly
engineered techniques, such as restoring the Wood River and Sevenmile
Creek to their historic meandering channels; however, in the long term,
wetland restoration systems and methods would be designed for minimum
maintenance using the existing landscape features. The minimum
maintenance methods used would vary, but could include such tools as
prescribed fire, and mechanical vegetation manipulation. Some
recreation facilities would be developed. Recreation use and some
motorized access would be allowed, but would be limited to certain
areas and times of day.
Alternative C would also restore the Wood River property to a
functioning wetland with diverse plant communities and healthy,
productive vegetation. Initial and long-term restoration actions could
involve highly engineered techniques and could include experimental
techniques, such as artificial water circulation, or other constructed
wetlands. General design principles could be complex. The research
would encompass both the methods used for wetland restoration and the
examination of the effects of restoration on water quality and
quantity, fish and wildlife habitat, etc. Recreation would be limited
to day use only. Development of recreation facilities would emphasize
wetland restoration education. Various tools, such as grazing,
prescribed fire, mechanical manipulation of vegetation, chemical
manipulation, and water level fluctuations could be used to meet the
goals of this alternative.
The Preferred Plan, Alternative D, would restore the Wood River
property to its previous form and function as a wetland community,
within unalterable constraints (such as water rights, land ownership
patterns, and funds). Labor-intensive, highly engineered wetland
restoration methods using complex designs would be allowed; however,
the preference would be to use wetland restoration systems and methods
that were designed with less labor-intensive practices using the
existing landscape features. Long-term improvements in water quality
entering Agency Lake would be a goal. Adaptive management, the process
of changing land management as a result of monitoring or research,
would be used.
The Preferred Plan would emphasize improving and increasing
wetland/riparian habitat to benefit federally listed fish species. It
would also protect habitats of federally listed or proposed threatened
or endangered species to avoid contributing to the need to list
category 1 and 2 federal candidate, state-listed, and Bureau sensitive
species. This alternative would emphasize management of special status
species, including completing inventories for these species and
maintaining a diversity of habitats. Other wildlife species would have
habitat improved within the constraints of other resource objectives.
Recreation would be managed for low to moderate use levels, with roaded
natural and semi-primitive recreation experiences provided. Vehicles
would be limited to designated, signed roads. The area would be
identified as a Watchable Wildlife site.
The Wood River property, approximately 3,220 acres, would be
designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern to protect the
area's relevant and important values (cultural, fish, and wildlife
values, and natural processes and systems). Off-highway vehicle use
will be prohibited; mining location will be prohibited; mineral leasing
will be restricted; and
[[Page 36826]]
rights-of-way will be restricted in the ACEC. The Wood River and Seven
Mile Creek were studied for eligibility under the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act. Neither the Wood River nor Sevenmile Creek were
found eligible or suitable for designation under any of the
alternatives for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System. This notice meets the requirements of 43 CFR 1610.7-2 for
designation of areas of critical environmental concern and the
requirements of the final revised Department of the Interior--
Department of Agriculture Guidelines for Eligibility, Classification,
and Management of Rivers (Federal Register Vol. 47, No. 173, page
39454).
M. Joe Tague,
District Manager, Acting.
[FR Doc. 95-17510 Filed 7-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P
