[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46132-46133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21965]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Interagency Desert Management Plan Northern and Eastern Mojave
Desert Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, CA; Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement
SUMMARY: In accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22, of the
regulations of the President's Council on Environmental Quality for the
National Environmental Policy Act (Pub. L. 91-190), the National Park
Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) are initiating the preparation of a management
plan and environmental impact statement for the Northern and Eastern
Mojave Desert.
Background
The purposes of this interagency desert management plan are to
guide protection, public use, and development of a 7.7 million acre
region in parts of Inyo and San Bernardino counties of southern
California. Once approved, the plan will provide broad guidance over
the next two decades for management of federally owned lands in the
Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert. The plan also will contain more
detailed plans for two major units of the National Park System and for
BLM lands. Specifically, the existing Death Valley general
[[Page 46133]]
management plan of 1988 will be amended, the first general management
plan for Mojave National Preserve will be prepared, and management
decisions for BLM wilderness areas will amend the California Desert
Conservation Area Plan of 1980.
The principal issues proposed to be resolved through this planning
effort include the following topics: Access to public lands;
infrastructure necessary for managing these areas; habitat management,
including the habitat of the threatened desert tortoise and other
sensitive species; wilderness management; management of wild horses,
burros, and alien/exotic plant and animal species; proposed expansion
of Fort Irwin; visitor information facilities; recreational
opportunities; mining activities and utility corridors.
The project will be conducted by an interagency, multidisciplinary
planning team with offices in Barstow, California. Federal and state
government agencies, as well as county and city officials, will be
invited to consult with the team throughout the project process.
Interested individuals and organizations will be able to participate
during the planning process through a series of public meetings and
review periods. The expected three year planning effort will commence
immediately.
The public will be invited to workshops and open houses at three
different stages of the project--scoping/issues identification,
development of alternatives, and review of the draft and final
documents. The first set of workshops, intended to listen to and record
public input on the planning issues, will be held in late September,
1995, in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Baker, Barstow, Furnace Creek,
Independence, Lone Pine, Needles, Pasadena, Ridgecrest, and San
Bernardino in California. The team will also welcome any written
comments during this scoping phase.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Requests for a map of the Northern and
Eastern Mojave planning area, as well as comments and inquires about
this project, should be directed to: Mr. Dennis Schramm, Planning Team
Leader, National Park Service, Mojave National Preserve, 222 East Main
Street, Suite 202, Barstow, CA 92311 [(619)255-8840].
Dated: August 22, 1995.
Stephen G. Crabtree,
Acting Field Director, Pacific West Field Area.
[FR Doc. 95-21965 Filed 9-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P
