[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 233 (Monday, December 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70469-70470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26725]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-040-05-1610-DO-087L]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement, and a Request for Information for the 
Scoping Process

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), Anchorage Field Office (AFO), Alaska, is initiating a planning 
effort to prepare the Bay Resource Management Plan (RMP). This planning 
activity encompasses approximately 3.6 million acres of BLM 
administered land in the Bristol Bay and Goodnews Bay areas of Alaska. 
Section 201 and 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (FLPMA: 43 U.S.C. 1711) and the regulations in 43 CFR part 1600 
direct this planning effort. The plan will fulfill the needs and 
obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 
As required in 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is also the specific call 
for coal resource information and identification of areas where there 
is an interest in future leasing and development of federal coal.

DATES: The scoping comment period will commence with the publication of 
this notice and will end 90 days after publication. Meetings and 
comment deadlines will be announced through the local news media, 
newsletters and a Web site. Comments on issues and planning criteria 
should be received on or before the end of the scoping period at the 
address listed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Bay Planning Team, 
BLM-AFO, 6881 Abbott Loop Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99507; or via fax 
(907) 267-1267. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at 
the Anchorage Field Office located in Anchorage, Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may obtain further 
information or request to be placed on the mailing list for the Bay 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) planning effort by contacting Pat 
McClenahan, RMP Team Leader, (907) 267-1484, or June Bailey, Field 
Manager, Anchorage Field Office, 6881 Abbott Loop Road, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99507, (907) 267-1205. The toll-free telephone number is 1-800-
478-1263.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM will work closely with interested 
parties to identify the management decisions that are best suited to 
the needs of the public. This public process will take into account 
local, regional, and national needs and concerns. This notice initiates 
the public scoping process to identify planning issues and to develop 
planning criteria.
    After gathering public comments on the issues the plan should 
address, the suggested issues will be placed in one of three 
categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
    2. Issues resolved through policy or administrative action; or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
    Rationale will be provided in the plan for each issue placed in 
category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a number of 
management questions and concerns will be addressed in the plan. The 
public is encouraged to help identify these questions and concerns 
during the scoping process.
    An interdisciplinary approach will be used to develop the plan in 
order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. Disciplines involved in the planning process will include 
specialists with expertise in lands and realty, wildlife, subsistence, 
fisheries, vegetation, outdoor recreation, fire management, minerals 
and geology, forestry, archaeology, paleontology, hydrology, soil, 
sociology and economics. The planning area includes lands adjacent to 
Bristol Bay and Goodnews Bay on the west side of the Aleutian Range, 
and extends southward on the Alaska Peninsula to Big Creek, south of 
South Naknek. Within this area there are approximately 3.6 million 
acres (surface estate) of BLM-administered lands occurring primarily as 
blocks of land, with some small scattered tracts. Approximately 979,171 
acres have been selected by Native Corporations, and 914,933 acres have 
been selected by the State of Alaska, but have not been conveyed.
    Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by 
BLM and other agencies, and in prior meetings with individuals and user 
groups. They represent the BLM's knowledge to date on the existing 
issues and concerns with current management. Some concerns that will be 
addressed in the planning effort include the management of subsistence; 
oil and gas; access; locatable minerals; D1 and D2 lands; and Wild and 
Scenic Rivers.
    Public Participation: Public meetings will be held throughout the 
plan scoping and preparation period. In order to ensure local community 
participation and input, public meetings will be scheduled in a number 
of communities within the planning area. Early participation by all of 
those interested is encouraged and will help determine the future 
management of lands within the Bay planning area. At least 15 days 
public notice will be given for activities where the public is invited 
to attend. The minutes and list of attendees for each meeting will be 
available to the public and open for 30 days to any participant who 
wishes to clarify the views they expressed. Written comments will be 
accepted throughout the planning process at the address shown above.

[[Page 70470]]

    Freedom of Information Act Considerations: Public comments 
submitted for this planning effort, including names and street 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
Anchorage Field Office during regular business hours (7:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you 
wish to withhold your name or address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comments. Such requests will be 
honored to the extent allowed by law.

June Bailey,
Field Office Manager.
[FR Doc. 04-26725 Filed 12-3-04; 8:45 am]
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