3180 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 9 / Thursday, January 14, 2021 / Notices 

(4) BLM’s Approach to Compensatory 

Mitigation: In the 2019 planning 

process, the BLM requested public 

comments on a number of issues, 

including the BLM’s approach to 

compensatory mitigation. As part of the 

2015 Approved Resource Management 

Plan Amendments, the BLM selected a 

net conservation gain standard in its 

approach to compensatory mitigation, 

which the 2019 land use plan 

amendments modified to align with the 

BLM’s 2018 policy on compensatory 

mitigation. Through the 2020 

supplemental EIS process, the BLM 

requested further comments about the 

BLM’s approach to compensatory 

mitigation. After reviewing the 

comments that the BLM received about 

compensatory mitigation, the BLM 

determined that its environmental 

analysis supporting the 2019 land use 

plan amendments was sound. The 

public has now had substantial 

opportunities to consider and comment 

on the BLM’s approach to compensatory 

mitigation at the land use planning 

level, including the approach taken in 

the 2019 land use plan amendments. 

Based on the final supplemental EIS, 

the BLM has determined that its decadelong planning and NEPA processes have 

sufficiently addressed Greater SageGrouse habitat conservation and no new 

land use planning process to consider 

additional alternatives or new 

information is warranted. This 

determination is not a new planning 

decision. Instead, it is a determination 

not to amend the applicable land use 

plans. Thus, it is not subject to appeal 

or protest. The BLM’s decision remains 

as identified in the 2019 Approved 

Resource Management Plan Amendment 

for Greater Sage-Grouse conservation in 

Colorado. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1505.2; 40 CFR 1506.6; 

References to the CEQ regulations are to the 

regulations in effect prior to September 14, 

2020. The revised CEQ regulations effective 

September 14, 2020, are not cited because 

this supplemental EIS process began prior to 

that date.) 

Jamie E. Connell, 

BLM Colorado State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00661 Filed 1–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[212.LLWO230000. 

L11700000.PH0000.LXSGPL000000] 

Notice of Availability of the Record of 

Decision for Greater Sage-Grouse 

Management, Idaho 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the management of Greater 

Sage-Grouse habitat in Idaho. The BLM 

has determined that its decade-long 

planning and NEPA processes have 

sufficiently addressed Greater SageGrouse habitat conservation and no new 

land use planning process to consider 

additional alternatives or new 

information is warranted. This 

determination is not a new planning 

decision. Instead, it is a determination 

not to amend the applicable land use 

plans. Thus, it is not subject to appeal 

or protest. The BLM’s decision remains 

as identified in the 2019 Approved 

Resource Management Plan Amendment 

for Greater Sage-Grouse conservation in 

Idaho. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD are 

available for public inspection at the 

Idaho Bureau of Land Management State 

Office, 1387 S Vinnell Way, Boise, 

Idaho 83709. Interested persons may 

also review the ROD on the internet at: 

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/103344/510. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Murdock, Planning and 

Environmental Coordinator, at 208– 

373–4050; Idaho Bureau of Land 

Management State Office, 1387 S 

Vinnell Way, Boise, Idaho 83709; 

pmurdock@blm.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to 

contact Ms. Murdock during normal 

business hours. The FRS is available 24 

hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a 

message or question. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM 

issued this ROD to document the 

agency’s determination regarding the 

analysis contained in the final 

supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) (85 FR 74380). With the 

issuance of this ROD, the BLM has now 

completed several planning and NEPA 

processes for Greater Sage-Grouse 

management in Idaho over roughly the 

last decade, which include the 

processes that culminated in the 2015 

ROD and the Approved Resource 

Management Plan Amendment (the 

2015 planning process), the 2019 ROD 

and Approved Resource Management 

Plan Amendment (the 2019 planning 

process), and this 2020 ROD (the 2020 

supplemental EIS process). Together, 

these processes represent a thorough 

analysis of Greater Sage-Grouse 

management, substantial public 

engagement, and important 

coordination with state wildlife 

agencies, other federal agencies, and 

many others in the range of the species 

have been collaborating to conserve 

Greater Sage-Grouse and its habitats. 

The BLM prepared the final 

supplemental EIS in order to review its 

previous NEPA analysis, clarify and 

augment it where necessary, and 

provide the public with additional 

opportunities to review and comment. It 

also helped the BLM determine whether 

its 2015 and 2019 land use planning and 

NEPA processes sufficiently addressed 

Greater Sage-Grouse habitat 

conservation or whether the BLM 

should initiate a new land use planning 

process to consider additional 

alternatives or new information. 

The final supplemental EIS addressed 

four specific issues: The range of 

alternatives, need to take a hard look at 

environmental impacts, cumulative 

effects analysis, and the BLM’s 

approach to compensatory mitigation. 

Rationale to support BLM’s 

determination, with respect to each of 

these topical areas, is summarized 

below and described further in the ROD: 

(1) Range of Alternatives: Throughout 

the decade-long planning and NEPA 

processes, the BLM has analyzed in 

detail 143 alternatives across the range 

of Greater Sage-Grouse. Additionally, 

the BLM has continued to review new 

science as it is published, which affirms 

that the BLM has considered a full range 

of plan-level conservation measures in 

the alternatives already analyzed. 

(2) Hard Look: The BLM has 

continued to take a hard look at 

environmental impacts every step of the 

way in planning for Greater Sage-Grouse 

habitat conservation. In the 2015 

planning process, the 2019 planning 

process, and in the 2020 supplemental 

EIS process, the BLM incorporated 

detailed analysis of environmental 

impacts into our decision-making 

processes and disclosed these expected 

impacts to the public. As scientific 

information has continued to evolve, the 

BLM has closely reviewed and 

considered any changes from such 

science to expected environmental 

impacts, both at the land use plan scale 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 9 / Thursday, January 14, 2021 / Notices 3181 

and in site-specific analyses. To address 

public comments raised during the 

supplemental EIS process, the BLM 

convened a team of biologists and land 

use planners to evaluate scientific 

literature provided to the agency. The 

BLM found that the most up-to-date 

Greater Sage-Grouse science and other 

information has incrementally 

increased, and built upon, the 

knowledgebase of Greater Sage-Grouse 

management evaluated by the BLM most 

recently in its 2019 land use plan 

amendments, but does not change the 

scope or direction of the BLM’s 

management; however, new science 

does suggest adaptations to management 

may be warranted at site-specific scales. 

(3) Cumulative Effects Analysis: The 

BLM considered cumulative impacts on 

a rangewide basis, organizing that 

analysis at the geographic scale of each 

Western Association of Fish and 

Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) 

management zone, in order to consider 

impacts at biologically meaningful 

scales. In the 2019 planning process, the 

BLM incorporated by reference 

cumulative effects analysis conducted 

in the 2015 planning process and other 

environmental impact statements. Since 

the nature and context of the cumulative 

effects scenario has not appreciably 

changed since 2015, and the 2015 

analysis covered the entire range of the 

Greater Sage-Grouse, the BLM’s 

consideration of cumulative effects in 

the 2015 planning process adequately 

addresses most, if not all, of the 

planning decisions made through the 

2019 planning process. 

While the 2019 planning process 

largely incorporated by reference the 

analysis from the 2015 planning 

process, and updated it where needed to 

account for current conditions, the 2020 

supplemental EIS process elaborated on 

this information in greater detail and 

updated the analysis to ensure that the 

BLM appropriately evaluated 

cumulative effects at biologically 

meaningful scales. 

(4) BLM’s Approach to Compensatory 

Mitigation: In the 2019 planning 

process, the BLM requested public 

comments on a number of issues, 

including the BLM’s approach to 

compensatory mitigation. As part of the 

2015 Approved Resource Management 

Plan Amendments, the BLM selected a 

net conservation gain standard in its 

approach to compensatory mitigation, 

which the 2019 land use plan 

amendments modified to align with the 

BLM’s 2018 policy on compensatory 

mitigation. Through the 2020 

supplemental EIS process, the BLM 

requested further comments about the 

BLM’s approach to compensatory 

mitigation. After reviewing the 

comments that the BLM received about 

compensatory mitigation, the BLM 

determined that its environmental 

analysis supporting the 2019 land use 

plan amendments was sound. The 

public has now had substantial 

opportunities to consider and comment 

on the BLM’s approach to compensatory 

mitigation at the land use planning 

level, including the approach taken in 

the 2019 land use plan amendments. 

Based on the final supplemental EIS, 

the BLM has determined that its decadelong planning and NEPA processes have 

sufficiently addressed Greater SageGrouse habitat conservation and no new 

land use planning process to consider 

additional alternatives or new 

information is warranted. This 

determination is not a new planning 

decision. Instead, it is a determination 

not to amend the applicable land use 

plans. Thus, it is not subject to appeal 

or protest. The BLM’s decision remains 

as identified in the 2019 Approved 

Resource Management Plan Amendment 

for Greater Sage-Grouse conservation in 

Idaho. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1505.2; 40 CFR 1506.6; 

References to the CEQ regulations are to the 

regulations in effect prior to September 14, 

2020. The revised CEQ regulations effective 

September 14, 2020, are not cited because 

this supplemental EIS process began prior to 

that date.) 

John F. Ruhs, 

BLM Idaho State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00662 Filed 1–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[(LLCA930000.L13400000.DS0000.21X) 

MO#450014117] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Desert Plan Amendment and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

California 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft 

Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) and 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS), for an amendment to the 

California Desert Conservation Area 

(CDCA) Plan and the Bakersfield and 

Bishop Resource Management Plans 

(RMPs). The Desert Plan Amendment 

Draft LUPA/EIS includes consideration 

of changes to the management or 

modification to the boundaries of 129 

Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 

(ACECs). By this notice, the BLM is 

announcing the availability of the Draft 

LUPA/EIS. In order to comply with 

Federal regulations, the BLM is also 

announcing a comment period on 

proposed changes to the ACECs within 

the planning area. 

DATES: To ensure that comments will be 

considered, the BLM must receive 

written comments on the Draft LUPA/ 

EIS within 90 days following the date 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its notice of the Draft LUPA/ 

EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM 

will announce future meetings and any 

other public participation activities at 

least 15 days in advance through public 

notices, news releases, and/or mailings. 

ADDRESSES: The Desert Plan 

Amendment Draft LUPA/EIS are 

available on the BLM ePlanning project 

website at https://go.usa.gov/x7hdj. 

Click the ‘‘Documents’’ link on the left 

side of the screen to find the electronic 

version of these materials. Hard copies 

of the Desert Plan Amendment Draft 

LUPA and Draft EIS are also available 

for public inspection at the following 

BLM locations: 

California State Office, 2800 Cottage 

Way, Suite W–1623, Sacramento, CA 

95825; 

California Desert District Office, 22835 

Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno 

Valley, CA 92553; 

Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow 

Road, Barstow, CA 92311; 

El Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 4th 

Street, El Centro, CA 92243; 

Needles Field Office, 1303 S. Highway 

95, Needles, CA 92363; 

Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S. 

Richmond Road, Ridgecrest, CA 

93555; 

Bakersfield Field Office, 3801 Pegasus 

Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308; and 

Bishop Field Office, 351 Pacu Lane, 

Suite 100, Bishop, CA 93514. 

You may submit written comments 

related to the Desert Plan Amendment 

by either of the following methods: 

• Website: https://go.usa.gov/x7hdj. 

• Mail: Bureau of Land Management, 

California State Office, Attn: Desert Plan 

Amendment, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite 

W–1623, Sacramento, CA 95825. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeremiah Karuzas, Renewable Energy 

Program Manager, telephone: 916–978– 

4644, email: jkaruzas@blm.gov; address 

Bureau of Land Management, 2800 

Cottage Way, W–1623, Sacramento, CA 

95825. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES