Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 77353 

United States who are deaf, deafblind, 

hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 

TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. The FRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

lessees have agreed to the new lease 

terms: 

• Original term and additional 

conditions of the lease; 

• Increased rental of $20 per acre; 

• Increased royalty of 20-2⁄3 percent; 

• $151 cost of publishing this Notice; 

and 

• $500 cost of administrative fee. 

The leases include the following 

described lands in San Juan County, 

Utah: 

UTU–88835 

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah 

T. 30 S., R. 23 E., 

Secs. 24 and 25; 

Sec. 26, lots 1 thru 4, W1⁄2NE1⁄4, E1⁄2NW1⁄4, 

and W1⁄2SE1⁄4; 

Sec. 35, lots 1 thru 4, W1⁄2NE1⁄4, and 

W1⁄2SE1⁄4. 

The area described contains 2007.56 

acres, according to the official plats of 

the surveys of the said land, on file with 

the BLM. 

UTU–88838 

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah 

T. 30 S., R. 24 E., 

Sec. 30; 

Sec. 31, lots 1 and 2, and S1⁄2SE1⁄4. 

The areas described aggregate 797.38 

acres, according to the official plat of 

the survey of the said lands, on file with 

the BLM. 

The lessees have met all the 

requirements for reinstatement of the 

leases per Section 31(d) and (e) of the 

Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 as 

Amended. The BLM is proposing to 

reinstate the leases 30 days following 

publication of this notice, with the 

effective date of April 1, 2018, subject 

to the increased rental and royalty rates 

cited above. 

Authority: 43 CFR 3108.2–3. 

Gregory Sheehan, 

BLM Utah State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24719 Filed 11–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_CO_FRN_MO4500174493] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendment and Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Gunnison SageGrouse (Centrocercus minimus), 

Colorado and Utah 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a draft Resource Management Plan 

(RMP) amendment and draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse 

(Centrocercus minimus) and by this 

notice is providing information 

announcing the opening of the comment 

period on the draft RMP amendment/ 

EIS and is announcing the comment 

period on the BLM’s proposed areas of 

critical environmental concern (ACECs). 

DATES: This notice announces the 

opening of a 90-day comment period for 

the draft RMP amendment/EIS 

beginning with the date following the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) publication of its Notice of 

Availability (NOA) in the Federal 

Register. The EPA usually publishes its 

NOAs on Fridays. 

To afford the BLM the opportunity to 

consider comments in the proposed 

RMP amendment/final EIS, please 

ensure your comments are received 

prior to the close of the 90-day comment 

period or 15 days after the last public 

meeting, whichever is later. 

In addition, this notice also 

announces the opening of a 60-day 

comment period for ACECs. The BLM 

must receive your ACEC-related 

comments by January 8, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The draft RMP amendment/ 

EIS is available for review on the BLM 

ePlanning project website at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2019031/510. 

Written comments related to the 

Gunnison Sage-Grouse RMP amendment 

may be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

• Website: electronically via the BLM 

ePlanning website at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2019031/510. 

• Mail: BLM Southwest District 

Office, ATTN: GUSG RMPA, 2465 South 

Townsend Ave., Montrose, CO 81401. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined online at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2019031/510 and at the Grand 

Junction, Uncompahgre, Tres Rios, 

Gunnison, San Luis Valley, Moab, and 

Monticello Field Offices. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina 

Phillips, Project Manager, telephone 

970–240–5381; BLM Southwest District 

Office, 2465 South Townsend Ave., 

Montrose, CO 81401; email BLM_CO_

GUSG_RMPA@blm.gov. Individuals in 

the United States who are deaf, 

deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 

speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services for 

contacting Ms. Phillips. Individuals 

outside the United States should use the 

relay services offered within their 

country to make international calls to 

the point-of-contact in the United 

States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document provides notice that the BLM 

Colorado and Utah State Directors have 

prepared a draft RMP amendment/EIS, 

provides information announcing the 

opening of the comment period on the 

draft RMP amendment/EIS, and is 

announcing the comment period on the 

BLM’s proposed ACECs. The RMP 

amendment is being considered to allow 

the BLM to evaluate protections for 

Gunnison sage-grouse consistent with 

the latest measures in the recently 

completed U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) recovery plan, which 

would require amending the following 

existing plans: 

Colorado 

• Canyons of the Ancients National 

Monument RMP (2010) 

• Dominguez-Escalante National 

Conservation Area RMP (2017) 

• Grand Junction Field Office RMP 

(2015) 

• Gunnison Gorge National 

Conservation Area RMP (2004) 

• Gunnison Resource Area RMP (1993) 

• McInnis Canyons National 

Conservation Area RMP (2004) 

• San Luis Resource Area RMP (1991) 

• Tres Rios Field Office RMP (2015) 

• Uncompahgre Field Office RMP 

(2020) 

Utah 

• Moab Field Office RMP (2008) 

• Monticello Field Office RMP (2008) 

The planning area is located in 

portions of 19 Colorado counties: 

Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
77354 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 

Delta, Dolores, Garfield, Gunnison, 

Hinsdale, La Plata, Mesa, Mineral, 

Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Rio 

Grande, Saguache, San Juan, and San 

Miguel; and two Utah counties: Grand 

and San Juan; and encompasses 

approximately 16 million acres of 

public land. 

Levels of protection for Gunnison 

sage-grouse habitat are highly variable 

across the BLM administrative units. 

Several of the existing RMPs, especially 

the recently completed (as recent as 

2020) land use planning revisions, 

provide management direction that meet 

the existing purpose and need of this 

RMP amendment, while others that 

were completed in the early 1990s, for 

example, do not provide adequate 

protection for Gunnison sage-grouse 

consistent with the latest measures in 

the recently completed USFWS recovery 

plan. The planning area includes lands 

administered by the BLM; U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service; U.S. Department of the Interior 

(DOI), National Park Service; U.S. DOI, 

Bureau of Reclamation; State of 

Colorado; State of Utah; and private 

lands. 

The BLM published a notice of intent 

in the Federal Register to initiate the 

public scoping period for this planning 

effort on July 6, 2022 (87 FR 40262). The 

BLM hosted four public scoping 

meetings aimed at soliciting 

nominations for ACECs, identifying the 

scope of issues to be addressed in the 

RMP amendment, and gathering input 

to assist in formulating a reasonable 

range of alternatives. The resource 

concerns identified during the scoping 

process included Gunnison sage-grouse 

habitat, vegetation, livestock grazing 

management, mineral development, 

renewable energy development, 

wildland fire ecology and management, 

ACECs, recreation, lands and realty, air 

resources, soil resources, lands with 

wilderness characteristics, and social 

and economic conditions. 

Purpose and Need 

The BLM’s purpose consists of the 

following: 

• Promote the recovery of the 

threatened Gunnison sage-grouse and 

maintain and enhance BLMadministered occupied/unoccupied 

habitat upon which the species 

depends, while continuing to manage 

the land wherever possible for multiple 

use and sustained yield. 

• Ensure management actions on 

BLM-administered lands support 

conservation goals for Gunnison sagegrouse and their habitat. 

• Ensure that BLM management 

aligns with current science and data; 

relevant Federal, State, and local 

decisions supporting recovery; the DOI 

Climate Action Plan; and the USFWS 

Final Recovery Plan for Gunnison SageGrouse and Recovery Implementation 

Strategy for Gunnison Sage-Grouse 

(Centrocercus minimus). 

• Provide consistent guidance for 

addressing threats to Gunnison sagegrouse populations and their habitat. 

This BLM action is necessary to 

accomplish the following: 

• Address the rangewide downward 

population trend of Gunnison sagegrouse since 2014 and address issues 

related to land management that may 

affect occupied/unoccupied habitat. 

• Respond to the Endangered Species 

Act (ESA) Section 7(a)(1) requirement 

that the BLM use its authority to further 

the purposes of the ESA by 

implementing management actions for 

the conservation of federally listed 

species and the ecosystems upon which 

they depend. 

• Respond to changing ecological and 

climate conditions affecting BLMadministered lands, including drought, 

habitat loss and fragmentation, reduced 

riparian areas, and more frequent 

wildland fires. 

Alternatives Including the Preferred 

Alternative 

The BLM has analyzed five 

alternatives in detail, including the no 

action alternative. This land use 

planning effort addresses management 

actions impacting, or with the potential 

to impact, Gunnison sage-grouse and 

occupied and unoccupied habitat in the 

decision area. The decision area consists 

of approximately 2,156,150 acres of 

BLM-managed surface lands (1,926,100 

acres in Colorado and 230,050 acres in 

Utah) and 2,852,390 acres of Federal 

subsurface mineral estate (2,563,220 

acres in Colorado and 289,170 acres in 

Utah). Alternative A (No Action 

Alternative—Current Management) 

would continue current BLM 

management direction in the 11 

administrative units in the planning 

area. 

Alternative B would prioritize 

removing identified threats within 

occupied and unoccupied habitat and 

reduce impacts within the decision area, 

which includes the four-mile buffer 

around habitat, and potential linkageconnectivity areas, to the maximum 

extent allowable. Alternative B contains 

two sub-alternatives for livestock 

grazing management actions in response 

to recommendations made in public 

scoping comments. Alternative B would 

designate all nominated ACECs that 

meet relevance and importance criteria. 

Alternative C would minimize, 

mitigate, or compensate for impacts 

from resource uses and activities in 

occupied and unoccupied habitat. No 

new ACECs would be designated under 

Alternative C. 

Alternative D would allocate resource 

uses and conserve resource values while 

sustaining and enhancing ecological 

integrity across the decision area, and 

designate a specific subset of nominated 

ACECs. Conservation measures focus on 

occupied and unoccupied habitat that 

includes a 1-mile buffer around habitat 

and could extend to linkageconnectivity areas. 

Alternative E considers adopting 

applicable management direction from 

the interagency Candidate Conservation 

Agreement for the Gunnison sagegrouse, Gunnison Basin Population. The 

BLM considered three additional 

alternatives but dismissed them from 

detailed analysis as explained in the 

draft RMP amendment/EIS. 

The State Directors have identified 

Alternative D as the preferred 

alternative. Alternative D was found to 

best meet the State Directors’ planning 

guidance and was, therefore, selected as 

the preferred alternative because it: 

addresses conservation actions within 

occupied and unoccupied habitat areas 

and in linkage-connectivity areas; 

provides for allocating resource uses 

and conserving resources; and 

designates a specific subset of ACECs. 

Mitigation 

The BLM analyzed compensatory 

mitigation under Alternatives B, C, and 

D. Under Alternative B the BLM would 

avoid, minimize, and compensate for 

impacts to Gunnison sage-grouse and 

their habitat in occupied and 

unoccupied habitat management areas 

and incorporate a minimum of a 5 to 1 

ratio where 1 acre of disturbance results 

in 5 acres of mitigation. 

ACECs 

Consistent with land use planning 

regulations at 43 CFR 1610.7–2(b), the 

BLM is announcing the opening of a 60- 

day comment period on the ACECs 

proposed for designation in the 

preferred alternative. Comments may be 

submitted using any of the methods 

listed in the ADDRESSES section earlier. 

The proposed ACECs included in the 

preferred alternative, all located in 

Colorado, are: 

• Dry Creek Basin ACEC (10,920 

acres) for protection and enhancement 

of Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. 

Proposed management: manage as wind 

and solar energy exclusion area, rightof-way (ROW) exclusion; prohibit 

surface disturbing activities during 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 77355 

lekking, nesting, or early brood-rearing 

seasons (March 1 to July 15) unless 

needed for human health and safety; no 

new recreation facility construction 

allowed (March 1 to July 15), unless 

needed for human health and safety; 

close to non-energy solid mineral 

leasing; prohibit new trail development; 

and apply a no surface occupancy 

stipulation for fluid minerals leasing. 

• Chance Gulch ACEC (13,150 acres) 

for protection and enhancement of 

Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. Proposed 

management: manage as wind and solar 

energy exclusion area, manage one mile 

buffer around active and inactive leks as 

ROW exclusion areas; in areas outside 

of the exclusion area, ROWs for 

pipelines, transmission/utility lines, 

communication sites, or other 

comparable infrastructure may only be 

authorized under the following criteria: 

infrastructure upgrade and/or 

reconstruction occurs or is co-located 

with the existing ROW, new utility lines 

are co-located on existing overhead 

lines to the maximum extent feasible, 

pipelines, communication sites, or other 

infrastructure are co-located within the 

disturbed footprint or ROW of existing 

structures, no new construction of 

roads/routes would be permitted, 

excluding pending applications which 

may be granted after appropriate 

evaluation at the authorized officer’s 

discretion; maintain current, designated 

route system limiting both motorized 

and mechanized travel; limit over-snow 

vehicle travel to designated routes; close 

the area to all human use during lekking 

season (March 15 to May 15) with 

exceptions for administrative access and 

emergency maintenance; close to 

motorized (including e-bikes) travel 

during lekking and nesting season 

(March 15 to June 30) to prevent 

disturbance to breeding sage-grouse 

with exceptions for administrative 

access and emergency maintenance; 

prohibit surface disturbing activities 

during lekking, nesting, or early broodrearing seasons (March 1 to July 15) 

unless needed for human health and 

safety; no new recreation facility 

construction allowed during lekking, 

nesting, or early brood-rearing seasons 

(March 1 to July 15), unless needed for 

human health and safety; close to nonenergy solid mineral leasing; prohibit 

new trail development and close to fluid 

minerals exploration, leasing and/or 

development. 

• Sapinero Mesa ACEC (17,240 acres) 

for protection and enhancement of 

Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. Proposed 

management: manage as wind and solar 

energy exclusion area; manage one mile 

buffer around active and inactive leks as 

ROW exclusion areas; in areas outside 

of the exclusion area, ROWs for 

pipelines, transmission/utility lines, 

communication sites, or other 

comparable infrastructure may only be 

authorized under the following criteria: 

infrastructure upgrade and/or 

reconstruction occurs or is co-located 

with the existing ROW, new utility lines 

are co-located on existing overhead 

lines to the maximum extent feasible, 

pipelines, communication sites, or other 

infrastructure are co-located within the 

disturbed footprint or ROW of existing 

structures, construction of roads/routes 

would be permitted, excluding pending 

applications which may be granted after 

appropriate evaluation at the authorized 

officer’s discretion; maintain current, 

designated route system limiting 

motorized and mechanized travel; limit 

over-snow vehicle travel to designated 

routes; close the area west of County 

Road 26 to motorized and mechanized 

travel during lekking, nesting, and 

brood-rearing season (March 15 to July 

15) to prevent disturbance to breeding, 

nesting, and brood-rearing sage-grouse, 

with exceptions for administrative 

access and emergency maintenance; 

area closed to all human use during 

lekking season (March 15 to May 15) 

with exceptions for administrative 

access and emergency maintenance; 

close to motorized (including e-bikes) 

travel during lekking and nesting season 

(March 15 to June 30) to prevent 

disturbance to breeding sage-grouse 

with exceptions for administrative 

access and emergency maintenance; 

prohibit surface disturbing activities 

during lekking, nesting, or early broodrearing seasons (March 1 to July 15) 

unless needed for human health and 

safety; no new recreation facility 

construction allowed during lekking, 

nesting, or early brood-rearing seasons 

(March 1 to July 15), unless needed for 

human health and safety; close to nonenergy solid mineral leasing; and close 

to fluid minerals leasing. 

• Sugar Creek ACEC (17,210 acres) for 

protection and enhancement of 

Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. Proposed 

management: manage as wind and solar 

energy exclusion area, manage one mile 

buffer around active and inactive leks as 

ROW exclusion areas; in areas outside 

of the exclusion area, ROWs for 

pipelines, transmission/utility lines, 

communication sites, or other 

comparable infrastructure may only be 

authorized under the following criteria: 

infrastructure upgrade and/or 

reconstruction occurs or is co-located 

with the existing ROW, new utility lines 

are co-located on existing overhead 

lines to the maximum extent feasible, 

pipelines, communication sites, or other 

infrastructure are co-located within the 

disturbed footprint or ROW of existing 

structures, no new construction of 

roads/routes would be permitted, 

excluding pending applications which 

may be granted after appropriate 

evaluation at the authorized officer’s 

discretion; maintain current, designated 

route system limiting motorized and 

mechanized travel; limit over-snow 

vehicle travel to designated routes; area 

closed to all human use during lekking 

season (March 15 to May 15) with 

exceptions for administrative access and 

emergency maintenance; close to 

dispersed camping during lekking and 

nesting season (March 15 to June 30); 

allow vegetation treatments and wildlife 

habitat improvements for the benefit of 

the relevant and important values; 

prohibit new trail development; close to 

non-energy solid mineral leasing; and 

close to fluid minerals leasing. 

Existing ACECs in Colorado and Utah 

would continue to be designated under 

all alternatives and current management 

would remain except where updated. 

Following are the existing, currently 

designated ACECs, all in Colorado, that 

would receive updated management. 

Updates in management are specified 

below to protect the relevant and 

important values: 

• Gunnison Sage-Grouse ACEC/ 

Important Bird Area (existing, 22,190 

acres) for management and protection of 

the Gunnison sage-grouse and its 

habitat. Proposed management would 

remain the same as existing with the 

following updates: for special status 

species, surface-disturbing activities 

will be restricted in special status 

species occupied locations and their 

potential habitat for their protection 

(March 1 to July 15); at minimum, 

prohibit surface-disturbing activities in 

occupied habitat management areas 

during lekking, nesting, or early broodrearing (March 1 to July 15)—specific 

time and distance determinations will 

be based on site-specific conditions and 

may be modified, in coordination with 

the appropriate State wildlife agency 

and USFWS, due to documentation of 

local variations (e.g., higher/lower 

elevations), annual climatic fluctuations 

(e.g., early/late spring and long and/or 

heavy winter), if located within an area 

of non-habitat (e.g., forest, sandflat), 

documented use or occurrence of 

Gunnison sage-grouse withing the past 

year (e.g., pellet transects, observations); 

livestock grazing management, road and 

trails management, recreation activity 

management, and vegetation 

management will be conducted to 

maintain and restore Gunnison sagegrouse habitat in this area subject to 

seasonal timing restriction for surface 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
77356 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 

disturbance activity (March 1 to July 

15); manage as wind and solar energy 

exclusion area; no new recreation 

facility construction allowed (March 1 

to July 15), unless needed for human 

health and safety; close to non-energy 

solid mineral leasing and no surface 

occupancy stipulation without waivers, 

exceptions, and modifications for fluid 

mineral leasing. 

• West Antelope Creek ACEC 

(existing, 28,280 acres) to improve the 

capabilities of the resources in the unit 

to support wintering elk, deer, and 

bighorn sheep. Proposed management 

would remain the same as existing with 

the following updates: manage as wind 

and solar energy exclusion area, manage 

one mile buffer around active and 

inactive leks as ROW exclusion areas; 

seasonal habitat restrictions apply to 

prohibit surface disturbance in 

Gunnison sage-grouse occupied habitat 

management areas (March 1 to July 15), 

at minimum; prohibit surface-disturbing 

activities during lekking, nesting, or 

early brood-rearing (March 1 to July 15); 

no new recreation facility construction 

allowed (March 1 to July 15), unless 

needed for human health and safety, 

subject to valid existing rights; close to 

fluid mineral exploration, leasing, and/ 

or development; close to non-energy 

solid mineral leasing; close designated 

routes to motorized travel from March 

15 to May 15 and limit over-snow 

vehicle travel to designated routes; 

maintain current, designated route 

system limiting motorized and 

mechanized travel. 

• South Beaver Creek ACEC (existing, 

4,570 acres) for protection and 

enhancement of existing populations 

and habitat for skiff milkvetch. 

Proposed management would remain 

the same as existing with the following 

updates: remove the restriction for 

chemical spraying; manage as wind and 

solar energy exclusion area; manage one 

mile buffer around active and inactive 

leks as ROW exclusion areas; seasonal 

habitat restrictions apply to prohibit 

surface disturbance in Gunnison sagegrouse occupied habitat management 

areas from March 1 to July 15, at 

minimum; prohibit surface-disturbing 

activities during lekking, nesting, or 

early brood-rearing from March 1 to July 

15; no new recreation facility 

construction allowed from March 1 to 

July 15, unless needed for human health 

and safety, subject to valid existing 

rights; close to fluid mineral 

exploration, leasing, and/or 

development; close to non-energy solid 

mineral leasing; close designated routes 

to motorized travel (March 15 to May 

15) and limit over-snow vehicle travel to 

designated routes; maintain current, 

designated route system limiting 

motorized and mechanized travel. 

The preferred alternative would not 

propose the following potential ACECs 

for designation: All BLM-administered 

surface lands within Gunnison sagegrouse Occupied Habitat Management 

Area and Unoccupied Habitat 

Management Area ACEC (Colorado and 

Utah); Gunnison Satellite Populations 

Habitat ACEC (Colorado and Utah); 

Northdale ACEC (Colorado); Kezar 

Basin ACEC (Colorado); North Parlin 

ACEC (Colorado); South Parlin ACEC 

(Colorado); Ohio Creek ACEC 

(Colorado); and Waunita ACEC 

(Colorado). 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

The BLM will provide additional 

opportunities for public participation 

consistent with the NEPA and land use 

planning processes, including a 30-day 

public protest period and a 60-day 

Governor’s consistency review on the 

proposed RMP. The proposed RMP 

amendment/final EIS is anticipated to 

be available for public protest in the 

summer of 2024 with an approved RMP 

amendment and record of decision in 

the fall of 2024. 

The BLM will hold three public 

meetings in the following locations: one 

meeting virtually hosted and two inperson meetings at Gunnison, CO, and 

Dove Creek, CO. The specific date(s) 

and location(s) of these meetings will be 

announced at least 15 days in advance 

through the ePlanning page (see 

ADDRESSES) and applicable local 

newspapers. 

The BLM will continue to consult 

with Indian Tribal Nations on a 

government-to-government basis in 

accordance with Executive Order 13175, 

BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental 

policies. Tribal concerns, including 

impacts on Indian trust assets and 

potential impacts to cultural resources, 

will be given due consideration. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 

43 CFR 1610.2) 

Douglas J. Vilsack, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24394 Filed 11–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_AZ_FRN_MO4500175810] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Notice of Segregation for the Proposed 

Ranegras Plains Energy Center 

Project, La Paz County, AZ 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent and segregation. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Yuma Field Office, Yuma, Arizona, 

intends to prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) to consider the 

effects of the Ranegras Plains Energy 

Center Project (Project) and by this 

notice is announcing the beginning of 

the scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. The BLM 

also announces the segregation of 4,763 

acres of public lands from appropriation 

under the public land laws, including 

the Mining Law, but not the mineral 

leasing or materials acts, for a period of 

2 years from the date of publication of 

this notice, subject to valid existing 

rights. This segregation will facilitate 

the orderly administration of the public 

lands while the BLM considers potential 

solar and battery energy storage 

development on the described parcels. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the EIS. The BLM 

requests that the public submit 

comments concerning the scope of the 

analysis, potential alternatives, and 

identification of relevant information 

and studies by December 11, 2023. To 

afford the BLM the opportunity to 

consider issues raised by commenters in 

the Draft EIS, please ensure your 

comments are received prior to the close 

of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days 

after the last public meeting, whichever 

is later. A virtual public scoping 

meeting will be held 2 to 3 weeks after 

publication of this notice; the meeting 

date will be announced on the Project 

ePlanning website at least 15 days prior 

to the meeting. The segregation for the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1