47832 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR–050–1220–00; GP7–0284]

Notice of Supplemental Scoping for

the John Day River Management Plan

and Potential Related Amendments to

the Two Rivers and John Day

Resource Management Plans

AGENCY: Prineville District, Central

Oregon Resource Area; Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a

Revised Draft Environmental Impact

Statement and Management Plan for the

Wild and Scenic John Day River and

related Resource Management Plans;

and notice of supplemental scoping

period.

SUMMARY: In accordance with 43 Code of

Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2 and

1610.3 and 43 CFR 8350, notice is given

that the Bureau of Land Management

(BLM) in the State of Oregon, Prineville

District, Central Oregon Resource Area,

intends to analyze potential

amendments to the relevant geographic

and resource program sections of the

Two Rivers and John Day Resource

Management Plan (RMPs) in

combination with completion of the

Management Plan for the Wild and

Scenic John Day River.

DATES: The pubic scoping period is

ongoing and will continue until October

30, 1997. The draft river management

plan and environmental impact

statement (EIS) will be available for a 90

day public review period in the early

summer of 1998. The proposed river

plan, related RMP amendments and

final EIS is expected to be available in

the winter of 1998–1999 with decisions

made and published following

resolution of any protests or any

intergovernmental natural resource plan

inconsistencies. Future opportunities

for public review and comment will be

announced through the Federal

Register, direct mailings to known

interested parties, and announcements

in Prineville’s newspaper, the Central

Oregonian. Supplemental public

scoping meetings will be held in an

Open House format. Persons wishing to

attend these meetings may come at

anytime between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm

on the dates of the meetings to ask

questions and submit scoping comments

directly to John Day River Planning

Team members. The Open House public

meetings will be held in the following

locations:

September 24, 1997

Wheeler County Fairgrounds, Fossil,

Oregon

September 25, 1997

Senior Center, 142 NE Dayton, John

Day, Oregon

September 30, 1997

Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 430 SW

Fairgrounds, Madras, Oregon

October 8, 1997

Double Tree Hotel, 310 SW Lincoln,

Portland, Oregon

The need for additional meetings will

be evaluated based on the level of

public input as a result of public

notification procedures. Any public

meetings will be announced at least 15

days in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dan Wood, Project Manager, Prineville

District BLM, PO Box 550, Prineville,

Oregon 97754 (Telephone 541–416–

6751, FAX 541–416–6798). Anyone

interested in participating during the

public review process of this planning

effort may request to be added to the

mailing list. Individuals should specify

if they wish to have their names and

addresses withheld from public access

under the privacy provisions of the

Freedom of Information Act.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Bureau of Land Management intends to

begin preparation of a Revised Draft

Management Plan and Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for public lands

along the John Day River system in

Oregon. The planning and analysis

process will comply with the procedural

requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act, the Wild and

Scenic River Act (as amended) and the

Federal Land Policy and Management

Act. The resulting decisions are

expected to satisfy the requirements of

the 1989 Omnibus Oregon Wild and

Scenic Rivers Act, amend relevant

portions of the Two Rivers and John Day

Resource Management Plans (both

within and outside the river corridors)

and address relevant issues from

ongoing litigation concerning the John

Day River Plan. The John Day River

watershed encompasses all or portions

of eleven counties, six of which would

be directly affected by the proposed

plan. These are Gilliam, Grant, Jefferson,

Sherman, Wasco and Wheeler Counties

in north-central Oregon. The federally

designated Wild and Scenic segments of

the John Day River managed by the

Bureau include 147 miles of the John

Day River mainstem from Service Creek

to Tumwater Falls and 47 miles of the

South Fork of the John Day River from

the Malheur National Forest boundary

to Smokey Creek. The 54 mile federally

designated Wild and Scenic segment of

the North Fork of the John Day River is

managed by the Umatilla National

Forest under a previously prepared and

approved plan.

In addition to mailed scoping notices

to known interested parties, a series of

public meetings will be held in

September–October, 1997 to assist in

this planning effort. These meetings will

be conducted as workshops and open

houses so that BLM and concerned

publics may review past planning

documents and current situations to

identify issues to be addressed by the

plan and to develop alternative ways of

managing resources to be analyzed by

the EIS. The public may submit

comments at these meetings or directly

to the Prineville BLM office at any time

during the scoping period. The draft

plan and EIS will analyze public lands

managed by the Bureau along the John

Day River segments which are federally

designated as Wild and Scenic and

segments which are not so designated,

some of which may be potentially

suitable for designation as additional

components of the National Wild and

Scenic River System. Special emphasis

will be given to management strategies

that protect and enhance the

outstandingly remarkable values for

which the Bureau managed segments

were designated. These outstandingly

remarkable values are scenic,

recreational, geologic, fish, wildlife,

historic and cultural. Other values

identified as significant are botanical,

ecological, paleontological, and

archeological resources. Planning and

analysis issues will include

management, protection and

enhancement of the identified river

related values, plus any related Bureau

authorized activities or resource uses

such as, but not limited to, livestock

grazing, irrigated agriculture, road and

facility construction and maintenance,

noxious weed control, streambank

stability and stabilization, acquisition

and management of additional lands

within the river corridor and attainment

of State of Oregon approved water

quality standards.

The BLM developed a draft plan and

EIS for the John Day River system and

released it for public review and

comment in 1993. The draft plan

focused primarily on recreation, and

proposed that other resource uses be

managed according to existing resource

management plans and other guidance

documents. Many of those who

commented on the draft plan stated that

the plan should address all resource

uses, particularly livestock grazing.

In order to meet a December 31, 1996

deadline set in the Northwest Power

Planning Council’s 1992 ‘‘Strategy for

Salmon,’’ the BLM Prineville District
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 1997 / Notices 47833

suspended further development of the

river plan in order to focus its limited

resources on allotment-specific

evaluation and improvement of grazing

management in the John Day basin. This

effort has continued under the joint

BLM/U.S. Forest Service’s 1995

‘‘Interim Strategies for Managing

Anadromous Fish-producing

Watersheds in Eastern Oregon and

Washington, Idaho, and portions of

California’’ (known as PACFISH), and

has resulted in a number of changes in

grazing management and reductions in

authorized grazing use on public lands

along the John Day River.

The BLM is now re-initiating

development of the John Day River

management plan. In light of comments

on the 1993 draft plan, the BLM intends

to address all significant resouce uses in

the revised draft plan, including grazing

and agricultural leasing.

Preliminary future management

strategies (alternatives) to be addressed

are (1) Baseline/Current Use,

Development and Management (No

Action), (2) Maximum Enhancement of

Natural Values With Minimal

Development, (3) Required Protection

and System Restoration with Moderate

Use and Development, (4) Increased Use

and Development to Enhance Local

Economic Activity and Developed

Recreation Consistent with River

Resource Protection and (5) a Preferred

Alternative (to be developed from

elements of the other alternatives with

public input). Any decisions which are

inconsistent with the current Two

Rivers or John Day RMPs would result

in amendments to the applicable plans

as a result of the Oregon State Director

approval of the Record of Decision. A

team of interdisciplinary specialists,

whose backgrounds are in the resources

to be affected, will be involved in the

review and development of the

description of the affected environment,

development of alternatives and impact

analysis. Disciplines to be represented

on the team preparing the plan

amendment and EIS include, but are not

limited to: Archeology, anthropology,

economics, lands and minerals,

recreation, forestry, fisheries, hydrology,

botanical, soils, wildlife, geology and

hazardous materials.

The Prineville District’s Two Rivers

(1986) and John Day (1985, 1995)

Resource Management Plans (RMPs)

currently provide general management

for the river corridors and known river

related values as well as overall land

resource use allocations and resource

protection or enhancement. Although it

is anticipated that the final decisions for

river management considered through

this analysis could be in full

conformance with the applicable RMPs,

it is possible that portions of some

actions under some alternatives may not

be in full conformance with the

approved RMPS, as required by 43 Code

of Federal Regulations (CFR), Subpart

1610.5–3, ‘‘Conformity and

Implementation’’. The environmental

analysis and public and interagency

review process anticipated for this

analysis are expected to fully comply

with the Bureau’s regulations for land

use planning, including land use plan

amendments, public involvement and

coordination with other Federal

agencies, State and local governments

and Indian tribes (43 CFR 1610.2,

1610.3 and 1610.5–5). This will allow

the analysis to consider river corridor

and value strategies which are

inconsistent with the current direction

or substantially affect other resource

uses and allocations in one or more of

the subject approved RMPs. Any

approved decisions which amend the

applicable plans will be incorporated

into the plans and become part of the

permanent planning record. Any

refinements or clarifications or

management direction, priority of river

resource allocations and use of final

river corridor boundaries will be

incorporated into the applicable plans

and documented through published

plan maintenance reports, as provided

under 43 CFR 1610.5–4. Copies of the

two existing approved plans (as

amended) will be available in the same

locations as the other elements of the

supporting record, as noted elsewhere

in this notice.

The decisions made through this

analysis are expected to be implemented

in a series of actions over a period of

several years. While the BLM intends to

implement most of the final river plan

within approximately two years of the

approval of the decision(s), some

actions that are in conformance with the

analysis and decisions and associated

approved RMPs may occur over a period

of ten or more years. This analysis will

serve to facilitate the immediate need

for a comprehensive river plan and

some immediate changes in resource

use, resource allocations, vegetation

remediation or recreational facility

projects. it will also provide for future

long-term actions that fall under the

programmatic nature of this analysis

dealing with ‘‘desired future

conditions’’. Future site developments,

land use allocation changes and projects

would be subject to appropriate

environmental analyses, public and

interagency reviews and will be

reported in the applicable District

periodic planning update reports which

are distributed to known interested

parties.

Dated: September 4, 1997.

James G. Kenna,

Acting District Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–24044 Filed 9–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–33–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Land Use

Plan Amendment, Jefferson County, ID

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Department of Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a

plan amendment for the medicine lodge

Resource Management Plan (RMP),

approved in April of 1985, to provide

for the adjustment of the Sand Mountain

Wilderness Study Area (WSA)

Boundary and a proposed direct land

sale.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the regulations

found at 43 CFR 1600, the Idaho Falls

District Office of the Bureau of Land

Management proposes to amend the

Medicine Lodge Resource Management

Plan in order to adjust a Wilderness

Study Area boundary. The amendment

would also provide for the direct sale of

approximately 10 acres of public land.

DATES: Comments regarding the

proposed plan amendment must be

received by October 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Joe Kraayenbrink, BLM Area

Manager, Medicine Lodge Resource

Area, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls,

Idaho 83401.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Additional

information concerning the proposed

plan amendment may be obtained by

contacting Bruce Bash, Realty

Specialist, at the above address or by

calling (208) 524–7521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

proposed plan amendment would adjust

the boundary of the Sand Mountain

Wilderness Study Area to exclude

existing developments which were

included in error within the WSA

boundary. These developments consist

of powerlines, roads and trails,

numerous dispersed recreational sites,

and a parcel of privately-owned land.

The developments impair the

naturalness of the WSA and should not

have been included within the WSA

boundary during the original inventory

process. The amendment would also

allow the BLM to sell approximately 10

acres of public land to resolve an

encroachment problem.