[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 67650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33724]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent To Adopt the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Coos Bay District Final Proposed Resource Management Plan (PRMP)/ 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Dated September 1994, as the 
Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the 
5,410 Acre Coquille Forest.

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA) is considering adopting the BLM's Final PRMP/EIS as the 
resource management plan and environmental impact statement for 
management of the 5,410 acre Coquille Forest. A description of the 
proposal is provided below. The BIA will make an independent analysis 
of the Final PRMP/EIS to determine its adequacy to meet the BIA's 
responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 
accordance with 40 CFR 1506.3(a).
    The Coquille Restoration Act (P.L. 101-42), as amended by P.L. 104-
208 of September 30, 1996, (110 STAT. 3009-537: 25 U.S.C. 715c) 
provides that ``* * * the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, 
acting on behalf of and in consultation with the [Coquille] Tribe, is 
authorized to initiate development of a forest management plan for the 
Coquille Forest.'' Section 501.(a)(d)(5) of the Act requires that the 
Secretary shall manage the Coquille Forest ``* * * under applicable 
State and Federal forestry and environmental protection laws, and 
subject to critical habitat designations under the Endangered Species 
Act, and subject to the standards and guidelines of Federal forest 
plans on adjacent or nearby Federal lands, now and in the future.'' 
Consultation meetings with the Coquille Tribe and its members will be 
scheduled and carried out until February 1998.
    A summary of public involvement associated with the Coos Bay 
District's Draft and Final Resource Management Plan/Environmental 
Impact Statement can be found on page ROD-5 of the BLM's Record of 
Decision and Resource Management Plan of May 1995, and is hereby 
incorporated by reference. A summary of public involvement associated 
with the July 1993 Draft and February 1994, Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat of Late-
Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of 
the Northern Spotted Owl is included on pages 58-73 of the April 1994 
interagency Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and 
Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the 
Northern Spotted Owl and is hereby incorporated by reference.
    Additional public input, issue identification, and scoping efforts 
are described on pages S-17 and 1-6 of the Coos Bay District Final 
Proposed Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement of 
September 1994, and are hereby incorporated by reference.

DATES: Written comments may be submitted through January 26, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Address comments to Stanley Speaks, Portland Area Office, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, The Federal Building, 911 NE, 11th Avenue, 
Portland, OR 97232.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Varner, Siletz Agency, P.O. Box 
569, Siletz, Oregon 97380, telephone 541-444-2679. For information 
regarding the Bureau of Land Management, Coos Bay District Resource 
Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, contact the Coos 
Bay District at 541-756-0100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coquille Forest has been created 
pursuant to P.L. 104-208 from existing federal lands managed by the 
BLM, Coos Bay District, in North Bend, Oregon. For purposes of 
management direction set forth in the law, the surrounding BLM lands 
are the ``adjacent or nearby Federal lands.'' The BLM's Final PRMP/EIS 
will define the objectives, scope and direction for managing the 
natural resources of the Coquille Forest. In addition, specific tribal 
goals, objectives, and cultural interests will be incorporated through 
consultation between the BIA and the Coquille Indian Tribe.

    Dated: December 12, 1997.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-33724 Filed 12-24-97; 8:45 am]
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