[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42137-42138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17877]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ-P040-2017-1711-PH-1000-241A 14X.LLAZP04000.L1711.PH0000]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Approved 
Resource Management Plan Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement for 
Recreational Target Shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, 
Arizona

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the approved Resource Management 
Plan (RMP) Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
Recreational Target Shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument 
(SDNM) in Arizona.

DATES: This decision became operative on March 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The complete text of the ROD, along with the EIS and 
supporting

[[Page 42138]]

documents, is available on the BLM website at https://go.usa.gov/xnFJm. 
Copies of the ROD for Recreational Target Shooting in the SDNM have 
been sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and 
to other stakeholders, and are available for public inspection at Lower 
Sonoran Field Office 21605 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85027.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darrel Wayne Monger, Monument Manager, 
telephone: 623-580-5683; address: Lower Sonoran Field Office, 21605 
North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85027; email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#85e7e9e8dae4ffdaf6e1ebe8f1e4f7e2e0f1f6edeaeaf1ecebe2c5e7e9e8abe2eaf3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2f4d4342704e55705c4b41425b4e5d484a5b5c4740405b4641486f4d434201484059">[email protected]</span></a>. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business 
hours. 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 planning area covers nearly 496,400 
surface acres of south-central Arizona and lies within Maricopa and 
Pinal Counties. Population centers adjacent to the planning area 
include metropolitan Phoenix, and the communities of Ajo, Goodyear, 
Buckeye, Gila Bend, Mobile, and Maricopa. The planning area encompasses 
Federal- and State-administered lands as well as private lands. The 
BLM's authority is limited to BLM-managed public lands and federally-
owned minerals within the planning area. The BLM manages 486,400 
surface acres of public lands in the planning area, as well as 461,000 
acres of (sub-surface) mineral estate. The State of Arizona manages 
3,900 surface acres in the planning area, with the remaining 6,100 
surface acres being privately owned land.
    The BLM prepared the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS to address 
management of recreational target shooting in the SDNM. The Proposed 
RMP Amendment/Final EIS was required to analyze recreational target 
shooting in the SDNM due to a ruling by the U.S. District Court-
District of Arizona that vacated portions of the 2012 ROD, Approved 
RMP, and Final EIS related to recreational target shooting throughout 
the SDNM, and remanded the decision to the BLM for reconsideration. The 
Court also required the BLM to ensure the Final EIS analyzed mitigation 
measures and cumulative impacts consistent with the order, with a 
deadline of March 5, 2018, to issue the ROD. The BLM Arizona State 
Director signed the ROD on March 5, 2018.
    The Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS evaluated five alternatives in 
detail, including the No Action Alternative (Alternative A) and four 
action alternatives (Alternatives B, C, D, and E), based on public 
input and on analysis of the impacts of each of the alternatives. The 
five alternatives ranged from making the entire monument available for 
target shooting to making the entire monument unavailable for target 
shooting. All alternatives required compliance with a hierarchy of 
mitigation that includes: (1) Avoiding impacts to the maximum extent 
compatible with the goals of the alternative; (2) Minimizing any 
impacts that are not avoidable; and (3) Providing a range of responses 
commensurate with the level of unavoidable impacts. Alternative C was 
the BLM's proposed amendment. The Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS 
were published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2017 (84 FR 
48847).
    As a result of continued work with stakeholders and in response to 
comments from the public and cooperating agencies, the BLM determined 
that approximately 2,600 acres of additional land in the area is 
suitable for recreational target shooting. As such, the ROD approves a 
modified version of Alternative C, which identifies approximately 
435,700 acres of land as available for recreational target shooting in 
the SDNM. The additional approximately 2,600 acres are located along 
the northern boundary of the SDNM within the Juan Bautista de Anza 
Recreation Management Zone, and were analyzed in Alternative A as 
available for recreational target shooting.
    During the 30-day protest period, the BLM Director received five 
protest letters. All protests were resolved prior to issuance of the 
ROD.
    No comments regarding potential inconsistencies with State and 
local plans, programs, and policies were received from the Governor's 
Office during the Governor's Consistency Review process.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 
1610.5)

Edward J. Kender,
Field Manager, Lower Sonoran Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-17877 Filed 8-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-32-P


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