14414 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 47 / Friday, March 9, 2012 / Notices 

Ft. Lancaster TX 76908 

Landholding Agency: Air Force 

Property Number: 18201210038 

Status: Excess 

Directions: 509, 512, 516 

Comments: National security concerns; no 

public access and no alternative method 

Reasons: Secured Area 

[FR Doc. 2012–5426 Filed 3–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLORE00000 

L63500000.DO0000.LXSS021H0000.HAG11– 

XXXX] 

Notice of Intent To Revise Resource 

Management Plans and an Associated 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Six Western Oregon Districts of the 

Bureau of Land Management 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) Oregon State Office, 

Portland, Oregon, intends to revise six 

Resource Management Plans (RMPs) 

with a single associated Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) for the Western 

Oregon Planning Area and by this notice 

is announcing the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. The 

Western Oregon Planning Area consists 

of the Coos Bay District, Eugene District, 

Medford District, Roseburg District, 

Salem District, and the Klamath Falls 

Resource Area of the Lakeview District. 

Although this document identifies the 

scale of planning as six RMPs with a 

single EIS, public input is being sought 

on whether a different approach to 

scale—such as by district, region, or 

type of forest—should be considered. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the RMP and 

associated EIS. Comments on issues 

may be submitted in writing until June 

7, 2012. The BLM has not yet scheduled 

public meetings for this plan revision. 

The date(s) and location(s) of any 

scoping meetings will be announced at 

least 15 days in advance through local 

media, newspapers, and the BLM Web 

site at: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/. In 

order to be included in the Draft EIS, all 

comments must be received prior to the 

close of the 90-day scoping period or 30 

days after the last public meeting, 

whichever is later. The BLM will 

provide additional opportunities for 

public participation and comment upon 

publication of the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on issues and planning criteria related 

to the Western Oregon RMPs/EIS by any 

of the following methods: 

• Web site: http://www.blm.gov/or/ 

plans. 

• Email: 

BLM_OR_Forestry_Plan@blm.gov. 

• Fax: 503–808–6333. 

• Mail: P.O. Box 2965, Portland, 

Oregon 97208. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the Oregon State 

Office, Public Room, 333 SW. 1st 

Avenue, Portland, OR 97204. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

And/or to have your name added to our 

mailing list, contact Michael Campbell, 

Western Oregon RMP Outreach 

Coordinator, telephone 503–808–6031; 

address P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 

97208; email 

BLM_OR_Forestry_Plan@blm.gov. 

Persons who use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to contact the 

above individual during normal 

business hours. The FIRS 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: This 

document provides notice that the BLM 

State Office, Portland, Oregon, intends 

to revise six RMPs with an associated 

EIS for the Western Oregon Planning 

Area, announces the beginning of the 

scoping process, and seeks public input 

on issues and planning criteria. The 

purpose of the public scoping process is 

to determine the scope of issues to be 

addressed by the environmental 

analysis, including alternatives, and the 

significant issues related to the planning 

process. The planning area for the RMPs 

includes approximately 2,550,000 acres 

of BLM-administered lands and 69,000 

acres of split-estate, where the BLM 

only manages the Federal mineral 

estate. 

The Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) 

requires the development, maintenance, 

and revision of land use plans. The vast 

majority of the BLM-administered lands 

in the planning area are Revested 

Oregon and California Railroad (O&C) 

lands, or Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon 

Road (CBWR) lands, and are managed 

under the statutory authority of the 

Oregon and California Revested 

Railroad Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act, 

Pub. L. 75–405) and FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 

1701 et seq.). Preparation of the RMPs 

and EIS will conform to the above land 

management laws and will also comply 

with other Federal laws, including, but 

not limited to the Endangered Species 

Act (ESA), the Clean Water Act, and the 

National Environmental Policy Act. 

Congress, in 1866, established a land 

grant to promote the completion of the 

Oregon and California Railroad from 

Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco, 

California. In 1916, Congress revested, 

or brought back into Federal ownership, 

the title to approximately 2.2 million 

acres of land deeded to the Oregon and 

California Railroad after the company 

violated the terms of the land grant. 

Congress revested about 93,000 acres of 

Coos Bay Wagon Road lands to the 

United States due to similar 

circumstances in 1919. The O&C Act of 

1937 placed management jurisdiction of 

these lands under the United States 

Department of the Interior. 

In 1994, the Departments of the 

Interior and Agriculture (USDA) 

adopted the Northwest Forest Plan 

(NWFP) to provide coordinated 

management direction for the lands 

administered by the BLM and the 

USDA’s Forest Service and to adopt 

complimentary approaches of other 

Federal agencies within the range of the 

northern spotted owl. The NWFP 

included a coordinated, comprehensive 

ecosystem management strategy, the 

purpose of which was to meet dual 

needs: The need for long-term health of 

forest habitat and the need for a steady 

supply of forest products. 

The six western Oregon BLM districts 

completed RMPs in 1995 that 

incorporated the land use allocations 

and Standards and Guidelines from the 

NWFP. In 2008, the BLM completed 

RMP revisions for the six western 

Oregon districts. Pending litigation 

seeks vacatur of the 2008 RMPs. The 

BLM intends to revise its RMPs 

notwithstanding the pending litigation. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS) issued a revised recovery plan for 

the northern spotted owl on June 28, 

2011. The plan contains 

recommendations for retaining and 

restoring owl habitat in Federal, State 

and private forestland. The FWS 

anticipates revising its critical habitat 

designation for the northern spotted owl 

and issuing a proposed rule in February 

2012. 

The FWS completed a recovery plan 

for the marbled murrelet in 1997 and 

revised its critical habitat for the 

marbled murrelet in October 2011. On 

August 22, 2011, the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) Fisheries Service adopted a 

final ESA recovery plan for upper 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 47 / Friday, March 9, 2012 / Notices 14415 

Willamette Chinook salmon and 

steelhead. 

The revisions to the existing RMPs 

will determine how the BLM will 

actively manage BLM-administered 

lands in western Oregon to further 

recovery of threatened and endangered 

species, provide clean water, restore 

fire-adapted ecosystems, produce a 

sustained yield of timber products, and 

provide for recreation opportunities. 

Through the public participation 

process, the BLM will work with 

interested parties to identify the most 

appropriate management direction for 

BLM-administered lands in western 

Oregon in accordance with the 

provisions of relevant laws and 

considering local, regional, and national 

interests. The first step in this process 

is formal public scoping which will 

help identify planning issues and 

provide an opportunity to receive public 

comment on the scope of planning, and 

proposed planning criteria. 

Planning issues are disputes or 

controversies about existing and 

potential land and resource allocations, 

levels of resource use, production, and 

related management practices. Issues 

include resource use, development, and 

protection opportunities for 

consideration in the preparation of 

RMPs. These issues may stem from new 

information or changed circumstances, 

and the need to reassess the appropriate 

mix of allowable uses. In considering 

these issues, the BLM is seeking to 

explore how its discretion under the 

various laws that guide resource 

management will be exercised with 

regard to the intensity and frequency of 

forest management at a landscape scale 

to meet a sustainable supply of forest 

products, recovery of listed species, and 

watershed management on BLMadministered lands suitable for timber 

harvest. Planning issues will be 

addressed in the alternatives set forth in 

the RMP/EIS. The BLM has identified 

the following preliminary planning 

issues which may be refined as a result 

of future public participation 

opportunities, collaborative efforts, and 

comments received during scoping: 

• Vegetation—How should BLMadministered lands be managed, both 

temporally and spatially, to provide a 

sustainable supply of wood and other 

forest products that contribute to the 

economic stability of communities? 

• Habitat—How should the BLMadministered lands be managed to 

contribute to the recovery of threatened 

and endangered species and provide for 

other rare and little known latesuccessional associated species? 

• Watershed management and water 

quality—How should BLMadministered lands be managed to 

contribute to restoring and maintaining 

the chemical physical and biological 

integrity of the Nation’s waters, as well 

as to a safe drinking water supply? 

• Wildland fire and fuels—How 

should BLM-administered lands be 

managed to reduce the risk of wildfires 

to communities and integrate fire back 

into the ecosystem? 

• Economics and Community 

Support—How should BLMadministered-lands be managed to 

contribute to local economies? 

• Off-highway vehicle management 

and public access—How should the 

BLM-administered lands be managed to 

meet the demand for off-highway 

vehicle use while protecting other 

resources and recreation uses? How 

should transportation networks to and 

across the BLM-administered lands be 

evaluated? 

The BLM has also identified 

preliminary planning criteria to guide 

the development of the RMPs. These 

criteria may be modified or other 

criteria identified after the public 

scoping process. The public is invited to 

comment on the following preliminary 

planning criteria: 

• Lands addressed in the RMP will be 

public lands (including split estate 

lands) administered by the BLM; 

• The BLM will protect resources in 

accordance with FLPMA and other 

applicable laws and regulations; 

• The BLM will examine options for 

the scope and scale of the plan revisions 

for the six western Oregon districts 

including, but not limited to a singular 

RMP, district-by-district RMPs, or wet 

versus dry forests RMPs; 

• The BLM will consider and 

coordinate land use plan decisions to be 

consistent with existing plans and 

policies of local, state, Federal, and 

tribal agencies to the extent those plans 

and policies are consistent with the 

purposes, policies, and programs of 

Federal laws and regulations; 

• The BLM will consider applicable 

recovery actions contained in the FWS 

and NOAA Fisheries Service recovery 

plans and will also consider critical 

habitat for threatened and endangered 

species; 

• The BLM will consider how to 

manage BLM-administered lands that 

contain wilderness characteristics; 

• Where existing planning decisions 

are still valid, those decisions may 

remain unchanged and incorporated 

into the new RMP; 

• The plans will recognize valid 

existing rights; 

• The BLM will consider withholding 

lands with important resource values 

and/or significant levels of investment 

from mineral leasing and withdrawing 

lands from mineral location 

• Native American tribal 

consultations will be conducted in 

accordance with policy and tribal 

concerns will be given due 

consideration. The planning process 

will include the consideration of any 

impacts on Indian trust assets; 

• Alternatives will be designed to 

meet the purpose and need for the plan, 

resolve planning issues, and comply 

with existing laws. 

You may submit comments on issues 

and planning criteria in writing to the 

BLM at any public scoping meeting, or 

you may submit them to the BLM using 

one of the methods listed in the 

ADDRESSES section above. To be most 

helpful, you should submit comments 

by the close of the 90-day scoping 

period or within 30 days after the last 

public meeting, whichever is later. 

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 may 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. The minutes and list of attendees 

for each scoping meeting will be 

available to the public and open for 30 

days after the meeting to any participant 

who wishes to clarify the views he or 

she expressed. The BLM will evaluate 

identified issues to be addressed in the 

plan and will place them into one of 

three categories: 

1. Issues to be resolved in the plan; 

2. Issues to be resolved through policy 

or administrative action; or 

3. Issues beyond the scope of this 

plan. 

The BLM will provide an explanation 

in the Draft RMP/Draft EIS as to the 

disposition of proposed issues. The 

public is also encouraged to help 

identify any management questions and 

concerns that should be addressed in 

the plan. The BLM will work 

collaboratively with interested parties to 

identify the management decisions that 

are best suited to local, regional, and 

national needs and concerns. 

The BLM will use an interdisciplinary 

approach to develop the plan in order 

to consider the variety of resource issues 

and concerns identified. Specialists 

with expertise in the following 

disciplines will be involved in the 

planning process: Timber, wildlife and 

fisheries, economics, botany, climate 

change/carbon sequestration, lands and 

realty, hydrology, soils, cultural 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
14416 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 47 / Friday, March 9, 2012 / Notices 

(including tribal), archeology, 

recreation, fire and fuels management, 

energy, roads, grazing and wild horses, 

and geographic information systems. 

As part of this RMP process, the BLM 

will analyze areas for potential 

designation as Areas of Critical 

Environmental Concern (ACEC) in 

accordance with 43 CFR 1610.7–2. 

Public nominations for potential ACECs 

to be considered in these revisions must 

be made by June 7, 2012. 

Edward W. Shepard, 

State Director, Oregon/Washington, Bureau 

of Land Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5641 Filed 3–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[CACA–051552, LLCAD0700 L51010000 

FX0000 LVRWB10B3980] 

Notice of Availability of a Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Final Environmental Impact Report for 

the Pattern Energy Group’s Ocotillo 

Express Wind Energy Project and 

Proposed California Desert 

Conservation Area Land Use Plan 

Amendment, Imperial County, CA 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance 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) has 

prepared a Proposed California Desert 

Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan 

Amendment (PA)/Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) and Final 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for 

the Ocotillo Express Wind Energy 

Facility (OWEF) and by this notice is 

announcing the availability of the 

Proposed PA and Final EIS/EIR. 

DATES: BLM planning regulations state 

that any person who meets the 

conditions as described in the 

regulations may protest the BLM’s 

Proposed PA. A person who meets the 

conditions and files a protest must file 

the protest within 30 days of the date 

that the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) publishes its notice in the 

Federal Register. The Record of 

Decision (ROD) on the OWEF and PA 

will be issued no sooner than 30 days 

after the release of the Final EIS. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed PA 

and Final EIS/EIR have been sent to 

affected Federal, state, and local 

government agencies and to other 

stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed PA 

and Final EIS/EIR are also available for 

public inspection at the BLM El Centro 

Field Office, 1661 S. 4th Street, El 

Centro, California 92243 and the BLM 

California Desert District Office, 22835 

Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno 

Valley, California 92553. Interested 

persons may also review the Proposed 

PA and Final EIS/EIR at the following 

Web site: http://www.ca.blm.gov/ 

elcentro. 

All protests of the BLM’s Proposed PA 

must be in writing and mailed to one of 

the following addresses: 

Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), 

Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 

71383, Washington, DC 20024–1383. 

Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), 

Attention: Brenda Williams, 20 M 

Street SE., Room 2134LM, 

Washington, DC 20003. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cedric Perry, BLM Project Manager, 

telephone (951) 697–5388; address 

22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, 

Moreno Valley, CA 92553; email 

Cedric_Perry@ca.blm.gov. Persons who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

(800) 877–8339 to contact the above 

individual during normal business 

hours. The FIRS 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: Ocotillo 

Express, LLC (Applicant), a subsidiary 

of Pattern Energy Group, LP, has 

submitted an application for a right-ofway (ROW) authorization to construct, 

operate, maintain, and decommission an 

approximately 12,436 acre, up to 456 

megawatt (MW), wind energy project 

including up to 155 wind turbine 

generators; a substation; administration, 

operations and maintenance facilities; 

transmission lines; and temporary 

construction lay down areas. The BLM’s 

purpose and need for the OWEF is to 

respond to the Applicant’s application 

under Title V of the Federal Lands 

Policy and Management Act of 1976 

(FLPMA) for a ROW grant to construct, 

operate, maintain, and decommission a 

wind energy facility on public lands in 

compliance with FLPMA, BLM ROW 

regulations, and other applicable 

Federal laws. The BLM will decide 

whether to grant, grant with 

modification, or deny a ROW to the 

Applicant for the proposed OWEF. In 

connection with its processing of the 

ROW application for the OWEF, the 

BLM will also amend the CDCA Plan as 

applicable, depending on its decision on 

the ROW grant. The CDCA Plan, while 

recognizing the potential compatibility 

of wind energy generation facilities with 

other uses on public lands, requires that 

all sites proposed for power generation 

or transmission not identified in the 

CDCA Plan be considered through the 

plan amendment process. Therefore, in 

connection with its review of the 

OWEF, the BLM is also proposing to 

amend the CDCA Plan to designate the 

project area as either available or 

unavailable for wind energy 

development, as appropriate. 

In addition to the proposed action and 

a no action alternative, the BLM 

analyzed a 137-turbine alternative, a 

105-turbine alternative, and ‘‘no 

project’’ alternatives that reject the ROW 

application for the OWEF but amend the 

CDCA Plan to make the project area 

either: 

(1) Available for future wind energy 

generation projects; or 

(2) Unavailable for future wind energy 

generation projects. 

Based on information developed 

during the government-to-government 

and National Historic Preservation Act 

Section 106 consultations for the OWEF, 

the Applicant proposed that BLM 

consider a new project configuration 

that eliminates 43 of the 155 turbines 

proposed under the Proposed Action 

(the ‘‘Refined Project’’). Under the 

Refined Project configuration, only 112 

wind turbines generators would be 

approved and installed. Those 112 

turbines would be located on a subset of 

the 155 turbines sites evaluated under 

the Proposed Action in the Draft EIS/ 

EIR. The Refined Project is identified as 

the preferred alternative in the Final 

EIS/EIR. The BLM has determined that 

it is within the range of alternatives 

analyzed in the Draft EIS/EIR. 

The Final EIS/EIR evaluates the 

potential impacts of the proposed 

OWEF and alternatives on air quality, 

biological resources, cultural resources, 

water resources, geological resources 

and hazards, land use, noise, 

paleontological resources, public health, 

socioeconomics, soils, traffic and 

transportation, visual resources, 

wilderness characteristics, and other 

resources. 

A Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS/ 

EIR for the OWEF project was published 

in the Federal Register on December 13, 

2010 [75 FR 77654]. The BLM held two 

public scoping meetings in El Centro 

and Ocotillo, California, on January 5 

and 6, 2011, respectively. The formal 

scoping period ended on February 4, 

2011. A Notice of Availability of the 

Draft EIS/EIR was published in the 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES