Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2024 / Notices 14087 

executive oversight and development of 

strong practices, policy, and supporting 

programs. Functional areas in the OSQI 

include Scientific Integrity; Science 

Quality; Fundamental Science Practices; 

Office of Tribal Relations; Youth and 

Education in Science (YES); Science, 

Technology, Engineering, and 

Mathematics (STEM); Laboratories; 

Postdoctoral Research; and Research 

and Equipment Development Grade 

Evaluations of USGS scientists. 

DATES: Comments regarding the 

establishment of this Committee must 

be submitted no later than March 12, 

2024. Nominations for the Committee 

must be submitted by April 11, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

and/or nominations by any of the 

following methods: Mail comments and/ 

or nominations to Joanne C. Taylor, U.S. 

Geological Survey, Office of Science 

Quality and Integrity, 12201 Sunrise 

Valley Drive, Mailstop 911, Reston, VA 

20192; or email comments and/or 

nominations to jctaylor@usgs.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joanne C. Taylor, Designated Federal 

Officer (DFO), by U.S. mail at the U.S. 

Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley 

Drive, Mailstop 911, Reston, VA 20192; 

by telephone at 703–648–6837; or by 

email at jctaylor@usgs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee is established under the 

authority of the Secretary of the Interior 

(Secretary) and regulated by the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 

U.S.C. ch. 10). The Committee’s duties 

are strictly advisory and will include 

advising on: (a) Identification of key 

scientific quality and integrity processes 

to advance the USGS mission. (b) 

Effective mechanisms for engaging the 

next-generation USGS workforce and 

others through the YES program and 

with other Federal agencies in STEM 

and underserved communities. (c) The 

nature and effectiveness of mechanisms 

to provide oversight of science quality 

within USGS laboratories. (d) 

Mechanisms that may be employed by 

the USGS to ensure high standards of 

science quality and integrity in its 

programs and products. 

The Committee will meet 

approximately one to two times per 

year. The Committee will consist of no 

more than 15 members appointed by the 

Secretary who represent the diversity of 

this nation’s constituencies, and include 

the following interests: 

• Local and State governments; 

• Non-governmental organizations; 

• Native American, Native Alaskan, 

and Native Hawaiian organizations, 

including representatives from Tribal 

governments and Tribal colleges; 

• Academia; and 

• Other stakeholders and sectors, 

including private industry, that make 

use of USGS science including, but not 

limited to, areas including laboratory 

sciences, natural resource managers, 

natural hazards protections, and 

wildlife organizations. 

The Committee may include scientific 

experts and will include rotating 

representation from one or more local, 

Tribal, State, regional, and/or national 

organizations. 

Nominations should include a resume 

providing an adequate description of the 

nominee’s qualifications, including 

information that would enable the 

Department of the Interior (DOI) to make 

an informed decision regarding meeting 

the membership requirements of the 

Committee and to permit a potential 

member to be contacted. 

Members of the Committee serve 

without compensation. However, while 

away from their homes or regular places 

of business, Committee and 

subcommittee members engaged in 

Committee or subcommittee business 

that the DFO approves may be allowed 

travel expenses, including per diem in 

lieu of subsistence, as authorized by 5 

U.S.C. 5703, in the same manner as 

persons employed intermittently in 

Federal Government service. 

Public Disclosure of Comments: 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personally identifiable information (PII) 

in your comment, you should be aware 

that your entire comment—including 

your PII—may be made publicly 

available at any time. While you may 

ask us in your comment to withhold 

your PII from public review, we cannot 

guarantee that we will be able to do so. 

Certification Statement: I hereby 

certify that the Advisory Committee for 

Science Quality and Integrity is 

necessary, in the public interest, and is 

in connection to the responsibilities of 

the DOI, USGS, under the President’s 

Memorandum on Restoring Trust in 

Government Through Scientific 

Integrity and Evidence-Based 

Policymaking, January 27, 2021; the DOI 

policy on Integrity of Scientific and 

Scholarly Activities (305 DM 3); and the 

USGS policy on Scientific Integrity (SM 

500.25). 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. ch. 10. 

Deb Haaland, 

Secretary of the Interior. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03829 Filed 2–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4338–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500176277] 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Implementing Procedures for the 

Bureau of Land Management (516 DM 

11) 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed policy 

revisions. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intent to revise the Bureau of Land 

Management’s (BLM) policies and 

procedures for compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), as amended, various Executive 

Orders, and the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s NEPA 

Implementing Regulations by proposing 

to remove four administratively 

established categorical exclusions (CXs) 

and to incorporate two CXs established 

by Congress. 

DATES: Comments must be postmarked 

no later than March 27, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The public can review the 

proposed changes to the Departmental 

Manual (DM) online BLM’s ePlanning 

site: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/home. Comments can be 

submitted: 

Through the BLM National NEPA 

Register: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/home. Follow the 

instruction at this website. 

By mail: Director (210), Attention: 

Senior NEPA Lead, P.O. Box 261117, 

Lakewood, CO 80226. 

By personal or messenger delivery: 

Director (210), Attention: Senior NEPA 

Lead, Denver Federal Center, Building 

40 (Door W–4), Lakewood, CO 80215 DC 

20003. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Heather Bernier, Division Chief, 

Decision Support, Planning, and NEPA, 

at (303) 239–3635, or hbernier@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 Heather Bernier. 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: The BLM 

is proposing to revise its NEPA 

procedures. Specifically, BLM is 

proposing to revise the list of BLM 

actions that are normally categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 


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14088 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2024 / Notices 

complete an environmental assessment 

(EA) or environmental impact statement 

(EIS) absent extraordinary 

circumstances. The BLM’s NEPA 

procedures, located at Chapter 11 of Part 

516 of the Departmental Manual (516 

DM 11), were last updated December 10, 

2020. The BLM’s current procedures can 

be found on the Department of the 

Interior’s (DOI) Electronic Library of 

Interior Policies (ELIPS) at: https://

www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/ 

documents/516-dm-11_0.pdf. 

The BLM proposes to remove four 

administrative CXs from its NEPA 

procedures. Given the complexity of 

land management, legal frameworks, 

and other factors, the BLM is 

considering the removal of the CXs 

described in 516 DM 11.C(10) regarding 

the salvaging of dead and dying trees; 

516 DM 11.D(10) regarding vegetation 

management activities; 516 DM 11.D(11) 

regarding issuance of livestock grazing 

permits or leases; and 516 DM 11.J(1) 

regarding certain activities within 

sagebrush and sagebrush-steppe plant 

communities to manage pinyon pine 

and juniper trees for the benefit of mule 

deer or sage-grouse habitats. Removing 

these CXs would require the BLM to 

assess whether another CX applies or 

prepare an EA or EIS when proposing 

actions that would have previously been 

covered by these CXs. BLM previously 

discontinued use of these CXs through 

instruction memoranda (IM) (available 

online at https://www.blm.gov/policy/ 

instruction-memorandum). The BLM 

discontinued use of 516 DM 11.D(10) 

and 516 DM 11.D(11) on August 21, 

2009, through IM 2009–199; 

discontinued use of 516 DM 11.C(10) on 

August 3, 2022, through PIM 2022–010; 

and discontinued use of 516 DM 11.J(1) 

on November 30, 2022, through PIM 

2023–002. The BLM is not presently 

considering modifying the terms of 

these CXs. 

Additionally, the BLM proposes to 

incorporate two CXs established by 

Congress in the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117– 

58). Section 11318 established a CX for 

sundry notices or rights-of-way for 

gathering lines and associated field 

compression or pumping units on 

Federal land servicing oil and gas wells 

under the conditions described therein. 

Section 40806 excludes forest 

management activities for the 

establishment of fuel breaks in forests 

and other wildland vegetation from 

preparation of an EA or EIS under 

NEPA, as described therein. 

Below outlines the proposed changes 

to the text of 516 DM Chapter 11, 

reflecting the addition of the statutorily 

established CXs and deletion of the 

administrative CXs proposed. Because 

the new CXs were established by 

Congress, the BLM does not have the 

discretion to change their terms. A 

redline version is available for review at 

the website identified in the ADDRESSES

section. 

11.9 Actions Eligible for a Categorical 

Exclusion (CX) 

C. Forestry 

(10) Reserved 

D. Rangeland Management 

(10) Reserved 

(11) Reserved 

J. Habitat Restoration (Reserved) 

11.10 Categorical Exclusions 

Established or Directed by Statute 

D. Section 11318 of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117– 

58) established a CX as defined in 40 

CFR part 1508 for sundry notices or 

rights-of-way for gathering lines and 

associated field compression or 

pumping units on Federal land 

servicing oil and gas wells under the 

conditions described below. 

Application of this CX requires 

extraordinary circumstances review 

consistent with 43 CFR 46.215. 

Section 11318. CERTAIN 

GATHERING LINES LOCATED ON 

FEDERAL LAND AND INDIAN LAND of 

the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

Act provides: 

(a) Definitions.—In this section: 

(1) Federal land.— 

(A) In general.—The term ’’Federal 

land’’ means land the title to which is 

held by the United States. 

(B) Exclusions.—The term ’’Federal 

land’’ does not include— 

(i) a unit of the National Park System; 

(ii) a unit of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System; 

(iii) a component of the National 

Wilderness Preservation System; 

(iv) a wilderness study area within the 

National Forest System; or 

(v) Indian land 

(2) Gathering line and associated field 

compression or pumping unit.— 

(A) In general.—The term ’’gathering 

line and associated field compression or 

pumping unit’’ means— 

(i) a pipeline that is installed to 

transport oil, natural gas and related 

constituents, or produced water from 1 

or more wells drilled and completed to 

produce oil or gas; 

(ii) if necessary, 1 or more 

compressors or pumps to raise the 

pressure of the transported oil, natural 

gas and related constituents, or 

produced water to higher pressures 

necessary to enable the oil, natural gas 

and related constituents, or produced 

water to flow into pipelines and other 

facilities; and 

(iii) if necessary, cathodic protection 

ancillary to the line. 

(B) Inclusions.—The term ’’gathering 

line and associated field compression or 

pumping unit’’ includes a pipeline and 

its cathodic protection as needed, or 

associated compression or pumping unit 

that is installed to transport oil or 

natural gas from a processing plant to a 

common carrier pipeline or facility. 

(C) Exclusions.—The term ’’gathering 

line and associated field compression or 

pumping unit’’ does not include a 

common carrier pipeline. 

(3) Indian land.—The term ’’Indian 

land’’ means land the title to which is 

held by— 

(A) the United States in trust for an 

Indian Tribe or an individual Indian; or 

(B) an Indian Tribe or an individual 

Indian subject to a restriction by the 

United States against alienation. 

(4) Produced water.—The term 

‘‘produced water’’ means water 

produced from an oil or gas well bore 

that is not a fluid prepared at, or 

transported to, the well site to resolve a 

specific oil or gas well bore or reservoir 

condition. 

(5) Secretary.—The term ’’Secretary’’ 

means the Secretary of the Interior. 

(b) Certain Gathering Lines.— 

(1) In general.—Subject to paragraph 

(2), the issuance of a sundry notice or 

right-of-way for a gathering line and 

associated field compression or 

pumping unit that is located on Federal 

land or Indian land and that services 

any oil or gas well may be considered 

by the Secretary to be an action that is 

categorically excluded (as defined in 

section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of 

Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

date of enactment of this Act)) for 

purposes of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.) if the gathering line and associated 

field compression or pumping unit— 

(A) are within a field or unit for 

which an approved land use plan or an 

environmental document prepared 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.) analyzed transportation of oil, 

natural gas, or produced water from 1 or 

more oil or gas wells in the field or unit 

as a reasonably foreseeable activity; 

(B) are located adjacent to or within— 

(i) any existing disturbed area; or 

(ii) an existing corridor for a right-ofway; and 

(C) would reduce— 

(i) in the case of a gathering line and 

associated field compression or 

pumping unit transporting methane, the 

total quantity of methane that would 

otherwise be vented, flared, or 

unintentionally emitted from the field 

or unit; or 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2024 / Notices 14089 

(ii) in the case of a gathering line and 

associated field compression or 

pumping unit not transporting methane, 

the vehicular traffic that would 

otherwise service the field or unit. 

(2) Applicability.—Paragraph (1) shall 

apply to Indian land, or a portion of 

Indian land— 

(A) to which the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) applies; and 

(B) for which the Indian Tribe with 

jurisdiction over the Indian land 

submits to the Secretary a written 

request that paragraph (1) apply to that 

Indian land (or portion of Indian land). 

(c) Effect on Other Law.—Nothing in 

this section— 

(1) affects or alters any requirement— 

(A) relating to prior consent under— 

(i) section 2 of the Act of February 5, 

1948 (62 Stat.18, chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 

324); or 

(ii) section 16(e) of the Act of June 18, 

1934 (48 Stat. 987, chapter 576; 102 

Stat. 2939; 114 Stat. 47; 25 U.S.C. 

5123(e)) (commonly known as the 

‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’); 

(B) under section 306108 of title 54, 

United States Code; or 

(C) under any other Federal law 

(including regulations) relating to Tribal 

consent for rights-of-way across Indian 

land; or 

(2) makes the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.) applicable to land to which that 

Act otherwise would not apply. 

E. Section 40806 of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117– 

58) excludes forest management 

activities for the establishment of fuel 

breaks in forests and other wildland 

vegetation from preparation of an EA or 

EIS under NEPA, as described below. 

Section 40806. ESTABLISHMENT OF 

FUEL BREAKS IN FORESTS AND 

OTHER WILDLAND VEGETATION of 

the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

Act provides: 

(a) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY 

CONCERNED.—In this section, the term 

‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with 

respect to National Forest System land; 

and 

(2) the Secretary of the Interior, with 

respect to public lands (as defined in 

section 103 of the Federal Land Policy 

and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

1702)) administered by the Bureau of 

Land Management. 

(b) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION 

ESTABLISHED.—Forest management 

activities described in subsection (c) are 

a category of actions designated as being 

categorically excluded from the 

preparation of an environmental 

assessment or an environmental impact 

statement under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if the categorical 

exclusion is documented through a 

supporting record and decision 

memorandum. 

(c) FOREST MANAGEMENT 

ACTIVITIES DESIGNATED FOR 

CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The category of 

forest management activities designated 

under subsection (b) for a categorical 

exclusion are forest management 

activities described in paragraph (2) that 

are carried out by the Secretary 

concerned on public lands (as defined 

in section 103 of the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

U.S.C. 1702)) administered by the 

Bureau of Land Management or National 

Forest System land the primary purpose 

of which is to establish and maintain 

linear fuel breaks that are— 

(A) up to 1,000 feet in width 

contiguous with or incorporating 

existing linear features, such as roads, 

water infrastructure, transmission and 

distribution lines, and pipelines of any 

length on Federal land; and 

(B) intended to reduce the risk of 

uncharacteristic wildfire on Federal 

land or catastrophic wildfire for an 

adjacent at-risk community. 

(2) ACTIVITIES.—Subject to 

paragraph (3), the forest management 

activities that may be carried out 

pursuant to the categorical exclusion 

established under subsection (b) are— 

(A) mowing or masticating; 

(B) thinning by manual and 

mechanical cutting; 

(C) piling, yarding, and removal of 

slash or hazardous fuels; 

(D) selling of vegetation products, 

including timber, firewood, biomass, 

slash, and fenceposts; 

(E) targeted grazing; 

(F) application of— 

(i) pesticide; 

(ii) biopesticide; or 

(iii) herbicide; 

(G) seeding of native species; 

(H) controlled burns and broadcast 

burning; and 

(I) burning of piles, including jackpot 

piles. 

(3) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—A 

forest management activity described in 

paragraph (2) may not be carried out 

pursuant to the categorical exclusion 

established under subsection (b) if the 

activity is conducted— 

(A) in a component of the National 

Wilderness Preservation System; 

(B) on Federal land on which the 

removal of vegetation is prohibited or 

restricted by Act of Congress, 

Presidential proclamation (including the 

applicable implementation plan), or 

regulation; 

(C) in a wilderness study area; or 

(D) in an area in which carrying out 

the activity would be inconsistent with 

the applicable land management plan or 

resource management plan. 

(4) EXTRAORDINARY 

CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Secretary 

concerned shall apply the extraordinary 

circumstances procedures under section 

220.6 of title 36, Code of Federal 

Regulations (or a successor regulation), 

in determining whether to use a 

categorical exclusion under subsection 

(b). 

(d) ACREAGE AND LOCATION 

LIMITATIONS.—Treatments of 

vegetation in linear fuel breaks covered 

by the categorical exclusion established 

under subsection (b)— 

(1) may not contain treatment units in 

excess of 3,000 acres; 

(2) shall be located primarily in— 

(A) the wildland-urban interface or a 

public drinking water source area; 

(B) if located outside the wildlandurban interface or a public drinking 

water source area, an area within 

Condition Class 2 or 3 in Fire Regime 

Group I, II, or III that contains very high 

wildfire hazard potential; or 

(C) an insect or disease area 

designated by the Secretary concerned 

as of the date of enactment of this Act; 

and 

(3) shall consider the best available 

scientific information. 

(e) ROADS.— 

(1) PERMANENT ROADS.—A project 

under this section shall not include the 

establishment of permanent roads. 

(2) EXISTING ROADS.—The 

Secretary concerned may carry out 

necessary maintenance and repairs on 

existing permanent roads for the 

purposes of this section. 

(3) TEMPORARY ROADS.—The 

Secretary concerned shall 

decommission any temporary road 

constructed under a project under this 

section not later than 3 years after the 

date on which the project is completed. 

(f) PUBLIC COLLABORATION.—To 

encourage meaningful public 

participation during the preparation of a 

project under this section, the Secretary 

concerned shall facilitate, during the 

preparation of each project— 

(1) collaboration among State and 

local governments and Indian Tribes; 

and 

(2) participation of interested persons. 

(Authority: NEPA, the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); E.O. 11514, 

March 5, 1970, as amended by E.O. 11991, 


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14090 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2024 / Notices 

May 24, 1977; and CEQ regulations (40 CFR 

1500–1508)). 

Stephen G. Tryon, 

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and 

Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03846 Filed 2–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500177642] 

Notice of Availability of the Record of 

Decision and Approved Resource 

Management Plan Amendment for the 

Southeastern Oregon Resource 

Management Plan, Vale District, 

Oregon 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the Approved Resource 

Management Plan (RMP) Amendment 

for the Southeastern Oregon RMP, 

located in the BLM’s Vale District. The 

State Director, Oregon/Washington 

signed the ROD on February 16, 2024, 

which constitutes the decision of the 

BLM and makes the Approved RMP 

Amendment effective immediately. 

DATES: The State Director, Oregon/ 

Washington signed the ROD/Approved 

RMP Amendment on February 16, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The ROD/Approved RMP 

Amendment is available online at the 

BLM National NEPA Register at https:// 

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/87435/510. Printed copies of the 

ROD/Approved RMP Amendment are 

available for public inspection at the 

BLM Vale District Office, 100 Oregon 

Street, Vale, Oregon 97918, telephone: 

(541) 473–3144. 

A copy of the Protest Resolution 

Report is available at: https://

www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/protestresolution-reports. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Caryn Burri, Planning and 

Environmental Coordinator, Vale 

District Office; telephone: (541) 473– 

3144; email: cburri@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. Burri. 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: The 

Approved RMP Amendment amends the 

existing 2002 Southeastern Oregon 

RMP. The Southeastern Oregon 

planning area covers approximately 4.6 

million acres of public lands in 

Malheur, Grant, Harney, and Baker 

Counties. The Approved RMP 

Amendment provides management 

direction for lands with wilderness 

characteristics; makes planning-areawide travel and transportation/offhighway vehicle (OHV) allocations of 

open, limited, and closed; and provides 

management direction for livestock 

grazing in areas that fail to meet the 

BLM’s Standards for Rangeland Health 

and for processing voluntary livestock 

grazing permit relinquishments. 

The Approved RMP Amendment 

prioritizes the protection of 33 of the 76 

areas the BLM identifies as having 

wilderness characteristics. The 33 

protected areas will be managed as: 

Visual Resource Management Class II 

public lands, which only allows for low 

levels of change to the landscapes’ 

visual character; Land Tenure Zone 1, 

where the BLM retains the lands in 

public ownership for the life of the 

RMP; OHV limited; and exclusion areas 

for major rights-of-way and commercial 

renewable energy projects. No surface 

occupancy for the development and 

extraction of leasable and saleable 

minerals, including new mineral 

material sites, within the protected areas 

is allowed. Where roads form the 

boundary of a protected wilderness 

characteristic unit, a 250-foot 

management setback is established. The 

setback areas total 9,247 acres. 

Under the Approved RMP 

Amendment, two areas totaling 40,368 

acres near the city of Vale, Oregon, will 

be managed as open to OHV use; 

319,501 acres currently classified as 

open will be designated as limited to 

existing routes, resulting in a total 4.5 

million acres of limited OHV 

classification in the planning area; and 

15,829 acres closed to OHV use will 

remain closed. 

The Approved RMP Amendment: (1) 

requires the BLM to consider taking 

action in areas that are not meeting 

Standards for Rangeland Health even if 

existing livestock grazing is not a causal 

factor for non-attainment of the 

standard; (2) clarifies that the BLM will 

not permit increases to animal unit 

months if analysis finds that doing so 

could cause negative impacts to other 

resources in an area where there is 

either no rangeland health assessment 

and evaluation or if the evaluation no 

longer represents the existing resource 

conditions; and (3) requires the BLM to 

review the suitability and compatibility 

of livestock grazing use with other 

existing resources in the permitted area 

when a voluntary permit 

relinquishment is received. If livestock 

grazing is found to be unsuitable and/ 

or incompatible, the area will become 

unavailable to grazing and the forage 

allocation will be made to another 

resource. If grazing is found to be 

suitable and/or compatible, then the 

allocation of forage to livestock grazing 

use would remain in place. The BLM 

could authorize grazing use for the area 

under a grazing permit or designate the 

area as a reserve common allotment. 

The BLM provided the Proposed RMP 

Amendment/Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (PRMPA/FEIS) for a 

30-day public protest period starting on 

June 16, 2023, and received two valid 

protests. The BLM Assistant Director for 

Resources and Planning resolved both 

protests. Responses to protest issues 

were compiled and documented in a 

Protest Resolution Report (see 

ADDRESSES). Minor clarifications to the 

language in the Approved RMP 

Amendment related to the way BLM 

manages Wilderness Study Areas that 

are released from consideration for 

Wilderness designation by Congress 

were made in response to an issue 

raised on this topic in one of the 

protests received. 

The BLM provided the PRMPA/FEIS 

to the Governor of Oregon for a 60-day 

Governor’s consistency review on June 

16, 2023. The Governor’s Office 

identified some concerns and potential 

inconsistencies between the PRMPA 

and State and local plans, policies, and 

programs. The BLM discussed the 

concerns with the Governor’s Office 

and, in response, made minor 

clarifications in the Approved RMP 

Amendment regarding how lands with 

wilderness characteristics that are not 

prioritized for protection will be 

managed and the way in which BLM 

manages Wilderness Study Areas that 

are released from consideration for 

Wilderness designation by Congress. 

The clarifications made to the Approved 

RMP Amendment in response to both 

the issues raised in one of the protests 

received and the Oregon Governor’s 

consistency review were minor and did 

not represent a change requiring the 

BLM to provide the public with an 

opportunity to comment as discussed in 

43 CFR 1610.2(f)(5) and 1610.5–1. 


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