80916 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 193 / Friday, October 4, 2024 / Notices 

support compliance with applicable 

procedural requirements under the 

Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 

1536) and section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 

306108) as provided in 36 CFR 

800.2(d)(3), including public 

involvement requirements of section 

106. The information about historic and 

cultural resources and threatened and 

endangered species within the area 

potentially affected by the proposed 

plan amendment will assist the BLM in 

identifying and evaluating impacts to 

such resources. 

The BLM will consult with Indian 

Tribes on a government-to-government 

basis in accordance with Executive 

Order 13175, BLM MS 1780, and other 

Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, 

including impacts on Indian trust assets 

and potential impacts to cultural 

resources, will be given due 

consideration. Federal, State, and local 

agencies, along with Indian Tribes and 

other stakeholders that may be 

interested in or affected by the proposed 

Dodge Flat Solar II Project that the BLM 

is evaluating, are invited to participate 

in the scoping process and, if eligible, 

may request or be requested by the BLM 

to participate in the development of the 

EA as a cooperating agency. 

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 can 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. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2, 

and 43 CFR 2800) 

Jon K. Raby, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22982 Filed 10–3–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

[BLM_UT_FRN_MO 4500181748] 

Notice of Availability of the Proposed 

Resource Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Bears Ears National Monument in Utah 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior; Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In compliance 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) and 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service (USDA Forest Service), 

collectively ‘‘the Agencies,’’ have 

prepared a Proposed Resource 

Management Plan (RMP) and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Bears Ears National Monument 

(BENM or monument) and by this notice 

are announcing the start of a 30-day 

protest period of the Proposed RMP. 

DATES: This notice announces a 30-day 

protest period to the BLM on the 

Proposed RMP beginning on the date of 

the Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) publication of its Notice of 

Availability (NOA) of the Proposed 

RMP/Final EIS in the Federal Register. 

The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on 

Fridays. Protests must be postmarked or 

electronically submitted on the BLM’s 

ePlanning site during the 30-day protest 

period. 

ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP, Final 

EIS and associated documents are 

available on the BLM ePlanning project 

website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/project/2020347/510. 

Pertinent documents may also be 

examined at the BLM Monticello Field 

Office, 365 North Main, Monticello, 

Utah 84535. 

Instructions for filing a protest with 

the BLM for the BENM Proposed RMP/ 

Final EIS can be found at: https://

www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/filing-a-planprotest and at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill 

Stephenson, Project Manager, 

telephone: 435–259–2100; address: 

Bureau of Land Management Canyon 

Country District, 82 E Dogwood, Moab, 

Utah 84532; email: jstephenson@

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. Stephenson. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

planning area is located in San Juan 

County, Utah, and encompasses 

approximately 1.36 million acres of 

federal land administered by the BLM 

and USDA Forest Service. 

The USDA Forest Service will adopt 

the BLM’s administrative review protest 

procedures, as provided by the Forest 

Service Planning Rule at 36 CFR 

219.59(a). 

Purpose and Need for the Planning 

Effort 

Presidential Proclamation 10285 

directs the Agencies to ‘‘prepare and 

maintain a new management plan for 

the entire monument’’ for the specific 

purposes of ‘‘protecting and restoring 

the objects identified [in Proclamation 

10285] and in Proclamation 9558.’’ 

The RMP’s underlying purpose (40 

CFR 1502.13) is to provide a 

management framework, including 

goals, objectives, and management 

direction, to guide BENM management 

consistent with the protection of BENM 

objects and the management direction 

provided in Proclamation 10285. 

The purpose and need for the BENM 

RMP is aligned with the purpose and 

need to amend the plan direction and 

management allocation for BENM in the 

Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan (LRMP). 

The proposed programmatic 

amendment incorporates the proposed 

BENM RMP and updated land 

management allocation of the BENM 

boundary area into the Manti-La Sal 

LRMP. The scope of the USDA Forest 

Service amendment is based on the 

objects identified in Proclamation 

10285, and the scale applies to National 

Forest System (NFS) lands within the 

BENM boundary area. 

Alternatives Considered 

The Final EIS evaluates six 

alternatives in detail, including the no 

action alternative. Alternative A (the no 

action alternative) represents current 

management from the 2020 BENM 

Approved Monument Management 

Plans, which apply to lands that 

remained in BENM under Proclamation 

9681, and the 2008 Monticello 

Approved RMP, 2008 Moab Approved 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 193 / Friday, October 4, 2024 / Notices 80917 

RMP, and 1986 Manti-La Sal National 

Forest LRMP, as amended, which apply 

to the lands that were excluded from 

BENM under Proclamation 9681, to the 

extent that those management actions 

are consistent with Proclamation 10285. 

In some cases, decisions in the 2008 

Monticello Approved RMP, 2008 Moab 

Approved RMP, and 1986 Manti-La Sal 

National Forest LRMP are inconsistent 

with Proclamation 10285; in those 

instances, Alternative A has been 

modified to be consistent with 

Proclamation 10285. Alternative B 

would provide the most permissive 

management for discretionary actions 

that are compatible with the protection 

of BENM objects. This alternative would 

focus on on-site education and 

interpretation and allow for the 

development of facilities to protect 

BENM objects. Alternative C would 

allow discretionary actions if they are 

necessary to protect BENM objects. This 

alternative would focus on off-site 

education and interpretation and allow 

for limited development of facilities to 

protect BENM objects. Alternative D 

would allow for the continuation of 

natural processes by limiting or 

discontinuing discretionary uses. This 

alternative would minimize humancreated facilities and management and 

would emphasize natural conditions. 

Alternative E would emphasize resource 

protection and maximize the 

consideration and use of Tribal 

perspectives on managing the BENM 

landscape. This alternative includes 

consideration of natural processes and 

seasonal cycles in the management of 

BENM, and extensive collaboration with 

Tribal Nations to incorporate those 

considerations into the day-to-day 

management of the monument. The 

BLM and USDA Forest Service have 

also developed the Proposed RMP as 

presented in the Final EIS. The 

Proposed RMP is based on Alternative 

E, with a combination of components 

from the various action alternatives. 

Like Alternative E, the Proposed RMP 

emphasizes resource protection and 

maximizing the consideration and use 

of Tribal perspectives. 

Public Comment Period and 

Development of the Proposed RMP and 

Final EIS 

The BLM received a total of 18,975 

letter submissions during the public 

comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS, 

including 15,624 letters that contained 

non-unique, preformulated language 

that appeared elsewhere in letter 

submissions. There were 3,351 unique 

submissions, from which the agencies 

identified substantive comments. Most 

submissions were focused on 

suggestions for specific alternatives or 

alternative elements; statements of 

support for or lack thereof for an 

alternative; and detailed input 

pertaining to various resource topics 

analyzed in the draft EIS, such as travel 

and transportation, livestock grazing, 

and recreation and visitor services. 

The agencies were informed in the 

development of the Proposed RMP by 

public comments; input from the Bears 

Ears Commission, cooperating agencies, 

and the Utah Division of Wildlife 

Resources; government-to-government 

consultation with Tribal Nations; 

consultation under section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act; and 

updates to the best available science. 

The primary changes from the Draft 

RMP/EIS to the Proposed RMP/Final 

EIS include: the analysis of the 

Proposed RMP; the use of updated 

assessment, inventory, and monitoring 

data; modifications to management 

actions concerning recreation, travel 

and transportation, livestock grazing, 

visual resources, lands and realty, and 

lands with wilderness characteristics; 

the designation of Areas of Critical 

Environmental Concern (ACECs); the 

inclusion of the public comment 

process summary and responses; the 

development of a monitoring plan; the 

addition of an appendix to address 

scenery management on the NFS lands; 

and the review of applicable State and 

local land use plans for plan 

consistency. The agencies also made 

revisions in the Final EIS for 

consistency, clarity, and accuracy. In 

Appendix U of the Final EIS, the 

agencies provide responses to 

substantive comments on the Draft 

RMP/EIS, including proposed target 

shooting closures and ACECs. 

Protest of the Proposed RMP 

The BLM planning regulations state 

that any person who participated in the 

preparation of the RMP and has an 

interest that will or might be adversely 

affected by approval of the Proposed 

RMP may protest its approval to the 

BLM Director. Protest on the Proposed 

RMP constitutes the final opportunity 

for administrative review of the 

proposed land use planning decisions 

prior to the BLM adopting an approved 

RMP and the USDA Forest Service 

approving amendment of the 1986 

Manti-La Sal National Forest LRMP. 

Instructions for filing a protest regarding 

the Proposed RMP with the BLM 

Director may be found online at https:// 

www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/filing-a-planprotest and at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. All 

protests must be in writing and mailed 

to the appropriate address, as set forth 

in the ADDRESSES section earlier or 

submitted electronically through the 

BLM ePlanning project website as 

described previously. Protests submitted 

electronically by any means other than 

the ePlanning project website will be 

invalid unless a protest is also 

submitted as a hard copy. The BLM 

Director will render a written decision 

on each protest. The BLM Reviewing 

Official is the BLM Assistant Director 

for Resources and Planning, and the 

USDA Forest Service Reviewing Official 

is the Regional Forester. The BLM and 

USDA Forest Service will jointly sign a 

memorandum documenting the 

decisions on the resolutions of all 

protests for both agencies. This shall be 

the final decision of the Department of 

the Interior and Department of 

Agriculture. Responses to valid protest 

issues will be compiled and 

documented in a Protest Resolution 

Report made available following the 

protest resolution online at: https://

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

protests, the BLM will issue a Record of 

Decision (ROD) and Approved RMP, 

and the USDA Forest Service will issue 

a ROD amending the 1986 Manti-La Sal 

National Forest LRMP to incorporate the 

Approved RMP for BENM. The 

responsible official for the BLM is the 

Utah State Director; the responsible 

official for the USDA Forest Service is 

the Manti-La Sal Forest Supervisor. 

Before including your phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your protest, 

you should be aware that your entire 

protest—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your protest to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10 

(2023), 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5, 36 

CFR 219.16, 36 CFR 219.59) 

Gregory Sheehan, 

BLM Utah State Director. 

Barbara Van Alstine, 

Manti-La Sal Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22760 Filed 10–3–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–25–P 


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