82622 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Notices 

foreseeable actions, as well as any 

connected actions that are closely 

related and should be discussed in the 

same DEIS. 

8. The alternatives, information, and 

analyses submitted during the public 

scoping period and the summary 

thereof. 

9. Other information relevant to the 

GCP and its impacts on the human 

environment. 

Virtual Public Meetings 

We will conduct two virtual public 

meetings. See DATES and ADDRESSES for 

the dates and times. During the virtual 

public meetings, the Service and Bureau 

will present information pertinent to the 

GCP and give the public the opportunity 

to ask questions about the draft GCP and 

DEIS. Oral or written comments will not 

be accepted during the meeting; written 

comments may be submitted by one of 

the methods listed in ADDRESSES. 

Reasonable Accommodations 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations to participate in the 

public meetings should contact the 

Service’s Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife 

Office, using one of the methods listed 

in ADDRESSES. To allow sufficient time 

to process requests, please make contact 

at least 15 days before the public 

meetings. Information regarding this 

proposed action is available in 

alternative formats upon request. 

Public Availability of Comments 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods listed 

in ADDRESSES. Before including your 

address, phone number, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—might 

be made publicly available at any time. 

Although 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. All submissions 

from organizations or businesses, and 

from individuals identifying themselves 

as representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. Comments and materials 

we receive, as well as references for 

supporting documentation we used in 

preparing the DEIS, will be available for 

public inspection online in Docket No. 

FWS–R8–ES–2023–0084 at https://

www.regulations.gov/ (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Next Steps and Decision To Be Made 

After public review and comment, the 

Service will evaluate the GCP, DEIS, 

and any comments received to 

determine whether the GCP provides an 

adequate basis for meeting the 

requirements of section 10(a)(2)(B) of 

the ESA for future permit applications 

submitted under the GCP. The decision 

whether to approve and use the GCP 

will also be informed by the data, 

analyses, and findings in the EIS and 

public comments received on the DEIS 

and GCP. The Service will document its 

determinations in an ESA section 10 

findings document, ESA section 7 

biological opinion, and NEPA record of 

decision that will be developed at the 

conclusion of the ESA and NEPA 

compliance processes. FWS expects to 

submit a final EIS (FEIS) for publication 

in the Federal Register by May 2025. At 

least 30 days after the FEIS is published, 

we expect that the Service will complete 

a record of decision on the GCP in 

accordance with applicable timeframes 

established in 40 CFR 1506.11 (2022) 

and issue a decision on the GCP. The 

current estimate for the issuance of 

record of decision is July 2025. 

Authority 

We provide this notice in accordance 

with the requirements of NEPA and its 

implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1503.1 and 1506.6; 2022). 

Michael J. Senn, 

Assistant Regional Director—Ecological 

Services, California-Great Basin Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento, 

California. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23573 Filed 10–10–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NM_FRN_MO4500183052] 

Notice of Availability for the Organ 

Mountains-Desert Peaks National 

Monument Proposed Resource 

Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement, New 

Mexico 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a Proposed Resource Management Plan 

(RMP) and Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the Organ 

Mountains-Desert Peaks National 

Monument (Monument) and by this 

notice is announcing the start of the 30- 

day protest period for the Proposed 

RMP. 

DATES: This notice announces a 30-day 

protest period to the BLM on the 

Proposed RMP beginning on the date 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) publishes its Notice of 

Availability (NOA) of the Proposed RMP 

and 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 website 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/92170/510. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may also be examined at the BLM Las 

Cruces District Office, 1800 Marquess 

Street, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005. 

Instructions for filing a protest with 

the BLM for the Proposed RMP and 

Final EIS for the Monument can be 

found at: https://www.blm.gov/ 

programs/planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 

43 CFR 1610.5–2. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

BLM RMP Project Manager Patrick Rich 

at 405–579–7154 or prich@blm.gov or 

acting Monument Manager Lane Hauser 

at 575–525–4358 or lhauser@blm.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability may dial 711 

(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services for 

contacting Patrick Rich. 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 

decision area is located in Don ̃ a Ana 

County, New Mexico, and encompasses 

approximately 496,591 acres of BLMmanaged public lands. Resources on 

Monument lands administered by the 

BLM within the decision area are 

currently managed under the 1993 

Mimbres RMP, as amended, and 

additional guidance directed in 

Presidential Proclamation 9131. 

The BLM identified, analyzed, and 

considered mitigation to address 

reasonably foreseeable impacts 

associated with land use allocations and 

resource management goals and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Notices 82623 

objectives employed to develop the 

alternatives, in accordance with 40 CFR 

1502.14(e). 

The BLM proactively coordinated the 

NEPA and land use planning processes 

early in the planning effort to ensure 

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. 

On December 1, 2021, the BLM 

initiated government-to-government 

consultation with 13 federally 

recognized Tribes with historic or 

cultural resources within the area 

potentially affected by the Proposed 

RMP. In accordance with Executive 

Order 13175, BLM Manual section 1780, 

and other Departmental policies, the 

BLM considered Tribal concerns, 

including potential impacts to Indian 

trust assets and cultural resources, 

throughout the land use planning 

process. 

The BLM invited Tribal Nations; 

Federal, State, and local agencies; and 

stakeholders that demonstrated interest 

in or that could have been impacted by 

the RMP, to participate in the planning 

process and, if eligible, to participate as 

cooperating agencies. Ten eligible 

entities accepted the BLM’s invitation to 

join the RMP planning effort as 

cooperating agencies. 

On June 22, 2023, the BLM published 

a Notice of Intent in the Federal 

Register (88 FR 40846), notifying the 

public of a formal scoping period and 

soliciting public participation. The BLM 

held six public scoping meetings in and 

around Las Cruces, New Mexico, during 

July 2023. 

On April 5, 2024, the BLM published 

an NOA in the Federal Register (89 FR 

24030), announcing a 90-day public 

comment period (April 5, 2024, through 

July 5, 2024) and the availability of the 

Draft EIS and Draft RMP for review and 

comment. The BLM held two in-person 

public meetings and two virtual public 

meetings in Las Cruces, New Mexico, 

during June 2024. 

Proposed RMP 

The Final EIS documents analysis of 

environmental impacts associated with 

the five alternatives considered for 

management of Monument lands, to 

include the 10 congressionally 

designated wilderness areas located 

within the Monument’s boundaries. The 

Proposed RMP provides five land use 

management alternatives. Each 

alternative consists of distinct land use 

allocations and resource management 

goals, objectives, and management 

direction focused on protecting 

Monument objects of scientific and 

historic interest, preserving wilderness 

character, and the conservation of 

natural resources, resource values, and 

wildlife habitat. The Proposed RMP 

(Alternative E) was developed in 

response to public comments received 

on the Draft EIS and RMP during the 90- 

day public comment period and is 

based, primarily, on land use allocations 

and resource management goals and 

objectives found in Alternative C (Draft 

EIS Preferred Alternative). 

The five alternatives analyzed in the 

Final EIS are as follows: 

• Alternative A (No Action): 

Maintains the 1993 Mimbres RMP 

management direction. Incorporates 

Monument management direction from 

Presidential Proclamation 9131. 

• Alternative B (Protection-focused): 

Protects objects of scientific and historic 

interest. Protects, preserves, and 

enhances habitat, natural resources, and 

resource values while providing limited 

recreation and travel opportunities. 

Most proactive in promoting land use 

management activities focused on 

preservation, restoration, and 

enhancement. 

• Alternative C (Draft Preferred): 

Protects Monument objects of scientific 

and historic interest. Institutes 

preservation management principles for 

designated wilderness. Provides an 

objective approach to land use 

management, employing conservation 

management principles for wildlife 

habitat, natural resources, and resource 

values. Employs targeted preservation 

goals and objectives, while allowing 

recreation uses that promote sustained 

socioeconomic progression. 

• Alternative D (Recreation-focused): 

Emphasizes opportunities for resource 

uses, such as recreation, off-highway 

vehicle and mechanized use, and 

livestock grazing, while maintaining 

ecological function to protect 

Monument resources, objects, and 

values. Institutes preservation 

management principles for designated 

wilderness. 

• Alternative E (Proposed): Institutes 

similar land use allocations and 

resource management goals and 

objectives as Alternative C. Provides 

additional flexibility in the management 

of natural resources, while protecting 

Monument objects and preserving 

wilderness character. Emphasizes the 

importance of future implementation 

and activity-level planning efforts, such 

as integrated travel/transportation and 

recreation area management planning, 

wilderness management plans, 

rangeland management plans, habitat 

management plans, and cultural 

resource and Monument object 

inventory and management. 

The BLM New Mexico State Director 

has selected Alternative E as the 

‘‘Proposed RMP alternative.’’ 

Alternative E was designed to protect 

Monument objects, preserve wilderness 

character, and conserve natural and 

cultural resources, resource values, and 

wildlife habitat, while allowing for 

compatible uses on Monument lands. 

The Proposed RMP alternative includes 

important conservation and 

preservation measures designed to 

protect Monument objects of scientific 

and historic interest, as well as other 

resources and resource values, 

including: 

• Wilderness areas (239,596-acres): 

Emphasizes preservation of wilderness 

character, with allowance for 

compatible uses; 

• Areas of Critical Environmental 

Concern (ACEC): Designates the Don ̃ a 

Ana Mountains ACEC (1,427 acres) and 

the Organ/Franklin Mountains ACEC 

(36,658 acres); 

• Special Recreation Management 

Area (SRMA): Designates the Don ̃ a Ana 

Mountains SRMA (5,858 acres) and the 

Organ Mountains SRMA (36,658 acres); 

• Soils: provides for protection and 

active management of soils, while 

limiting soil disturbing activities; 

• Vegetative communities: provides 

for the conservation and restoration of 

reference vegetative communities; 

• Wildlife: preserves and restores 

native habitat, while enhancing wildlife 

corridors and connectivity; 

• Visual resources: preserves high 

value visual resources through 

protective management goals and 

objectives; 

• Livestock grazing: establishes goals 

and objectives developed to ensure 

appropriate protection of Monument 

objects, preservation of wilderness 

character, and conservation of natural 

resources and resource values; 

• Travel management (Monument): 

establishes use allocations and 

management goals and objectives 

limiting motorized vehicle use to 

designated roads and non-motorized 

mechanized vehicle use to designated 

roads and trails on the Monument, as 

directed in Presidential Proclamation 

9131; 

• Travel management (wilderness): 

establishes preservation goals and 

objectives, in accordance with the 

Wilderness Act, that prohibit motorized 

vehicle use or non-motorized 

mechanized vehicle use in designated 

wilderness areas; and 

• Lands and realty: provides 

protection of Monument objects, 


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82624 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2024 / Notices 

preservation of wilderness character, 

and conservation of natural resources, 

resource values, and wildlife habitat 

through establishment of right-of-way 

exclusion and avoidance areas across 

the Monument. 

Protest of the Proposed RMP 

The BLM’s 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 of 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. 

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 

previously described. 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 Director’s decision 

shall be the final decision of the 

Department of the Interior. Responses to 

valid protest issues will be compiled 

and documented in a Protest Resolution 

Report that will be made available 

following the protest resolution online 

at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/ 

planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/protest-resolution-reports. 

Upon resolution of protests, the BLM 

will issue a Record of Decision and 

Approved RMP. 

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 the BLM 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, 

43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5) 

Melanie G. Barnes, 

BLM New Mexico State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23428 Filed 10–10–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–23–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500180774] 

Notice of Availability of the Proposed 

Resource Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Cascade-Siskiyou National 

Monument in Oregon/Washington and 

California 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

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) has prepared a 

Proposed Resource Management Plan 

(RMP) and Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the CascadeSiskiyou National Monument (CSNM) 

and by this notice is 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 with the date 

following 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 and 

Final EIS is available on the BLM 

ePlanning project website at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2023675/510 and at the BLM 

Medford District, 3040 Biddle Rd, 

Medford, OR 97504; and the BLM 

Klamath Falls Field Office, 2795 

Anderson Avenue, Bldg. #25, Klamath 

Falls, OR 97603. 

Instructions for filing a protest with 

the BLM for the CSNM can be found at: 

https://www.blm.gov/programs/ 

planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/filing-a-plan-protest and 

at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. Protests must be 

submitted at the ePlanning website 

listed above or to: BLM Director, 

Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), 

P.O. Box 151029, Lakewood, CO 80215. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Nikki Haskett, Program Manager, 

telephone (458)–246–8861; address 

3040 Biddle Rd, Medford, OR 97504; 

email blm_csnm_rmp@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. Haskett. 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 

CSNM boundary, as identified by 

Presidential Proclamation No. 9564, 

constitutes the planning area for this 

RMP. The planning area is 170,407 acres 

and includes lands within Jackson and 

Klamath Counties in Oregon, and 

Siskiyou County in California. The 

CSNM’s decision area is the 

approximately 113,500 acres of BLMadministered lands within the planning 

area. While most of the BLMadministered lands are within the BLM 

Ashland and Klamath Falls Field 

Offices in Oregon, approximately 5,000 

acres are located within the BLM 

Redding Field Office in California. 

The BLM’s current RMPs for lands in 

the decision area do not address all the 

legal mandates related to management 

of the congressionally designated 

National Conservation Lands (i.e., Soda 

Mountain Wilderness; the Jenny Creek 

and Spring Creek Wild and Scenic 

Rivers; the Applegate Trail, which is 

part of the California National Historic 

Trail; and the Pacific Crest National 

Scenic Trail) and the lands included in 

President Obama’s enlargement of the 

monument boundary. In addition, some 

aspects of the existing RMPs covering 

the planning area need to be updated to 

be consistent with current BLM policies. 

The RMP’s underlying purpose (40 

CFR 1502.13) is to provide a 

management framework, including 

objectives and management direction, 

that guides the BLM’s management of 

the decision area to protect and restore 

the resources, objects, and values for 

which the area was designated. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

The Cascade-Siskiyou National 

Monument Draft RMP and EIS 90-day 

public comment period began on April 

5, 2024, and ended on July 5, 2024. The 

BLM held four public meetings during 

the public comment period. The BLM 

considered and incorporated in the 

Proposed RMP, as appropriate, 

comments received from the public, 

consulting Tribes, cooperating agencies, 

and internal BLM review. Public 

comments resulted in the addition of 

clarifying text, minor changes to the 

existing alternatives, and a Proposed 

RMP that is within the range of 

alternatives and effects analyzed in the 

Draft RMP/EIS. In addition to the 


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