Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 2181 

Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

We are soliciting comments on the 

proposed ICR that is described below. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following 

issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to 

the proper functions of the BLM; (2) will 

this information be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate 

of burden accurate; (4) how might the 

BLM enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (5) how might the BLM 

minimize the burden of this collection 

on the respondents, including through 

the use of information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. 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. 

Abstract: Agencies within the 

Department of the Interior use the 

information in a cave nomination to 

determine if the nominated cave will be 

listed as significant in accordance with 

the Federal Cave Resources Protection 

Act (FCRPA), 16 U.S.C. 4301 through 

4310 and the Department’s regulations 

at 43 CFR 37.11(c). The information is 

thus necessary for full compliance with 

agencies’ responsibilities to identify and 

protect significant caves and their 

resources. 

Agencies within the Department of 

the Interior use the information in 

requests for confidential cave 

information to determine whether to 

grant access to confidential cave data. 

Agencies need this information in order 

to comply with their statutory 

responsibilities to communicate, 

cooperate, and exchange information, 

within the limits prescribed by the 

FCRPA. 

Title of Collection: Cave Management: 

Cave Nominations and Requests for 

Confidential Information. 

OMB Control Number: 1004–0165. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: Cave 

nominations may be submitted pursuant 

to 16 U.S.C. 4303 and 43 CFR 37.11 by 

governmental agencies and the public, 

including those who utilize caves for 

scientific, education, and recreational 

purposes. Requests for confidential 

information may be submitted pursuant 

to 16 U.S.C. 4304 and 43 CFR 37.12 by 

Federal and state governmental agencies 

and their cooperators, bona fide 

educational and research institutions, 

and individuals or organizations 

assisting a land management agency 

with cave management activities. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 16. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 16. 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: Varies from 1 hour to 10 

hours, depending on activity. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 124. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency of Collection: On occasion. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

The estimated annual burdens are 

itemized in the following table: 

Type of response Number of 

responses 

Hours per 

response 

Total Hours 

(Column B × 

Column C) 

A. B. C. D. 

Cave Nomination ......................................................................................................................... 12 10 120 

Request for Confidential Cave Information ................................................................................. 4 1 4

Totals .................................................................................................................................... 16 124 

The authority for this action is the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq). 

Jean Sonneman, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

Bureau of Land Management. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00607 Filed 1–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[18X LLUTY00000 L16100000.XZ0000] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare Monument 

Management Plans for the Bears Ears 

National Monument Indian Creek and 

Shash Ja ́a Units and Associated 

Environmental Impact Statement, Utah 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act of 

1976, as amended (FLPMA), the 

National Forest Management Act of 

1976, as amended (NFMA), and 

Presidential Proclamation 9558 as 

modified by Presidential Proclamation 

9681, the Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) Canyon Country District Office, 

Moab, Utah intends to prepare a 

Monument Management Plan (MMP) for 

the Bears Ears National Monument 

Indian Creek Unit, and intends to jointly 

prepare, with the Manti La-Sal National 

Forest (USFS), Price, Utah, a MMP for 

the Shash Ja ́a Unit. The BLM and USFS, 

which is a co-manager of the Shash Ja ́a 

Unit, will prepare a single 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

to satisfy the NEPA requirements for 

this planning process. By this Notice, 

the BLM announces the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
2182 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 

comments and identify issues. These 

MMPs may replace portions of the 

existing Monticello Field Office Record 

of Decision and Approved Resource 

Management Plan, as amended, and 

Manti- La Sal National Forest Plan. 

DATES: This Notice initiates the public 

scoping process for separate MMPs for 

each monument unit with an associated 

combined EIS. 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 website at: 

https://www.blm.gov/utah. In order to 

be included in the Draft EIS, all 

comments must be received prior to 

March 19, 2018 or 15 days after the last 

public meeting, whichever is later. We 

will provide additional opportunities 

for public participation upon 

publication of the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on issues and planning criteria related 

to the planning process by any of the 

following methods: 

• Website: Bears Ears National 

Monument: https://goo.gl/uLrEae 

• Mail: 365 North Main, P.O. Box 7, 

Monticello, UT 84535 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the BLM Canyon 

Country District or Monticello Field 

Office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lance Porter, District Manager, 

telephone (435) 259–2100; address 365 

North Main, P.O. Box 7, Monticello, UT 

84535; email blm_ut_monticello_

monuments@blm.gov. Contact Mr. 

Porter to add your name to our mailing 

list. 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: This 

document provides notice that the BLM 

Canyon Country District Office, Moab, 

Utah, intends to prepare an MMP for the 

Bears Ears National Monument Indian 

Creek Unit, and jointly prepare an MMP 

with the Manti La-Sal National Forest, 

Price, Utah, for the Shash Ja ́a Unit, as 

well as an associated EIS. The BLM 

announces the beginning of the scoping 

process, and seeks public input on 

issues and planning criteria. The 

planning area is located in San Juan 

County, Utah and encompasses 

approximately 169,289 acres of BLMmanaged lands and 32,587 acres of 

National Forest System Lands. 

On December 4, 2017, President 

Donald Trump signed Proclamation 

9681 modifying the Bears Ears National 

Monument designated by Proclamation 

9558 to exclude from its designation 

and reservation approximately 

1,150,860 acres of land, which lands are 

not covered by this Notice of Intent and 

will continue to be managed under the 

governing Monticello Record of 

Decision and Approved Resource 

Management Plan and Manti La-Sal 

National Forest Plan until they are 

otherwise revised or amended. The 

revised BENM boundary includes two 

units known as the Shash Ja ́a and Indian 

Creek Units that are reserved for the 

care and management of the objects of 

historic and scientific interest within 

their boundaries. Proclamation 9558, as 

modified by Proclamation 9681, 

requires the BLM and the USFS to 

jointly develop a MMP. Each agency 

will continue to manage their lands 

within the monument pursuant to their 

respective applicable legal authorities. 

To ensure that management decisions 

reflect tribal expertise and traditional 

and historical knowledge, Proclamation 

9558, signed on December 28, 2016, 

established a Bears Ears Commission to 

provide guidance and recommendations 

on the development and 

implementation of a management plan 

for the Bears Ears National Monument. 

Proclamation 9681 modifies 

Proclamation 9558 and clarifies that the 

Bears Ears Commission shall be known 

as the Shash Ja ́a Commission, and shall 

apply only to the Shash Ja ́a Unit. The 

Commission consists of one elected 

officer each from the Hopi Nation, 

Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, 

Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah Ouray, 

and Zuni Tribe, designated by the 

officers’ respective tribes, and the 

elected officer of the San Juan County 

Commission representing District 3 

acting in that officer’s official capacity. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will inform the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the planning 

process. Preliminary issues for the 

planning area have been identified by 

BLM and USFS personnel; Federal, 

State, and local agencies; and other 

stakeholders. These preliminary issues 

include cultural and historic resources, 

including protection of Indian sacred 

sites and traditional cultural properties; 

paleontological resources; travel 

management; livestock grazing; wildlife; 

vegetation and fire management; 

outdoor recreation; and other resource 

management. 

Preliminary planning criteria include: 

(1) The public planning process for 

the MMPs will be guided by 

Proclamation 9558 as modified by 

Proclamation 9681 in addition to 

FLPMA, NFMA, and NEPA. (2) The 

BLM and USFS will use current 

scientific information, research, 

technologies, and results of inventory, 

monitoring, and coordination to 

determine appropriate management. (3) 

The BLM and USFS will strive to 

coordinate management decisions with 

other adjoining planning jurisdictions, 

both Federal and non-Federal. (4) 

Decisions made in the planning process 

will only apply to BLM-managed lands, 

National Forest System Lands, and, 

where appropriate, split-estate lands 

where the subsurface mineral estate is 

managed by the BLM. (6) Existing 

Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) will 

continue to be managed to prevent 

impairment and ensure continued 

suitability for designation as wilderness. 

Should Congress release all or part of a 

WSA from wilderness study, resource 

management will be determined by 

preparing an amendment to the MMP. 

(7) The BLM will consider changes to 

the off-highway vehicle (OHV) area 

designations approved through the 

Monticello Field Office Record of 

Decision and Approved Resource 

Management Plan. (8) As required by 

the Proclamations, the BLM and USFS 

will meaningfully engage with the 

Shash Ja ́a Commission and will 

carefully and fully consider integrating 

the traditional and historical knowledge 

and special expertise of the Commission 

for the Shash Ja ́a Unit. The BLM and 

USFS will also work with the 

Commission to identify parameters for 

continued meaningful engagement that 

will be set forth in the MMP. 

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, and to ensure inclusion in the 

Draft EIS, you should submit comments 

prior to the close of the 60-day scoping 

period or 15 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 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. The BLM and USFS will evaluate 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 2183 

identified issues to be addressed in the 

plans, and will place them into one of 

three categories: 

1. Issues to be resolved in the plans; 

2. Issues to be resolved through policy 

or administrative action; or 

3. Issues beyond the scope of these 

plans. 

The BLM and USFS will provide an 

explanation in the Draft MMPs/Draft EIS 

as to why an issue was placed in 

category two or three. The public is also 

encouraged to help identify any 

management questions and concerns 

that should be addressed in the plans. 

The BLM and USFS 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 and USFS will utilize and 

coordinate the NEPA scoping process to 

help fulfill the public involvement 

process under the National Historic 

Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as 

provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The 

information about historic and cultural 

resources within the area potentially 

affected by the proposed action will 

assist the BLM and USFS in identifying 

and evaluating impacts to such 

resources. 

The BLM and USFS will consult with 

Indian tribes on a government-togovernment basis in accordance with 

Executive Order 13175 and other 

policies. Tribal concerns, including 

impacts on Indian trust assets and 

potential impacts to cultural resources, 

will be given full consideration 

consistent with these authorities and 

policies. Federal, State, and local 

agencies, along with tribes and other 

stakeholders that may be interested in or 

affected by the proposed action that the 

BLM and USFS are evaluating, are 

invited to participate in the scoping 

process and, if eligible, may request or 

be requested by the BLM and USFS to 

participate in the development of the 

environmental analysis as a cooperating 

agency. 

The BLM and USFS will use an 

interdisciplinary approach to develop 

the plans 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: 

Rangeland management, minerals and 

geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, 

archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and 

fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, 

soils, sociology, and economics. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2. 

Edwin L. Roberson, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00520 Filed 1–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLWO35000.L14400000.PN0000.18X; OMB 

Control Number 1004–0153] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Conveyance of Federally 

Owned Mineral Interests 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 

are proposing to renew an information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before March 

19, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on 

this information collection request (ICR) 

by mail to the U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 

1849 C Street NW, Room 2134LM, 

Washington DC 20240, Attention: Jean 

Sonneman; by email to jesonnem@

blm.gov. Please reference OMB Control 

Number 1004–0153 in the subject line of 

your comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Robert Jolley by email 

at rbjolley@blm.gov, or by telephone at 

(202) 912–7350. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

We are soliciting comments on the 

proposed ICR that is described below. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following 

issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to 

the proper functions of the BLM; (2) will 

this information be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate 

of burden accurate; (4) how might the 

BLM enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (5) how might the BLM 

minimize the burden of this collection 

on the respondents, including through 

the use of information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. 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. 

Abstract: Section 209(b) of the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act (43 

U.S.C. 1719) authorizes the Secretary of 

the Interior to convey Federally-owned 

mineral interests to non-Federal owners 

of the surface estate. The respondents in 

this information collection are nonFederal owners of surface estates who 

apply for underlying Federally-owned 

mineral interests. This information 

collection enables the BLM to determine 

if the applicants are eligible to receive 

title to the Federally-owned mineral 

interests beneath their lands. 

Regulations at 43 CFR part 2720 

establish guidelines and procedures for 

the processing of these applications. 

Title of Collection: Conveyance of 

Federally-Owned Mineral Interests. 

OMB Control Number: 1004–0153. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: Owners 

of surface estates (i.e., individuals, 

businesses, or state, local, or tribal 

governments) that want to obtain 

underlying Federally-owned mineral 

estates. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 11 businesses, 10 

individuals, and 3 State/Local/Tribal 

Governments. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 24. 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: 10 hours per response. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 240 hours. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency of Collection: On occasion. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: $1,200 dollars. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES