2740 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Notices 

use of motorized equipment, 

motorboats, the landing of aircraft, or 

the establishment of a structure or 

installation within any such area. 

• Management Direction: The BLM 

shall develop a Travel and 

Transportation Management Plan during 

implementation of this RMP that 

incorporates guidance, direction, 

restrictions, exceptions, and special 

provisions provided for in the 2019 John 

D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, 

Management and Recreation Act, as 

amended; the 2009 Omnibus Public 

Land Management Act, as amended; the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended; the 

Wilderness Act of 1964, as amended; or 

other applicable legal authorities, as 

appropriate. 

These modifications do not constitute 

substantial changes from the Proposed 

RMP to the Approved RMP. 

The BLM provided announcement of 

the availability of the Proposed RMP 

and Final EIS on October 11, 2024, (89 

FR 82622) for a 30-day public protest 

period and received seven protest 

letters. Upon careful review of the 

issues identified in each of the seven 

protest letters, the BLM Director 

resolved all protests. No changes to the 

ROD or Approved RMP were necessary 

to address valid protests. Responses to 

protest issues were compiled and 

documented in a Protest Resolution 

Report (see ADDRESSES). 

The BLM provided the Proposed RMP 

and Final EIS to the Governor of New 

Mexico for a 60-day Governor’s 

consistency review on October 11, 2024. 

The Office of the Governor of New 

Mexico did not identify any concerns or 

potential inconsistencies between the 

Proposed RMP and State and local 

plans, policies, and programs. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 1610.5– 

1) 

Melanie G. Barnes, 

BLM New Mexico State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00364 Filed 1–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–23–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO #4820000251] 

New Recreation Fee Areas and New 

Fees for Existing Individual Special 

Recreation Permits for On-River 

Camping in the Gunnison River 

Special Recreation Management Area 

Within the Dominguez-Escalante 

National Conservation Area, Colorado 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to establish fees. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Lands 

Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), 

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Grand Junction Field Office (GJFO), 

Upper Colorado River District, and the 

Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO), 

Southwest District, intend to establish 

recreation fee areas at existing 

developed campgrounds, future 

developed campgrounds and campsites, 

and for designated campsites within the 

Gunnison River Special Recreation 

Management Area (SRMA) in the 

Dominguez-Escalante National 

Conservation Area (D–E NCA) as 

managed by the field offices as one NCA 

unit in Delta, Mesa, and Montrose 

Counties. 

DATES: The new fees will take effect on 

July 14, 2025 unless the BLM publishes 

a Federal Register notice to the 

contrary. 

ADDRESSES: Documents concerning this 

fee change may be reviewed at the 

Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H 

Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506; phone: 

(970) 244–3000; and online at: https:// 

www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/ 

permits-and-fees/business-plans. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Zack Kelley, acting National 

Conservation Area Manager, or Erin 

Jones, Deputy District Manager, with the 

Upper Colorado River District, both at 

the Grand Junction Field Office, 

telephone: (970) 244–3000. 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 the BLM. 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: Consistent 

with the FLREA, the intent of recreation 

fees is to help protect natural resources, 

provide for public health and safety, 

and facilitate access to public lands and 

related waters, and not to maximize fee 

revenue. Fees are a way of ensuring that 

those who actively use recreation 

opportunities make a greater, but 

reasonable, contribution toward 

protecting and enhancing those 

opportunities than those who do not 

utilize recreational opportunities. 

FLREA directs the Secretary of the 

Interior to publish a 6-month advance 

notice in the Federal Register whenever 

new recreation fee areas are established. 

In accordance with BLM policy, the 

business plan for the D–E NCA explains 

the fee collection process and how fees 

will be used at these sites. 

The BLM will establish new 

expanded amenity recreation fees at the 

existing Big Dominguez and Potholes 

campgrounds. The BLM will establish 

future expanded amenity fee collection 

for future designated campsites 

(approximately 70) throughout the D–E 

NCA as expanded amenities are 

developed and campsites are designated 

to meet public need and to provide for 

resource protection. 

The expanded amenity fee for 

developed campsites is $20 per night 

per site (up to two vehicles included 

and no more than five participants per 

vehicle). For larger capacity sites, as 

identified at the campground by the 

BLM, each additional vehicle beyond 

the first two vehicles will be $10 each. 

A vehicle is defined as legal 

transportation used to access the site 

(e.g., car, truck, motorcycle, van, or 

other wheeled conveyance). Participants 

includes non-human participants (e.g., 

dogs, horses, alpacas, etc.). 

Because the entirety of the D–E NCA 

meets the definition of a Special Area, 

the BLM may also establish Individual 

Special Recreation Permits (ISRP) and 

associated fees to be paid by visitors 

participating in activities requiring 

special management. Consistent with 

this authority, this notice also provides 

the required notification to apply a fee 

structure to the ISRP established for the 

Gunnison River SRMA for on-river 

camping. The BLM may also establish 

an ISRP fee for additional areas where 

the Authorized Officer, in the future, 

determines recreation requires special 

management through an ISRP. 

Notification of future ISRP fees for any 

additional areas within the D–E NCA 

will be published in the Federal 

Register. Day-use areas and areas where 

dispersed/undeveloped camping is 

permitted will remain available 

throughout D–E NCA without a 

reservation or a fee. 

The ISRP fee is $20 per night per site 

for small groups (1 to 5 participants), 

$50 per night per site for medium 

groups (6 to 14 participants), and $100 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Notices 2741 

per night per site for large groups (15 to 

25 participants). Participants includes 

non-human participants (e.g., dogs, 

horses, alpacas, etc.). 

To stay current with rising 

management and maintenance costs, the 

BLM will utilize the Western U.S. 

Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 

determine future fee adjustments. The 

Western U.S. CPI is published online 

monthly at: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/ 

regional-resources.htm. A yearly 

average of the CPI is published every 

January. Every year after fee 

implementation begins, the BLM will 

use the yearly CPI to determine if fees 

need to be increased. When the CPI rises 

by 20 percent, the fees may be increased 

the corresponding amount, rounded up 

to the nearest whole dollar. This 

measure will result in a sustainable and 

consistent funding source that will 

increase assurances for users that the 

program could continue to provide 

regular maintenance and necessary 

capital improvements into the future. 

The BLM will update the BLM 

Northwest and Southwest Resource 

Advisory Councils (RACs) after each fee 

increase (approximately every 4 to 5 

years) on successes and challenges in 

using the Western U.S. CPI. 

People holding an America the 

Beautiful Pass—The National Parks and 

Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass 

or Access Pass, or a Golden Age or 

Golden Access Passport, will be entitled 

to a 50 percent fee reduction on 

expanded amenity fees. Discounts and 

fee-free days do not apply to ISRP fees. 

The BLM is establishing these 

recreation fees in response to increasing 

recreation demands and resource 

protection requirements in the D–E 

NCA. Recreation fees are needed to: 

maintain visitor facilities and visitor 

services; replace aging infrastructure; 

reduce impacts to resources; improve 

visitor health and safety; and provide 

sustainable recreational opportunities. 

The business plan explains: (1) 

consistency with the BLM recreation fee 

program policy; (2) the recreation 

management direction for the D–E NCA; 

(3) the need for fee collection; (4) how 

the fees will be used in the area; (5) 

coordination with RACs; and (6) 

guidance on future fee increases. As 

analyzed in the business plan, the 

recreation use fees are consistent with 

other nearby Federal land management 

agency fees and are lower than the fees 

charged at privately owned 

campgrounds. The business plan is 

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

programs/recreation/permits-and-fees/ 

business-plans. 

A public comment period on the draft 

business plan, announced by a news 

release, ran from August 26, 2024, to 

September 25, 2024. BLM Northwest 

and Southwest RACs met March 30, 

2023, at a combined RAC meeting where 

they discussed fee proposals. The RACs 

recommended the fee proposal for 

approval in a joint meeting on May 2, 

2024, using the Western U.S. CPI to 

determine future fee increases. 

(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6803(b) and 43 CFR 

2933) 

Douglas Vilsack, 

BLM Colorado State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00507 Filed 1–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO4820000251] 

Notice of Availability of the Record of 

Decision and Approved Resource 

Management Plan for the Grand 

Staircase-Escalante National 

Monument in Utah 

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) for the Grand 

Staircase-Escalante National Monument 

(GSENM) in Utah. The Department of 

the Interior Principal Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Land and Minerals 

Management signed the ROD on Jan. 6, 

2025, which constitutes the decision of 

the BLM, makes the Approved RMP 

effective immediately, and replaces the 

2020 GSENM and Kanab Escalante 

Planning Area RMPs. 

DATES: The Department of the Interior 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Land and Minerals Management signed 

the ROD on Jan. 6, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The ROD/Approved RMP is 

available online at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2020343/510 and will also be 

available for public inspection at the 

BLM Paria River District Office, 669 

US–89A, Kanab, Utah 84741, and BLM 

Utah Public Room, 440 West 200 South, 

Ste. 500 Salt Lake City, UT 84101. 

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: 

Bryce Franklin, Project Manger, by 

phone: 435–644–1288; by mail: 669 US– 

89A, Kanab, Utah 84741; by email: 

bfranklin@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 Mr. Franklin. 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 

prepared the ROD and Approved RMP 

in response to Presidential Proclamation 

10286, which restored the boundaries 

and management direction for GSENM 

that existed prior to Dec. 4, 2017, and 

mandated that the BLM prepare and 

maintain a new management plan for 

the BLM-managed lands within the 

entirety of the restored monument 

boundaries for the specific purposes of 

‘‘protecting and restoring the objects 

identified [in Proclamation 10286] and 

in Proclamation 6920.’’ The RMP’s 

purpose is to provide a management 

framework, including goals, objectives, 

and management direction, to guide 

GSENM resource management 

consistent with the protection and 

restoration of GSENM objects and the 

management direction provided in 

Presidential Proclamations 10286 and 

6920. 

The Approved RMP is based on the 

Proposed RMP (Alternative E) from the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS), with minor changes to 

management actions, goals and best 

practices for forestry, grazing, 

recreation, vegetation, and wildlife. A 

full description of modifications and 

clarifications can be found in section 

1.2.2 of the ROD. 

The BLM provided the Proposed 

RMP/Final EIS for public protest on 

Aug. 30, 2024, for a 30-day protest 

period and received 19 protest letters. 

The BLM Assistant Director for 

Resources and Planning resolved all 

protests. Responses to protest issues are 

compiled and documented in a Protest 

Resolution Report (see ADDRESSES). 

While no protests were granted, the 

BLM made several edits to the 

Approved RMP text to improve clarity 

based on input received during the 

protest period . 

The BLM provided the Proposed 

RMP/Final EIS to the Governor of Utah 

for a 60-day Governor’s consistency 

review on Aug. 30, 2024. The 

Governor’s Office identified concerns 

and inconsistencies between the 

Proposed RMP/FEIS and State and local 

plans, policies, and programs. The BLM 


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