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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5985-5986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01063]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[PO #4820000251]

Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan 
Amendment for the Lakeview Resource Management Plan, Lakeview District, 
Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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 Lakeview RMP, located in the BLM's 
Lakeview District.

DATES: The ROD/Approved RMP Amendment was signed and is in effect as of 
the date of signature.

ADDRESSES: The ROD/Approved RMP Amendment is available online at the 
BLM National Environmental Policy Act Register at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/114300/510.
    Printed copies of the ROD/Approved RMP Amendment are available for 
public inspection at the BLM Lakeview District Office, 1301 South G 
Street,

[[Page 5986]]

Lakeview, Oregon 97630, or can be provided upon request by contacting 
the Lakeview office at (541) 947-2177.
    A copy of the Protest Resolution Report is available at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Forbes, District Manager, 
Lakeview District Office; telephone: (541) 947-6100; email: 
[email protected]. 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. Forbes. 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 2003 Lakeview RMP. The Lakeview planning area covers 
approximately 3.2 million acres of public lands in Lake and Harney 
counties. The Approved RMP Amendment provides management direction for 
lands with wilderness characteristics; makes planning-area-wide travel 
and transportation/off-highway 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 wilderness 
characteristics in 24 whole units and portions of two units (42,547 
acres) as new Section 202 Wilderness Study Areas (WSA). New Section 202 
WSAs will be managed as: Visual Resource Management Class I, which 
allows for very low levels of change to the landscapes' visual 
character that does not attract attention; Land Tenure Zone 1, where 
the BLM retains the lands in public ownership for the life of the RMP; 
exclusion areas for all rights-of-way; and closed for the development 
and extraction of leasable and saleable minerals, including new mineral 
material sites.
    In addition, the Approved RMP Amendment prioritizes the protection 
of wilderness characteristics in eight whole units and portions of 
seven units (373,132 acres) over other multiple uses (Category C). 
These Category C units 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; 
exclusion areas for major rights-of-way and commercial renewable energy 
projects; and avoidance areas for all minor rights-of-ways. In 
addition, within these Category C units, leasable mineral extraction 
will be allowed, but subject to a no surface occupancy stipulation. All 
Category C units will be closed to saleable minerals, including new 
mineral material sites. Where roads form the boundary of a protected 
Category C wilderness characteristic unit, a 300-foot management 
setback from the centerline of paved and gravel roads and a 100-foot 
setback from the centerline of natural surface boundary roads is 
established.
    Under the Approved RMP Amendment, 12 areas totaling approximately 
70,573 acres scattered across the planning area will be managed as open 
to OHV use; 397,671 acres currently classified as open will be 
designated as limited to existing routes, resulting in a total of 
3,121,499 acres of limited OHV classification in the planning area; and 
an additional 476 acres of areas open to OHV use will be designated as 
closed resulting in a total of 11,285 acres closed to OHV.
    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 will 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 (EIS) for a 30-day public protest period starting on 
November 7, 2024, and received 15protests. The BLM Assistant Director 
for Resources and Planning resolved all valid protests. Responses to 
protest issues were compiled and documented in a Protest Resolution 
Report (see ADDRESSES). No changes to the Lakeview Proposed RMP 
Amendment/Final EIS were necessary as a result of protests.
    The BLM provided the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS to the 
Governor of Oregon for a 30-day Governor's consistency review. No 
inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies or programs were 
identified during the Governor's consistency review of the Proposed 
RMP/Final EIS. No changes to the Lakeview Proposed RMP Amendment/Final 
EIS were necessary as a result of the Governor's consistency review.
    (Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5)

Nada Wolff Culver,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2025-01063 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-24-P
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