20830 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2001 / Notices

contain the following reservations to the

United States:

1. A right-of-way thereon for ditches

and canals constructed by the authority

of the United States, Act of August 30,

1890 (43 U.S.C. 945).

2. All mineral deposits in the land so

patented, and to it, or persons

authorized by it, the right to prospect,

mine and remove such deposits from

the same under applicable law and

regulations to be established by the

Secretary of the Interior.

And will be subject to:

Those rights for road purposes as have

been granted to Washoe County its

successors or assigns, by right-of-way

grant N–60200.

The lands are currently closed to

surface entry, except for conveyance

under section 206 of the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act of 1976 or

the Recreation and Public Purposes Act

of 1926, and mining, but not mineral

leasing. For a period of 45 days after

publication of this notice, interested

parties may submit comments regarding

the proposed lease/conveyance or

classification to the Assistant Manager,

Non-Renewable Resources, Bureau of

Land Management, Carson City Field

Office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson

City, NV 89701.

Classification Comments

Interested parties may submit

comments involving the suitability of

the land for a community park.

Comments on the classification are

restricted to whether the land is

physically suited for the proposal,

whether the use will maximize the

future use or uses of the land, whether

the use is consistent with local planning

and zoning, or if the use is consistent

with State and Federal programs.

Application Comments

Interested parties may submit

comments regarding the specific use

proposed in the application and plan of

development, whether the BLM

followed proper administrative

procedures in reaching the decision, or

any other factor not directly related to

the suitability of the land for

community park.

Any adverse comments will be

reviewed by the State Director. In the

absence of any adverse comments, the

classification will become effective June

25, 2001. The land will not be offered

for lease/conveyance until after the

classification becomes final.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments, including names and street

addresses of respondents will be

available for public review at the Carson

City Field Office during regular business

hours. Individual respondents may

request confidentiality. If you wish to

withhold your name or address from

public review or from disclosure under

the Freedom of Information Act, you

must state this prominently at the

beginning of your comments. Such

requests will be honored to the extent

allowed by law. 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 inspection in

their entirety.

Dated: This 2nd day of April, 2001.

Richard Conrad,

Assistant Manager, Non-Renewable

Resources, Carson City Field Office.

[FR Doc. 01–10208 Filed 4–24–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–010–2810–HT]

Elko and Wells Resource Areas

Management Plans, Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Elko Field Office, Elko, Nevada.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Amend the

Elko and Wells RMPs for Fire

Management and Initiate a 30-day

Public Review and Comment Period.

SUMMARY: The Elko and Wells Resource

Management plans (RMPs) were

completed in 1987 and 1983,

respectively, for the former Elko and

Wells Resource Areas of the Elko

District of BLM. These two Resource

Areas have since been combined into

the Elko District which is managed by

the Elko Field Office Since inception,

the Wells RMP has been amended for

elk, utility corridor, and wild horse

issues, while the Elko RMP has never

been amended. Neither RMP addresses

fire management issues in a

comprehensive way, and this lack of

coverage has created management

challenges for the Elko Field Office in

recent years. Neither RMP anticipated

the growing importance of the role of

wildfire in natural and managed

ecosystems, nor the increase in wildfire

occurrence, intensity, and numbers of

acres burned in the Elko District. This

increase in wildfire activity has had

serious impacts on natural resources, as

well as on public land users who rely

on these resources.

The proposed plan amendment to

revise the Elko and Well Resource

Management plans will provide fire

management guidance to address issues

raised by local state and federal

agencies, county governments, Native

Americans, ranchers, and

environmental groups. Issues and

planning criteria identified to date are

listed in this Notice under

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES: Meeting dates and other public

participation activities will be

announced in public notices, the local

media, or in letters sent to interested

and potentially affected parties. Persons

wishing to participate in this

amendment process must notify the

Elko Field Office at the address and

phone number below. Comments on the

proposed issues and planning criteria

must be submitted during the public

review and comment period from April

23, 2001, to May 23, 2001. The public

may review the Elko and Wells RMPs at

the address below:

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning

the proposed fire management RMP

amendment should be sent to the BLM

Elko Field Office at 3900 East Idaho

Street, Elko, NV 89801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe

Freeland, Project Manager, Elko BLM

Field Office, at the above address or at

(775) 753–0308.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

Notice satisfies the requirements in the

regulation at 43 CFR 1610.2(c) for

amending Resource Management Plan.

The 5th Year RMP Evaluation

completed in FY 2000 for the Elko RMP

identified fire management as an

important issue that was not adequately

addressed in the RMP, and for which an

RMP amendment was recommended. A

similar 5th Year RMP Evaluation will be

completed for the Wells RMP in FY

2002. However, since the Wells RMP

also lacks any substantive coverage of

fire management issues, it is reasonable

to recommend that a fire management

amendment to this RMP be completed

during the same process to amend the

Elko RMP.

Issues regarding fire management

identified to date include:

1. Suppression Strategy: The Elko

Field Office RMPs currently offer little

guidance on setting suppression

strategies to balance maintenance of

healthy ecosystems dependant on fire

with protection of other resources.

While some public land users advocate

full fire suppression on all public lands,

others feel that wildfire is a natural

process that should be allowed in some

areas. Many ranchers propose intensive

livestock grazing as a strategy to reduce

fuels in fire-prone areas, while other

advocacy groups are concerned about

the impacts from this proposed strategy

on native vegetation and wildlife.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2001 / Notices 20831

2. Prescribed Fire Use: The use of

prescribed fire is currently an area of

public concern due to recent publicity

over escaped burns in Los Alamos and

California. The Elko District could

benefit from prescribed fire use in high

fuel load areas to reduce the potential

impacts from severe wildland fire and to

improve habitat. Local residents need to

be involved with all prescribed fire

planning and support any proposed

prescribed fire projects.

3. Conversion of Sagebrush Habitat:

Wildlife managers throughout the Great

Basin are concerned over the

precipitous decline in sage grouse

numbers in recent years, thus causing

an increased demand for the protection

of sagebrush habitat throughout Elko

District. Wildfire can both improve and

devastate sage grouse habitat. Managing

this habitat in view of competing

resource uses and the spread of

invasive, nonnative weeds throughout

the district is a challenge for local land

managers.

4. Emergency Fire Rehabilitation

(EFR): Some EFR procedures are

controversial, including fencing recently

burned and/or rehabilitated areas to

prevent grazing on fragile re-vegetation,

as well as seeding with non-native grass

species which out-compete noxious

weeds and cheatgrass. Fencing burned

areas in wild horse Herd Management

Areas can disrupt movement of wild

horses and are not popular with wild

horse advocacy groups. Livestock

owners are also concerned about the

economic impacts of some EFR projects

on their livelihood.

5. Forest Resources: Declining forest

resources throughout the district put

remaining stands at risk. Some stands

need fire to insure forest ecosystem

health. However, extensive fuels

buildup could cause high intensity fires,

leading to stand replacement as well as

firefighter safety issues. In addition,

Native Americans have concerns over

the health of pinyon pine tree stands,

since the tree and its fruit are important

in maintaining their traditions.

6. Invasive, Nonnative Weeds: The

significant resources required to fight

noxious weed and cheatgrass invasions

requires the cooperation of all

landowners in affected areas in the

district. Wildfire management is one of

the most important factors affecting the

spread of these weeds in the Elko

District.

7. Fire Suppression Costs and Affect

on Local Rural Economies: Although

high suppression costs affect all

taxpayers, many local rural

communities depend heavily on the

influx of dollars from fire suppression

efforts. Less fire suppression could lead

to the saving of tax dollars and the

possible improvement of some habitat

values, however, several local

economies may be negatively impacted

by any changes.

8. Community Assistance: Better

communication, training, and

cooperation with local communities

would aid in reducing the threat from

wildfire in the wildland urban interface,

reduce arson, trespass, and negligence

occurrence, and encourage fire

prevention.

BLM planning regulations (43 CFR

1610) require preparation of planning

criteria to guide development of all

resource management plans, revisions,

and amendments. Planning criteria are

based on: standards prescribed by

applicable laws and regulations; agency

guidance; the result of consultation and

coordination with the public and other

Federal, State and local agencies and

governmental entities and Native

American tribes; analysis of information

pertinent to the planning area; and

professional judgement. The following

preliminary criteria were developed

internally and will be reviewed by the

public before being used in the

amendment/EA process. After analysis

of public input, they will become

proposed criteria, and can be added to

or changed as issues are addressed or

new information is presented. The Elko

Field Manager will approve all planning

criteria, as well as any proposed

changes:

—The fire management RMP

amendment will be completed in

compliance with FLPMA and all other

applicable laws and regulations.

—The Elko Field Office Planning

Interdisciplinary Team will work

cooperatively with the State of

Nevada, tribal governments, county

and municipal governments, other

Federal agencies, and all other

interested groups, agencies, and

individuals. Public participation will

be encouraged throughout the

planning process.

—The RMP amendment will establish

the fire management guidance upon

which the BLM will rely in managing

the Elko District, for the life of both

the Elko and Wells RMPs.

—The RMP amendment process will

include an Environmental Assessment

that will comply with all National

Environmental Policy Act standards.

—The RMP amendment will emphasize

the protection and enhancement of

Elko District natural resources, while

at the same time providing the public

with opportunities for use of these

resources.

—The lifestyles and concerns of area

residents, including livestock grazing,

recreational uses, and other land uses,

will be recognized in the amendment.

—Any lands located within the Elko

District administrative boundary

which are acquired by the BLM, will

be managed consistent with the

amendment, subject to any constraints

associated with the acquisition.

—The amendment will recognize the

State’s responsibility to manage

wildlife.

—The amendment will incorporate the

Nevada Rangeland Health Standards

and Guidelines and be consistent with

the Nevada Sage Grouse Management

Guidelines.

—The planning process will involve

Native American tribal governments

and will provide strategies for the

protection of recognized traditional

uses.

—Decisions in the amendment will

strive to be consistent with the

existing plans and policies of adjacent

local, State, Tribal and Federal

agencies, to the extent consistent with

Federal law.

Freedom of Information Act

Considerations: Public comments

submitted for this planning amendment,

including names and street addresses of

respondents, will be available for public

review and disclosure at the Elko Field

Office during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request

confidentiality. If you wish to withhold

your name or address from public

review or from disclosure under the

Freedom of Information Act, you must

state this prominently at the beginning

of your comments. Such requests will be

honored to the extent allowed by law.

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 inspection in

their entirety.

Dated: April 6, 2001.

Helen Hankins,

Elko Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 01–10210 Filed 4–24–01; 8:45am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Banks Lake Drawdown, Columbia

Basin Project, Washington

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.