Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Notices 53249 

applicable provisions of 18 U.S.C. 3571, 

or both. 

Rodger T. Bryan, 

Acting Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. 05–17643 Filed 9–6–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[OR–130–1020–PH; HAG–145] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare Resource 

Management Plan Revisions and an 

Associated Environmental Impact 

Statement for Six Western Oregon 

Districts of the Bureau of Land 

Management 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: This document provides 

notice that the BLM intends to revise six 

Resource Management Plans (RMP) with 

a single associated Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) for the Coos Bay 

District, Eugene District, Medford 

District, Roseburg District, Salem 

District, and the Klamath Falls Resource 

Area of the Lakeview District (planning 

area). 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process. Comments on the 

scope of the plan revisions, including 

issues or concerns that should be 

considered, must be submitted in 

writing to the address listed below by 

October 21, 2005. Dates and locations 

for public meetings or other events will 

be announced through mailings, the 

local news media, newsletters, and the 

BLM internet site at least 15 days prior 

to any event. These plan revisions are 

scheduled to be complete in 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be addressed to: BLM, Attn: Western 

Oregon Planning Revision (OR–930.1), 

P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. In 

addition, the BLM intends to provide a 

Web site for the public to use to submit 

electronic comments. When the Web 

site is available, more information will 

be posted at http://www.or.blm.gov. 

All public comments, including 

names and mailing addresses of 

respondents, may be published as part 

of the EIS. Individual respondents may 

request confidentiality. If you wish to 

withhold your name or street address 

from public review or from disclosure 

under the Freedom of Information Act, 

please state this prominently at the 

beginning of your written 

correspondence. The BLM will honor 

such requests to the extent allowed by 

law. All submissions from organizations 

and businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

available to the public in their entirety. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Individuals, organizations, and 

government agencies wishing more 

information or to have their name 

placed on an electronic or postal 

mailing list are urged to register on the 

Web site (when it is available; see 

above), or by sending a request to the 

Portland address above, or by contacting 

Alan Hoffmeister, Western Oregon 

Planning Revision Public Outreach 

Coordinator, at (503) 808–6629 or at 

alan_hoffmeister@or.blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

planning area for the RMPs includes 

approximately 2,550,000 acres of public 

land and 69,000 acres of split-estate, 

where the lands only involve the 

Federal mineral estate. 

The Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976 requires the 

development, maintenance, and 

revision of land use plans. The vast 

majority of the public lands in the 

planning area are Revested Oregon and 

California Railroad (O&C) lands, or Coos 

Bay Wagon Road (CBWR) lands, and are 

managed under the statutory authority 

of the Oregon and California Revested 

Railroad Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act, 

Pub. L. 75–405). Preparation of the 

RMPs and EIS will conform to the above 

land management laws and will also 

comply with other Federal laws such as 

the Endangered Species Act, Clean 

Water Act, and the National 

Environmental Policy Act. Additionally, 

plan revisions will follow Federal 

regulations and BLM management 

policies. 

Congress, in 1866, established a land 

grant to promote the completion of the 

Oregon and California Railroad from 

Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco, 

California. In 1916, Congress revested, 

or brought back into Federal ownership, 

the title to approximately 2.2 million 

acres of land deeded to the Oregon and 

California Railroad after the company 

violated the terms of the land grant. 

Congress also revested about 93,000 

acres of CBWR lands due to similar 

circumstances in 1919. The O&C Act of 

1937 placed management jurisdiction of 

these lands under the United States 

Department of the Interior and directed 

that timber thereon be managed for 

permanent forest production using the 

principle of sustained yield. The 

benefits of sustained yield forest 

management, as described in the O&C 

Act, are a permanent source of timber, 

protection of watersheds, regulation of 

streamflow, and a contribution to the 

stability of local communities and 

timber industries and recreation 

facilities. The O&C Act also required 

that 50 percent of the revenue generated 

for management of the lands be returned 

to the 18 counties that contained 

revested lands. 

The Northwest Forest Plan was 

completed in 1994 and provided 

direction to achieve the following five 

goals: (1) Never forget human and 

economic dimensions of the issues; (2) 

Protect the long-term health of forests, 

wildlife, and waterways; (3) Focus on 

scientifically sound, ecologically 

credible, and legally responsible 

strategies and implementation; (4) 

Produce a predictable and sustainable 

level of timber sales and nontimber 

resources; and (5) Ensure that Federal 

agencies work together. 

All of the BLM districts have current 

RMPs that were completed in 1995. 

These 1995 RMPs incorporated the land 

use allocations and Standards and 

Guidelines from the Northwest Forest 

Plan. They also included decisions on 

other issues or programs such as land 

tenure, off-highway vehicles, etc. The 

RMPs provide guidance for all activities 

that occur on BLM-administered lands. 

The BLM will continue to manage these 

lands in accordance with the existing 

RMPs until the revised RMPs are 

completed and a Record of Decision is 

signed. 

After the 1995 RMPs were completed, 

the American Forest Resource Council 

(AFRC) and others filed a lawsuit 

against the Secretaries of Agriculture 

and the Interior alleging that the Record 

of Decision for the Northwest Forest 

Plan violated the O&C Act and 

numerous other laws. The Secretary of 

the Interior, the Secretary of 

Agriculture, the AFRC, and the 

Association of O&C Counties agreed to 

settle this lawsuit in August of 2003. 

The settlement agreement requires the 

BLM, contingent on funding, to revise 

the current RMPs and consider at least 

one alternative that will not create any 

reserves on O&C lands except as 

required to avoid jeopardy to species 

listed as threatened or endangered 

under the Endangered Species Act or 

adverse modification to critical habitat 

for such species. 

The revisions to the existing RMPs 

will answer the question regarding how 

the BLM should manage the O&C lands 

to achieve the O&C Act requirement of 

permanent forest production [as 

interpreted by the United States Court of 

Appeals for the Ninth Circuit] while 

complying with applicable laws such as 

53250 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Notices 

the Endangered Species Act and the 

Clean Water Act. 

Through a public participation 

process, the BLM will work 

collaboratively with interested parties to 

identify which management direction is 

best suited to manage the O&C lands as 

described in the O&C Act and other 

provisions of laws considering local, 

regional, and national interests. The first 

step in this process is formal public 

scoping to help identify planning issues 

and provide for public comment on the 

proposed planning criteria. 

Issues 

The BLM has identified the following 

preliminary planning issues. A planning 

issue is identified as a ‘‘matter of 

controversy or dispute over resource 

management activities or land use that 

is well-defined or topically discrete and 

entails alternatives between which to 

choose’’ (H–1601–1 III.A.3). These 

preliminary issues are not final and may 

be refined or augmented based on 

public participation and comments 

received during scoping. 

• Vegetation—How should BLMadministered forest lands be managed, 

both temporally and spatially, to 

provide a sustainable supply of wood 

and other forest products mandated by 

the O&C Act while meeting applicable 

laws and regulations? 

• Habitat—How should the O&C 

lands be managed to contribute to the 

conservation of species consistent with 

the Endangered Species Act? 

• Watershed management and water 

quality—How should BLM lands be 

managed to contribute to meeting the 

Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking 

Water Act? 

• Wildland fire and fuels—How 

should BLM-administered land be 

managed to reduce the risk of wildfires 

and integrate fire back into the 

ecosystem? 

Planning Criteria 

The BLM has also identified some 

preliminary criteria to guide the 

development of the RMPs, to avoid 

unnecessary data collection and 

analysis, and to ensure the RMPs are 

tailored to the issues. These criteria may 

be modified or other criteria identified 

after the public scoping process. The 

public is invited to comment on the 

following preliminary planning criteria: 

Purpose and need for the plan 

revisions: 

• The BLM will manage the O&C 

lands to achieve the O&C Act 

requirement of permanent forest 

production [as interpreted by the United 

States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 

Circuit] while complying with 

applicable laws such as the Endangered 

Species Act and the Clean Water Act. 

Alternatives to be considered: 

A reasonable range of alternatives will 

be considered. All alternatives will be 

designed to comply with existing laws. 

Two alternatives known at this time are: 

• No Action—continue management 

under the current RMPs. 

• An alternative which will not create 

any reserves on O&C lands except as 

required to avoid jeopardy to species 

listed as threatened or endangered 

under the Endangered Species Act. 

In choosing a preferred alternative for 

the involved lands, the BLM will 

consider factors such as: 

• The quality of habitats created. 

• The impacts on water quality 

limited streams. 

• The amount of timber produced. 

• The contributions to community 

stability. 

• Costs of implementation. 

As part of this RMP process, the BLM 

will analyze areas for potential 

designation as Areas of Critical 

Environmental Concern (ACEC) in 

accordance with 43 CFR 1610.7–2. 

Public nominations for potential ACECs 

to be considered in these revisions must 

be made by October 28, 2005. 

James G. Kenna, 

Associate State Director, Oregon/Washington, 

Bureau of Land Management. 

[FR Doc. 05–17641 Filed 9–6–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[NM–952–05–1420–BJ] 

Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey; New 

Mexico 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The plats of survey described 

below are scheduled to be officially 

filed in the New Mexico State Office, 

Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe, 

New Mexico, (30) thirty calendar days 

from the date of this publication. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

New Mexico Principal Meridian, New 

Mexico 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey in Township 9 

South, Range 12 East, and subdivision 

of sections, accepted March 7, 2005, for 

Group 943 New Mexico. 

The Plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of subdivision of 

sections for Township 17 North, Range 

18 West, accepted July 19, 2005, for 

Group 909 New Mexico. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of subdivision of 

sections for Township 20 North, Range 

9 East, accepted July 20, 2005, for Group 

109 New Mexico. 

The plat, in 2 sheets, representing the 

dependent resurvey in Township 13 

North, Range 19 West, accepted July 20, 

2005, for Group 1028 New Mexico. 

The Supplemental Plat showing 

aliquot parts and new lots 39 and 40 

created from former lot 37 of section 18 

for Township 20 North, Range 9 East, 

accepted May 2, 2005, for New Mexico. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of subdivision of 

sections for Township 23 North, Range 

10 East, accepted June 30, 2005, for 

Group 1028 New Mexico. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of subdivision of 

sections for Township 23 North, Range 

8 West, accepted March 30, 2005, for 

Group 1033 New Mexico. 

Indian Meridian, Oklahoma 

The plats representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 8 

North, Range 12 East, accepted May 11, 

2005, for Group 97 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 9 

North, Range 12 East, accepted May 11, 

2005, for Group 97 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 9 

North, Range 7 East, accepted May 11, 

2005, for Group 109 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 1 

North, Range 2 West, accepted June 13, 

2005, for Group 111 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 9 

North, Range 11 East, accepted May 11, 

2005, for Group 97 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 4 

South, Range 2 West, accepted June 30, 

2005, for Group 115 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 5 

North, Range 4 West, accepted April 12, 

2005, for Group 125 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 1 

North, Range 5 West, accepted June 13, 

2005, for Group 103 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 23 

North, Range 8 East, accepted August 8, 

2005, for Group 127 Oklahoma. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey of Township 14 

North, Range 25 East, accepted May 11, 

2005, for Group 114 Oklahoma.