57318 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Notices 

of your written comments. Such 

requests will be honored to the extent 

allowed by the law. All submissions 

from organizations and business, and 

from individuals identifying themselves 

as representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses will be 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. 

DATES: Comments on the Ring of Fire 

Draft RMP/EIS will be accepted for 90 

days following the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes their Notice of Availability in 

the Federal Register. Comments on the 

Ring of Fire Draft RMP/EIS must be 

received on or before the end of the 

comment period at the physical address 

or e-mail address listed above. Specific 

dates and locations of public meetings 

to gather public comment will be 

announced through news releases and 

notices. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Lloyd (akrofrmp@blm.gov) at 

(907) 267–1246 or Amy Lewis 

(Amy_Lewis@urscorp.com) at (907) 261–

9730. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Ring 

of Fire RMP planning area covers 1.3 

million acres of BLM-administered 

lands. The Ring of Fire Draft RMP/EIS 

focuses on the principles of multiple 

use and sustained yield as prescribed by 

section 202 of FLPMA. The Ring of Fire 

Draft RMP/EIS considers and analyzes 

four alternatives, including a No Action 

and a preferred alternative. The 

alternatives provide variable levels of 

support to all resources and programs 

present in the planning area and are 

designed to guide future management 

and resolve land management issues 

identified during the early stages of the 

planning process. The alternatives were 

developed based on extensive public 

scoping and involvement. 

There are five main resources 

addressed through this planning 

process. The Lands and Realty section 

addresses the need to determine the 

appropriate mix of lands and realty 

actions needed to provide a balance 

between land use and resource 

protection. The Off-highway Vehicles 

(OHV) section addresses management of 

access trails and roads for the use of 

OHVs for various purposes, including 

recreation, commercial uses, subsistence 

activities, and the general enjoyment of 

public lands while protecting natural 

and cultural resources. The Recreation 

section examines how recreation should 

be managed to provide a diversity of 

experiences on BLM-managed lands. 

The document analyzes what measures 

are necessary to ensure that a diversity 

of recreational opportunities is 

maintained, and what level of 

commercial recreational use is 

appropriate to maintain a diversity of 

recreational opportunities. The Leasable 

Minerals section and the Locatable 

Minerals section address the need to 

determine which areas should be made 

available for mineral exploration and 

development One Area of Critical 

Environmental Concern (ACEC) is 

recommended for designation in the 

preferred alternative and is also 

considered in other alternatives—the 

Neacola Mountains ACEC, containing 

approximately 229,000 acres. The ACEC 

would have the following resource use 

limitations: (1) Closed to locatable and 

saleable mineral entry (but open to 

mineral leasing), (2) OHV use limited, 

(3) VRM Class III, and (4) ROW 

avoidance. The public involvement and 

collaboration process implemented for 

this effort included 10 public scoping 

meetings. Notices of these meetings and 

invitations to participate in the 

development of this plan were sent to 

over 400 individuals, organizations, and 

tribal entities, as well as to State, 

Federal, and local government agencies. 

Meetings were held at the Native Village 

of Eklutna in Eklutna and at the Chilkat 

Indian Village IRA in Klukwan. 

Continuous involvement throughout the 

planning process has taken place with 

the State of Alaska, and several 

meetings have been held between the 

State and the BLM at varying levels of 

authority to discuss the Ring of Fire 

RMP/EIS. A joint BLM-State position 

was created as part of this project, with 

that person acting as liaison between the 

State of Alaska and the BLM during this 

planning process. 

After comments on the Ring of Fire 

Draft RMP/EIS are reviewed and any 

adjustments to the document are made, 

a Proposed RMP and Final EIS are 

expected to be available in spring 2006. 

Julia Dougan, 

Acting State Director. 

[FR Doc. 05–19492 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[CA–190–05–1610–DT] 

Notice of Availability of Proposed Plan 

Amendment and Final Environmental 

Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 and the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a proposed Resource Management Plan 

Amendment (RMPA) and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Clear Creek Management Area 

(CCMA). 

DATES: For decisions being considered 

that would amend the existing plan 

decisions, BLM Planning Regulations 

(43 CFR 1610.5–2) state that any person 

who participated in the planning 

process, and has an interest that may be 

adversely affected, may protest. The 

protest must be filed within 30 days of 

the date that the Environmental 

Protection Agency publishes its notice 

of receipt of the Final EIS for the CCMA 

in the Federal Register. Instructions for 

filing of protests are described in the 

front cover of the Proposed RMPA and 

Final EIS for the CCMA and included in 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of this notice. Decisions that make 

designations on individual routes are 

not protestable, but are appealable to the 

Interior Board of Land Appeals under 43 

CFR part 4 upon adoption of a Record 

of Decision. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

George Hill, (831) 630–5000. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

planning project considers designating a 

route network and off-highway vehicle 

(OHV) area designations (open, limited, 

closed) for serpentine barren areas (soils 

devoid of vegetation) and the 

designation of expanded boundaries for 

the San Benito Mountain Research 

Natural Area (SBMRNA), an Area of 

Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) 

in the CCMA. The planning area is 

approximately 75,000 acres located in 

San Benito and Fresno Counties, 

California and is managed by the (BLM) 

Hollister Field Office. The area is 

currently managed according to the 

CCMA RMPA, as adopted in 1999. 

The Proposed Action contained in the 

Proposed RMPA and Final EIS for the 

CCMA contains the following proposed 

decisions: Designations for OHV use on 

the routes currently inventoried and 

assessed by the BLM; adoption of route 

designation and area designation criteria 

for serpentine barren areas; and 

designation of an expanded boundary 

and interim management for the 

SBMRNA. The Draft RMPA and Draft 

EIS for the CCMA was published in May 

2004. BLM accepted public comment on 

the Draft EIS from July 16 through 

November 15 of 2004. Comments 

received from the public during the 

review period and comments from 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Notices 57319 

internal BLM review are incorporated 

into the Final EIS. Public comments 

resulted in the addition of clarifying 

text, but did not significantly change the 

proposed decisions. Copies of the 

Proposed RMPA and Final EIS for the 

CCMA have been sent to affected 

Federal, State, and local government 

agencies and to interested parties. 

Copies of the document are also 

available for public inspection at: BLM 

Hollister Field Office, 20 Hamilton 

Court, Hollister, CA; and BLM 

California State Office, 2800 Cottage 

Way, Sacramento, CA. Instructions for 

filing a protest with the Director of the 

BLM regarding the Proposed Plan/Final 

EIS may be found at 43 CFR 1610.5. A 

protest may only raise those issues with 

plan-level decisions that were submitted 

for the record during the planning 

process. E-mail and faxed protests will 

not be accepted as valid protests unless 

the protesting party also provides the 

original letter by either regular or 

overnight mail postmarked by the close 

of the protest period. Under these 

conditions, BLM will consider the 

e-mail or faxed protest as an advance 

copy and it will receive full 

consideration. If you wish to provide 

BLM with such advance notification, 

please direct faxed protests to the 

attention of the BLM protest coordinator 

at (202) 452–5112, and e-mails to 

Brenda_Hudgens-Williams@blm.gov. 

Please direct the follow-up letter to 

the appropriate address provided below. 

The protest must contain: 

a. The name, mailing address, 

telephone number, and interest of the 

person filing the protest. 

b. A statement of the part or parts of 

the plan and the issue or issues being 

protested. 

c. A copy of all documents addressing 

the issue(s) that the protesting party 

submitted during the planning process 

or a statement of the date they were 

discussed for the record. 

d. A concise statement explaining 

why the protestor believes the State 

Director’s decision is wrong. 

All protests must be in writing and 

mailed to the following address: 

Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: 

Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, 

Washington, DC 20035. 

Overnight Mail: Director (210), 

Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L 

Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, 

DC 20036. 

The Director will promptly render a 

decision on the protest. The decision 

will be in writing and will be sent to the 

protesting party by certified mail, return 

receipt requested. The decision of the 

Director shall be the final decision of 

the Department of the Interior. 

Dated: July 14, 2005. 

Robert Beehler, 

Hollister Field Office Manager. 

[FR Doc. 05–19588 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[AZ 330–05–1610–DP–082A–241E] 

Notice of Availability of Lake Havasu 

Field Office Draft Resource 

Management Plan and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of Lake 

Havasu Field Office (Arizona) Draft 

Resource Management Plan and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

planning regulations, title 43 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2(f)(3) 

and the Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations, title 40 CFR 

1502.9(a), the BLM hereby gives notice 

that the Lake Havasu Field Office Draft 

Resource Management Plan and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(DRMP/DEIS) is available for public 

review and comment. The planning area 

encompasses more than 1.3 million 

acres of the BLM-administered lands. 

DATES: Written comments on the DRMP/ 

DEIS will be accepted for 90 days 

following the date the Environmental 

Protection Agency publishes its Notice 

of Availability in the Federal Register. 

Future meetings or hearings and any 

other public involvement activities will 

be announced at least 15 days in 

advance through local media. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

mailed to Tim Smith, Lake Havasu Field 

Manager, Resource Management Plan, 

Lake Havasu Field Office, 2610 

Sweetwater, Lake Havasu City, Arizona 

86406. You may also comment using the 

following e-mail address: 

Lake_havasu@blm.gov. Finally, you may 

hand-deliver comments to the above 

listed address. A minimum of five 

public meetings will be held during the 

90-day public review and comment 

period during which oral and written 

comments will be accepted. Exact dates, 

places, and times of public meetings 

will be announced using local media, 

and may be posted on the Arizona BLM 

Web page, or you may contact Gina 

Trafton at (928) 505–1273 for further 

information. 

Public comments, including names 

and street addresses of respondents, will 

be available for public review at the 

BLM Lake Havasu Field Office, 2610 

Sweetwater, Lake Havasu City, Arizona 

86406, during regular business hours (8 

a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through 

Friday, except holidays. 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, 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina 

Trafton, Planning and Environmental 

Coordinator, Bureau of Land 

Management, 2610 Sweetwater, Lake 

Havasu City, Arizona 86406, telephone 

(928) 505–1273. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A copy of 

the Lake Havasu Field Office Draft 

Resource Management Plan and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

available for review via the Internet 

from a link at http://www.az.blm.gov 

(subject to change). You may also obtain 

an electronic (on CD–ROM), or paper 

copy at the Bureau of Land 

Management, Lake Havasu Field Office 

at the address listed previously or by 

contacting Gina Trafton at (928) 505–

1273. 

The Lake Havasu Field Office Draft 

Resource Management Plan/Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

being developed by the BLM. The 

DRMP/DEIS includes strategies for 

protecting and preserving the biological, 

cultural, recreational, geological, 

educational, scientific, and scenic 

values that balance multiple uses of the 

BLM-administered lands throughout the 

Lake Havasu Field Office planning area. 

The preferred alternative attempts to 

accomplish the above in coordination 

with the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona 

Department of Transportation, Arizona 

State Land Department, Arizona Game 

and Fish Department, California 

Department of Fish and Game, the BLM 

and other land managing agencies 

within the boundaries of the planning 

area. The range of alternatives in this 

draft incorporates planning decisions 

brought forward from the current BLM 

planning documents, the Yuma District 

Resource Management Plan (1987), 

Kingman Resource Area Resource 

Management Plan (1995), Lower Gila