[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13165-13167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5852]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[MT-020-1610-00]


Availability of Proposed Final Big Dry Resource Management Plan 
and Environmental Impact Statement; Montana

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 and Section 202(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the final resource management plan (RMP) and 
environmental impact statement (EIS) have been prepared for the Big Dry 
Resource Area planning area. The RMP and EIS describe and analyze 
future options for management of approximately 1.7 million federal 
surface acres and 7.6 million federal mineral acres managed by the 
Bureau of Land Management. These federal acres are located in all or 
portions of Carter, [[Page 13166]] Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, 
Garfield, McCone, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, and 
Wibaux Counties. The RMP and EIS provide a comprehensive plan for 
managing federal resources administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The draft RMP and EIS were available for public 
review from March 19, 1993, to June 18, 1993. A Federal Register notice 
asking for comments on two newly proposed areas of critical 
environmental concern was published on November 26, 1993, with the 
comment period ending January 25, 1994. Written comments were received 
from agencies, organizations, and individuals. All comments were 
considered during the preparation of the final RMP and EIS.
    Reading copies will be available at each public library in the 
counties listed above. Public reading copies will also be available at 
the following Bureau of Land Management locations:

Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, Room 5800, 18th and 
C Streets NW, Washington, DC 20240.
External Affairs Office, Montana State Office, 222 North 32nd Street, 
Billings, MT 59107.
Miles City District Office, Garryowen Road, Miles City, Montana 59301.
Big Dry Resource Area Office, Miles City Plaza, Miles City, Montana 
59301.

    The RMP process includes an opportunity for review through a plan 
protest to the Bureau of Land Management's Director. Any person or 
organization who participated in the planning process and has an 
interest which is, or may be, adversely affected by approval of this 
RMP may protest the plan. Careful adherence to the following guidelines 
will assist in preparing a protest:
    Only those persons or organizations who participated in the 
planning process may protest.
    A protesting party may raise only those issues which were commented 
on during the planning process.
    Additional issues may be raised at any time and should be directed 
to the Miles City District for consideration in plan implementation as 
potential plan amendments or as otherwise appropriate.
    In order to be considered complete, a protest must contain, at a 
minimum, the following information:
    The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the 
person filing the protest.
    A statement of the issue being protested.
    A statement of the portion of the plan being protested. To the 
extent possible, this should be done by reference to specific pages, 
paragraphs, sections, tables, and maps in the proposed RMP.
    A copy of all documents addressing the issue submitted during the 
planning process or a reference to the date the issue was discussed for 
the record.
    A concise statement explaining why the BLM State Director's 
decision is believed to be incorrect is a critical part of the protest. 
Take care to document all relevant facts and reference or cite the 
planning documents, environmental analysis documents, and available 
planning records (meeting minutes, summaries, correspondence). A 
protest without any data will not provide the BLM with sufficient 
information, and the Director's review will be based on existing 
analysis and supporting data.
    The period for filing protests begins when the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes in the Federal Register a Notice of Receipt 
of the final EIS containing the proposed RMP. The protest period lasts 
30 days. There is no provision for any extension of time. To be 
considered ``timely,'' the protest must be sent to the Director of the 
BLM and must be postmarked no later than the last day of the 30-day 
protest period. Although not a requirement, sending a protest by 
certified mail, return receipt requested, is recommended.

ADDRESSES: All protests must be filed in writing to: Director (480), 
Resource Planning Team, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 65775, 
Washington, DC 20036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Bloom, RMP/EIS Team Leader, Big 
Dry Resource Area Office, Miles City Plaza, Miles City, Montana 59301, 
406-232-7000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed final RMP and EIS analyzes four 
alternatives to resolve two issues: special management designations and 
resource accessibility and availability. Each alternative represents a 
complete management plan. The alternatives can be summarized as:
    (1) Current management or no action, (2) resource protection, (3) 
resource production, and (4) the preferred alternative, which may be a 
combination of the previous three.
    The RMP and EIS designates 12 areas of critical environmental 
concern.
    The Big Sheep Mountain Cultural Site (360 public surface acres) in 
Prairie County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural 
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal 
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be 
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical 
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, 
and rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
    The Hoe Cultural Site (144 public surface acres) in Prairie County 
would be designated an area of critical environmental concern. This 
area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural resources. 
Management actions affecting this area are: off-road vehicle travel 
would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable minerals would 
be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales and permits 
would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be 
available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a no-
surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would not be 
permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, and rights-of-way 
construction would be avoided.
    The Jordan Bison Kill Cultural Site (160 public surface acres) in 
Garfield County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural 
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal 
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be 
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical 
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, 
and rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
    The Powder River Depot Cultural Site (1,386 public surface acres) 
in Prairie County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural 
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal 
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be 
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical 
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be excluded 
on the Powder River Depot [[Page 13167]] Special Recreation Management 
Area (171 acres) located within the Powder River Depot Area of Critical 
Environmental Concern, and rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
    The Seline Cultural Site (80 public surface acres) in Dawson County 
would be designated an area of critical environmental concern. This 
area would be managed to enhance and protect cultural resources. 
Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle travel 
would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable minerals would 
be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales and permits 
would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be 
available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a no-
surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would not be 
permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, and rights-of-way 
construction would be avoided.
    The Ash Creek Divide Paleontology Area (7,931 public surface acres) 
in Garfield County would be designated an area of critical 
environmental concern. This area would be managed to enhance and 
protect paleontology resources. Management actions affecting this area 
are: Off-road vehicle travel would be limited to existing roads and 
trails, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, 
mineral material sales and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy 
leasable minerals and coal would not be available for leasing, oil and 
gas leasing would be allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, 
geophysical exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would 
be allowed, and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
    The Bug Creek Paleontology Area (3,840 public surface acres) in 
McCone County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect paleontology 
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal 
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be 
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical 
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, 
and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
    The Hell Creek Paleontology Area (19,169 public surface acres) in 
Garfield County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect paleontology 
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal 
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be 
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical 
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, 
and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
    The Sand Arroyo Paleontology Area (9,056 public surface acres) in 
McCone County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect paleontology 
resources. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal 
would not be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be 
allowed with a no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical 
exploration would not be permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, 
and rights-of-way construction would be permitted.
    The Black-Footed Ferret Area (11,166 public surface acres) in 
Prairie and Custer Counties would be designated an area of critical 
environmental concern. This area would be managed as a potential black-
footed ferret reintroduction area and for associated species. 
Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle travel 
would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable mineral entry 
would be allowed, mineral material sales and permits would not be 
allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be available 
for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with controlled 
surface use on 5,164 public mineral acres, geophysical exploration 
would not be permitted on 5,164 public mineral acres, prairie dog 
colonies would be allowed to expand within the 11,166 acre area of 
critical environmental concern, livestock grazing would be allowed, and 
rights-of-way construction would be avoided.
    The Piping Plover Wildlife Site (16 public surface acres) in 
Sheridan County would be designated an area of critical environmental 
concern. This area would be managed to enhance and protect the piping 
plover. Management actions affecting this area are: Off-road vehicle 
travel would be limited to existing roads and trails, locatable 
minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry, mineral material sales 
and permits would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals would not 
be available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a 
no-surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would not be 
permitted, livestock grazing would not be allowed, and rights-of-way 
construction would be avoided.
    The Smoky Butte Area (80 public surface acres) in Garfield County 
would be designated an area of critical environmental concern. This 
area would be managed to protect the unique geologic values. Management 
actions affecting this area are: The area would be closed to motorized 
vehicles, locatable minerals would be withdrawn from mineral entry 
subject to valid existing rights, mineral material sales and permits 
would not be allowed, nonenergy leasable minerals and coal would not be 
available for leasing, oil and gas leasing would be allowed with a no-
surface occupancy stipulation, geophysical exploration would be 
permitted, livestock grazing would be allowed, and rights-of-way 
construction would be excluded.
    Management prescriptions for these areas of critical environmental 
concern vary by alternative and are described in the RMP and EIS.
    Public participation has occurred throughout the RMP process. A 
Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register in October 1989. 
Since that time several public meetings, mailings, and briefings were 
conducted to solicit comments and ideas. All comments presented 
throughout the process have been considered.
    This notice meets the requirements of 43 CFR 1610.7-2 for 
designation of areas of critical environmental concern and the 
requirements of the Final Revised USDI-USDA Guidelines for Eligibility, 
Classification, and Management of Rivers (47 FR 39454).

    Dated: March 1, 1995.
John E. Moorhouse,
Acting Deputy State Director, Division of Lands and Renewable 
Resources.
[FR Doc. 95-5852 Filed 3-9-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P