Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 175 / Friday, September 10, 2010 / Notices 55345 

resources. Preliminary planning criteria 

include: 

1. Lands addressed in the RMP will be 

public lands (including split estate 

lands) managed by the BLM. There will 

be no decisions in the RMP for lands not 

managed by the BLM. 

2. The BLM will use a collaborative 

and multi-jurisdictional approach, 

where possible, to determine the desired 

future condition of public lands. 

3. The BLM will ensure compliance 

with all applicable local, state, tribal, 

and Federal air quality laws, statutes, 

regulations, standards, and 

implementation plans and include an 

analysis of climate change. 

4. Areas potentially suitable for 

ACECs and other special management 

designations will be identified and 

brought forward for analysis in the 

RMP. Public nominations will be 

requested. 

5. All river segments will be 

considered, and determinations of 

eligibility, suitability, tentative 

classification, and protective 

management will be made in 

accordance with Section 5(d) of the 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and BLM 

Manual Section 8351. Public 

nominations will be requested. 

6. Herd Areas will be identified and 

boundaries for Wild Horse Herd 

Management Areas will be addressed in 

the plan. 

7. Decisions of the RMP will be 

consistent with the goals and objectives 

of the legislation designating the Old 

Spanish National Historic Trail. 

Parties interested in leasing and 

development of Federal coal in the 

planning area should provide coal 

resource data for their area(s) of interest. 

Specifically, information is requested on 

the location, quality, and quantity of 

Federal coal with development 

potential, and on surface resource 

values related to the 20 coal 

unsuitability criteria described in 43 

CFR part 3461. This information will be 

used for any necessary updating of coal 

screening determinations (43 CFR 

3420.1–4) in the Decision Area and in 

the environmental analysis. You may 

submit comments on issues and 

planning criteria in writing to the BLM 

at any public scoping meeting, or you 

may submit them to the BLM using one 

of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES

section above. To be most helpful, you 

should submit comments before the 

close of the comment period or within 

15 days after the last public meeting. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. The minutes and list of attendees 

for each scoping meeting will be 

available to the public and open for 30 

days after the meeting to any participant 

who wishes to clarify the views he or 

she expressed. The BLM will evaluate 

identified issues to be addressed in the 

plan, and will place them into one of 

three categories: 

1. Issues to be resolved in the plan; 

2. Issues to be resolved through policy 

or administrative action; or 

3. Issues beyond the scope of this 

plan. 

The BLM will provide an explanation 

in the Draft RMP/EIS as to why an issue 

was placed in category two or three. The 

public is also encouraged to help 

identify any management questions and 

concerns that should be addressed in 

the plan. The BLM will work 

collaboratively with interested parties to 

identify the management decisions that 

are best suited to local, regional, and 

national needs and concerns. The BLM 

will use an interdisciplinary approach 

to develop the plan in order to consider 

the variety of resource issues and 

concerns identified. Specialists with 

expertise in the following disciplines 

will be involved in the planning 

process: rangeland management, air 

quality, minerals and geology, forestry, 

outdoor recreation, archaeology, 

paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, 

lands and realty, hydrology, soils, 

sociology and economics, wildland fire, 

and public affairs. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 

1610.2. Approved: 

Jeff Rawson, 

Associate State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–22607 Filed 9–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNMA02000 L16100000.XH0000] 

Notice of Availability of Record of 

Decision for the Socorro Field Office 

Resource Management Plan/ 

Environmental Impact Statement, New 

Mexico 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD)/Approved Resource Management 

Plan (RMP) for the Socorro Field Office 

located in Socorro and Catron Counties, 

New Mexico. The State Director signed 

the ROD on August 20, 2010, which 

constitutes the final decision of the BLM 

and makes the Approved RMP effective 

immediately. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/ 

Approved RMP are available upon 

request from the Field Manager, Socorro 

Field Office, Bureau of Land 

Management, 901 S. Highway 85, 

Socorro, New Mexico 87801 or via the 

Internet at http://www.blm.gov/nm. 

Copies of the ROD/Approved RMP are 

also available for public inspection at 

the Socorro Public Library located at 

401 Park Street, Socorro, New Mexico. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, contact Kevin 

Carson, Outdoor Recreation Planner, 

telephone 575–838–1280; address 

Socorro Field Office, Bureau of Land 

Management, 901 S. Highway 85, 

Socorro, New Mexico 87801; e-mail 

Kevin_I_Carson@nm.blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Approved RMP provides direction for 

the long-term management of 1.5 

million surface acres of public land and 

6 million acres of Federal mineral estate 

public land within Socorro and Catron 

Counties and revises the 1989 Socorro 

RMP. Collaborative planning was used 

throughout the development of the 

RMP, which included public meetings, 

mailings, and other outreach activities. 

Catron County and the Pueblo of Zuni 

were cooperating agencies. 

Six issues are addressed in the 

Approved RMP. The issues include: 

(1) Special designations, such as 

Areas of Critical Environmental 

Concern; 

(2) Improving soil and vegetation 

conditions at the watershed level; 

(3) Fluid and solid mineral 

development; 

(4) Travel and transportation (e.g., offhighway vehicle use, mountain biking, 

hiking, and horseback riding); 

(5) Land-use allocations and 

initiatives (e.g., land tenure, right-ofway corridors, and areas where public 

and private lands abut one another); and 

(6) Regional heritage/tourism 

opportunities on the BLM-managed 

public land. Management actions in the 

Approved RMP consequently address 

those issues by program and resource 

area, including special designations, soil 

and water resources; vegetation and 

land health; wildlife, riparian and 

special status species; recreation, 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
55346 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 175 / Friday, September 10, 2010 / Notices 

cultural, visual, paleontological, and 

recreation resources; lands and realty; 

nonrenewable and renewable energy 

development; wilderness; and 

transportation and travel management. 

On April 16, 2007, the BLM New 

Mexico released the Draft RMP/EIS for 

a 90-day public comment period 

concurrent with a Notice of Availability, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register. The BLM New Mexico 

conducted public hearings on the Draft 

RMP/EIS and analyzed public 

comments received. Minor 

modifications and technical changes 

were made to the Preferred Alternative, 

which was carried forward as the 

Proposed Alternative (Alternative B) in 

the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. 

The BLM New Mexico released the 

Proposed RMP/Final EIS for a 60-day 

Governor’s Consistency Review and 30- 

day protest period on December 5, 2008. 

The BLM New Mexico modified one 

decision in the Approved RMP as a 

result of the Governor’s Consistency 

Review. The Governor’s letter stated 

that the BLM’s land tenure and fluid 

mineral decisions regarding a statedesignated conservation easement at 

Horse Springs Ranch were inconsistent 

with the purposes of the Conservation 

Easement (CE), which is to protect 

wildlife habitat. In light of the 

Governor’s letter, the State Director 

modified Alternative B by selecting the 

lands and realty decision in the No 

Action Alternative, which will retain 

the BLM scattered parcels (3,856 acres) 

within the CE boundary. This decision 

meets the objectives of the State’s CE. 

With regard to the Governor’s concerns 

about the potential impacts that fluid 

mineral leasing decisions may have 

within the area of the State’s Horse 

Springs Conservation Easement (‘‘CE’’), 

the State Director maintains the 

discretion to decline to issue leases on 

a case-by-case basis. In recognition of 

the particular resource concerns of this 

CE, the State Director will carefully 

exercise this discretion for any lease 

proposal in the surface area covered by 

the CE. After the issuance of this ROD, 

the BLM will undertake a plan 

amendment process to consider closing 

the area covered by the CE to fluid 

mineral leasing. 

The BLM received three protests on 

the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. The 

protests raised issues regarding 

rangeland resources, lands with 

wilderness characteristics, and the 

Continental Divide National Scenic 

Trail (Trail). As a result of the protests, 

minor editorial modifications and 

technical clarifications were made in 

the ROD and in the Approved RMP. 

The first modification concerns lands 

with wilderness characteristics. After 

review of the wilderness protest, an 

error in the original wilderness 

inventory was identified in one small 

area within a unit the protestor had 

proposed as having wilderness 

characteristics. Approximately 600 acres 

of BLM public land was found to 

contain wilderness characteristics 

because they adjoin the Chupadera 

Wilderness, which the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service manages. Therefore, the 

BLM will select Alternative C for this 

area, which has a higher level of 

protection through a Lands and Realty 

decision. The BLM will issue this ROD 

and subsequently initiate a Resource 

Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) 

and supporting NEPA analysis to further 

address this area’s wilderness 

characteristics. The RMPA process will 

include opportunities for public 

participation. The second modification 

concerns the Trail and future 

opportunities for trail routing. The 

decision reflects a map revision in the 

final RMP by adopting portions of 

Alternative C and the No Action 

Alternative, lands suitable for disposal 

in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. This 

modified decision will provide more 

options for the future protection of the 

Trail. 

Following modification of the 

aforementioned decisions and review of 

the protests, it was determined that the 

Socorro Field Manager followed all 

applicable procedures, laws, 

regulations, and policies, and 

considered all relevant resource factors, 

as well as public input in developing 

the Socorro RMP. Therefore, the protests 

were dismissed. 

Decisions identifying routes of travel 

within designated areas for motorized 

vehicles are implementation decisions, 

and are appealable under 43 CFR part 4. 

These decisions are contained in 

Appendix J of the Approved RMP. Any 

party adversely affected by the proposed 

route identifications may appeal within 

30 days of publication of this Notice of 

Availability pursuant to 43 CFR, part 4, 

subpart E. The appeal should state the 

specific route(s), as identified in 

Appendix J of the Approved RMP, on 

which the decision is being appealed. 

The appeal must be filed with the 

Socorro Field Office Manager at the 

above listed address. Please consult the 

appropriate regulations (43 CFR, part 4, 

subpart E) for further appeal 

requirements. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6(b)(2). 

Jesse Juen, 

Associate State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–22432 Filed 9–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MW–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[SDM 99842] 

Notice of Proposed Withdrawal and 

Opportunity for Public Meeting; South 

Dakota 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service 

has filed an application with the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) requesting 

that the Secretary of the Interior 

withdraw 50 acres of National Forest 

System land from mining to protect the 

recreational uses and improvements 

within this portion of the Steamboat 

Rock Picnic Grounds. This notice also 

gives an opportunity to comment on the 

proposed action and to request a public 

meeting. 

DATES: Comments and requests for a 

public meeting must be received by 

December 9, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Comments and meeting 

requests should be sent to the Forest 

Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest, 

1019 North 5th Street, Custer, South 

Dakota 57730 or the BLM Montana State 

Director, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, 

Montana 59101. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Valerie Hunt, Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Region, 303–275–5071 or 

Sandra Ward, BLM Montana State 

Office, 406–896–5052. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA 

Forest Service has filed an application 

with the BLM pursuant to Section 204 

of the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 

1714, to withdraw the followingdescribed National Forest System land 

within the Black Hills National Forest 

from location or entry under the United 

States mining laws (30 U.S.C. Ch. 2) for 

a period of 20 years, subject to valid 

existing rights: 

Black Hills National Forest 

Black Hills Meridian 

Steamboat Picnic Grounds 

T. 2 N., R. 5 E., 

Sec. 1, S1⁄2NW1⁄4SW1⁄4, N1⁄2SW1⁄4SW1⁄4, and 

NW1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES