81 FR 32773 - Notice of Availability of the Proposed Cottonwood Resource Management Plan Amendment for Domestic Sheep Grazing and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 100 (May 24, 2016)

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for Domestic Sheep Grazing and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cottonwood Field Office and by this notice is announcing its availability.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32773-32774]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12360]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLIDC00000.15XL1109AF.L10200000.DS000.LXSSD0090000.241A;4500075335]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Cottonwood Resource 
Management Plan Amendment for Domestic Sheep Grazing and Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Proposed Resource Management Plan

[[Page 32774]]

(RMP) Amendment for Domestic Sheep Grazing and Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cottonwood Field Office 
and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's 
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS. A person who meets the 
conditions and files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of 
the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice 
of availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS 
have been sent to affected Federal, State, and local government 
agencies and to other stakeholders, including the Nez Perce Tribe. 
Copies of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS are 
available for public inspection at the Cottonwood Field Office, 1 Butte 
Drive, Cottonwood, ID 83522, phone 208-962-3245. Interested persons may 
also review the Proposed RMP/Final EIS on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/Districts-Idaho/CDA.html. All protests must be in 
writing and mailed to one of the following addresses:
     Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest 
Coordinator, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
     Overnight Delivery: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest 
Coordinator, 20 M Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Pavey, telephone: (208) 769-
5059; address: BLM Coeur d'Alene District, Schreiber Way, Coeur 
d'Alene, ID 83815; email: [email protected]. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the 
individual above during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the 
above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM proposes to amend the 2009 
Cottonwood RMP by providing new management direction and allocations 
for livestock grazing on 19,405 acres of BLM lands within four BLM 
allotments in Idaho and Adams Counties in Idaho.
    In August 2008, the BLM published the Proposed Cottonwood RMP and 
Final EIS and subsequently received a number of protests on the 
proposed decision. The Director of the BLM denied all protest issues 
except one, which was in regard to the adequacy of the range of 
alternatives for management of domestic sheep grazing on four BLM 
allotments that are within bighorn sheep habitat. Specifically, the 
Director found that the Final EIS did not include an adequate range of 
alternatives to address potential disease transmission from domestic 
sheep and goats to bighorn sheep, and remanded decisions in the 
Proposed RMP for managing grazing in four allotments to the State 
Director to complete a Supplemental EIS that would include a reasonable 
range of alternatives for planning decisions for managing livestock 
grazing and that would analyze the impacts of domestic sheep and goat 
grazing within the four allotments. The Director further specified that 
the Supplemental EIS would be for the limited purpose of analyzing the 
impacts of domestic sheep and goat grazing within the four allotments.
    The Supplemental EIS identifies and analyzes three related planning 
issues:
    (1) Bighorn Sheep--Domestic sheep and goats may contact and 
transmit diseases to bighorn sheep, which may be a contributing factor 
to the downward trend in bighorn populations.
    (2) Native American Tribal Interests and Treaty Rights--BLM 
management of livestock grazing, specifically domestic sheep and goats, 
may affect the availability of resources and uses (specifically related 
to bighorn sheep) that are important to the interests and rights of the 
Nez Perce Tribe.
    (3) Livestock Grazing and Social and Economic Interests--Changes to 
BLM management of livestock grazing may affect the local economy.
    Comments on the Draft RMP Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS received 
from the public and internal BLM review were considered and 
incorporated as appropriate into the proposed plan amendment. Analysis 
of public comments did not result in significant changes to the 
proposed land use plan decisions, but did lead to the following changes 
in the analysis: (1) Elimination of an analytical assumption that 
identified a threshold for inter-species contact resulting in disease 
outbreak; (2) Replacement of reference to effects on bighorn sheep 
``population persistence'' with effects on population ``trends'' and 
``sustainability;'' (3) Consideration of two additional alternatives 
which were eliminated from detailed analysis; (4) Updates to modeling 
data; (5) Citations of additional and current scientific literature; 
(6) Clarifications regarding how an area along the Little Salmon River, 
which does not have a distinct herd, was considered; and (7) 
Information regarding the recent designation of bighorn sheep as a BLM 
Idaho sensitive species. Instructions for filing a protest with the 
Director of the BLM regarding the Proposed RMP/Final EIS may be found 
in the ``Dear Reader'' Letter of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final 
Supplemental EIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. All protests must be in 
writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth in the 
ADDRESSES section above. Emailed 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, the BLM will consider the 
emailed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct emails to [email protected].
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 
1610.5

Timothy M. Murphy,
Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-12360 Filed 5-20-16; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4310-GG-P