81 FR 90865 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Recreational Target Shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, AZ

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 241 (December 15, 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) Lower Sonoran Field Office, Phoenix, Arizona, has prepared a draft resource management plan (RMP) amendment/draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Sonoran Desert National Monument (SDNM). By this notice the BLM is announcing the opening of the public comment period.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90865-90866]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30166]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ-P040-2017-1711-PH-1000-241A 17X.LLAZP04000.L1711.PH0000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan 
Amendment/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Recreational Target 
Shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, AZ

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 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) Lower Sonoran 
Field Office, Phoenix, Arizona, has prepared a draft resource 
management plan (RMP) amendment/draft environmental impact statement 
(EIS) for the Sonoran Desert National Monument (SDNM). By this notice 
the BLM is announcing the opening of the public comment period.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the draft RMP amendment/draft EIS within 90 days 
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce 
future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities 
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, 
and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the draft RMP amendment/
draft EIS addressing Recreational Target Shooting in the SDNM by any of 
the following methods:
     Web site: http://1.usa.gov/1ZPyFSA.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 623-580-5580
     Mail: Wayne Monger, Project Manager, Lower Sonoran Field 
Office, 21605 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85027
Copies of the draft RMP amendment/draft EIS addressing Recreational 
Target Shooting in the SDNM are available in the Lower Sonoran Field 
Office at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Scarbrough, Monument Manager, 
telephone 623-580-5651 or, Wayne Monger, Project Manager, telephone 
623-580-5683; address 21605 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix Arizona 85027; 
email [email protected].
    Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above 
individual during normal business hours. The Service 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 planning area covers nearly 496,400 
surface acres of south-central Arizona and lies within Maricopa and 
Pinal Counties. Population centers adjacent to the planning area 
include metropolitan Phoenix, and the communities of Ajo, Goodyear, 
Buckeye, Gila Bend, Mobile, and Maricopa. The planning area

[[Page 90866]]

encompasses Federal- and State-administered lands as well as private 
lands. The BLM manages 486,400 surface acres of public lands in the 
planning area, as well as 461,000 acres of (sub surface) mineral 
estate. The State of Arizona manages 3,900 surface acres in the 
planning area, and the remaining 6,100 surface acres are privately 
owned land.
    The BLM has prepared the SDNM draft RMP amendment/draft EIS to 
address the management of recreational target shooting within the SDNM. 
The draft RMP amendment/draft EIS is needed to analyze recreational 
target shooting within the SDNM due to a ruling by the U.S. District 
Court-District of Arizona. The court vacated portions of the 2012 
Record of Decision, approved RMP, and final EIS pertaining to the 
management of recreational target shooting throughout the SDNM and 
remanded the decision to the BLM for reconsideration. Pursuant to the 
court order, the BLM must complete the plan amendment by September 30, 
2017. The formal public scoping process for the draft RMP amendment/
draft EIS began on January 21, 2016, with the publication of a Notice 
of Intent in the Federal Register (81 FR 3463), and ended on March 21, 
2016. The BLM held three public scoping meetings in February 2016. The 
BLM used public scoping comments to help identify planning issues that 
directed the formulation of alternatives and framed the scope of 
analysis in the draft RMP amendment/draft EIS. The BLM also used the 
scoping process to introduce the public to preliminary planning 
criteria, which set limits on the scope of the draft RMP amendment/
draft EIS. Issues identified included, priority wildlife species and 
habitat, special status species, vegetation resources, lands with 
wilderness characteristics, designated wilderness, recreation, monument 
objects, hazardous materials, and public safety. The draft RMP 
amendment/draft EIS evaluates five alternatives in detail, including 
the No Action Alternative (Alternative A) and four action alternatives 
(Alternatives B, C, D and E). All alternatives provide for a hierarchy 
of mitigation that includes: 1) Avoiding impacts to the maximum extent 
compatible with the goals of the alternative; 2) Minimizing any impacts 
that are not avoided; and 3) Providing a range of responses 
commensurate to the level of unavoidable impacts. Alternative A, the No 
Action Alternative, provides that recreational target shooting on the 
SDNM will continue to be managed in accordance with the Lower Gila 
South RMP of 1988, which does not include management restrictions on 
recreational target shooting. Under Alternative B, an area temporarily 
restricted from recreational target shooting, by order of the U.S. 
District Court, District of Arizona (approximately 10,599 acres or 2.1 
percent of the SDNM) would be permanently restricted from recreational 
target shooting. Alternative C would make recreational target shooting 
available in the Desert Back Country Recreational Management Zone (RMZ) 
only, resulting in approximately 54,817 acres, or 11 percent of the 
SDNM restricted from this activity. Under Alternative D, recreational 
target shooting would be available only outside of designated 
wilderness areas managed for wilderness characteristics and the Juan 
Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (NHT) RMZ resulting in 
approximately 320,317 acres, or 66 percent of the SDNM restricted for 
this activity. Alternative E, would restrict recreational target 
shooting from occurring across the entire SDNM. Following the public 
comment period, comments will be used to prepare the proposed RMP 
amendment and final EIS. The BLM will respond to substantive comments 
by making appropriate revisions to the document, or by explaining why a 
comment did not warrant a change.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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.

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

Raymond Suazo,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-30166 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-32-P