83 FR 63527 - Notice of Availability of the Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Utah

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 236 (December 10, 2018)

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 the Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed Resource Management Plan (Proposed RMP) Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Sub-Region. By this Notice, the BLM is announcing the opening of a protest period concerning the Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63527-63528]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26698]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWO200000.18X L11100000.PH0000.LXSGPL000000]


Notice of Availability of the Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed 
Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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 the 
Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Proposed Resource Management Plan (Proposed 
RMP) Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for 
the Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Sub-Region. By this Notice, the BLM is 
announcing the opening of a protest period concerning the Proposed RMP 
Amendment and Final EIS.

DATES: A protest regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment announced with 
this notice must be filed by January 9, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is available on the BLM 
ePlanning project website at https://go.usa.gov/xP8xc. Click the 
Documents and Report link on the left side of the screen to find the 
electronic version of these materials. Hard copies of the Proposed RMP 
Amendment and Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM 
Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 
84101 or on the project website listed above.
    All protests must be in writing (43 CFR 1610.5-2(a)(1)) and filed 
with the BLM Director, either as a hard copy or electronically via the 
BLM's ePlanning project website listed previously. To submit a protest 
electronically, go to the ePlanning project website and follow the 
protest instructions highlighted at the top of the home page. If 
submitting a protest in hard copy, it must be mailed to one of the 
following addresses:
    U.S. Postal Service Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest 
Coordinator, WO-210, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
    Overnight Delivery: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest 
Coordinator, WO-210, 20 M Street SE, Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Quincy Bahr, Greater Sage-Grouse RMP 
Project Manager; telephone 801-539-4122; address 440 West 200 South, 
Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101; or by email [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr. Bahr. 
The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message 
or question with Mr. Bahr. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM prepared the Proposed RMP Amendment 
and Final EIS to analyze a range of alternatives that will continue 
conserving, enhancing, and restoring Greater Sage-Grouse and its 
habitat, while improving alignment with state management strategies for 
Greater Sage-Grouse. The plan also addresses a legal vulnerability, 
which was exposed when a Federal District Court in Nevada determined 
that the BLM had violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it 
finalized the 2015 plans.
    The BLM developed the proposed land use plan amendment in 
collaboration with Utah Governor Gary Herbert, state wildlife managers, 
and other concerned organizations and individuals, largely through the 
Western Governors Association's Sage-Grouse Task Force. Using its 
discretion and authority under the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act, the BLM proposes amending its land use plans that address Greater 
Sage-Grouse management to improve alignment with the State of Utah's 
plan, in accordance with the BLM's multiple use and sustained yield 
mission. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the BLM is 
required by law to work cooperatively with states on land-use plans and 
amendments.
    This Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is one of six separate 
planning efforts that are being undertaken in response to the 
Secretary's Order (SO) 3353 (Greater Sage-grouse Conservation and 
Cooperation with Western States) and in accordance with SO 3349 
(American Energy Independence). The proposed plans refine the previous 
management plan adopted in 2015 and aims to strike a regulatory balance 
and build greater trust among neighboring interests in Western 
communities. The Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS proposes to amend 
the (RMPs) for field offices on BLM-administered lands within BLM Utah 
boundaries. The current management decisions for resources are 
described in the following RMPs:
     Box Elder Resource Management Plan (1986)
     Cedar/Beaver/Garfield/Antimony Resource Management Plan 
(1986)
     Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management 
Plan (2000)
     House Range Resource Management Plan (1987)
     Kanab Resource Management Plan (2008)
     Park City Management Framework Plan (1975)
     Pinyon Management Framework Plan (1978)
     Pony Express Resource Management Plan (1990)
     Price Resource Management Plan (2008)
     Randolph Management Framework Plan (1980)
     Richfield Resource Management Plan (2008)
     Salt Lake District Isolated Tracts Planning Analysis 
(1985)
     Vernal Resource Management Plan (2008)
     Warm Springs Resource Management Plan (1987)
    The planning area includes approximately 48,158,700 acres of BLM, 
National Park Service, United States Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation, State, local, and private lands located in Utah, in 27 
counties: Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, 
Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, 
Salt Lake, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, 
Wayne, and Weber. Within the decision area, which is limited to the 
portions of the planning area where the decisions from this process may 
apply, the BLM administers approximately 4 million acres of public 
land, providing approximately 3.4 million acres of Greater Sage-Grouse 
habitat. Surface management decisions made as a result of this Proposed 
RMP Amendment and Final EIS will apply only to BLM-administered lands 
in the decision area.
    The formal public scoping process for the RMP Amendment/EIS began 
on October 11, 2017, with publication of a Notice of Intent in the 
Federal Register (82 FR 47248) and ended on December 1, 2017. The BLM 
Utah held public scoping meetings on November 14, 2017, in Vernal, 
Utah; on November 15, 2017, in Cedar City, Utah; and on November 16, 
2017, in Snowville, Utah.
    On May 4, 2018, the Notice of Availability for the Draft RMP

[[Page 63528]]

Amendment/EIS was published, and the BLM accepted public comments on 
the range of alternatives, effects analysis and Draft RMP Amendment/EIS 
for 90 days, ending on August 2, 2018. During the public comment period 
public meetings were held in the following locations in Utah: June 26, 
2018, in Cedar City, Utah; June 27, 2018 in Vernal, Utah; and June 28, 
208, in Randolph, Utah.
    The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS focused on the following issues: 
Sagebrush focal area designation; disturbance and density caps; 
mitigation; modification of habitat objectives; changes to fluid 
mineral leasing waivers, exceptions and modification criteria; the need 
for General Habitat Management Areas; exceptions to Greater Sage-Grouse 
management within non-habitat portions of Priority Habitat Management 
Areas; lek buffers; reversing adaptive management responses when the 
BLM determines that resource conditions no longer warrant those 
responses; prioritization of mineral leasing; land disposals and 
exchanges; predation; burial of transmission lines; decisions that 
require analysis of specific alternatives during implementation; 
adjustment of habitat boundaries to reflect new information; grazing 
systems and prioritization of grazing permits; water developments 
management in relation to water rights; travel and transportation 
management planning; and surface coal mining. The Draft RMP Amendment/
EIS evaluated two alternatives in detail, including the No-Action 
Alternative and one action alternative, the Management Alignment 
Alternative. Comments on the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS received from the 
public and internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as 
appropriate into the Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS. The No-
Action Alternative would retain the management goals, objectives, and 
direction specified in the current RMPs, as amended in 2015, for each 
field office. The Management Alignment Alternative has been identified 
as the BLM's Preferred Alternative. Identification of this alternative, 
however, does not represent final agency direction.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS may be found online at 
https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest 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 or submitted electronically through the BLM 
ePlanning project website as described above. Protests submitted 
electronically by any means other than the ePlanning project website 
protest section will be invalid unless a protest is also submitted in 
hard copy. Protests submitted by fax will also be invalid unless also 
submitted either through ePlanning project website protest section or 
in hard copy.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your protest, please 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 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, 43 CFR 
1610.5

Edwin L. Roberson,
BLM Utah State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-26698 Filed 12-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-33-P