[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8607-8608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02881]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLMTL060-L16100000-DQ0000]
Notice of Availability of the Lewistown Proposed Resource
Management Plan and Associated Final Environmental Impact Statement,
Montana
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 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Lewistown and Butte Field Offices have prepared a Proposed Resource
Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for BLM public lands and resources managed by the
Lewistown Field Office, and a portion of the Butte Field Office in
northern Lewis and Clark County, Montana, and by this notice are
announcing the opening of the protest period.
DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's
Proposed RMP. To ensure that protests will be considered, the BLM must
receive any protests on the Proposed RMP on or before the 30th day
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its
Notice of Availability of the Final EIS in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS are available at
the
[[Page 8608]]
Lewistown Field Office, 920 NE Main Street, Lewistown, MT 59457, or may
be viewed online at: https://go.usa.gov/xUPsP.
All protests on the Proposed RMP must be in writing and submitted
by any of the following methods:
Website: https://go.usa.gov/xUPsP.
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: Dan Brunkhorst, RMP Project Manager,
Lewistown Field Office, at telephone: (406) 538-1981, and at the
mailing address and website listed earlier. 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. Brunkhorst during normal
business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to
leave a message or question. You will receive a reply during normal
business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Lewistown Proposed RMP provides a
single, comprehensive land use plan that guides management of BLM lands
on approximately 651,200 acres of BLM-managed public lands and
1,196,800 acres of Federal mineral estate in central Montana in
Cascade, Fergus, Judith Basin, Meagher, Petroleum, Pondera, Teton,
Chouteau, and Lewis and Clark counties. These lands and minerals are
managed by two BLM offices located in Lewistown and Butte, Montana. The
RMP will fulfill the needs and obligations set forth by NEPA, FLPMA,
and BLM management policies. The RMP will reflect the changing needs of
the planning area over the next several decades, and will replace the
current Headwaters and Judith RMPs, as amended, that were developed in
1984 and 1994, respectively.
The Proposed RMP/Final EIS evaluates four alternatives in detail.
Alternative A is the No Action Alternative, which is a continuation of
current management direction in the existing Judith and Headwaters
RMPs.
Alternative B emphasizes managing habitats for priority plant,
wildlife, and fish species while providing modest development of
resource uses. Alternative B emphasizes hunting, fishing, and other
recreation through Backcountry Conservation Areas (BCAs) and management
of lands with wilderness characteristics.
The agency Proposed Plan alternative is Alternative C with a few
modifications, including the addition of two BCAs and two Areas of
Critical Environmental Concerns (ACECs), and adjustments to oil and gas
stipulations to be consistent with surrounding BLM field offices.
Alternative C emphasizes resource uses on BLM-administered lands and
mineral estate targeting social and economic outcomes while protecting
land health. The Proposed Plan employs fewer special management
designations for resource-use objectives, but does emphasize wildlife-
dependent recreation through the allocation of two BCAs.
Alternative D emphasizes resource uses and a variety of management
prescriptions (e.g., recreation management areas, ACECs, Visual
Resource Management, etc.) to address the use and conservation of
natural and cultural resources, while sustaining and enhancing forest
and range health across the landscape.
The Lewistown Draft RMP/Draft EIS public comment period began on
May 17, 2019, and ended on August 15, 2019. The BLM held three public
open house meetings in Winnett, Lewistown, and Great Falls, Montana,
during the public comment period on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS. The BLM
considered and incorporated in the proposed plan, as appropriate,
comments received from the public, cooperating agencies and internal
BLM review.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personally identifiable information in your protest, be aware
that your entire protest--including your personally identifiable
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 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Theresa M. Hanley,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-02881 Filed 2-13-20; 8:45 am]
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