Notice2021-25393
Notice of Intent To Amend Land Use Plans Regarding Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation and Prepare Associated Environmental Impact Statements
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Published
November 22, 2021
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to address the management of Greater sage-grouse (GRSG) and sagebrush habitat on BLM-managed public lands in the States of California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming through a land use planning initiative. The BLM will prepare environmental impact statements to support the planning initiative, and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments on the planning initiative.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 222 (Monday, November 22, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 222 (Monday, November 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66331-66333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25393]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[223.LLHQ230000.L11700000.PI0000.LXSGCO000000]
Notice of Intent To Amend Land Use Plans Regarding Greater Sage-
Grouse Conservation and Prepare Associated Environmental Impact
Statements
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
intends to address the management of Greater sage-grouse (GRSG) and
sagebrush habitat on BLM-managed public lands in the States of
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon,
South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming through a land use planning initiative.
The BLM will prepare environmental impact statements to support the
planning initiative, and by this notice is announcing the beginning of
the scoping process to solicit public comments on the planning
initiative.
DATES: Comments may be submitted in writing until February 7, 2022. The
date(s) and location(s) of any public meetings associated with this
land use planning initiative will be announced at least 15 days in
advance through local news media, newspapers, and the BLM website at:
<a href="https://go.usa.gov/xMtJQ">https://go.usa.gov/xMtJQ</a>. To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider
issues raised by commenters in its analysis, please ensure that your
comments are received prior to the close of the 75-day scoping period
or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is later. The BLM
will provide further public involvement opportunities as appropriate,
consistent with the NEPA and land use planning processes, including a
90-day comment period on any draft land use plan amendment/
environmental impact statement (EIS); and a 30-day public protest
period and 60-day Governor's consistency review on any proposed land
use plan amendment/final EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the BLM's intent to amend
land use plan decisions regarding management of GRSG and sagebrush
habitat on BLM-managed public lands on the BLM website at: <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xMtJQ">https://go.usa.gov/xMtJQ</a>, where pertinent documents may also be examined.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Deibert, National Sage-grouse
Coordinator (Acting); email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#27656b6a786f76786075746078774b4649494e494067454b4a09404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e9aba5a4b6a1b8b6aebbbaaeb6b98588878780878ea98b8584c78e869f">[email protected]</span></a>; address: 440
W 200 S Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101; telephone: 307-757-3709.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Ms.
Deibert 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 BLM amended or revised land use plans in
2014 and 2015 in the States of California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming (2015
Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments) to provide for GRSG conservation on public
lands. Subsequently, the BLM amended several of those plans in 2019 in
the States of California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and
Wyoming (2019 Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments). On October 16, 2019, the
United States District Court for the District of Idaho preliminarily
enjoined the BLM from implementing the 2019 Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments
(Case No. 1:16-CV-83-BLW).
Since the completion of these Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments, the BLM
has found that 2019 Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments (and for Montana, North
Dakota, and South Dakota, the 2015 Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments) are
potentially inconsistent with new science and rapid changes affecting
the BLM's management of the public lands, including the effects of
climate change (e.g., drought, loss of habitat, more frequent wildland
fires, less riparian areas).
The BLM is initiating this land use planning process under the
authority of Section 202 of FLPMA and its implementing regulations at
43 CFR part 1600, and in compliance with NEPA, to evaluate alternative
management approaches to contribute to the conservation of GRSG and
sagebrush habitats and to evaluate the impacts of any land use planning
decisions directed toward GRSG and sagebrush habitat conservation. The
land use planning process will address the management of GRSG and
sagebrush habitat on BLM-managed public lands in the States of
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon,
South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
The public is invited to comment on the BLM's preliminary purpose
and
[[Page 66332]]
need for action, as well as provide data relevant to inform this
planning initiative. The BLM's preliminary need is to amend land use
plans to address issues related to GRSG land management raised by
various interested parties; consider recent developments in relevant
science; advance implementation of the Department of the Interior's
Climate Action Plan; and address continued GRSG and sagebrush habitat
loss and GRSG population declines. The BLM's preliminary purpose is to
amend the applicable land use plans to provide for land use decisions
that respond to changed conditions related to GRSG land management and
provide the BLM with locally relevant decisions that accord with range-
wide GRSG conservation goals. The BLM expects to refine this
preliminary purpose and need following the review of comments or data
received and further review of its own resource information.
To assist the BLM to refine this preliminary purpose and need and
formulate the environmental analyses, the public is encouraged to
identify any issues, management questions, or concerns for the BLM to
address in the land use plan amendments. The BLM invites the public to
comment on issues related to the relationship between GRSG and
sagebrush habitat management and management for other public land
resources and values. The BLM seeks comment on preliminary issues from
both range-wide and state-specific perspectives. In particular, the BLM
seeks comment on potential alternatives to address land management on
BLM-managed public lands related to the following preliminary issues:
<bullet> The identification, management, and conservation of the
most important GRSG and sagebrush habitat, referred to as ``Sagebrush
Focal Areas'' in the 2015 and 2019 Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments;
<bullet> The designation of priority and general habitat management
areas for GRSG, and how to adapt these management areas over time,
according to the best available science, and how to manage non-habitat
within habitat management areas;
<bullet> The appropriate habitat objectives for GRSG on public
lands, with respect to the diverse habitat conditions across the range
of GRSG, including the effects of climate change (e.g., drought
conditions);
<bullet> The application of the mitigation hierarchy, including
compensatory mitigation, to address impacts to GRSG and sagebrush
habitat, ensure that additional disturbance will not contribute to GRSG
and sagebrush habitat loss and GRSG population declines, and help
support the conservation and restoration of resilient habitat;
<bullet> The approaches to minimizing disturbance to GRSG and
sagebrush habitats, including disturbance/density caps and buffers
around important GRSG habitat types (e.g., leks), to ensure appropriate
protection for the species while being able to concurrently implement
other portions of the BLM's management responsibilities;
<bullet> The leasing and development of mineral resources in GRSG
and sagebrush habitat, including how to appropriately prioritize and
manage such use of the public's resources and how to consider the use
of waivers, exceptions, and modifications as related to development of
mineral resources;
<bullet> The leasing and development of renewable energy resources
in GRSG and sagebrush habitat, including associated transmission lines,
to support the mitigation of and adaptation to the effects of climate
change through both habitat conservation and the expansion of renewable
energy:
<bullet> The appropriate management of livestock grazing and wild
horse and burro populations in GRSG and sagebrush habitat;
<bullet> The strategies for conducting effective GRSG and sagebrush
habitat restoration on BLM-managed public lands, including constraints
on such efforts to avoid unintended consequences to other species'
habitats;
<bullet> The process to adapt the BLM's management of GRSG and
sagebrush habitat to respond to GRSG and sagebrush habitat loss and
GRSG population declines;
<bullet> The role of wildland fire and invasive species in the
management of GRSG and sagebrush habitat, considering the vast acreages
lost to wildland fire and invasive species over the last several years;
<bullet> The strategies for short- and long-term monitoring of GRSG
and sagebrush habitat;
<bullet> How new and relevant scientific information affects GRSG
and sagebrush habitat management, building upon the existing foundation
of science relied upon in the 2015 and 2019 Sage-Grouse Plan
Amendments; and
<bullet> Whether the BLM should reconsider alternatives from the
analyses supporting the 2015 and 2019 Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments.
The BLM also invites the public to nominate or recommend areas that
may be considered for designation as areas of critical environmental
concern (ACEC), per 43 CFR 1610.7-2. Nominations or recommendation of
potential ACECs should be relevant to the preliminary purpose and need
of this planning initiative.
The BLM has identified the following preliminary planning criteria
and is accepting public input during the scoping period consistent with
43 CFR 1610. 4-2(c):
<bullet> The land use plan amendments and associated environmental
analyses developed will be completed in compliance with FLPMA and NEPA,
respectively;
<bullet> The land use plan amendments will be completed in
compliance with all relevant Federal laws, Executive Orders, and
management policies of the BLM;
<bullet> Where existing planning decisions are still valid, those
decisions may remain unchanged and be incorporated into the amended
land use plans;
<bullet> The land use plan amendments will be limited to making
land use planning decisions specific to the conservation of GRSG and
sagebrush habitats, with consideration of the impacts from climate
change;
<bullet> The BLM will consider the adequacy of conservation
measures for GRSG in existing land use plans;
<bullet> The land use plan amendments will be considered with
respect to climate change and the accelerating effects that climate
change has on GRSG and sagebrush habitats;
<bullet> The BLM will strive for consistency, as appropriate, with
GRSG conservation plans of other Federal agencies, State agencies, and
partners;
<bullet> The BLM will endeavor to use current scientific
information, research, technologies, and results of inventory,
monitoring, and coordination to determine appropriate management
strategies that will enhance or restore GRSG and sagebrush habitats;
<bullet> Lands addressed in the land use plan amendments will be
for BLM-managed public lands (including surface and sub-surface estate,
including split estate) in GRSG and sagebrush habitats; and
<bullet> The land use plan amendments will recognize valid existing
rights.
In addition to public input, the BLM is reviewing the 2015 and 2019
Sage-Grouse Plan Amendments and coordinating with other Federal and
State agencies to identify issues that warrant clarification or
reconsideration. This review and coordination effort is continuing and
will help to refine and inform the scope of the BLM's land use planning
initiative, as will input from other stakeholders.
The BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to
identify land use planning decisions that are best
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suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns. The BLM
will use an interdisciplinary approach including, among others,
specialists in the fields of wildlife, threatened and endangered
species, rangeland, invasive species, fuels, energy and minerals, and
recreation management to develop any land use plan amendment(s) to
address the variety of resource issues and concerns identified. The BLM
will consider all comments received during this scoping effort and
utilize the substantive comments received to identify alternatives,
analysis issues, and refinements to the scope of this planning
initiative.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning initiative to help support procedural
requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C.
306108) and Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536). The information
about historic and cultural resources and threatened and endangered
species within the area potentially affected by the proposed action
will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such
resources.
The BLM will consult with Indian Tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration.
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Tribes and other
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the proposed
action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate in the
scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the
BLM to participate in the development of the EISs as a cooperating
agency.
You may submit comments through the methods described in the
ADDRESSES section listed earlier. 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 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
David Jenkins,
Assistant Director, Resources and Planning.
[FR Doc. 2021-25393 Filed 11-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P
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