Notice2022-18328
Notice of Intent To Amend the Taos Resource Management Plan and Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Recreational Shooting Range Project on Public Lands in Santa Fe County
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Published
August 25, 2022
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 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Director intends to prepare a resource management plan (plan) amendment with an associated environmental assessment (EA) to propose the development of up to three recreational shooting ranges and closure of certain areas to recreational shooting. This notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public comments and identify issues, provides the planning criteria for public review, and announces the comment period on the BLM's proposed target shooting closures.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52413-52415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18328]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNMF02000.L16100000.DP0000.223L1109AF]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Taos Resource Management Plan and
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Recreational
Shooting Range Project on Public Lands in Santa Fe County
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 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New
Mexico State Director intends to prepare a resource management plan
(plan) amendment with an associated environmental assessment (EA) to
propose the development of up to three recreational shooting ranges and
closure of certain areas to recreational shooting. This notice is
announcing the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public
comments and identify issues, provides the planning criteria for public
review, and announces the comment period on the BLM's proposed target
shooting closures.
DATES: The BLM requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis,
potential alternatives, planning criteria, and identification of
relevant information or studies by October 24, 2022. To afford the BLM
the opportunity to consider issues raised by commenters in the draft
plan amendment/analysis, please ensure your comments are received prior
to the close of the 60-day scoping period or 15 days after the last
public meeting, whichever is later. Public scoping meetings will be
held during the scoping period. The dates, times, and locations of the
public meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance.
In addition, this notice also announces the opening of a 60-day
comment period for proposed target shooting closures. The BLM must
receive your target shooting related comments by October 24, 2022. The
BLM will provide additional opportunities for public participation as
appropriate.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues related to the
Recreational Shooting Range Project, including the plan amendment and
proposed closures, by any of the following methods:
[[Page 52414]]
<bullet> Website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013605/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013605/510</a>
<bullet> Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attention: Brad Higdon, 1024
Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Taos
Field Office, 1024 Paseo del Pueblo Sur in Taos, New Mexico.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Higdon, Planning and
Environmental Specialist, telephone (575) 751-4725; address 1024 Paseo
del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3153595856555e5f71535d5c1f565e47"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ef8d8786888b8081af8d8382c1888099">[email protected]</span></a>. Contact Mr.
Higdon to have your name added to our mailing list. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The closure of certain areas within Santa Fe
County, New Mexico, would be conducted in compliance with the John D.
Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019
(Dingell Act), 16 U.S.C. 7913.
This document provides notice that the BLM New Mexico State
Director intends to amend the 2012 Taos Resource Management Plan with
an associated EA proposing to develop recreational shooting ranges and
close unsafe areas along roads to target shooting, thus beginning the
scoping process. Additionally, this notice seeks public input on issues
and planning criteria that are subject to the plan amendment and seeks
comments on proposed target shooting closures. The plan amendment will
allow the BLM to address public safety issues and evaluate providing
safe, controlled target shooting opportunities on public lands. The
planning area is located in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, and
encompasses approximately 38,000 acres of public land. While the
planning area includes lands designated within the Santa Fe Ranch and
La Cienega Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, the scope of this
land use plan amendment does not include evaluation or designation of
special management areas, including areas of critical environmental
concern. The BLM is not considering nominations for areas of critical
environmental concern as part of this process.
Purpose and Need
The purpose of the proposed action is to provide safe, controlled
opportunities for recreational shooting on BLM-managed lands in Santa
Fe County, away from residential areas, and in a manner that minimizes
impacts to other resources and public land users. The action is needed
to address conflicts associated with the concentration of unmanaged
target shooting activities near residential areas. Unconfined target
shooting activities in three urban-interface areas--Buckman, Camel
Tracks, and San Pedro Mountains--are causing public safety concerns,
degradation of natural and cultural resources, waste accumulation,
threat of wildfire, and noise disturbances inconsistent with the BLM's
responsibilities under FLPMA section 102(a)(8). Residents in
neighboring areas have repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the safe
enjoyment of their private properties, the threat of wildfire ignitions
from shooting-related activities, and disruptive noise. Most
importantly, when more than one shooting party is present, the lack of
controls in these areas pose safety risks to other recreationalists,
livestock grazing permittees, and other public land users. These
impacts persist despite repeated efforts by the BLM to remove trash and
lead contaminants, mitigate fuelwood loads around undeveloped shooting
locations, and public education efforts. The lack of public shooting
ranges in Santa Fe County has led to the three areas on BLM-managed
lands to becoming de facto shooting destinations.
Preliminary Alternatives
The BLM is proposing to develop up to three recreational shooting
ranges, remediate currently used undeveloped shooting locations, and
close certain areas of public lands to recreational target shooting.
These recreational shooting closures require an amendment to the Taos
Resource Management Plan (RMP). The agency is proposing the plan
amendment to identify and specify areas closed to recreational
shooting. In the Buckman and San Pedro Mountain areas, the proposed
closures would be new land use allocations limiting shooting sports to
only hunting activities, while the closure in the Camel Tracks area
would expand a shooting closure currently implemented under the Taos
RMP. The BLM may also consider limiting recreational and other uses
downrange of the proposed shooting ranges as additional safety
precautions.
The BLM proposes to apply permanent shooting closures to the
following three areas:
Buckman: The potential closure would apply to approximately 13,622
acres of the 21,115 acres of BLM-managed public lands. The area
proposed for closure to recreational shooting in Buckman, which
encompasses the Santa Fe Ranch ACEC, would include public lands within
the following:
T. 19 N., R. 8 E., NMPM
Sec. 31.
T. 18 E., R. 7 E., NMPM
Secs. 1 and 12.
T. 18 E., R. 8 E., NMPM
Secs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, and 35.
T. 17 N., R. 8 E., NMPM
Secs. 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, and 22.
Camel Tracks: The potential closure would apply to approximately
7,260 acres of the 14,259 acres of BLM-managed public lands. Public
lands proposed for closure to recreational shooting in Camel Tracks,
which encompasses La Cienega Area of Critical Environmental Concern,
include lands within the following:
T. 16 N., R. 7 E., NMPM
Secs. 1, 10, 11. 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, 26, and 27.
T. 16 N., 8 E., NMPM
Secs. 7, 8, 18, and 19.
San Pedro Mountains: The potential closure would apply to
approximately 827 acres of the 2,565 acres of BLM managed lands. Public
lands proposed for closure to recreational target shooting in this area
include lands within the following:
T. 12 N., R. 7 E., NMPM
Secs. 17, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, and 32.
The BLM welcomes comments on this preliminary alternative as well
as suggestions for additional alternatives.
Planning Criteria
Planning criteria guide the planning effort and lay the groundwork
for effects analysis by identifying the preliminary issues and their
analytical frameworks. Preliminary issues for the planning area have
been identified by the BLM interdisciplinary team and from early
engagement conducted for this planning effort with federal, state, and
local agencies; Tribes; and stakeholders.
Preliminary issues identified for the proposed shooting range
development and associated closures include the following: public
safety, recreational opportunities, noise, and potential impacts to
soils, biological resources, and cultural resources, including
traditional cultural properties. The
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preliminary planning criteria for the plan amendment includes the
following: (1) the scope of the plan amendment is limited to
prohibiting a single use (recreational target shooting) on certain
portions of public lands; (2) the plan amendment will carefully weigh
the benefits of enhanced opportunities for recreational shooting at
developed ranges against the adverse effects of the recreational
shooting opportunities foregone by the proposed shooting closures in
the three areas; (3) the closure to a public land use will be applied
to the smallest area necessary to provide for public safety,
sustainable resource management, and the protection of important
resource values, consistent with the Dingell Act of 2019; (4) the
prohibited use will only apply to recreational target shooting and any
discharge of firearms for purposes other than active, lawful hunting on
the public lands identified above; (5) the amendment will comply with
FLPMA, NEPA, and all other applicable laws, regulations, Executive and
Secretarial Orders, and policies; (6) the amendment will incorporate
all other management decisions brought forward from the Taos Resource
Management Plan, approved in May 2012; (7) broad-based public
participation and collaboration will be an integral part of the
planning process; (8) the planning process will provide for ongoing
consultation with Native American tribal governments and strategies for
protecting traditional cultural properties; and (9) the BLM will work
collaboratively with cooperating agencies and all other interested
groups, agencies, and individuals.
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping period and public
review of the planning criteria, which guide the development and
analysis of the RMP amendment and EA.
The BLM will hold two in-person meetings in Santa Fe and one
virtual meeting online. The specific dates and location(s) of these
scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through
email, mail, local media, and on the ePlanning project web page
identified in the ADDRESSES section, above.
Dingell Act Recreational Shooting Closures
In accordance with the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation,
Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 (Dingell Act, Pub. L. 116-9,
section 4103), the BLM is announcing the opening of a 60-day public
comment period on the proposed permanent shooting closures in the areas
described under Preliminary Alternatives above. The closures are
proposed to eliminate conflicts and safety issues associated with
recreational shooting, including conflicts with other public lands
users, neighboring residents, and the degradation of cultural and
natural resources. The closures would relocate recreational shooting
opportunities away from residential areas and encourage the use of
developed shooting ranges where opportunities would be enhanced. The
closures would also allow for the removal of trash and lead
contaminants and the remediation of soils, vegetation, and wildlife
habitat in the three areas. Comments may be submitted using any of the
methods listed in the ADDRESSES section, above.
Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
and to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns identified.
Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines will be
involved in this planning effort: archaeology, botany, biology, land
use planning, range management, realty, and outdoor recreation.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the proposed plan
amendment and all reasonable alternatives and, in accordance with 40
CFR 1502.14(e), include appropriate mitigation measures not already
included in the proposed plan amendment or alternatives. Mitigation may
include avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction or
elimination over time, and compensation. Mitigation may be considered
at multiple scales, including the landscape scale.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning effort to help support procedural
requirements under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C.
306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public involvement
requirements of section 106. The information about historic and
cultural resources and threatened and endangered species within the
area potentially affected by the proposed plan 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, BLM MS 1780,
and other Departmental 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 stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by
the proposed plan amendment 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 EA as a
cooperating agency.
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.
Melanie G. Barnes,
State Director, BLM New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2022-18328 Filed 8-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-23-P
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