Notice2024-14531
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus), Colorado and Utah
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 5, 2024
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 (FLMPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a proposed resource management plan (RMP) amendment and final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) and by this notice is announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the proposed RMP amendment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 129 (Friday, July 5, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55655-55657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14531]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_CO_FRN_MO4500179560]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Gunnison
Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus), Colorado and Utah
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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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 (FLMPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a proposed resource management plan (RMP) amendment and final
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse
(Centrocercus minimus) and by this notice is announcing the start of a
30-day protest period of the proposed RMP amendment.
DATES: This notice announces the beginning of a 30-day protest period
to the BLM on the proposed RMP amendment. Protests must be postmarked
or electronically submitted on the BLM's ePlanning site within 30 days
of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes
its Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA
usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.
ADDRESSES: The proposed RMP amendment and final EIS is available on the
BLM ePlanning project website at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2019031/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2019031/510</a>. Documents pertinent to this proposal may also
be examined at the Grand Junction, Uncompahgre, Tres Rios, Gunnison,
San Luis Valley, Moab, and Monticello Field Offices.
Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM for the Gunnison
Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) RMP amendment can be found at:
<a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest">https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest</a> and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. All protests must be
submitted in writing by one of the following methods:
Website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2019031/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2019031/510</a>.
Regular mail and overnight mail: BLM Director, Attention: Protest
Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 40 (Door W-4),
Lakewood, CO 80215.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina Phillips, Project Manager, BLM
Colorado, telephone 970-589-9852; BLM Southwest District Office, 2465
S. Townsend Ave., Montrose, CO 81401; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#286a6465776b67776f7d7b6f777a657869684a4445064f475e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dd9f9190829e92829a888e9a828f908d9c9dbfb1b0f3bab2ab">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 for contacting
Ms. Phillips. 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 RMP amendment would change the following
existing plans.
Colorado
<bullet> Canyons of the Ancients National Monument RMP (2010)
<bullet> Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area RMP (2017)
<bullet> Grand Junction Field Office RMP (2015)
<bullet> Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area RMP (2004)
<bullet> Gunnison Resource Area RMP (1993)
<bullet> McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area RMP (2004)
<bullet> San Luis Resource Area RMP (1991)
<bullet> Tres Rios Field Office RMP (2015)
<bullet> Uncompahgre Field Office RMP (2020)
Utah
<bullet> Moab Field Office RMP (2008)
<bullet> Monticello Field Office RMP (2008)
The Gunnison Sage-Grouse RMP amendment updates management decisions
and actions to promote Gunnison sage-grouse recovery and maintain and
enhance habitat, as identified in the 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) Recovery Plan, across the eight currently recognized
populations in southwest Colorado and southeast Utah. Gunnison sage-
grouse is federally listed as a threatened species under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544).
Planning Area
The planning area spans portions of 19 Colorado Counties: Alamosa,
Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Delta, Dolores, Garfield, Gunnison,
Hinsdale,
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La Plata, Mesa, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Rio Grande,
Saguache, San Juan, and San Miguel; and two Utah Counties: Grand and
San Juan; and encompasses approximately 25 million acres of public
land.
Purpose and Need
The BLM's purpose consists of the following:
<bullet> Promote the recovery of the threatened Gunnison sage-
grouse and maintain and enhance BLM-administered occupied and
unoccupied habitat upon which the species depends, while continuing to
manage the land wherever possible for multiple use and sustained yield;
<bullet> Ensure management actions on BLM-administered lands
support conservation goals for Gunnison sage-grouse and their habitat;
<bullet> Ensure that BLM management aligns with current science and
data; relevant Federal, State, and local decisions supporting recovery;
the Department of the Interior Climate Action Plan; and the USFWS Final
Recovery Plan for Gunnison Sage-Grouse and Recovery Implementation
Strategy for Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus); and
<bullet> Provide consistent guidance for addressing threats to
Gunnison sage-grouse populations and their habitat.
This BLM action is necessary to accomplish the following:
<bullet> Address the range-wide downward population trend of
Gunnison sage-grouse since 2014 and address issues related to land
management that may affect occupied and unoccupied habitat;
<bullet> Respond to the ESA section 7(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(1))
requirement that the BLM use its authority to further the purposes of
the ESA by implementing management actions for the conservation of
federally listed species and the ecosystems upon which they depend; and
<bullet> Respond to changing ecological and climate conditions
affecting BLM-administered lands, including drought, habitat loss and
fragmentation, reduced riparian areas, and more frequent wildland
fires.
Alternatives Considered, Including the Proposed Plan Alternative
The BLM analyzed six alternatives in detail, including the no
action alternative. This land use plan amendment addresses management
actions impacting, or with the potential to impact, Gunnison sage-
grouse and occupied and unoccupied habitat in the decision area. The
decision area consists of approximately 2,182,660 acres of BLM-managed
surface lands (1,951,440 acres in Colorado and 231,220 acres in Utah)
and 2,852,390 acres of Federal subsurface mineral estate (2,563,220
acres in Colorado and 289,170 acres in Utah). Alternative A (No Action
Alternative--Current Management) would continue current BLM management
direction in the 11 administrative units in the planning area.
Alternative B would prioritize removing identified threats within
occupied and unoccupied habitat and reduce impacts within the decision
area, which includes a 4-mile buffer around habitat and potential
linkage-connectivity areas to the maximum extent allowable. Alternative
B contains two sub-alternatives for livestock grazing management
actions in response to recommendations made in public scoping comments.
Alternative B would designate all nominated Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs) that meet relevance and importance
criteria.
Alternative C would minimize, mitigate, or compensate for impacts
from resource uses and activities in occupied and unoccupied habitat.
No new ACECs would be designated under Alternative C.
Alternative D would allocate resource uses and conserve resource
values while sustaining and enhancing ecological integrity across the
decision area and designate a specific subset of nominated ACECs.
Conservation measures focus on occupied and unoccupied habitat that
includes a 1-mile buffer around habitat and could extend to linkage-
connectivity areas.
Alternative E considers adopting applicable management direction
from the interagency Candidate Conservation Agreement for the Gunnison
sage-grouse, Gunnison Basin Population.
Alternative F (proposed plan amendment) was developed in response
to public comments on the draft RMP amendment/EIS and, similar to
Alternative D, focuses conservation measures on occupied and unoccupied
habitat. For all populations, Alternative F would apply buffers to all
lek statuses (active, inactive, historic, unknown, occupied, and
unoccupied) and manage with the objective of no increase in net surface
disturbance; and it proposes management to increase available habitat
for all Gunnison sage-grouse populations.
The BLM considered three additional alternatives but dismissed them
from detailed analysis as explained in section 2.1.2.2 of the proposed
RMP amendment/EIS.
Public Involvement
The BLM published a notice of intent in the Federal Register to
initiate the public scoping period for this planning effort on July 6,
2022 (87 FR 40262). The BLM hosted four public scoping meetings (in
Dove Creek, CO and Gunnison, CO) and two virtual public meetings to
solicit nominations for ACECs, identify the scope of issues to be
addressed in the RMP amendment, and gather input to assist in
formulating a reasonable range of alternatives. The resource concerns
identified during the scoping process included Gunnison sage-grouse
habitat, vegetation, livestock grazing management, mineral development,
renewable energy development, wildland fire ecology and management,
ACECs, recreation, lands and realty, air resources, soil resources,
lands with wilderness characteristics, and social and economic
conditions.
After preparing the draft RMP amendment/EIS in coordination with 30
cooperating agencies and working with Tribes, the BLM announced the 90-
day comment period through publication of its NOA in the Federal
Register on November 9, 2023 (88 FR 77353). During the comment period,
the BLM held two in-person public meetings (in Dove Creek, CO and
Gunnison, CO) and one virtual public meeting to inform the public and
solicit comments on the draft documents. The BLM received 141 comment
letters (including 115 unique letters and 26 form, form plus, or
duplicate letters) during the comment period. The BLM reviewed all
letters submitted, analyzed the comments, considered substantive
comments, and revised the RMP amendment/EIS accordingly. Comments and
responses are attached as Appendix W in the proposed RMP amendment/EIS.
Changes Between Draft RMP Amendment and Proposed RMP Amendment
Based on public comments received on the draft RMP amendment/draft
EIS, the BLM updated the proposed RMP amendment/final EIS (Alternative
F) by incorporating management actions and allowable uses from
Alternatives A, B, C, D, and E, including corrections and rewording for
clarification of purpose and intent. Language throughout the document
was revisited for readability and to meet the required page limits for
an EIS. In consideration of comments received, the following management
was updated in Alternative F:
<bullet> Uses would be avoided in buffer distances for all Gunnison
sage-grouse lek statuses (active, inactive, historic,
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unknown in Colorado, occupied, and unoccupied in Utah);
<bullet> Objectives and management for net surface disturbance
rather than disturbance caps were clarified;
<bullet> Management for Gunnison sage-grouse satellite populations
was recognized as different in some aspects from the Gunnison Basin
population under Lands and Realty and Recreation;
<bullet> Management in the current and proposed ACECs was refined,
and a new Backcountry Conservation Area would be designated; and
<bullet> Appendices were also developed and expanded upon.
Protest of the Proposed RMP Amendment
The BLM planning regulations state that any person who participated
in the preparation of the RMP and has an interest that will or might be
adversely affected by approval of the proposed RMP amendment may
protest its approval to the BLM. Protest on the proposed RMP amendment
constitutes the final opportunity for administrative review of the
proposed land use planning decisions prior to the BLM adopting an
approved RMP amendment. Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM
regarding the proposed RMP amendment may be found online (see
ADDRESSES). All protests must be in writing and mailed to the
appropriate address or submitted electronically through the BLM
ePlanning project website (see ADDRESSES). Protests submitted
electronically by any means other than the ePlanning project website
will be invalid unless a hard copy of the protest is also submitted.
The BLM will render a written decision on each protest. The protest
decision of the BLM shall be the final decision of the Department of
the Interior. Responses to valid protest issues will be compiled and
documented in a Protest Resolution Report made available following the
protest resolution online at: <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports">https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports</a>. Upon
resolution of protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision and
approved RMP amendment.
Before including your phone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest you should 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 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, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR
1610.5)
Douglas J. Vilsack,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-14531 Filed 7-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-16-P
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