Notice of Availability of the Draft Bering Sea-Western Interior Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska; Notice of Public Meetings and Subsistence Hearings
| Citation | 84 FR 10328 |
| Record Number | 2019-05291 |
| Published date | 20 March 2019 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Land Management Bureau |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 10328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05291]
[[Page 10328]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[19X.LLAK930000 L16100000.PN0000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Bering Sea-Western Interior
Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska;
Notice of Public Meetings and Subsistence Hearings
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Anchorage Field Office,
Anchorage, Alaska, is issuing for public comment the Draft Resource
Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the
Bering Sea-Western Interior (BSWI) planning area. The BLM is also
announcing that it will hold public meetings and Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) Section 810 subsistence-
related hearings to receive comments on the BSWI RMP/EIS.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of
Availability of the Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will
announce public meetings and ANILCA Section 810 subsistence-related
hearings and any other public participation activities at least 15 days
in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may provide comments by mail, fax, email, or in person.
Mail comments to: BLM Anchorage Field Office, Attention--BSWI RMP, 4700
BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507; fax comments to 907-267-1267; email
comments to [email protected]; or hand-deliver comments during
normal business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to the BLM Anchorage Field
Office at 4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507.
You can review the BSWI RMP/EIS online at BLM Alaska's website at
www.blm.gov/alaska/BSWI. Copies of the BSWI Draft RMP/EIS are available
for viewing in the BLM Anchorage Field Office at the above address; the
BLM Alaska Public Information Center (Public Room) at the Federal
Building at 222 West 8th Avenue, Anchorage; the Alaska Resources
Library & Information Services (ARLIS) Library Building at 3211
Providence Drive, Suite 111, Anchorage; and the Yukon Delta National
Wildlife Refuge Office at 807 Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel. You may
also request an electronic or paper copy of the BSWI Draft RMP/EIS by
contacting Jorjena Barringer, BLM project lead, at 907-267-1246.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jorjena Barringer RMP Project Manager,
BLM Anchorage Field Office, telephone: 907-267-1246, email:
[email protected]. People who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours.
The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message
or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BSWI Planning Area is located in western
Alaska and encompasses approximately 62.3 million acres of land,
including 13.5 million acres managed by the BLM. The planning area
extends south from the Central Yukon watershed through the Kuskokwim
River watershed, including all lands west of Denali National Park and
Preserve to the Bering Sea. The BSWI RMP/EIS does not apply to non-BLM-
managed lands, including lands conveyed through the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act or Alaska Statehood Act; Federal lands
administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; private lands; or
Native allotments (including townsite lots).
This RMP replaces the 1981 Southwest Management Framework Plan and
a small portion of the 1986 Central Yukon Resource Management Plan,
including amendments. It provides:
Consolidated direction to address land and resource use
and development on BLM-managed lands within the planning area and under
one RMP, and
Analysis of the environmental effects that could result
from the implementation of the alternatives proposed in the BSWI Draft
RMP/EIS.
This Draft RMP/EIS evaluates four alternatives for managing the
planning area. Alternative A, the no action alternative, represents
existing management described by current land use plans and provides
the benchmark against which to compare the other alternatives.
Alternative B emphasizes reducing the potential for competition between
recreational or developmental uses and subsistence resources by
identifying key areas for additional management actions. Alternative C,
which is identified as the preferred alternative, emphasizes adaptive
management at the planning level to maintain the long-term
sustainability of resources while providing for multiple resource uses.
Alternative D provides additional flexibility at the project-specific
implementation level and fewer management restrictions at the planning
level. Alternatives B, C, and D were developed using input from the
public, stakeholders, and cooperating agencies. Major planning issues
addressed include subsistence resources, including water resources,
fisheries, and wildlife; forestry; minerals and mining; recreation;
travel management and access; and areas of critical environmental
concern.
Section 810 of ANILCA requires BLM to evaluate the effects of the
alternatives presented in the Draft EIS on subsistence resources and
activities, and to hold public hearings if it finds that any
alternative may significantly restrict subsistence uses. The
preliminary evaluation of subsistence impacts indicates that each of
the alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIS and the associated
cumulative impacts may significantly restrict subsistence uses.
Therefore, BLM will hold public hearings on subsistence resources and
activities in conjunction with the Draft EIS public meetings in, or in
the vicinity of, potentially affected communities.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personally identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personally identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask the BLM in your comment to withhold your personally identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3120(a); 40 CFR 1506.6(b)
Ted A. Murphy,
Acting State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2019-05291 Filed 3-19-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P
