Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement; Oregon

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[4310-OR-100-6332-00; 5-032]

Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final

Environmental Impact Statement; Oregon

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 102(2)(c) of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, section 202(f) of the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act of 1976, and 43 CFR part 1610, a Proposed

Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement has been

prepared for the Roseburg District, Oregon. The Proposed Final RMP/EIS

describes and analyzes future options for managing approximately

423,900 acres of mostly forested public land and 1,717 acres of non-

federal surface ownership with federal mineral estate administered by

the Bureau of Land Management in Douglas county in southwestern Oregon.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The Draft RMP/EIS was available for public review

and comment from August 21, 1992 to December 21, 1992. Written comments

were received from agencies, organizations, and individuals. All

comments provided were considered during the preparation of the

Proposed Final RMP/EIS.

Copies of the Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental

Impact Statement and its summary may be obtained from the Roseburg

District Office. Copies will be available for review at public

libraries throughout Douglas County, all government document depository

libraries, and at the following BLM locations:

Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building Room 5600, 18th

and C Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C.

Public Room, Oregon State Office 1515 S.W. 5th Portland, Oregon

97201

Roseburg District Office 777 NW Garden Valley Blvd. Roseburg, Oregon

97470

All other BLM offices in western Oregon.

Background information and maps used in developing the Proposed

Final RMP/EIS are available at the Roseburg District Office.

Open houses with opportunity to discuss the Proposed Resource

Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement will be held at

the Roseburg District Office (at the above address). The dates, times,

and locations of all open house meetings will be announced in a

separate mailer as well as in the local media.

Protests should be sent to: Director (760), Bureau of Land

Management, Chief, Planning and Environmental Coordination, Bureau of

Land Management, 1849 ``C'' Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.

The Roseburg District Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final

Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be published on or about

November 10, 1994. Protests must be postmarked within the 30-day

protest period which would start November 18, 1994 and would close

December 19. 1994. To be considered complete, your protest must

contain, at a minimum, the following information:

--Name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the person

filing the protest.

--A statement of the issue or issues being protested.

--A statement of the part or parts of the specific (named) proposed RMP

being protested. To the extent possible, this should be done by

reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, maps, etc.

included in the document.

--A copy of all documents addressing the issue or issues that you

submitted during the planning process or a reference to the date the

issue or issues were discussed by you for the record.

--A concise statement explaining why the BLM State Director's decision

is believed to be incorrect. This is a critical part of your protest.

Document all relevant facts. As much as possible, reference or cite the

planning documents, environmental analysis documents, and available

planning records (e.g., meeting minutes or summaries, or

correspondence). A protest that merely expresses disagreement with the

Oregon/Washington State Director's proposed decision, without any data,

will not provide us with the benefit of your information and insight.

In this case, the Director's review will be based on the existing

analysis and supporting data.

At the end of the 30-day protest period, the BLM may issue a Record

of Decision approving implementation of any portion of the proposed

plan not under protest. Approval will be withheld on any portion of the

plan under protest until the protest has been resolved.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Phil Hall, RMP Team Leader Roseburg

District Office; Phone (503) 440-4930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final

Environmental Impact Statement describes and analyzes seven

alternatives to resolve the following issues: (1) Timber production

practices; (2) Old-growth forests and habitat diversity; (3) Threatened

and endangered and other special status species habitat, including

habitat for the northern spotted owl; (4) Special areas; (5) Visual

resources; (6) Stream/riparian/water quality; (7) Recreation resources;

(8) Wild and scenic rivers; (9) Land tenure; and (10) Rural interface

areas. The issues are analyzed in seven distinct alternatives, with

each alternative representing a complete management plan for the

district.

The Proposed Resource Management Plan responds to the need for a

healthy forest ecosystem with habitat that will support populations of

native species (particularly those associated with late-successional

and old-growth forests). It also responds to the need for a sustainable

supply of timber and other forest products that will help maintain the

stability of local and regional economies and will contribute valuable

resources to the national economy, on a predictable and long-term

basis. BLM-administered lands are primarily allocated to Riparian

Reserves, Late-Successional Reserves, General Forest Management Areas,

and Connectivity/Diversity Blocks. An Aquatic Conservation Strategy

would be applied to all lands and waters under BLM jurisdiction.

Approximately 89,900 acres would be managed for timber production.

The annual probable sale quantity would be 7.0 million cubic feet (45

million board feet). Standing trees; snags; and down, dead woody

material would be retained to contribute to biological diversity,

Management would provide for a wide variety of recreation

opportunities, with particular emphasis on enhancement of opportunities

for dispersed recreational use.

Approximately 29 miles of river found eligible for designation and

studied by BLM would be found not suitable for designation.

Most BLM-administered lands would remain available for mineral

leasing and location of mining claims, but 28 acres would be closed to

leasing for oil and gas and geothermal resources, and 5,070 acres would

be closed to location of claims.

The Proposed Resource Management Plan would designate or

redesignate the following ACECs and RNAs:

Bear Gulch.................................. ACEC/RNA330 acres.

Beatty Creek................................ ACEC/RNA331 acres.

Bushnell-Irwin Rocks........................ ACEC958 acres.

Myrtle Island............................... ACEC/RNA30 acres.

North Bank.................................. ACEC6221 acres.

North Myrtle Creek.......................... ACEC/RNA472 acres.

North Umpqua River.......................... ACEC1620 acres.

Red Pond.................................... ACEC/RNA134 acres.

Tater Hill.................................. ACEC/RNA280 acres.

Umpqua River Wildlife Area.................. ACEC 947 acres.

There were no potential ACEC areas identified that met the Bureau

ACEC criteria of relevance and importance that are not included in

whole or in part in the proposed alternative described above.

This notice meets the requirements of 43 CFR 1610.7-2 for

designation of

ACECs and the requirements of the final revised Department of the

Interior-Department of Agriculture Guidelines for Eligibility,

Classification, and Management of Rivers (FR Vol. 47, No. 173, pg.

39454).

Dated: November 10, 1994.

Bennie C. Hobbs,

Acting District Manager, Roseburg District Manager.

[FR Doc. 94-28469 Filed 11-16-94; 8:45 am]

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