Resource Management Plans, etc.: Coos Bay District, OR

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-120-00--6350-00-G5-018; 5-00151]

Resource Management Plans, etc.: Coos Bay District, OR

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan/

Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Coos Bay District, Coos

Bay, Oregon.

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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 (PRMP/

FEIS) has been prepared for the Coos Bay District, Oregon. The PRMP/

FEIS describes and analyzes future options for managing approximately

329,700 acres of mostly forested public land and 12,150 acres of non-

federal surface ownership with federal mineral estate administered by

the Bureau of Land Management in Coos, Curry, Douglas, and Lane

counties in southwestern Oregon.

DATES: There will be a 30-day comment/protest period beginning when the

Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in

the Federal Register, anticipated to be November 18, 1994. Anyone can

comment on the PRMP/FEIS but only those persons or organizations who

participated in the planning process leading to this PRMP/FEIS may

protest. Protests must be postmarked within the 30-day comment/protest

period.

A protesting party may raise only those issues which were submitted

for the record during the planing process. Protests of proposed plan

elements that merely adopt decisions made in the Record of Decision for

Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning

documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (SEIS ROD) will

be dismissed as the Director has no authority to overrule those

decisions. Details of the protest process can be found in the PRMP/

FEIS.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the PRMP/FEIS and a summary of it may be obtained

from the Coos Bay District Office. Copies will be available for public

reading and review at the public libraries in Brookings, Gold Beach,

Bandon, Myrtle Point, Coquille, Coos Bay, North Bend, Reedsport, and

Powers, all government document depository libraries, and at the

following BLM locations:

Office of External Affairs, Main Interior Building, room 5647, 1849 C

Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20240.

Public Room, Oregon State Office, 1515 SW. Fifth Avenue, Portland,

Oregon 97201.

Public Room, Coos Bay District Office, 1300 Airport Lane, North

Bend, Oregon 97459.

All other BLM offices in western Oregon

Background information and maps used in developing the PRMP/FEIS

are available at the Coos Bay District Office.

Open houses with opportunity to discuss the PRMP/FEIS will be held

at the Coos Bay District Office. The dates, times, and locations of all

open house meetings will be announced in a separate mailer as well as

in the local media.

Comments should be sent to: District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, Coos Bay District Office, 1300 Airport Lane, North Bend,

Oregon 97459.

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, DC 20240.

At the end of the 30-day comment/protest period, the BLM may issue

a Record of Decision approving implementation of any portion of

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: Bob Gunther, RMP Team Leader, Coos Bay

District Office; phone (503) 756-0100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public participation has occurred throughout

the RMP process. A Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register

on August 28,1986 (Volume 51, number 167, page 30718). Since that time,

numerous public meetings, mailings, and briefings were conducted to

solicit comments and ideas. 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.

Oral comments were also received at public meetings held in North Bend,

Reedsport, and Gold Beach Oregon. All comments presented throughout the

process have been considered in preparation of the PRMP/FEIS.

The PRMP/FEIS 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 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 61,900 acres would be managed for timber production.

The annual probable sale quantity would be 5.3 million cubic feet (32.1

million board feet). To contribute to biological diversity, standing

trees, snags, and down, dead woody material would be retained.

Management would provide for a wide variety of recreation

opportunities, with particular emphasis on enhancement of opportunities

for dispersed recreational use.

Approximately 184 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 1,600 acres would be closed

to leasing for oil and gas and geothermal resources, and 12,500 acres

would be closed to location of claims.

The PRMP/FEIS proposes continuation of designation of one Area of

Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), one Research Natural Area (RNA),

and designation of nine new ACECs. The Proposed RMP would designate or

redesignate the following ACECs and RNA with the noted restrictions.

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Area name Approx. acres Veg. harv. OHV use Min. loc. Min. lease R/W

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Cherry Creek RNA/ACEC. 570 NC NC NC NC NC

New River ACEC........ 860 NA R P P P

Wassen Creek ACEC..... 3,440 R R P R P

North Spit ACEC....... 580 NA R P P P

North Fork Coquille 290 P R P R P

River ACEC.

Tioga Creek ACEC...... 40 P P P R P

China Wall ACEC....... 240 P P P R P

North Fork Hunter 1,730 R R P R P

Creek ACEC.

Hunter Creek Bog ACEC. 570 P R P R P

North Fork Chetco 600 P R P R P

River ACEC.

Upper Rock Creek ACEC. 460 P R P R P

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NC = No Change from existing situation.

P = Use is prohibited.

R = Use is allowed but with restrictions.

NA = Use is not applicable to this area.

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 PRMP/FEIS 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 9, 1994.

Mel Chase

District Manager

[FR Doc. 94-28784 Filed 11-21-94; 8:45 am]

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