Availability Notice; Royal Gorge Resource Area Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement; Colorado

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[CO-050-1610-00]

Availability Notice; Royal Gorge Resource Area Proposed Resource

Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement; Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Royal Gorge Proposed Resource

Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement. This document

is now available to the public for a 30 day protest period.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management, Canon City District, Royal

Gorge Resource Area office has prepared a proposed resource management

plan (PRMP) and final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the

Royal Gorge Resource Area (RGRA) in accordance with the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and 43 CFR part 1600. A draft

resource management plan (DRMP) and environmental impact statement

(DEIS) for the RGRA was made available to the public in September of

1993 for a 90 day review and comment period Substantial public comment

was received through three public hearings and 180+ written letters.

More than nine hundred specific comments were received with the largest

concern related to and disagreeing with the recommendation not to

designate the 126 miles of the Upper Arkansas River and the 20 miles of

Beaver Creek as Wild & Scenic River. These comments have been responded

to within the PRMP/FEIS. This final plan replaces and supersedes all

existing land use plans and other related environmental documents. This

final plan establishes ten ecological subregions upon which all the

decisions within the plan are focused. This final plan establishes

resource conditions for, provides for managing and allocating of BLM

administered land and mineral resources in the RGRA for the next 15 to

20 years. Located in eastern Colorado, the RGRA encompasses 653,000

acres of Federal surface estate and 2,566,000 acres of Federal

subsurface mineral estate within Baca, Brent, Chaffee, Crowley, Custer,

El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa, Lake, Las Animas, Otero, Park,

Prowers, Pueblo, and Teller counties.

Only those parties who made substantial comments to BLM on the

RGRA/DEIS during the 90 day review and comment period would be

considered to have standing for protest of the decisions within this

plan.

DATES: The PRMP/FEIS protest period will begin on March 27, 1995, and

will run through close of business on April 26, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may obtain a copy of the PRMP/FEIS from

the Bureau of Land Management, Royal Gorge Resource Area, 3170 East

Main Street, Canon City, CO 81212.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dave Taliaferro, RMP Project Manager, at (719) 539-7560 or Paul

Trentzsch, Royal Gorge Area Manager, at (719) 275-0631.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Some of the highlights of the PRMP/FEIS are:

1. The plan focuses on the principles of multiple use and sustained

yield as mandated by section 202 of FLPMA. The plan directs future

resource condition objectives, land use allocations, and management

actions.

2. The plan designates nine areas of critical environmental concern

(ACEC's) these being a. Mosquito Pass (4,036 acres), b. Browns Canyon

(11,697 acres), c. Droney Gulch (705 acres), d. Arkansas Canyonlands

(23,921 acres), e. Grape Creek (15,978 acres), f. Garden Park (2,728

acres), g. Phantom Canyon (6,096 acres), h. Beaver Creek (12,081

acres), and i. Cucharas Canyon (1,314 acres).

3. The plan serves as the final environmental impact statement

required for the Wild and Scenic River Act. Twenty miles of Beaver

Creek and 126 miles of the Arkansas River were analyzed and found to be

eligible and suitable for potential designation under the Wild and

Scenic River Act. BLM management directs within the final plan and all

146 stream miles not be recommended to Congress as a potential addition

to the National Wild and Scenic River System. These streams would be

managed under a protective interim management prescription for a period

of three years after the Approved Resource Management Plan (ARMP)/

Record of Decision (ROD) is signed.

4. The plan did carry out an analysis and does recommend that

197,000 acres in the Arkansas River Corridor be recommended to Congress

to be designated as a National Recreation Area. This would include the

segments of the Arkansas River that were determined to be eligible and

suitable for Wild and Scenic River designation.

Upon the closing of the protest period the ARMP/ROD will be

prepared and would be tentatively scheduled to be completed by

September of 1995.

Stuart L. Freer,

Associate District Manager.

[FR Doc. 95-7159 Filed 3-22-95; 8:45 am]

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