Notice of Availability

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-040-06-1610-00]

Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Green River Resource Area,

Rock Springs District, Wyoming, announces: (1) the availability of the

Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for the Green River Resource Management Plan (RMP), (2) the approved

Green River RMP, and (3) notice of off-road vehicle designations for

the Green River Resource Area.

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SUMMARY: The ROD identifies the selection and approval of the Green

River RMP. The Green River RMP presents multiple use management

prescriptions for about 3.6 million acres of public land surface and

3.7 million acres of Federal mineral estate, administered by the BLM,

in portions of Sweetwater, Fremont, Lincoln, Uinta, and Sublette

counties in southwest Wyoming.

The draft EIS for the Green River RMP was made available for public

review and comment in November of 1992. Comments received on the draft

EIS were considered in preparing the proposed Green River RMP and final

EIS which was made available for public review and protest in May of

1996.

Management prescriptions are presented in the Green River RMP for

all BLM-administered public land and resource uses and values found

within the planning area, including the following: air quality,

cultural resources, fire management, forests and woodlands, hazardous

materials, lands and realty management, livestock grazing, minerals,

off-road vehicles, outdoor recreation, special status species,

vegetation, visual resources, watershed, wild horses, wildlife, and

special management areas. Since wilderness values are addressed in

other documents, the Green River RMP does not address them.

The Green River RMP is a comprehensive multiple-use land use plan.

It is a refinement of the preferred alternative presented in the draft

EIS and the proposed RMP presented in the final EIS. While the intent

and content of the Green River RMP are not different from the proposed

RMP, comments from the public, review by BLM staff, and new information

obtained since the distribution of the final EIS have prompted some

wording clarifications in the RMP.

This Federal Register Notice serves as the notice for the off-road

vehicle (ORV) designations for the Green River Resource Area as

identified in the Green River RMP. The ORV designations are described

underSUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION in this notice.

This notice also serves to meet the criteria for public

notification of linear or site rights-of-way within floodplains as

required by BLM Manual 7221 except for those associated with perennial

streams. The BLM will solicit public comment on site facilities or

major

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linear rights-of-way along perennial streams unless another agency

(Federal, State, or local) already has solicited such comments.

ADDRESSES: Information on the Green River RMP may be obtained from the

Green River Resource Area Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs,

Wyoming 82901, (307) 352-0256.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan McKee, Green River Resource Area

Manager, or Renee Dana, Green River RMP Team Leader, at the Rock

Springs BLM District Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs,

Wyoming 82901, (307) 352-0256. Copies of the ROD and Green River RMP

are available from the Green River Resource Area Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Eight protests were submitted during the 30-

day protest period for the proposed Green River RMP. All of the

protests were responded to and resolved by the Director of the Bureau

of Land Management (BLM). Resolution of the protests required some

minor corrections and wording clarification but did not result in

changing any of the proposed Green River RMP decisions.

The Green River RMP provides the interim management direction for

those BLM-administered public lands along waterways that were

determined to meet the suitability factors for further consideration

for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System (WSRS). Seven

parcels of BLM-administered lands, along a total of about 9.7 miles of

the Sweetwater River, have been found to meet the suitability factors

to be given further consideration for inclusion in the WSRS. Tentative

classifications of the various parcels include wild (about 5.8 miles),

scenic (about 0.5 miles), and recreational (about 3.4 miles). The

interim management of these parcels will continue until Congress

decides to consider them further for possible inclusion in the WSRS.

The Green River RMP includes identification of the Federal coal

lands in the Green River Resource Area that are acceptable for further

leasing consideration.

The Green River RMP includes designations of Areas of Critical

Environmental Concern (ACEC). Seven prior ACEC designations are

retained (or modified):

--Cedar Canyon ACEC (approximately 2,550 acres) with management

priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing important

cultural, scenic, and wildlife habitat values.

--Greater Red Creek ACEC (approximately 131,890 acres--the original Red

Creek ACEC of 55,880 acres was expanded to include the Currant Creek

and Sage Creek drainages) with management priority and emphasis given

to maintaining or enhancing fragile soils, Colorado River cutthroat

trout, and water quality values.

--Greater Sand Dunes ACEC (approximately 38,650 acres) with management

priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing unique and

unusual geological features associated with the sand dunes and Boars

Tusk, and the diverse biological interrelationships supported by the

sand dunes, especially the dependent plants and animals.

--Natural Corrals ACEC (approximately 1,276 acres) with management

priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing the unique and

important cultural, historical, recreational, and geological values.

--Oregon Buttes ACEC (approximately 3,450 acres) with management

priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing the historic

landmark, significant wildlife values, and the scenic integrity.

--Pine Springs ACEC (expanded from 90 acres to approximately 6,030

acres to include adjacent relevant and important values) with

management priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing the

important cultural, historic, and prehistoric resource values.

--White Mountain Petroglyphs ACEC (approximately 20 acres) with

management priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing the

educational opportunities and important cultural, wildlife, scenic, and

Native American values.

Three new areas are designated ACECs:

--South Pass Historic Landscape ACEC (approximately 53,780 acres) with

management priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing the

visual and historical integrity of historic trails and their

surrounding viewscape.

--Special Status (Candidate) Plants ACEC (four separate locations

totalling approximately 900 acres) with management priority and

emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing these species and their

habitats.

--Steamboat Mountain ACEC (approximately 43,270 acres) with management

priority and emphasis given to maintaining or enhancing the wildlife

habitats and vegetation communities.

The management actions for each ACEC include conditional

requirements for surface disturbing activities and other land uses such

as limitations on oil and gas and coal exploration and development

activities, geophysical exploration, right-of-way construction, and

vehicular travel. Portions of the ACECs may be closed to future

locatable mineral exploration and development subject to valid existing

rights. The level of these vary in each ACEC.

Six areas are designated Special Recreation Management Areas

(SRMAs):

--The Greater Sand Dunes (about 38,650 acres).

--The Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, California, and Pony Express National

Historic Trails (about 125 miles).

--The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the Continental

Divide Snowmobile Trail (about 24 miles).

--The Green River (about 4,048 acres).

--The Wind River Front (about 261,080 acres).

The remainder of the BLM-administered public lands in the Green River

Resource Area are designated an Extensive Recreation Management Area

(ERMA).

Five backcountry byways are also designated: the Tri-Territory

Loop, the Lander Road, Red Desert, Fort LaClede Loop, and the Firehole-

Little Mountain Loop.

Management of wilderness values is not addressed in the Green River

RMP. The twelve wilderness study areas (WSAs) within the Green River

Resource Area are addressed in the ``Rock Springs District Wilderness

Final EIS,'' September 1990, and the ``Adobe Town-Ferris Mountains

Wilderness Final EIS,'' December 1987.

The Green River RMP includes the following Off-Road Vehicle (ORV)

designations: areas open to off-road vehicular use, areas with use

limitations (i.e., limited to seasonal use, limited to existing roads

and trails, and limited to designated roads and trails), and areas

closed to vehicular use. (Note: The areas designated as limited

seasonally and limited to designated roads and trails, overlap one

another as do the areas designated as limited seasonally and limited to

existing roads and trails.) Maps of the ORV designations are on file in

the Green River Resource Area Office.

Specific designations are as follows:

A. Open Designation (approximately 10,500 acres). Vehicle travel is

permitted both on and off roads in the eastern portion of the Greater

Sand Dunes Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) (about 10,500

acres).

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Vehicle use is confined to the active sand dunes within the 10,500

acres.

B. Limited Designations:

1. Motorized vehicle travel is limited to existing roads and trails

except during certain periods of the year when areas may be closed to

all vehicles (approximately 1,627,955 acres). Acres may not total

because of overlap.

a. Big game crucial winter ranges (about 1,500,000 acres) are

limited through seasonal closures (November 15-April 30 as needed) to

reduce stress on wintering animals. Closure to over-the-snow vehicles

will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the

Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

b. Deer parturition areas (about 40,880 acres) are limited through

seasonal closures (May 1 to June 30 as needed) to reduce stress on

deer.

c. Elk calving areas (about 85,830 acres) are limited through

seasonal closures (to be decided by biologist--May 1 to June 30 as

needed) to reduce stress on elk.

d. Moose calving areas (about 410 acres) are limited through

seasonal closures (to be decided by biologist--May 1 to June 30 as

needed) to reduce stress on moose.

e. Raptor nesting areas (about 835 acres) are limited through

seasonal closures (February 1 through July 31 as needed) to protect

nesting raptors.

f. Steamboat Mountain (about 15,981 acres) is limited through

seasonal closures (to be determined, but usually between May 1 and June

30) to protect wildlife values (big game birthing areas are of

particular concern).

2. Motorized vehicle travel is limited to designated roads and

trails only on approximately 1,006,336 acres. Vehicle use in these

areas will be managed the same as under the existing roads and trails

designation until the designation is implemented on the ground (i.e.,

until the designated roads are identified and signs or notices are put

in place). Acres may not total because of overlap.

a. Adobe Town-Haystacks (about 54,000 acres) to protect fragile and

highly erodible soils.

b. Cedar Canyon ACEC (about 2,550 acres) to protect wildlife and

cultural values (includes over-the-snow vehicles).

c. Dug Springs Stage Station (about 10 acres) to protect historic

values.

d. Greater Red Creek ACEC (about 123,870 acres) (includes the

Currant Creek and Sage Creek watersheds, and remainder of Red Creek

watershed) to protect watershed values.

e. An area adjacent to the Green River city limits (about 4,500

acres within a 2-mile radius around the city limits) to reduce impacts

from ORV freeplay.

f. LaBarge Bluff Petroglyphs (about 100 acres within \1/2\ mile

surrounding the petroglyphs) to protect cultural values.

g. LaClede Stage Station (about 10 acres) to protect historic

values.

h. Monument Valley (about 69,940 acres) to protect paleontological

resource values and watershed values.

i. Natural Corrals ACEC (about 1,300 acres) to protect cultural,

historic, and geologic resource values.

j. North and South Table Mountains (about 1,280 acres) to protect

cultural and wildlife values.

k. Parting of the Ways (about 40 acres) to protect historical

values.

l. Pine Mountain (about 64,200 acres) to protect watershed values.

m. Red Desert (about 245,480 acres) to protect scenic resource

values.

n. South Pass (about 33,700 acres) to protect cultural values.

o. Steamboat Mountain ACEC (about 43,270 acres) to protect wildlife

values.

p. Steep slopes of White Mountain (about 68,640 acres) to protect

watershed and visual values.

q. Sugarloaf Basin (about 85,880 acres) to protect watershed

values.

r. Sugarloaf Petroglyphs (about 350 acres within \1/2\ mile radius)

to protect cultural values.

s. Tolar Petroglyphs (about 310 acres within \1/2\ mile radius) to

protect cultural values.

t. White Mountain Petroglyphs ACEC (about 480 acres within \1/2\

mile surrounding the petroglyphs) to protect cultural values.

u. Wind River Front Special Recreation Management area (about

260,580 acres) to protect the nearby Class I airshed, scenic,

watershed, and wildlife values; recreation use; and riparian and

vegetation resources.

3. Motorized vehicle travel is limited to existing roads and trails

on approximately 2,436,595 acres. Acres may not total because of

overlap.

a. General Green River Resource Area (about 2,436,595 acres) to

reduce resource damage.

b. Greater Sand Dunes ACEC (Eastern Portion) (about 5,810 acres of

stabilized dunes) to protect resource values.

c. Pine Springs ACEC (about 730 acres outside the WSA and original

90-acre site) to protect resource values.

d. Riparian areas (about 8,730 acres) to protect riparian and

watershed values. During muddy conditions, vehicle travel may be

limited to protect soil and watershed values.

C. Closed Designations (approximately 181,570 acres). Acres may not

total because of overlap.

1. The following areas are closed to vehicle use.

a. Crookston Ranch (about 40 acres) in the Greater Sand Dunes ACEC

to protect cultural and historic site.

b. Dry Sandy Swales (about 20 acres) to protect integrity of

setting and soils.

c. Road around Boars Tusk and the Boars Tusk (about 90 acres) to

preserve its value as a geologic feature.

d. LaBarge Bluffs Petroglyphs (about 20 acres) to protect cultural

values.

e. Natural Corrals National Register of Historic Places site (about

20 acres and the trail [about \1/2\ mile] to the spring) to protect

wildlife and cultural values.

f. Oregon Buttes (about 3,450 acres) to protect historic, wildlife,

and scenic resource values, and adjacent WSA values.

g. Pine Springs (about 5,390 acres within the Pine Springs ACEC) to

protect cultural, historic, and prehistoric resource values.

h. Prehistoric Quarry site (about 160 acres) to protect cultural

values.

i. Special Status Plant Species (about 3,610 acres) to protect

plant populations.

j. Sugarloaf Petroglyph site (about 20 acres) to protect cultural

values.

k. Tolar Petroglyph site (about 20 acres) to protect cultural

values.

l. Wilderness Study Areas (to protect naturalness, solitude, and

opportunities for unconfined recreation):

Buffalo Hump: 10,300 acres

South Pinnacles: 10,800 acres

Sand Dunes: 27,109 acres

Alkali Basin-East Sand Dunes: 12,800 acres

Alkali Draw: 16,990 acres

Red Lake: 9,515 acres

Honeycomb Buttes: 41,188 acres

Oregon Buttes: 5,700 acres

Whitehorse Creek: 4,002 acres

Devils Playground-Twin Buttes: 23,841 acres

Red Creek Badlands: 8,020 acres

Parties who are interested in and who wish to be involved in future

activity planning and implementation of management actions that may

involve or affect the resource values addressed in the Green River RMP

are requested to identify themselves. Please contact the Green River

Resource Area Office at the above address and request to be placed on a

future contact list for activity planning and implementation activities

concerning the Green River RMP.

Dated: July 2, 1998.

Alan R. Pierson,

State Director.

[FR Doc. 98-18336 Filed 7-9-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-22-P