Resource Management Plan, Pinedale Field Office, Wyoming

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-100-00-1610-DG]

Resource Management Plan, Pinedale Field Office, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement

and resource management plan, request for information for scoping

process, call for coal resource information, and notice of public

meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Pinedale Field Office

invites the public to provide information on BLM-administered public

lands and resources in the Snake River planning area and to identify

issues and concerns to be addressed in the environmental impact

statement (EIS) for the Snake River Resource Management Plan (RMP). As

required in 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is also the specific call for

coal resource information and identification of areas where there is an

interest in future leasing and development of Federal coal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may obtain further

information or request to be placed on the mailing list for the Snake

River RMP planning effort by contacting Kellie Roadifer, RMP Team

Leader, or Prill Mecham, Field Manager, Pinedale Field Office, 432 East

Mill Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941, (307) 367-5300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Snake River corridor and adjacent areas,

collectively known as Jackson Hole, in Teton County, Wyoming, make up

the Snake River RMP planning area.

Within the Snake River corridor, BLM-administered public lands to

be addressed in the RMP include about 1,345 acres of public land

surface and Federal mineral estate, plus about 740 acres of public land

surface underlain by State or privately-owned mineral estate.

In addition, the BLM is responsible for administering various

recreation easements on private lands within the river corridor. These

easements, combined with the public land parcels, provide almost

continuous recreational access to the river channel for public uses

such as anchoring a boat to fish and wading in the river. A few of the

Snake River levees are within these easements, supporting several miles

of public access by foot and vehicle in places, but most of the

easements allow access only by boat from the river.

The BLM is also responsible for administering mineral exploration

and development on an additional 12,000 acres of Federal mineral

estate. This mineral estate, which is mostly outside the river

corridor, underlies lands owned or administered by private individuals,

the State of Wyoming, or local governments.

The Snake River RMP planning area includes all lands in Jackson

Hole between the Forest Service boundaries on the east, west, and

south, and the National Park Service boundary on the north, for the

purpose of evaluating environmental impacts (including the cumulative

impacts) of BLM land-use planning decisions. However, the planning and

management decisions to be made by the BLM will apply only to the BLM-

administered land surface, the Federal mineral estate, and the

recreational easements mentioned in the four paragraphs above.

The Snake River RMP is in the preplanning stage. Preplanning

activities include identifying planning issues and concerns, developing

a schedule for plan preparation, and establishing public participation

activities.

Some preliminary planning issues and concerns have been identified

which may be addressed by the following questions: (1) What types and

levels of recreational and interpretive development are appropriate on

public land surface to help satisfy existing and future demand for

public recreation and education? (2) Consistent with valid existing

rights, what other activities, including livestock grazing and mineral

extraction, are appropriate on these lands? (3) What levels of mineral

activity are appropriate for the exploration and development of the

BLM-administered mineral estate? (4) What requirements or restrictions

on land use will be necessary to protect important public resources

such as recreational opportunities, scenic quality, wildlife habitat,

sensitive plants, and cultural resources? (5) Which, if any, of the

BLM-administered public lands along the Snake River meet the

eligibility criteria and suitability factors to be given future

consideration

[[Page 70279]]

for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System?

The public is invited to identify other issues and concerns that

should be addressed in the planning process and to comment on those

identified by the BLM staff.

The BLM is also requesting resource data and information that will

be used to further define issues and concerns, update the inventory

base, help develop planning alternatives, and analyze environmental

consequences. The BLM will conduct very little new inventory work;

therefore, development of the RMP will rely mostly upon existing

available resource information and data.

A contingent valuation methodology (CVM) survey or study is planned

as part of the RMP analysis to consider the economic value of certain

non-market goods and services such as clean air, open space, and

wildlife habitat, associated with BLM-administered lands in the

planning area. This survey will involve the collection of random public

responses through questionnaires and interviews.

Pursuant to 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice is a formal request for

coal resource information and identification of any substantiated

interest in future leasing and development of Federal coal in the Snake

River planning area. Specifically, information on the location, quality

and quantity of Federal coal with development potential, and on surface

resource values related to the twenty coal unsuitability criteria

described in 43 CFR 3481.1 is requested and will be used to conduct any

necessary coal screening (43 CFR 3420.1-4) during the planning process.

The BLM has limited coal resource data for the planning area and will

be unable to conduct further inventories. Parties interested in Federal

coal leasing and development will be expected to provide coal and other

resource data for their areas of interest. Information concerning areas

of leasing interest, coal resource data, and other resource information

related to unsuitability criteria must be submitted to the Pinedale

Field Office, at the address above.

Federal coal leasing in the planning area outside designated coal

production regions may be considered apart from the competitive leasing

process set out in 43 CFR 3420.3 through 3420.5-2. Since the Snake

River planning area is not within a coal production region, any Federal

coal leasing will be considered on a case-by-case basis, called

``Leasing on Application'' under the appropriate provisions of 43 CFR

part 3425 and 43 CFR 3420.1-4 through 3420.1-8. Note that the sale and

issuance of Federal leases under these provisions is still done through

a competitive bidding process.

Identification at this time of definite interests in future Federal

coal leasing, substantiated with adequate coal and other resource data,

will allow these interests to be considered in the planning process. In

this way, unnecessary administrative delays or revisions in the plan

may be avoided if coal lease applications are submitted in the future.

Public participation activities will be initiated with an open

house to be held at the Teton County Administration Building, County

Commissioners' Meeting Room, at the corner of Willow and Simpson, in

Jackson, Wyoming, on Thursday, January 27, 2000, from 4 to 8 p.m. At 5

and 7 p.m., BLM representatives will give short presentations.

The public will have opportunities to participate throughout the

planning process including input and comment on issues and planning

criteria, and on the draft and final EIS for the resource management

plan. Future public participation activities will be announced in the

Federal Register and in the local media, and through mailings to

parties included on the Snake River RMP mailing list.

Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will

be available for public review at the Pinedale Field Office, 432 East

Mill Street, Pinedale, Wyoming, during regular business hours (7:45

a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be

published as part of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS).

Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If individuals wish

to withhold their name or address from public review or from disclosure

under the Freedom of Information Act, they must state this prominently

at the beginning of their comments. Such requests will be honored to

the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or

businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be

made available for public inspection in their entirety.

Dated: December 9, 1999.

Alan R. Pierson,

State Director.

[FR Doc. 99-32579 Filed 12-15-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-22-P