[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 154 (Friday, August 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54660-54662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17224]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NM_FRN_MO#4500172602]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Taos Resource Management Plan for
the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument Management Plan and
Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New
Mexico State Director intends to prepare a resource management plan
(RMP) amendment with an associated environmental assessment (EA) for
the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument and by this notice is
announcing the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public
comments and identify issues. We are also providing the planning
criteria for public review.
DATES: The BLM requests that the public submit comments concerning the
scope of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification of
relevant information and studies by September 11, 2023. To afford the
BLM the opportunity to consider issues raised by commenters in the
draft RMP amendment/EA, please ensure your comments are received prior
to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days after the last
public meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to the management plan for R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National
Monument by any of the following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024165/510
Mail: Brad Higdon, Project Manager, BLM Taos Field Office,
1024 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024165/510 and at the
BLM Taos Field Office, New Mexico.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Higdon, Planning and
Environmental Specialist, telephone: (575) 751-4725; address: 1024
Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571; or email: [email protected].
Contact Mr. Higdon to have your name added to our mailing list.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting
Mr. Higdon. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
New Mexico State Director intends to prepare a RMP amendment with an
associated EA for the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument,
announces the beginning of the scoping process, and seeks public input
on issues and planning criteria. The RMP amendment would change the
existing Taos RMP.
The planning area is located in Taos and Rio Arriba counties, New
Mexico, and encompasses approximately 247,852 acres of public land.
Purpose and Need
Need: The need for the RMP amendment was established by the
Presidential Proclamation that designated the Monument. The
Proclamation states, ``For purposes of protecting and restoring the
objects. . . the Secretary, through the BLM, would prepare and maintain
a management plan. . . .'' An RMP amendment is necessary--as mandated
by the Proclamation--for providing the management guidance critical for
ensuring the Monument objects are preserved.
FLPMA, which established public land policy, also requires the BLM
to ``develop, maintain, and, when appropriate, revise land use plans''
for the management of public lands. Furthermore, it is BLM policy that
each Monument has an independent decision document that specifies the
management guidance for that Monument.
In addition to these mandates, an amendment to the Taos RMP is
necessary to address the new information that has been accrued and the
changed circumstances the Monument has experienced since its
designation in 2013. New surveys of seeps and springs, cultural
resources, sagebrush distribution, sensitive species, wildlife
corridors, among other resources, have been conducted in recent years
that add to the BLM's catalogue of the best-available information. This
new information will enable the BLM to reevaluate and adjust its
current management of the Monument under an amended Taos RMP. Changed
circumstances include increased demand for recreational opportunities
and increased pressure on recreation facilities and infrastructure
within the Monument. The public is seeking a wider array of trail use
opportunities, particularly around the communities of Taos and Questa,
and increased pressure on existing trails and recreational facilities
has been especially evident since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trailhead parking is regularly at or exceeds capacity throughout much
of the Monument. New types of recreation, such as e-bikes, also need to
be addressed.
Opportunities for new rights-of-way for electrical transmission in
support of renewable energy development is an evolving circumstance
that may require new authorizations consistent with the parameters
specified in the Proclamation. Changed circumstances regarding climatic
conditions also
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requires careful management considerations for a broad spectrum of
resources in an updated plan, including those contributing to the
objects for which the Monument was established to protect.
A RMP amendment is also necessary for providing protective
management of Cerro del Yuta Wilderness and Rio San Antonio Wilderness,
designated by Congress in 2019. Wilderness areas are required to be
managed according to the provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and
this management plan would provide the framework for the
implementation-level wilderness plans that would be completed once a
management plan is approved.
Purpose: As specified in the Presidential Proclamation, the
overarching purpose of this action--the RMP amendment--is to provide
for the protection and restoration of the Monument objects presented
below, as well as allowing for the enjoyment and use of the Monument
lands and resources through recreation, traditional uses, and other
means. The management plan would establish goals and objectives and
identify allocations and allowable uses to achieve a balance of
protection and use for the Monument. More specifically, the BLM seeks
to achieve the objectives outlined below under the guidance of an
approved management plan.
To Protect Monument Objects Listed Under the Proclamation
To provide protection and preservation for cultural
resources and the integrity of cultural landscapes from conflicts that
have emerged from resource uses. The BLM also has an opportunity to
promote stewardship, interpretation, and an understanding of the area's
ethnography, as well as to provide opportunities for Tribal co-
stewardship.
To provide for the protection and restoration of the
Monument's ecological diversity. The BLM would foster resistance and
resilience of diverse, native vegetative communities in the face of
changing climate and water conditions, and public use. The BLM would
identify opportunities for sustaining the health of a broad range of
species, their habitats, and conditions that contribute to the
ecological diversity of the Monument, including, for example, various
special status biological species, pollinators, and soils in the face
of the same challenges. The BLM will also update strategies and
practices for wildlife corridors and restoring vegetative communities
through treatments and management of fuels.
To provide for the protection and restoration of diverse
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife populations and their habitats,
including threatened and endangered species and other special status
species and their habitats. The BLM would minimize fragmentation of
seasonal habitats, habitat connectivity, and the displacement of
wildlife from those habitats, while allowing for recreational and
traditional uses of the Monument.
To protect the geologic features, functions, and visual
integrity of the Monument, while balancing the increased recreational
use, demand for rights-of-way, and other uses that could impact
Monument lands.
Resolve Conflicts Between Recreational and Other Uses and Protect
Monument Objects
To provide for a variety of recreational opportunities in
diverse settings in a manner that meets the demand of the public and
resolves conflicts between recreational use and the protection of
Monument objects.
To provide for traditional uses of the public lands in a
manner consistent with the protection, preservation, and restoration of
Monument objects. Traditional uses are very important to sustaining
cultural customs and traditions of local populations, such as those
associated with food, shelter, and other basic human needs. Traditional
uses include livestock grazing, fuelwood collection, pi[ntilde]on nut
collection, herb collection, hunting, fishing, and other similar uses.
To allow for motorized and non-motorized access to the
Monument, consistent with the Proclamation (which states ``[e]xcept for
emergency or authorized administrative purposes, motorized vehicle use
in the monument shall be permitted only on designated roads and non-
motorized mechanized vehicle use shall be permitted only on designated
roads and trails.''), for traditional uses, livestock grazing, fuelwood
collection, and recreational opportunities, while protecting Monument
objects. A long-term, sustainable travel and transportation network
must be defined by allocations necessary to provide for access while
preventing any degradation to Monument objects, wild and scenic river
corridors, and the two new wilderness areas. FLPMA requires that, among
other uses, ``the public lands be managed in a manner that will . . .
provide for outdoor recreation'' (43 CFR 1701).
To update the use of existing designated corridors,
allowing for new, expanded, and upgraded utility rights-of-way that
serve local communities in a manner consistent with the protection,
preservation, and restoration of Monument objects. The Presidential
Proclamation that established the Monument allows for limited
opportunities to upgrade or modify utility rights-of-way. The linear
layout of the Monument makes it difficult to avoid crossing the
Monument with transmission lines and other utilities.
To Protect Newly Designated Wilderness Areas Within the Monument
To preserve the wilderness character of the newly designated Cerro
del Yuta Wilderness and Rio San Antonio Wilderness areas.
Preliminary Alternatives
No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative, management of the Monument would
continue to follow the decisions of the existing Taos Field Office RMP.
Two areas of critical environmental concern, the Taos Plateau Area of
Critical Environmental Concern (222,500 acres) and the Lower Gorge Area
of Critical Environmental Concern (21,190 acres), overlap the Monument
nearly in its entirety. The Taos Plateau Area of Critical Environmental
Concern contains relevant and important values associated with wildlife
habitat, special status species, water quality and quantity, wetlands,
and scenic quality. The Lower Gorge Area of Critical Environmental
Concern was established to provide direct management of relevant and
important riparian vegetation, special status species and wildlife
habitat, and cultural values. Management of the Lower Gorge Area of
Critical Environmental Concern also includes emphasis on recreation and
contains the Orilla Verde Recreation Area. The remainder of the
Monument not managed as an area of critical environmental concern is
included with the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, which includes a
segment of the Red River, and is managed pursuant to the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act, as amended. Under the No Action Alternative,
existing management for BLM-administered lands within the Monument
would be largely consistent with the purposes of the Monument's
designation.
To meet the mandates of Presidential Proclamation 8946, the BLM
proposes to manage the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument
consistent with existing management direction contained in the 2012
Taos RMP except for the following Monument objects,
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resources, or uses for which goals and objectives, administrative
designations, allocations for allowable uses, and/or management
direction may be updated:
Cultural and historic resources
Ecological resources
Geologic resources
Fish and wildlife and their habitat
Recreation
Motorized and mechanized vehicle use
Lands and realty
Livestock grazing
Wilderness
Other existing goals, objectives, and other land use planning-level
decisions from the 2012 Taos RMP will be modified under the Proposed
Action if necessary to ensure that the protection, restoration, and/or
increased resiliency of Monument objects. The BLM welcomes comments on
the preliminary proposed action as well as suggestions for additional
alternatives.
Planning Criteria
The planning criteria guide the planning effort and lay the
groundwork for effects analysis by identifying the preliminary issues
and their analytical frameworks. Preliminary issues for the planning
area have been identified by BLM personnel and from early engagement
conducted for this planning effort with Federal, State, and local
agencies; Tribes; and other stakeholders. The BLM has identified
multiple preliminary issues regarding various resources and uses for
this planning effort's analysis. The planning criteria are available
for public review and comment at the ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping period and public
review of the planning criteria, which guide the development and
analysis of the RMP Amendment and Environmental Analysis.
The BLM will be holding two public scoping meetings in the
following locations: Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. One virtual meeting
will also be held. The specific date and location of these scoping
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through media
outlets, social media, and the project ePlanning website (see
ADDRESSES).
Comments submitted during public scoping that provide pertinent
information, express relevant concerns and issues, and identify
reasonable management options, especially when submitted with
sufficient detail, are most substantive and useful for evaluating
alternatives and conducting impact analysis.
Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
in order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns
identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines
will be involved in this planning effort: aquatic resources,
archaeology, botany, ecology, environmental justice, forestry, geology,
lands and realty, paleontology, outdoor recreation, rangeland
management, soils, socioeconomics, visual resources, wild and scenic
rivers, wilderness, wildlife and fisheries.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the proposed plan
amendment and any analyzed reasonable alternatives and, in accordance
with 40 CFR 1502.14(e), include appropriate mitigation measures not
already included in the proposed plan amendment or alternatives.
Mitigation may include avoidance, minimization, rectification,
reduction or elimination over time, and compensation; and may be
considered at multiple scales, including the landscape scale.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning effort to help support compliance with
applicable procedural requirements under the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1536) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public
involvement requirements of Section 106. The information about historic
and cultural resources and threatened and endangered species within the
area potentially affected by the proposed plan will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM will consult with Tribal Nations on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175, BLM MS 1780,
and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on
Tribal trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources, will
be given due consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along
with Tribal Nations and other stakeholders that may be interested in or
affected by the proposed approval that the BLM is evaluating, are
invited to participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may
request or be requested by the BLM to participate in the development of
the environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9 and 43 CFR 1610.2.)
Melanie G. Barnes,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-17224 Filed 8-10-23; 8:45 am]
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