If interested in the Applegate/Lassen Ride, please read this!

["Maureen A. Fager" <trottin27@hotmail.com>]

Hello, I received this from envirohorse.org.  Happy Trails, Maureen

...very important for horsemen to be part of the process to assure trails 
kept open.  See
www.publicland-publicuse.co

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NV-025-1610-DO]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan
for the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails
NationalConservation Area, et al.; Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Winnemucca (Nevada)
and Surprise(California) Field Offices, Department of the
Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Resource
Management Plan for the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails 
National Conservation Area, (NCA) and associated wilderness,
and other contiguous lands in Nevada.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Winnemucca and Surprise Field Offices will jointly prepare a RMP and an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the recently designated Black Rock 
Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails NCA and associated wilderness areas, 
designated
by the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant
Trails National Conservation Area Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-554,
December 21, 2000). The following contiguous areas also will be addressed in 
the plan: (1) The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Instant Study Area (ISA) and a 
small area of BLM administered public lands located west of the ISA between 
the ISA and the Summit Lake Indian Reservation, both of which are contiguous 
to the northern edge of the NCA; and (2) the southern part of the Black Rock 
Desert Playa (South Playa), which is contiguous to the southern edge of the 
NCA.
     The planning area encompasses approximately
1,217,500 acres of public land, located in Humboldt, Pershing, and Washoe 
counties in northwestern Nevada. These public lands are jointly
managed by the BLM Winnemucca and Surprise Field Offices. The RMP will be 
based on statutory requirements and will meet the requirements
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, the
Wilderness Act of 1964, the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant
Trails National Conservation Area Act of 2000, and other applicable
provisions of law.
The RMP will guide BLM's management actions within the
NCA, wilderness, and identified contiguous areas. The BLM will work
closely with interested parties to identify the management
decisions that are best suited to the needs of the public. This 
collaborative process will take into account local, regional, and

[[Page 63407]]

national needs and concerns. This notice initiates the public scoping
process to identify planning issues and to develop planning criteria.

DATES: In compliance with the enabling legislation
(Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation 
Area Act of 2000
(Pub. L. 106-554, December 21, 2000)), the plan must be completed by
December 20, 2003. The public is encouraged to participate in the
planning process, beginning with the identification of
issues and planning criteria. The scoping comment period will
commence with the publication of this notice. Formal scoping will end 60
days after publication of this notice. Comments on issues and
planning criteria would be most helpful if received on or before the end
of the scoping period. Public participation activities, including
scoping meetings to identify issues and planning critieria, will be
announced at least 15 days before the scheduled meeting in the local news 
media and in notices sent to persons and parties on the mailing
list. In order to ensure local community participation, public meetings
will be rotated among locations including, but not necessarily limited
to Cedarville, California, and Gerlach, Reno, and Winnemucca, Nevada.
In audition to the ongoing public participation process and the
scoping meetings, formal opportunities for public participation will be
provided through comment on the alternatives and upon publication of
the draft RMP/draft EIS. A web site will also be established to display
updated information to the public and to provide a means for submission of 
public comments via e-mail. Persons who would like to be placed on
mailing lists, should notify the Winnemucca or Surprise Field Offices
at the addresses listed below, or call (775) 623-1500.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the
attention of the NCA Resource Management Plan Project Manager, 5100 East
Winnemucca Boulevard, Winnemucca, Nevada 89445, Phone (775)
623-1500. Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents,
may be published as part of the EIS. Individual respondents may require
confidentiality.
If you wish to withhold your name or street address
from public reviewor from disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law.
All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in
their entirety.
     A map of the planning area is available at the
Winnemucca Field Office (address and phone number listed above); the
Surprise Field Office, 602 Cressler Street, Cedarville, CA 96104,
Phone (530) 279-6101; the Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Blvd.,
Reno, NV 89502,
Phone (775) 861-6400; and at the California State
Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1834, Sacramento, CA 95825-1886, Phone
(916) 978-4600.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Reed, Field
Office Manager or Roger Farschon, Acting NCA Manager, at the Winnemucca
Field Office, Phone (775) 623-1500 or the Acting Surprise Field
Office Manager, Phone(530) 279-6101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RMP will determine
management of approximately 1,217,500 acres of federally
administered public lands including: the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon 
Emigrant Trails NCA(Approximately 800,100 acres), ten associated
wilderness areas(approximately 757,100 acres), the Lahontan Cutthroat
Trout ISA(approximately 13,400 acres) and a small area of BLM
administered public lands located west of the ISA between the ISA
and the Summit Lake Indian Reservation (approximately 2,300 acres),
and the southern portion of the Black Rock Desert Playa (South Playa)
(approximately 24,100 acres). Approximately 379,500 acres of
wilderness are located within the boundaries of the NCA.
     The public is asked to assist the BLM with the identification of
issues related to management of the planning area,
including the NCA and wilderness. Preliminary issues and management
concerns have been identified by BLM personnel, other agencies, and in
meetings with individuals and user groups. Anticipated issues
include, but are not limited to the following: how will natural, 
cultural,and wilderness resources be protected?; how can visitor use, access 
and safety best be achieved?; how will NCA management be integrated with 
other agency and community plans and needs?; and what facilities and 
infrastructure are needed to provide visitor services and administration of 
the NCA? After gathering public comments on what issues the plan should 
address, the suggested issues will be placed in one of three categories:
(1) Issues to be resolved in the plan;
(2) issues resolvedthrough policy oradministrative action; and
(3) issues beyond the scope of the plan.
BLM will provide feedback to the public on the final
issues to be addressed in the plan. An interdisciplinary approach will be 
used to develop the plan in order to consider the variety of resource
issues and concerns identified. Disciplines involved in the planning
process will include specialists with expertise in rangeland management,
minerals and geology, forestry, outdoor recreation, archaeology,
paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, land and realty, hydrology,
soils, sociology, and economics.
     Plan development will involve close cooperation with the State of
Nevada, tribal, county and municipal governments, federal agencies, and
interested groups, agencies, and individuals. The Resource Advisory
Councils (RACs) for the planning area, the Sierra Front-Northwestern
Great Basin RAC and the Northeast California RAC, will be used to provide 
additional public input. Consistent with the
enabling legislation, the plan for the NCA and associated
wilderness areas will emphasize the protection and enhancement of the NCA's 
and wilderness areas' resource values while providing the public with 
opportunities for compatible recreation activities. The plan for the 
specified contiguous areas will emphasize management consistent
with applicable laws and regulations. The concerns and interest of
area residents, including the activities of recreation, grazing,
hunting, trapping, mining, energy development, and access will be
addressed in the plan.
     The Plan will incorporate appropriate decisions
from existing BLM plans such as current management plans for the area.
It also will use information developed and management alternatives
proposed in previous studies of the lands within or adjacent to the NCA
(including the Draft Sonoma-Gerlach/Paradise Denio Plan Amendment).

Terry A. Reed,
Field Manager, Winnemucca, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 01-30223 Filed 12-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-M



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