The Bureau of Land Management’s Price Field Office is seeking public input on a range of preliminary alternatives to be considered in the Nine Mile Canyon Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) Environmental Assessment. The Nine Mile Canyon SRMA, managed by the Price and Vernal Field Offices, is internationally significant for its concentration of archaeological sites and extensive rock art.
The BLM is continuing development of a recreation management plan for the area, and received public input during an issue scoping period held last year. A range of planning alternatives was developed to address issues and concerns.
Preliminary alternatives to be analyzed include a range of options from leaving current management in place to enhancing and adding new facilities, campgrounds, and signs for education and interpretation.
The BLM is asking for feedback on the proposed alternatives to assure that all of the issues and concerns raised during the scoping period are included in one or more of the alternatives. Feedback will be accepted through April 29, 2016. The BLM will consider all input in developing a draft EA that will be available for public review and comment.
Information about the project, preliminary alternatives, and maps can be accessed using the ePlanning website at: https://go.usa.gov/csCwV
To submit comments electronically through the ePlanning website, open the project webpage, click on “Documents” in the left hand menu, and then click the “Comment on Document” button on the right hand side of the page. Comments may also be submitted by email to blm_ut_pr_mail@blm.gov or by mail to the following address:
Bureau of Land Management
Price Field Office
Attn: Nine Mile Canyon
125 South 600 West
Price, UT 84501
The most useful comments are those that focus on the range of preliminary alternatives and recreation related issues that may have been overlooked. Comments which contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM planning process.
Before including an address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
In addition to accepting public input into the proposed project’s NEPA process, the BLM is also inviting interested parties to participate in the proposed project’s National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 process outlined at 36 CFR 800.
More information about this process can be found in The Citizen’s Guide to Section 106 Review available from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Those interested in becoming a consulting party in the Section 106 process, should submit a request to the Moab BLM Office explaining their interest in the project and/or concerns with potential effects related to historic properties from the project.
For additional information about the Nine Mile Canyon Recreation Plan, please contact Jake Palma (435) 636-3660. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above office. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.