Legal Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Bears Ears National Monument
USDA – Forest Service
Manti-La Sal National Forest
San Juan County, Utah
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, and the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have jointly prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and associated Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) and by this notice are announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the Proposed RMP. Of the 1.36 million acres of the monument, 289,040 acres are on National Forest System (NFS) lands of the Monticello Ranger District of the Manti-La Sal National Forest in San Juan County, Utah.
The Forest Service responsible official is the Manti-La Sal National Forest, Forest Supervisor, Barbara Van Alstine.
The purpose of the RMP and FEIS is to frame the identification of issues, alternatives development, and effects analysis. Proclamation 10285 directs the Agencies to “prepare and maintain a new management plan for the entire monument” for the specific purposes of “protecting and restoring the objects identified [in Proclamation 10285] and in Proclamation 9558.” The Forest Service intends to incorporate information in the Proposed RMP and FEIS to make its decision on NFS lands within the BENM boundary to approve a proposed programmatic plan amendment to the Manti-La Sal National Forest 1986 Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP). This proposed programmatic plan amendment would incorporate the Proposed BENM RMP and updated land management allocation of the BENM boundary area into the Manti-La Sal LRMP.
The Forest Service waives the objection procedures under 36 CFR 219 Subpart B (per 36 CFR 219.59(a)) for all Forest Service planning decisions related to the Proposed RMP and instead adopts the administrative review procedures of the BLM (43 CFR 1610.5-2). A Memorandum of Understanding between the BLM and Forest Service documents that the Forest Service adopts the administrative review protest procedures of the BLM.
A Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Proposed RMP and FEIS was published on October 4, 2024, announcing the beginning of a 30-day protest period on the Proposed RMP. Protests must be in writing and postmarked or electronically submitted to the BLM ePlanning project website within 30 days of the publication date of the NOA in the Federal Register.
The Final EIS and Proposed RMP are available on the BLM ePlanning project website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2020347/510 and in-person at the BLM Monticello Field Office. Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM for the BENM Proposed RMP/Final EIS can be found at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. Protest of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS state that any person who participated in the preparation of the RMP and has an interest that will or might be adversely affected by approval of the proposed RMP may protest its approval to the BLM. Protest of the proposed RMP constitutes the final opportunity for administrative review of the land use planning decisions prior to the BLM adopting the approved RMP and the USDA Forest Service approving amendment of the 1986 Manti-La Sal National Forest LRMP. The agencies will render a written decision on each protest. The decision of the agencies on the protest shall be the final decision of the USDA Forest Service. Responses to valid protest issues will be compiled and documented in a Protest Resolution Report made available following the protest resolution online at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports. Upon resolution of protests, each agency will issue separate Records of Decision (RODs) for the lands they administer and one approved RMP.
All protests must be in writing and filed with the BLM Director, either as a hard copy or electronically via BLM’s ePlanning website (https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2020347/510) by the close of the protest period. The only electronic protests the BLM will accept are those filed through ePlanning. Concurrent with the 30-day BLM protest period, the agencies will provide the Proposed RMP and final EIS to the Governor of Utah, for a 60-day State and local plan consistency review. After inconsistencies and protests have been considered and resolved to the extent practical with Federal law, regulation, and policy, the BLM State Director may approve the final RMP. The ROD provides a more concise and useful tool to land managers and stakeholders than an EIS. The ROD describes the goals, objectives, and management actions for fulfilling the management direction set out in the preferred alternative of the final EIS, with any changes resulting from protests, Governor’s Consistency Review, or similar considerations. Signing the BLM ROD finalizes the BENM RMP and signing the Forest Service ROD approves the proposed programmatic plan amendment to the Manti-La Sal NF LRMP, incorporating the approved RMP for the BENM.
For further information please contact: Michael Engelhart, District Ranger, USDA Forest Service; telephone (435) 210-0800; address P.O. Box 386, Moab, UT 84532; email michael.engelhart@usda.gov or Jill Stephenson, BLM Project Manager, telephone (435) 259-2141; address Bureau of Land Management Canyon Country District, 82 E Dogwood, Moab, Utah 84532; email jstephenson@blm.gov.
(Authority: 36 CFR 219.16, 36 CFR 219.59, 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 1610.5-2, 43 CFR 1610.7-2)
Published in the ETV Newspaper October 9, 2024.