[Federal Register: March 30, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 62)]
[Notices]
[Page 16955-16956]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30mr00-96]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for
Amendments to the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Resource Management Plans
Regarding Cross-Country Travel by Off Highway Vehicles and Mountain
Bikes; 30-Day Scoping Period Announced
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Gunnison and the Uncompahgre
Field Offices, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado, propose to
prepare an Environmental Assessment and amend their respective resource
management plans to prohibit cross-country travel by off-highway
vehicles and mountain bikes on certain lands managed by each of these
agency offices. Cross-country travel is defined as travel off
established, existing roads and trails. Established, existing roads and
trails, for this proposal, are defined as: roads and trails that exist
on the ground at the time agency decisions become effective, and are
described in agency travel inventories, or are easily recognizable on
the ground as a route, and have been traveled routinely by users. This
action is interim in nature, and is necessary so these offices can
responsibly manage the land and meet people needs by preventing the
proliferation of new, user-created routes and help maintain a quality
recreation experience until intensive travel management planning can be
completed by the agencies for the affected lands. The affected BLM
offices propose changing OHV designations under 43 CFR 8342.2 on BLM-
managed lands currently designated ``open'' year-long, and ``limited
seasonally'', to ``limited to existing roads and trails'', in order to
prohibit cross-country travel by OHVs. In addition, under 43 CFR 8364.1
the offices propose to limit mountain bike use to ``existing roads and
trails'' on all lands where use is not currently prohibited. Snowmobile
use would not be addressed in this proposal. Implementing these
proposed land use plan amendments would be an interim and temporary
measure until the offices can conduct intensive and detailed travel
management planning on the affected lands. After the completion of the
EA, the BLM offices would then issue decisions amending existing
resource management plans.
This effort is being undertaken in coordination with the Forest
Service which is proposing similar measures on National Forest lands
managed by the Gunnison and Paonia Ranger Districts within the Gunnison
National Forest, Region 2.
The public is invited to comment on this proposal and to contact
the local offices for additional information. The 30-day time period
for receiving comments from the public will begin on the day this
notice is published in the Federal Register, and will end 30 days after
the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Informal
scoping occurred from February 24, 2000, through March 24, 2000. This
notice will satisfy the requirement for the affected BLM offices to
conduct formal scoping. Comments received during the scoping period
will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
All alternatives to be considered during the EA process will be
formulated after the scoping period is over and all comments are
received.
DATES: Submit comments on or before May 1, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to Bill
Bottomly, Bureau of Land Management, 2465 South Townsend Avenue,
Montrose, CO 81401. Electronic mail can be sent to
bill__bottomly@co.blm.gov. The local addresses and telephone numbers of
the affected BLM offices are: Gunnison Field Office, Bureau of Land
Management, 216 N. Colorado, Gunnison, CO 81230 (970)641-0471;
Uncompahgre Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 2505 S. Townsend
Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401 (970)240-5300.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Bottomly at (970)240-5337.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GFO manages approximately 585,000 acres
in the study area. In the GFO, approximately 365,660 acres are
currently ``open'' year-long and approximately 73,430 acres are
``limited seasonally'' to motorized use. Mountain bike use is currently
unrestricted on approximately 537,000 acres. The UFO manages
approximately 66,825 acres within the study area for this proposal. Of
the lands managed by the UFO in the study area, approximately 27,060
acres are ``open'' year-long and 36,690 acres are ``limited
seasonally'' to motorized use. Mountain bike use is currently
unrestricted on all BLM-managed lands in the study area managed by the
UFO.
The affected agency resource management plans were prepared prior
to much of the recent increase in OHV and mountain bike use, and the
new development of all terrain vehicle technology. One of the many
opportunities on public land is traveling the back country for
recreational pursuits, such as sight-seeing, wood cutting, fishing,
hunting, and other activities. It is the goal of both offices to
provide for a wide spectrum of dispersed recreation activities while
minimizing environmental impacts and conflicts between user groups.
Some of this use occurs on public lands where OHV use is currently
limited to existing or designated roads and trails. However, there are
large areas of public land that are open to cross-country travel off
roads and trails by OHVs, including mountain bikes. This unrestricted
use has the potential to continue the spread of noxious weeds, create
user conflicts, cause erosion, damage cultural sites, and disrupt
wildlife and wildlife habitat. With an increase in OHV and mountain
bike traffic, and changes in OHV technology, the public, and the land
management agencies, recognize the need to evaluate current management
decisions for those areas where driving off roads and trails is
allowed. A change in management direction would be accomplished through
an EA and an amendment to the BLM resource management plans. The BLM
plan amendments would address the use of wheeled, motorized vehicles
designed for and/or capable of travel off roads and trails, and
mountain bike use. The BLM proposes changing the areas currently open
seasonally or year-long to cross-country OHV and mountain bike use to a
designation that allows for travel only on existing roads and trails.
These changes in designation would prohibit cross-country travel by
wheeled, motorized vehicles designed for and/or capable of travel off
roads and trails, and mountain bike. However, this would not change
most of the current limited or closed designations, or designated
intensive use areas.
[[Page 16956]]
Access allowed under the terms and conditions of a federal lease or
permit would not be affected by the proposal. This broad scale decision
as proposed would be an interim decision until revision or completion
of agency travel management plans. If necessary, as a part of a future
travel management planning process, existing OHV designations that
affect travel uses by OHVs and mountain bikes on the affected lands
could be changed to a more appropriate designation, including
identifying areas for trail development, or further limiting travel off
roads and trails.
The 30-day scoping period covering this notice for the BLM plan
amendments and EA is being provided so interested groups and the
general public can comment on the proposal in this notice. Please see
the information after the heading above titled ``DATES'' for the public
comment period dates. No open houses or public meetings are planned
during the comment period on this proposal. Proposed BLM plan
amendments will be published during the EA process, and a 30-day
protest period will apply to the BLM proposed amendments.
Authority: Sec. 202, Pub. L. 94-579, 90 Stat. 2747 (43 U.S.C.
1712), Sec. 6, Pub. L. 94-588, 90 Stat. 2949 (16 U.S.C. 1604).
Barry Tollefson and Allan Belt, Field Managers, Gunnison and
Uncompahgre Field Offices, respectively.
Dated: March 24, 2000.
Barry A. Tollefson,
Field Manager, Gunnison Field Office.
Dated: March 24, 2000.
Allan J Belt,
Field Manager, Uncompahgre Field Office.
[FR Doc. 00-7816 Filed 3-29-00; 8:45 am]
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