The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a new date for comment period closure for the environmental assessment (EA) analyzing a visual resource amendment and documentation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) for the 2008 Approved Rawlins Resource Management Plan (RMP).
The BLM initially scheduled 60 days for comment, and the original date for the close of the comment period was Oct. 28. Due to the lapse in appropriations and the resulting Federal government shutdown, the documents were not available on the BLM website from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16, 2013.
Accordingly, the new date for the close of the comment period for the Rawlins RMP Visual Resources and ACEC Documentation is Nov. 13. Public involvement is an essential and required part of the planning process, and comments submitted by Nov. 13 will be considered before the BLM makes a final decision.
The EA includes a visual resource inventory completed in 2010, in the analysis for the Rawlins RMP visual resource decisions. This review will not include the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project Area, as that proposal included its own visual resource amendment.
Also, certain ACECs recommended for designation in the Approved Rawlins RMP were not adequately documented in the administrative record, because the BLM did not review or consider relevance and importance criteria for these areas at that time.
Areas being analyzed are: McCarty Canyon, areas surrounding the North Platte Reservoirs, Flattop Mountain, Ferris Dunes and Ferris Mountain.
Submit comments on the EA using the following methods:
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (307) 328-4224
Mail: The BLM Rawlins Field Office
P.O. Box 2407
Rawlins, WY 82301
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.
The EA and additional information about the Approved Rawlins RMP visual resource amendment and ACEC documentation can be found on the project website at http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/rawlins.html or you may contact Planning and Environmental Coordinator Sheila Lehman at 307-328-4264.
Reader Comments(0)