BLM LIBRARY )epartment of the Interior 88071640 mireau or Land, Mm a, nagement Proposed Coeur d’Alene Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement ID-4 0-2005-EIS- 1059 1 Coeur d'Alene Field Office Volume - Chapters -5 1 I October 2006 HD United States Department of the Interior Bureau Land Management of Proposed Coeur d’Alene Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement <v ID-4 0-2005-EIS-l 059 1 £ V) «Y V Coeur d’Alene Field Office Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Volume - Chapters 1- 5 I October 2006 BLM Library LIBRARY Denver Federal Center Bldg. 50, OC-521 P.O. Box 25047 JAN 1 9 2007 CO Denver, 80225 Bureau of Rectamai.on Denver, Colorado t ) Proposed Coeur d’Alene Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement Responsible Agency: United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Type ofAction: Administrative (X) Legislative ( ) Document X Status: Draft Final ( ) ( Abstract: This Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement describes and analyzes four alternatives for managing the public lands and resources administered by the Bureau of Land Management’s Coeur d’Alene Field Office, located in northern Idaho, in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, and Shoshone Counties. The plan alternatives are: Alternative A (the “no action” alternative or continuation of current management); Alternative B (commodity/utility emphasis); Alternative C (minimal active management/preservation emphasis); D and Alternative (the proposed Action). Planning issues addressed include: opportunities for motorized and nonmotorized recreation (travel management); protecting resources while providing forest products and restoring forest health; protecting people and property from wildfire; adjusting land ownership; controlling invasive species and noxious weeds; and restoring healthy watersheds and riparian habitat. The alternatives also address designation of areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs) and Wild and Scenic River suitability findings. Protest period: The protest period on the Proposed Coeur d’Alene Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement is 30 calendar days. The protest period begins when the Environmental Protection Agency publishes a Notice ofAvailability in the Federal Register. For further information contact: Scott Pavey Bureau of Land Management Coeur d’Alene Field Office 3815 Schreiber way Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83815 Telephone: (208) 769-5059 FAX: 769-5050 (208) Email: [email protected] United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Take Pride* Coeur d’Alene Field Office in^M ERICA 3815 Schreiber Way Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83815 http://www.id.blm.gov/offices/coeurd’alene RMP 1610 (410) Dear Reader: Enclosed for your review is the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement BLM (Proposed RMP/Final EIS) for lands administered by the Coeur d’Alene Field Office. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is a refinement of the Preferred Alternative (Alternative D) presented in the Draft RMP/EIS released in January 2006. The Draft RMP/EIS was available for a 90-day review period ending on April 14, 2006. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is designed to be used in conjunction with the Draft RMP/EIS for reference to maps and in regard to page numbers cited in the comment and response section. Both the Proposed RMP/Final EIS and the Draft RMP/EIS are available on the Coeur d’Alene RMP website at http://www.blm.gov/rmp/id/cda/. Chapter 5 of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS contains a summary of public comments and the public comment process. All comments and BLM responses to the comments received on the Draft RMP/EIS appear in Appendix K (Volume II). As a result of public comment and internal review. Alternative D has been modified and is now considered the BLM Proposed Action for management of lands in the Coeur d’Alene Field Office. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is BLM subject to a 30-day protest period. At the end of the 30-day protest period, will prepare the Record of Decision and the Approved Resource Management Plan. Approval will be withheld on any portion of the Proposed RMP under protest until final action has been completed. Who can protest? Any person or organization who participated in the Coeur d’Alene RMP, and who has an interest which is or may be adversely affected may protest approval of this Proposed RMP (see 43 CFR 1610.5-2). Participation is defined as having submitted written comments, attended a public meeting, and/or personally contacted or discussed the project with a member of the Coeur d’Alene Field Office. When to protest. The protest period begins when the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of the final environmental impact statement in the Federal Register. The protest period ends 30 days afterpublication of BLM the EPA’s Notice of Availability. will publish announcements, specifying the actual start and end dates, in We RMP URL local and regional media. will also place this information on the Coeur d’Alene website (see above) and mail it to all contacts on the Coeur d’Alene RMP mailing list. To be considered “timely”, your protest, along with all attachments, must be postmarked no later than the last day of the protest period. There is no provision for an extension of time. What to protest. A protesting party may raise only those issues submitted for the record during the planning process leading up to publication of this Proposed RMP. New issues may not be brought into the record at the protest stage. All proposed decisions in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS are subject to protest, with the exception of decisions on route designations discussed in the Travel Management section ofthe plan (to include Maps 25 through 40). Decisions on route designations rrtay be appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) following the publication ot the Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved Plan. The ROD will include information on the appeal process. How to protest. A letter of protest must be filed in accordance with the planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.5-2(a)(l). Protests must be in writing. Although not a requirement, we suggest that you send your protest by certified mail, return receipt requested. Electronic mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests, unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest period. In such BLM instances, will consider the email or faxed protest an advance copy and give it full consideration. If you wish BLM BLM to provide with such advance notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the protest coordinator at (202) 452-51 12, and emails to [email protected]. If sent by regular mail, send to: Director (210) Bureau of Land Management ATTN: Brenda Hudgens-Williams P.O. Box 66538 DC Washington, 20035 For overnight mail (i.e.. Federal Express), send to: Director (210) Bureau of Land Management ATTN: Brenda Hudgens-Williams 1620 L St., Suite 1075 Washington, DC 20036 In order to be considered complete, your protest must contain, at a minimum, the following information: 1. The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest of the person filing the protest. 2. A statement of the issue or issues being protested. 3. A statement of the part or parts of the Proposed RMP being protested. To the extent possible, this should be done by reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, maps, etc., included in the document. 4. A copy of all documents addressing the issue or issues that you submitted during the planning process, or a reference to the date the issue or issues were discussed by you for the record. 5. A concise statement explaining why the Idaho BLM State Director’s proposed decision is believed to be incorrect. This is a critical part ofyourprotest. Take care to document all relevant facts. As much as possible, reference or cite documents. A protest that merely expresses disagreement with the Idaho BLM State Director’s proposed decision, without any data, will not provide us with the benefit of your information and insight. In this case, the Director’s review will be based on the existing analysis and supporting data. I would like to thank the individuals and organizations who participated in this planning process. I hope your involvement will continue as we move forward to implement and monitor the plan and manage the public lands and resources administered by the Coeur d’Alene Field Office. Sincerely, OfV Eric Thomson Field Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY