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Show CEDAR CITY DISTRICT - BLM HELP WANTED People Interested in Getting Involved in Management of their Public Lands . Purpose of this Pamphlet - Get Involved! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has recently released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a land use plan for public lands in Iron, Beaver, and western Garfield Counties. They are now asking for your help in making land use decisions affecting over one million acres. Federal Law requires that a land use plan be prepared and that you, the public, be given an opportunity to participate in making decisions affecting land management. The public is now being given the opportunity to make its wishes known by making comments on the Draft EIS and attending open houses in June. The Resource Management Plan (RMP) will resources for the next 20 years! guide the development and protection of muiltiple-us- e This insert has been prepared to help you assist the BLM in making sound resource management decisions. The sections which follow discuss briefly the Planning progress to date, the issues, general description of the planning area, the alternatives considered in the Draft EIS, and how you can get involved. Progress To Date the Cedar City District BLM began a nine step planning process for the Cedar, Beaver, Garfield, and Antimony The first step involved "scoping a list of planning issues and planning criteria used to guide the planning Units. Planning In of 1980 the public was given an opportunity to identify issues and formulate the planning criteria. That effort April process. and subsequent refinement led to the following list of five planning issues addressed in the recently released draft EIS. Early in 1980 r ISSUES Issue I., Special Resource Protection - This issue is comprised of the concerns for the protection of special resources and the potential The Planning Process The Bureau planning process incorporates a nine step analysis and decision process as shown below. INFORMATION . Identification of Issues 2. Development of Planning Criteria 3. Inventory Data and Information Collection 4. Analysis of Management Situation 1 ANALYSIS 5. Formulation of Alternatives 6. Estimation of Effects of Alternatives 7. Selection of Preferred Alternative DECISION 8. Selection of Resource Management Plan IMPLEMENTATION 9. Monitoring and Evaluation limitations that such protection would have on resource development. Addressed under this issue were management of riparian habitat, soil and water resources, crucial big game winter range, threatened and endangered species, visual resources, cultural resources, wild horses, and crucial sage grouse habitat. Issue II, Lands - This issue is comprised of identifying which of the 53,400 acres meeting the disposal criteria, should be offered for public sale, exchange, or public grant. The issue involves identifying which resource values should be retained in Federal ownership and which lands should be disposed. The second part of this issue involves the designation ot utility corridors and what, if any, restrictions should be placed on the development of these corridors. Issue III, Forage Management and Land Treatments - This issue is comprised of several concerns including: What management actions should be taken to improve rangeland and wildlife habitat conditions? What actions should be taken to balance the numbers of livestock and wildlife with the ability of the rangelands to support them? What changes. should be made in livestock administration to improve grazing systems to improve range condition? Which projects involving land treatments should be completed to improve rangeland, wildlife, and watershed conditions? Issue IV, Minerals Management - This issue is comprised of two major subissues including oil, gas, geothermal leasing and coal leasing. Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Leasing - Federal regulations require the BLM categories and stipulations. This issue involves deciding what restrictions should be placed on oil, gas, and geothermal leasing which would allow maximum development while providing adequate protection to sensitive resource values. Coal Leasing - What coal lands in the Kolob, Alton, and John's Valley Potential Coal Development Area should be made available for further consideration of coal leasing? Issue V, Forestry - With demand for fuelwood increasing, the availability of woodland stands capable of supplying woodland products is dwindling. This issue involves determining how much wood sh ould be harvested, where should additional access to woodland stands be constructed, and should commercial wood cutters be allowed to harvest wood in green wood cutting areas. |