News Release
BLM-Alaska Anchorage Field Office

6881 Elmore Road, Anchorage Alaska 99507
Tel: 907-267-1246 Fax: 907-267-1267
www.blm.gov/ak

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Gary Reimer, District Manager (907) 267-1246            Date: December 7, 2007
 

BLM Releases Bay Proposed RMP/Final EIS

ANCHORAGE – The Bureau of Land Management has released the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) for the Bay planning area in southwest Alaska. The Bay Proposed RMP/Final EIS will provide management guidance for 1.9 million acres of BLM-administered public land and resources in the Bristol Bay and Goodnews Bay areas of Alaska.
 
When the BLM initiated land use planning for this area in 2004, BLM-administered lands in the region totaled 3.6 million acres. Due to land transfer to the State and Alaska Native corporations, the BLM now manages 1.9 million acres in this region. Today the BLM administers 9% of the lands in the Bristol Bay and Goodnews Bay area. The State of Alaska owns nearly half the lands in the region, and the remaining lands are other Federal or Native corporation lands.
 
The Bay Proposed RMP is the fourth in a series of resource management plans developed by the BLM in Alaska. Specific management decisions in the Bay plan include:
  • Designation of the 36,000-acre Carter Spit Area of Critical Environmental Concern in the Goodnews Bay region.
  • The recommended revocation of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (d)(1) withdrawals, and the use of terms and conditions to guide mineral exploration and development. 
A 30-day public protest period on the Bay Proposed RMP/Final EIS begins the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. During this period, any person who participated in the planning process and has an interest that may be adversely affected by approval of the decisions in this document may submit a protest. A protest may raise only those issues that were submitted for the record during the planning process.
 
All protests must be in writing and mailed to the following address:
 
Regular Mail                                                           Overnight Mail
Director (210)                                                        Director (210)
USDI Bureau of Land Management                        USDI Bureau of Land Management
Attn: Brenda Williams                                             Attn: Brenda Williams
P.O. Box 66538                                                     1620 L Street NW, Suite 1075
Washington, DC 20035                                          Washington, DC 20036

The Bay Proposed RMP/Final EIS is available online at www.blm.gov/ak. The plan is also available on CD at the BLM Anchorage Field Office at 6881 Elmore Road, Anchorage, AK, and at the BLM Alaska State Office at 222 W. 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK.

For more information about the Bay Proposed RMP/Final EIS or to request a CD, contact the BLM at (907) 267-1246 or (800) 478-1263.

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages 258 million surface acres — more land than any other federal agency. Most of this public land is in 12 Western states, including 83.5 million surface acres in Alaska. The Bureau also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on the public lands.

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