August 7, 2008 - BLM Resource Management Plans Available for Public Review

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Arizona



BLM >Arizona>Information>Newsroom

Print Page

For Release: August 7, 2008

Contact: Pamela A. Mathis (602) 402-7690

BLM Resource Management Plans Available to Public for Review

Phoenix, Ariz. – Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that its Proposed Resource Management Plans (PRMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) covering the Agua Fria National Monument and the Bradshaw-Harquahala planning areas are available.

This concludes six years of resource planning to develop comprehensive guidance for management of nearly one million acres of public land within the BLM Agua Fria National Monument and Hassayampa Field Office boundaries of the BLM Phoenix District, north of Interstate 10. Land use planning and resource management issues addressed in the process include recreation, public access, special designations, wilderness, protection of monument objects, rangelands, land tenure, air, water and soil resources, fish and wildlife, and others.

The PRMPs/FEIS documents represent an analysis and culmination of three outdated management plans governing the area, and the integration of issues, concerns and comments provided during development of the plans by the public, special interest and natural resource organizations, and local to Federal government agencies and officials. From initial scoping for the plans that began in 2002, through development, review and comment of the Draft RMPs/Draft EIS in 2006, more than 5,000 comments were considered to incorporate into the Proposed RMPs and Final EIS.

The planning boundaries encompass more than three million acres north and west of Phoenix in central Arizona. The Agua Fria National Monument includes 70,900 acres administered by the BLM. The BLM administers 896,100 surface acres and more than 500,000 additional subsurface acres in the Bradshaw-Harquahala Planning Area.

The document is available online at: www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html. It may be viewed at the Phoenix District Office at 21605 N. 7^th Avenue; or, a CD or hard copy may be mailed to interested parties be contacting Team Lead Connie Stone at 623-580-5500, or by e-mail at AZ_AFNM_Bradshaw@blm.gov. Copies of the PRMP/FEIS are also on file at these locations:

BLM Arizona State Office, One North Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix;
Prescott Chamber of Commerce (Prescott, Arizona); and
Public libraries in Wickenburg, Buckeye, Peoria, Yarnell, Anthem, Black Canyon City, Mayer, and Prescott, Arizona.

Availability of PRMP/FEIS begins the final phase in the planning process for the BLM Hassayampa Field Office. This is an opportunity for administrative review and filing of a protest by any person who participated in the planning process (submitted issues for the record during the planning process), who believes they will be adversely affected by these plans. Written protests must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the document was published, or by September 8, 2008.