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RMP Status and What's Next for 2012 Fall 2011 – Draft RMPs Released · The BLM has now split the Kremmling Field Office (KFO) Colorado River Valley Field Office (CRVFO) Resource Management Plans (RMP)s by field office. A separate Notice of Availability (NOA) will be published for each Draft in the Federal Register, marking the beginning of a 90-day public comment period. All individuals and parties who have requested to be added to the RMP Mailing List will also receive an e-mail and/or postcard announcing the release of the Draft RMP/ Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)s. · Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS’s will be sent to affected Federal, State and local government agencies and American Indian Tribes. Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS’s will be available for public inspection at the Colorado River Valley Field Office, Kremmling Field Office, Grand Junction BLM Northwest District Office and the BLM Colorado State Office. Copies will also be posted on this website. · Following the release of the draft plans, public meetings will be held at each planning area location to provide an overview of the plans, answer questions and take comments. Locations and times for the meetings will be announced through local media, public mailings and on this website. · After the 90-day public comment period, BLM will consider the public comments and a Proposed RMP/Final EIS will be prepared for each planning area. Once any necessary changes have been made, the availability of the documents will be announced in the Federal Register. This announcement will also mark the beginning of a 30-day protest period. Concurrent with the 30-day protest period, the proposed plans will also undergo a 60-day governor’s consistency review. At the conclusion of the public protest period and governor’s consistency review, the BLM will resolve all protests and any inconsistencies. With resolution of all protests and inconsistencies, the approved RMPs and Record of Decisions (RODs) will be published. The availability of these documents will be announced in the Federal Register.
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Why are the Kremmling Field Office and Colorado River Valley Field Office revising their Resource Management Plans?
· RMP revisions are necessary if monitoring and evaluation findings, new data, new or revised policy, or changes in circumstances indicate that decisions for an entire plan or a major portion of the plan no longer serve as a useful guide for management. There is a need to revise the RMPs based upon a number of new issues such as increased recreation demand and use and rapidly expanding urban interface areas; and new policy issues such as new guidance on recreation and comprehensive travel management and transportation.
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What decisions will the BLM be making as part of the revision process?
· Decisions in RMPs guide future land management actions and subsequent site-specific implementation decisions. Decisions contained in RMPs are called land use plan decisions. These broad-scale decisions guide future land management actions and subsequent site-specific implementation decisions. Land use plan decisions fall into two categories:
(1) Desired outcomes (goals and objectives)
(2) Management actions and allowable uses to achieve outcomes
· The BLM Land Use Planning Handbook (H-1601-1), Appendix C (see “BLM Planning & NEPA Guidance Documents” menu), provides program-specific guidance for land use plan and implementation decisions. During the RMP preparation, each program is required to address the land use plan decision guidance contained in Appendix C. In most programs, implementation decisions are not made during the RMP revision. However, the guidance for Comprehensive Trails and Travel Management requires the BLM to make implementation decisions to the extent practical (i.e. completing a defined travel management network).
· Implementation decisions generally constitute the BLM’s final approval allowing on-the-ground actions to proceed. These types of decisions require site-specific planning and NEPA analysis. Thus, for recreation and travel management, the field offices are making both land use plan decisions and implementation decisions as part of this revision effort. [Note: to learn more about the recreation and travel management planning process, see “Travel Management Planning Process” menu.]
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Who has been involved in this process to date and how can you still get involved?
· Formal public scoping began in April 2007, when a total of seven meetings/open houses were held throughout the CRVFO and KFO planning areas. The meetings featured informal one-on-one discussions by BLM managers and resource specialists with local community members. Attendees at these meetings were introduced to the RMP process and asked for written comments and concerns that could be used by the field offices in the identification and development of planning issues. About this time the field offices also sent letters to various federal, state, and local agencies, inviting their participation in a more formal collaborative role in the RMP process as Cooperating Agencies. The Northwest Resource Advisory Council has also assisted the joint planning effort through formation of a subgroup taskforce for each field office tasked with reviewing and commenting on the range of proposed alternatives. Other public outreach and feedback efforts to date have included: a series of community assessments, involving various local community members; informal interviews with visitors at various recreation sites; and a series of travel management planning workshops. Throughout the late summer of 2009 and the spring of 2010, the field offices scheduled and met with the Tribal Councils for the Northern Arapaho, Eastern Shoshone, Southern Ute and Northern Ute Tribes to discuss the RMP, the RMP Process, the schedule, and how the tribes could get involved. A preliminary meeting was recently held with representatives from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. For more scoping information and references, click on Documents and then click on RMP Revision Documents in the Menu at the upper right of this web page.
· There is still ample opportunity to review, participate in public meetings, and provide comments during the 90-day public review and comment period following the upcoming publication and release of the Draft RMP. To get involved and have your name added to the RMP mailing list CLICK HERE or contact Dennis Gale, Kremmling RMP Project Manager at (970) 724-3003, Dennis_Gale@blm.gov; or John Russell, Colorado River Valley RMP Project Manager at (970) 876-9025, John_Russel@blm.gov
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