1601.5-4 Analysis of the management situation.

1601.5-5 Formulation of alternatives.

1601.5-6 Estimation of effects of alternatives.

1601.5-7 Selection of preferred alternatives.

1601.5-8 Selection of resource management plan.

1601.5-9 Monitoring and evaluation. 1601.6 Resource management plan approval use, and modification.

1601.6-1 Resource management plan approval and administrative review. 1601.6-2 Conformity and implementation. 1601.6-3 Changing the resource management plan.

1601.6-4 Situations where action can be

taken based on another agency's plan, or a land use analysis.

1601.6-5 Management decision review by Congress.

1601.6-6 Designation of areas unsuitable for surface mining.

Sec.

1601.6-7 Designation of Areas of Critical

Environmental Concern.

1601.7 Combined resource

management

plan and related environmental impact statement content and documentation. 1601.7-1 Process records.

1601.7-2 Authority annotations.

1601.7-3 Plan and environmental impact statement document.

1601.8 Transition period.

AUTHORITY: 43 U.S.C. 1740.

SOURCE: 44 FR 46392, Aug. 17, 1979, unless otherwise noted.

§ 1601.0-1 Purpose.

The purposes of this subpart are (a) to establish in regulations a process for the development, approval, maintenance, amendment and revision of resource management plans for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and (b) to set forth how existing plans or other data will be used until plans are developed under these regulations.

§ 1601.0-2 Objectives.

The objective of this subpart is to improve resource management decisions on public lands through a process of resource management planning that includes participation by the public and Federal, State and local governments, maximizing use of the best available data, and analysis of alternatives. Resource management plans are designed to guide and control future management actions and the development of subsequent more detailed and limited scope plans for resources and uses.

§ 1601.0-3 Authority.

These regulations are issued under the authority of sections 201 and 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 17111712); section 3 of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 [30 U.S.C. 201(a)]; sections 522, 601, and 714 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.); and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

§ 1601.0-4 Responsibilities.

(a) National level policy and procedure guidance for planning shall be provided by the Secretary and the Director. The Director may assume approval responsibility for a specific plan and related environmental impact statement if it is deemend necessary.

(b) State Directors shall provide quality control for planning and related environmental impact statements and shall provide additional guidance, as necessary, for use by District Managers. State Directors shall file draft and final environmental impact statements associated with resource management plans and amendments.

(c) Resource Management plans, amendments, revisions, and related environmental impact statements shall be prepared by District Managers, and reviewed and concurred in by State Directors. Resource management plans, amendments and revisions are then approved by District Managers.

(d) Depending on the subject matter involved, the appropriate Bureau of Land Management official shall coordinate with other Federal agencies, State and local governments and Indian tribes.

§ 1601.0-5 Definitions.

action"

As used in this subpart: (a) "Applicant proposed means any resource use or development or management action proposed to the Bureau of Land Management by a member of the public or by another agency (not exclusively generated by the Bureau of Land Management) through any procedure established by regulations including nominations, petitions, and applications.

(b) "Areas of critical environmental concern" (ACEC) means areas within the public lands where special managment attention is required (when such areas are developed or used or where no development is required) to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural, or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life and safety from natural hazards. The identification of a potential ACEC shall not, of itself, change or prevent change of the management or use of public lands.

(c) "Conformity of conformance" means that a resource use or management action shall be specifically provided for in the plan, or if not so mentioned shall be clearly consistent with the terms, conditions, and decisions of the approved plan or plan amendment.

(d) "District manager" means the Bureau of Land Management line official in charge of a resource managing field office reporting to a State Director. In some cases (e.g., Eastern States) these officials may not be titled District Manager.

(e) "Goal" means the desired state or condition that a resouce management policy or program is designed to achieve. A goal is usually not quantifiable and may not have a specific date by which it is to be completed. Goals are the base from which objectives are developed.

(f) "Guidance" means any type of written communication or instruction which transmits objectives, goals, constraints or any other direction which helps the District Manager and staff know how to prepare a specific resource management plan.

(g) "Local government" means any political subdivision of the State and any general purpose unit of local government with resource planning, resource management, zoning, or land use regulation authority.

(h) "Objectives" means planned results to be achieved within a stated time period. Objectives are subordinate to goals, are narrower and shorter in range, and have increased possibility of attainment. Time periods for completion, and outputs or achievement that are measurable and quantifiable, are specified.

(i) "Public" means affected or interested individuals, including consumer organizations, public land resource users, corporations and other busines entities, environmental organizations, and other special interest groups and officials of State, local, and Indian tribal governments.

(j) "Public lands" means any land or interest in land owned by the United States and administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management, except lands located on the Outer Continen

tal Shelf and lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos.

(k) "Resource and resource management" is defined in the broadest sense and includes all public land values, renewable and non-renewable resouces of all types, supporting services such as fire control and cadastral survey, land use authorization and control, and land disposition, exchange or acquisition.

(1) "Resource area" means a geographic portion of a Bureau of Land Management district, under the supervision of an area manager. It is the smallest administrative subdivision in the Bureau and is, in most instances, the area for which resource management plans are prepared and maintained.

(m) "Resource management plan" means a land use plan as prescribed by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The resource management plan establishes in a written document

(1) Land areas for: limited, restrictive or exclusive use; designation, including ACEC designation; and transfer from Bureau of Land Management Administration;

(2) Allowable resource uses (either singly or in combination) and related levels of production or use to be maintained, including appropriate threshold levels;

(3) Resource condition goals and objectives to be attained;

(4) Program constraints and general management practices needed to

achieve the above items;

(5) Need for and area to be covered by more detailed and specific plans;

(6) Support action necessary to achieve the above, including as a mini

plishment of another planned action; and

(8) Intervals and standards for monitoring and evaluating the plan to determine the effectiveness of the plan and the need for amendment or revision.

A resource management plan is not a final implementation decision on actions which require further specific plans, process steps or decisions under specific provisions of law and regulations.

(n) "Capability" means the ability or potential of a unit of land to produce resources, supply goods and services or allow resource uses under a set of management practices at a given level of management intensity without permanently impairing the resource involved. Capability depends upon a fixed set of conditions which are relatively stable over time, including, but not limited to, climate, slope, landform, soils and geology. Most land has an inherent capability to produce one or more resources, or goods and services, or allow resource uses, under natural conditions. Capability analyses shall permit identification of specific or management practices that cannot be allowed on specific land areas due to physical conditions.

uses

(o) "Threshold levels" are specific defined levels of resource use, production or development which are established as maximum or minimum constraints in the resource management plan. They are established for defined geographic areas but are not site specific. For example, they may include a maximum or minimum level of winter wildlife habitat which is to be maintained or tonnage of coal that could be made available over a specified time period. Threshold levels are usually established to ensure that the plan does not permit an unacceptable level of cumulative impacts.

(p) "Threshold analysis" is the process of comparing possible threshold levels to anticipated cumulative impacts and establishing that point where an additional increment in the threshold will make a major change in impact.

§ 1601.0-6 Environmental Impact Statement Policy.

Approval of a resource management plan is considered a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. The environmental analysis of alternatives and the proposed plan shall be accomplished as part of the resource management planning process. The proposed plan and related environmental impact statement shall be published as a single document.

§ 1601.0-7 Scope.

(a) These regulations apply to all BLM administered public lands, including any public land area subject to acts of Congress such as the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the O&C Act of 1937, National Trails System Act, the Wilderness Act, and national recreation areas acts, and other similar statutes specifically designating lands for particular uses.

(b) These regulations also govern the preparation of resource management plans when the only public land interest is the mineral estate. Since the use planned for the federallyowned minerals could have a major impact on the nonpublic land surface, the views and concerns of owners of the surface shall be obtained and considered.

§ 1601.0-8 Principles.

The preparation, amendment and revision of resource management plans shall be consistent with the following principles:

(a) The principles of multiple use and sustained yield set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and other applicable laws shall be adhered to;

(b) A systematic interdisciplinary approach shall be used to achieve intergrated consideration of physical, biological, economic, social and other sciences, and the environmental design arts;

(c) Priority shall be given to the identification, designation, protection and special management of ACEC's;

(d) The relative significance of the public land products, services, and uses to local economies shall be considered;

(e) To the extent it is available, the inventory of the public lands, their resources, and other values shall be relied upon;

(f) Present and potential uses of the public lands shall be considered;

(g) Impact on uses of adjacent or nearby non-Federal lands and on nonpublic land surface over federallyowned minerals shall be considered;

(h) The relative scarcity of the values involved and the availability of alternative means (including recycling) and sites for realization of those values shall be considered;

(i) Long term benefits and detriments to the public shall be weighed against short term benefits and detriments;

(j) Compliance with applicable pollution control laws, including State and Federal air, water, noise, or other pollution standards or implementation plans shall be provided for;

(k) To the extent consistent with the laws governing the administration of the public lands, the resource inventory, planning, and management activities of or for such lands shall be coordinated with the resource planning and management programs of other Federal departments and agencies, States and local governments, and Indian tribes; and

(1) The public shall be provided with early notice and frequent opportunity to participate in and comment on the preparation of plans and related guid