Price Resource Management Plan(RMP) ROD-Approved RMP

188 Pages·2008·1.56 MB·English

U.S. Department of the Interior
Utah Bureau of Land Management
Price Field Offi ce
October 2008
Record of Decision and
Approved Resource
Management Plan
PPuubblliicc LLaannddss UUSSAA:: UUssee,, SShhaarree,, AApppprreecciiaattee
The Bureau of Land Management
Our Vision
• To enhance the quality of life for all citizens through the balanced stewardship
of America’s public lands and resources.
Our Mission
• To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use
and enjoyment of present and future generations.
Our Values
• To serve with honesty, integrity, accountability, respect, courage, and
commitment to make a difference.
Our Priortities
• To improve the health and productivity of the lands to support the BLM
multiple use mission.
• To cultivate community-based conservation, citizen-centered stewardship, and
partnership through consultation, cooperation, and communication.
• To Respect, value, and support our employees, giving them resources and
opportunities to succeed.
• To pursue excellence in business practices, improve accountability to our
stakeholders, and deliver better service to our coustomer.
Bureau of Land Management
BLM-UT-PL-09-005-1610
UT-070-2002-11
On the Cover: The cover artwork is a pen and ink drawing of Lighthouse Rock in Desolation Canyon. The scene is inspired by
a photograph taken by E.O. Beaman on August 11, 1871, during the second John Wesley Powell exploration of the Green River.
The artist is Carrie Dean, BLM River Ranger.
United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Utah State Office
P.O. Box 45155
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155
http://www.blm.gov
IN REPLY REFER TO:
1610
(UT-935)

Dear Reader/Interested Party:

I am pleased to announce that, after several years of hard work and collaborative efforts, the
Price Field Office Resource Management Plan (Approved RMP) is complete. This document
will provide guidance for the management of about 2,500,000 acres of Federal surface estate and
2,800,000 acres of Federal mineral estate administered by the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) in Carbon and Emery Counties in central-eastern Utah.

The attached Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved RMP have been prepared in accordance
with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). The ROD/Approved RMP is available to members of the public and will be
sent to pertinent local, State, Tribal and Federal government entities. The ROD finalizes the
proposed decisions presented in the Proposed RMP/Final Environmental Impact Statement
(FEIS) that was released August 29, 2008 and subject to a 30-day protest period that ended on
September 29, 2008. Fourteen protest letters with standing were received. The protests were
reviewed by the BLM Director in Washington, D.C. After careful consideration of all points
raised in these protests, the Director concluded the responsible planning team and decision
makers followed all applicable laws, regulations, policies, and pertinent resource considerations
in developing the proposed plan. Minor adjustments or points of clarification are incorporated
into the Approved RMP in response to issues raised in the protest process and final BLM review.
These minor changes are discussed in the ROD under the section titled Notice of Modifications
and Clarifications, but the protest review did not result in any significant changes from the
Proposed RMP.

The approval of this ROD by the Department of the Interior (DOI) Assistant Secretary for Land
and Minerals Management serves as the final decision by the DOI for all land use planning and
implementation-level decisions described in the attached Approved RMP. Implementation of
land use plan decisions (e.g., coal leasing, oil and gas development, and land and realty
decisions) will not be undertaken without suitable further NEPA analysis, including all
appropriate public involvement and any hearings available to the public.

Notification of the approval of this ROD/Approved RMP will be announced via local news
releases and on the Price Field Office website at:

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/price.html

PRICE FIELD OFFICE
RECORD OF DECISION
AND
APPROVED
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

October 2008

Prepared by:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Price Field Office
Price, Utah

Cooperating Agencies:
State of Utah
Carbon County
Emery County

Price Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan – Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
RECORD OF DECISION 
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. i 
LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................. iv 
RECORD OF DECISION............................................................................................................... 1 
A.  INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 
Purpose ........................................................................................................................... 1 
Need ............................................................................................................................... 1 
Description of the Planning Area ................................................................................... 2 
B.  OVERVIEW OF THE ALTERNATIVES .................................................................... 3 
No Action ....................................................................................................................... 5 
Alternative A .................................................................................................................. 5 
Alternative B .................................................................................................................. 8 
Alternative C ................................................................................................................ 10 
Alternative D (Preferred Alternative from the Draft) .................................................. 13 
Alternative E ................................................................................................................ 13 
Alternatives Considered But Eliminated From Detailed Analysis .............................. 16 
C.  RESULTS OF PROTEST REVIEW ........................................................................... 20 
D.  THE DECISION .......................................................................................................... 20 
What the Decision/RMP Provides ............................................................................... 21 
What the Decision/RMP Does Not Provide ................................................................. 23 
Implementation Decisions ............................................................................................ 24 
E.  NOTICE OF MODIFICATIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS ..................................... 27 
Modifications ............................................................................................................... 27 
Clarifications ................................................................................................................ 28 
Errata and Clarification to the Proposed RMP/Final EIS ............................................ 29 
F.  MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTING THE APPROVED RMP . 30 
G.  CONSISTENCY AND CONSULTATION REVIEW ................................................ 49 
Governor’s Consistency: .............................................................................................. 50 
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Price Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan – Table of Contents

NHPA Section 106 Consultation: ................................................................................ 50 
Native American Consultation: .................................................................................... 50 
Section 7 Consultation under the Endangered Species Act: ........................................ 51 
H.  MITIGATION MEASURES ....................................................................................... 51 
I.  PLAN MONITORING AND EVALUATION ............................................................ 52 
Implementation Monitoring: ........................................................................................ 52 
Effectiveness Monitoring: ............................................................................................ 52 
J.  PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ......................................................................................... 53 
K.  AVAILABILITY OF THE PLAN ............................................................................... 54 

APPROVED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN 
A.  INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 57 
Description of the Planning Area ................................................................................. 57 
B.  CONSIDERATION OF OTHER PLANS AND POLICIES ....................................... 57 
Federal, State, and Local Management Plans (Table R-3) ........................................... 58 
C.  PLAN IMPLEMENTATION ...................................................................................... 60 
General Implementation Schedule of “One-Time” Actions ........................................ 60 
Maintaining the Plan .................................................................................................... 61 
Changing the Plan ........................................................................................................ 61 
D.  PLAN EVALUATION ................................................................................................ 62 
E.  MANAGEMENT DECISIONS ................................................................................... 62 
Air Quality (AQ) .......................................................................................................... 64 
Soil (SOL), Water, and Riparian (WAT) ..................................................................... 66 
Vegetation (VEG) ........................................................................................................ 69 
Cultural Resources (CUL)............................................................................................ 73 
Paleontological Resources (PAL) ................................................................................ 76 
Visual Resources Management (VRM) ....................................................................... 77 
Special Status Species (SSS) ........................................................................................ 79 
Fish and Wildlife (WL) ................................................................................................ 82 
Wild Horses and Burros (WHB) .................................................................................. 88 
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Price Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan – Table of Contents

Fire and Fuels Management (FIRE) ............................................................................. 91 
Non-WSA Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (WC) ............................................ 95 
Fire, Drought, and Natural Disasters (FDN) ................................................................ 96 
Forestry and Woodland Products (FOR)...................................................................... 98 
Livestock Grazing (GRA) .......................................................................................... 101 
Recreation (REC) and Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) .............................................. 105 
Lands and Realty (LAR) ............................................................................................ 118 
Minerals and Energy Resources (MIN): Leasable Minerals (MLE), Locatable
Minerals (MLO), and Saleable Minerals and Mineral Materials (MSA) ................... 126 
Locatable Minerals (MLO) ........................................................................................ 130 
Saleable Minerals and Mineral Materials (MSA) ...................................................... 130 
Special Designations: Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) ............................................ 131 
Special Designations: Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) ............... 133 
Special Designations: Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR) ............................................. 143 
Other Special Designations: National Trails and Backways (TRA) ......................... 146 
Transportation (TRV)................................................................................................. 151 
Health and Safety (HAZ) ........................................................................................... 153 
LIST OF PREPARERS............................................................................................................... 154 
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 156 
GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................... 159 
LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... 173 
LIST OF MAPS .......................................................................................................................... 174 
LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 175 

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Price Field Office Record of Decision – List of Acronyms
LIST OF ACRONYMS

ACEC Area of Critical Environmental Concern
ALJ Administrative Law Judge
AML Appropriate Management Level
AMP Allotment Management Plan
AMS Analysis of the Management Situation
ARPA Archeological Resource Protection Act (of 1979)
AUM Animal unit month
BA Biological Assessment
BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs
BLM Bureau of Land Management
BMP Best Management Practice
BO Biological Opinion
CAA Clean Air Act (of 1970)
CEQ Council on Environmental Quality
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CFS Cubic Feet Per Second (a unit of water flow)
CLDQ Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry
COA Conditions of Approval
CSU Controlled Surface Use
DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement
DFC Desired Future Condition
DOGM (Utah) Division of Oil, Gas and Mining
DOI (United States) Department of the Interior
DPC Desired Plant Community
EA Environmental Assessment
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPCA Energy Policy and Conservation Act (of 1975)
ERMA Extended Recreation Management Area
ESA Endangered Species Act (of 1973)
ESR Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation
FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement
FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act (of 1976)
FMP Fire Management Plan
FMZ Fire Management Zone
FO Field Office
FR Federal Register
FWMP Forest and Woodlands Management Plan
GIS Geographic Information Systems
HA Herd Area
HMA Herd Management Area
HMAP Herd Management Area Plan
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