Media Advisory

Oregon/Washington

Prineville District

Media Contact: Lisa Clark, (541) 280-9560

November 14, 2024

BLM opens protest period on a

Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment,

invites input on an environmental assessment

Prineville, Ore. — The Bureau of Land Management is initiating a 30-day protest period on a Proposed Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan Amendment and seeks input on an environmental assessment that analyzes the potential effect of the City of Redmond’s proposal to acquire a 541.5-acre parcel of public land to accommodate expanding the city’s wastewater treatment facility and associated wetland complex.

The city is proposing the expansion to support the projected long-term growth of the community. The City of Redmond submitted a Recreation and Public Purposes Act application to request the acquisition.

Under the Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan, the requested 541.5-acre parcel is within the Steamboat Rock Special Recreation Management Area. The area contains five miles of trails designated for Class I and III off-highway vehicles that would be removed from use if the land is conveyed to the city; however, 38 miles of trails would remain within the Steamboat Rock Special Recreation Management Area and the field office will consider adding additional miles of motorized trail nearby to compensate for this loss. Furthermore, if the wetland complex is constructed, additional non-motorized (walking/hiking) trails will be developed.

A 30-day protest period on the Resource Management Plan Amendment starts today and ends December 14, 2024. Any person who previously commented and has an interest which is or may be adversely affected by the amendment, may protest approval of the decision. A protest may only raise issues which were previously submitted. Protest may be submitted electronically through the BLM's ePlanning website or mailed to one the following addresses, postmarked by the close of the protest period:

• ·         USPS Mail: BLM Director, Attn: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), PO Box 151029, Lakewood, CO 80215
• ·         Overnight Mail: BLM Director, Attn: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 40, Lakewood, CO 80215

A 30-day public comment period starts today and ends December 14, 2024, on the environmental assessment that analyzes the potential impacts of expanding the city’s wastewater treatment facility, associated wetland complex, and other amenities. Comments are most helpful if they do one of following: identify a different way to meet the purpose of the project, provide new information about the proposed actions or the analysis, point out a specific flaw in the analysis, suggest alternate methodologies and the reason(s) why they should be used, make factual corrections, or identify different sources of credible research, which, if used in the analysis, could result in different effects.

Written comments will be accepted at the BLM’s ePlanning page (link above), can be emailed to [email protected], or sent in hard copy to the address listed below. Those interested in submitting a comment over the phone can call Ferris Couture at (541) 416-6711.

Deschutes Field Office
Lisa M. Clark
3050 NE 3rd Street
Prineville, OR 97754

All comments, including personal identifying information, may be made publicly available. People can ask to withhold personal identifying information from public review; however, it cannot be guaranteed.

Project information, including the environmental assessment, can be accessed through the BLM's ePlanning website (link above). For additional information, please contact Ferris Couture, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, at the phone number above or by email at [email protected].

People in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

-BLM-

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.