The BLM is tasked with the job of multiple use management and the sustained yield of renewable resources. In addition, the new RMP must address the challenges of increasing demands for commodities, recreational opportunities, energy, and transportation associated with the continuing rapid growth of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The alternatives described in the Draft RMP /EIS, in addition to the public comments and input provided throughout this planning process, were considered in preparing the Proposed RMP . The Proposed RMP is a combination of decisions from the five alternatives considered in the Draft RMP /EIS, with emphasis on Alternative E. The Approved RMP is similar to the Proposed RMP , containing only minor modifications and clarifications stemming from protests and internal review.
This approach was chosen as the Approved RMP because:
It most effectively accomplishes the overall objectives of supporting communities through authorized uses and providing for diverse recreational opportunities and public safety, while protecting sensitive natural, scenic, and cultural resources. The Approved RMP provides the optimal balance between authorized resource uses and long-term sustainability of diverse resources.
It best addresses the diverse community and stakeholder concerns in a fair and equitable manner.
It provides the most workable framework for future management in collaboration with government agencies, counties, communities, other partners, and the public.
The Approved RMP proposes management that will improve and sustain properly functioning resource conditions while considering needs and demands for existing or potential resource commodities and values. In the end, resource use is managed by integrating ecological, economic, and social principles in a manner that safeguards the long-term sustainability, diversity, and productivity of the land.
The Approved RMP responds to issues related to managing for healthy rangelands and riparian and upland vegetation while providing for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. It responds to issues regarding noxious weeds and invasive species by maintaining the BLM’s integrated management approach, as well as emphasizing the reestablishment and restoration of native plants during project activities and as a part of the watershed assessment process.
The Approved RMP identifies lands for retention near rural communities to preserve open space, scenic values, and recreational opportunities in areas where citizens objected to the potential disposal of those lands through sale or exchange. It provides for a diverse range of motorized and non-motorized recreational activities, including improvements and extensions to the existing Black Canyon National Recreation Trail.
Concerns about specific resource values are addressed throughout the Approved RMP . Resource values are protected through the associated management actions defined to achieve desired future conditions, as well as the designation of four new ACEC and allocations of areas to be managed to sustain wilderness characteristics .
Activities on BLM-administered land, including motorized recreation, have the potential to contribute to air pollution in areas surrounding Phoenix. Under Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act, federal agencies must demonstrate that their actions do not interfere with state and local plans to bring an area into attainment with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Within the Bradshaw-Harquahala area, parts of Maricopa County have been identified as non-attainment areas for ozone and particulate matter. To address this regulatory requirement, the BLM prepared a Review of General Air Quality Conformity Applicability for the Agua Fria National Monument and Bradshaw-Harquahala Resource Management Plans and Environmental Impact Statement (AECOM 2009). This study concluded that the majority of BLM-managed or authorized activities would likely have minimal emissions or would represent no appreciable change from baseline emission levels. Proposed mitigation measures would reduce emissions associated with recreation and other activities to maintain them at levels that would be below de minimis thresholds (i.e., would not exceed specified annual emission rates).
CEQ regulations mandate that the federal agencies responsible for preparing NEPA analysis and documentation do so “in cooperation with state and local governments” and other agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise. In support of this mandate, the BLM invited a broad range of local, state, tribal, and federal agencies to establish cooperating agency status with the BLM. Agencies that participated in the planning process, and with whom the BLM will cooperate in implementing the Approved RMP , include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Federal Highway Administration, Luke Air Force Base, Prescott National Forest, Arizona Game and Fish Department, State Historic Preservation Office, Arizona Department of Transportation, Maricopa County, and Yavapai County. BLM also consulted with the Hopi Tribe, Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Tribe, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, Ak-Chin Indian Community, and other tribes who have traditional cultural ties to the area.
Consistency of the Approved RMP with other local, state, tribal, and federal plans and policies was also considered as a factor in alternative selection. The Approved RMP is consistent with plans and policies of the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management, other federal agencies, state government, and local governments to the extent that the guidance and local plans are also consistent with the purposes, policies, and programs of federal law and regulation applicable to public lands.
The Arizona Governor’s Office did not identify any inconsistencies between the PRMP/FEIS and state or local plans, policies, and programs following the 60-day Governor’s Consistency Review of the PRMP/FEIS (initiated on April 15, 2008, in accordance with planning regulations at 43 CFR Part 1610.3 2(e)).