United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Hassayampa Field Office 21605 North 7th Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85027 www.blm.gov/az/
In reply refer to: 1610 (AZP010)

Dear Reader/Interested Party:

I am pleased to announce that, after several years of hard work and collaborative efforts, the Bradshaw-Harquahala Resource Management Plan (Approved RMP ) is complete. This document will provide guidance for the management of about 896,100 acres of Federal surface and mineral estate administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Maricopa, Yavapai, and La Paz Counties in central and western Arizona. It will also provide guidance for administration of an additional 527,500 acres of mineral estate within these three Counties and Coconino County in northern Arizona.

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 on August 8, 2008 and subject to a 30-day protest period that ended on September 8, 2008. Three 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 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 BLM Director serves as the final decision for all land use plan decisions described in the attached Approved RMP. Future implementation of land use plan 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 Hassayampa Field Office website at:

http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/fo/hassayampa_field_office.html

Hard copies and CD-ROM versions of the ROD /Approved RMP may be obtained by contacting the Hassayampa Field Office by phone at (623) 580-5500; by sending a request by email to [email protected] ; or at the following address:

The BLM is pleased to provide this copy of the Bradshaw-Harquahala ROD /Approved RMP for your reference. We greatly appreciate the efforts of all who contributed to completion of this Approved RMP, including the State of Arizona, Maricopa County, Yavapai County, and numerous Federal and State government agencies that worked closely with us to complete this important effort. We also appreciate the extensive public involvement during this time by local communities, organizations, and individuals. Public input informed and improved this planning document. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners and citizens as we implement the decisions in this Approved RMP.