Class I Cultural Resources Overview for the Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal on the Bureau of Land Management Arizona Strip District and the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona.

摘要

On July 21, 2009, the Secretary of the Interior proposed to withdraw, subject to valid existing rights, approximately 626,354 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-managed public lands on the Arizona Strip District and 360,349 acres of National Forest System lands on the Kaibab National Forest for 20 years from mineral location and entry under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 United States Code 22 et seq.). The proposed withdrawal applies to federal mineral estate, including lands that underlie non-federal surfaces. It would not apply to non-federal mineral estate. The purpose of the withdrawal, if determined to be appropriate, would be to protect the Grand Canyon watershed from adverse effects of locatable mineral exploration and mining (BLM 2009a). The BLM is the lead agency, working in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, and other state, local, and tribal agencies to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that will be used to support a final decision on the proposed withdrawal. The EIS will disclose the potential impacts of the Proposed Action on the human environment and natural and cultural resources, as well as specifying which measures would be appropriate for mitigating or reducing those impacts. The EIS will analyze four alternatives: Alternatives A through D. Alternative A is the No Action Alternative; under Alternative A, no lands would be withdrawn from location and claims entry. Alternative B is the Proposed Action; under the Proposed Action, 1,010,776 acres of federal mineral estate would be withdrawn from location and entry for 20 years. Under Alternative C, Partial Withdrawal, 652,986 acres would be withdrawn for 20 years, and under Alternative D, again Partial Withdrawal, 300,681 acres would be withdrawn for 20 years.