On Oct. 21, 2016, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Farmington Field Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Navajo Regional Office announced the start of an expanded resource management planning effort for northwest New Mexico with the publication of a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The BLM and the BIA Regional Office will jointly conduct an expanded analysis of management in the area that covers public, tribal, and Indian allotment lands.
A 60-day public scoping period is now open, ending on Dec. 20, 2016. The information gathered during this scoping process will be added to the information already gathered as part of the BLM’s prior scoping process for the Environmental Impact Statement. The initial announcement provided a schedule of public scoping meetings. The tentative meetings are now finalized. The formal tribal consultation with the Navajo Nation is scheduled for Dec. 2, 2016 at the Navajo Nation museum in Window Rock, Arizona.
The final scoping meeting schedule is as follows:
Shiprock Chapter House
Hwy 64, Mile Post 23, Building 5548 Shiprock, NM 87420 November 10
9:00am-1:00pm
Map Link
Huerfano Chapter House
536 Co Rd 7150 Bloomfield, NM 87413 November 10
3:00pm-7:00pm
Map Link
Counselor Chapter House
6828 Hwy 44, #14 Counselor, NM 87018 November 12
9:00am-1:00pm
Map Link
Nageezi Chapter House
11554 New Mexico 44,
Nageezi, NM 87037 November 12
3:00pm-7:00pm
Map Link
Ojo Encino Chapter House
MP2.2, Navajo Route 474 Ojo Encino, NM 87913 November 14
9:00am-1:00pm
Map Link
Whitehorse Lake Chapter House
MP62.7, Navajo Route 9 Cuba, NM 87013 November 15
9:00am-1:00pm
Map Link
Navajo Technical University
Lowerpoint Road State Hwy 371 Crownpoint, NM 87313 November 17
3:00pm-7:00pm
Map Link
Navajo Nation Museum
Highway 264 and Loop Road Window Rock, AZ 86515 December 2
10:00am-2:00pm
Map Link
All meetings will be conducted bilingually (Navajo and English) with the exception of the Whitehorse Lake meeting which will be conducted exclusively in Navajo. Input to the BLM and BIA can be provided at these meetings or in the following ways.
* By mail to BLM Farmington Field Office, Attention: Mark Ames, Project Manager, 6251 North College Blvd., Suite A, Farmington, New Mexico 87402; by email to BLM_NM_FFO_Comments@blm.gov, or by fax to 505-564-7608.
* For the BIA, please contact Harrilene Yazzie, BIA Regional National Environmental Policy Act Coordinator at 505-863-8287, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup, New Mexico 87301, or harrilene.yazzie@bia.gov.
The general public and Navajo tribal members are highly encouraged to participate in the public scoping meetings where environmental issues (including potential impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing) will be presented. The scoping period ends on Dec. 20, 2016. Additional information is available online at http://www.blm.gov/nm/farmington.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
