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Dear concerned citizens,
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the upcoming public scoping meetings regarding a proposed land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (Tribe). The first meeting will be held on Thursday, March 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Spa Hotel, 100 North Indian Canyon Dr. in Palm Springs. The second meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 27th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Dr. in Palm Springs. Both meetings will be conducted in the same manner, including presentation of the same information.
Given the relative size of the meeting facilities, you are encouraged to attend the first meeting at the Spa Hotel if it suits your schedule as the conference room there accommodates many more people than the BLM’s conference room. If you can only make it to next week’s meeting at the BLM office, we will be pleased to see you there.
These two scoping meetings provide a forum for the public to identify relevant issues that will determine the scope, including alternatives, of an Environmental Impact Statement to be prepared for the proposed land exchange. In addition to issues identified at the public scoping meetings, written comments identifying relevant issues will be accepted through April 27, 2012. They should be sent to Field Manager, BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Dr., Palm Springs, CA 92262, or via email to AguaCalienteExchange@blm.gov.
The BLM has not yet identified alternatives to be analyzed in the Environmental Impact Statement. Development of alternatives will not occur until the public has had an opportunity to identify relevant issues to be addressed.
I have attached a list of issues extracted from public comments submitted to the BLM regarding Environmental Assessment No. CA-060-0010-0005, which addressed the proposed land exchange between the BLM and the Tribe; this Environmental Assessment was released for public review and comment on July 27, 2010. In response to public comments and upon further internal review, it was determined that preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is necessary to address potentially significant impacts to the human environment that could result from the proposed land exchange. The issues identified in the attachment will be considered when preparing the Environmental Impact Statement.
The primary purpose of the public scoping period ending April 27, 2012, therefore, is to identify issues that are not included in the attachment to ensure that analyses presented in the Environmental Impact Statement address all significant issues pertaining to the proposed land exchange.
Attendees of the public scoping meetings will be provided an opportunity to verbally identify relevant issues to be considered when preparing the Environmental Impact Statement. Attendees may also submit their written comments identifying relevant issues at this time. In order to speak at the meetings, you will be asked to write your name on a “speaker’s card.” Speakers will be called to the microphone in the order that speaker’s cards were submitted at the registration table. The amount of time one will have to speak may be limited depending on the number of attendees wishing to speak. Attendees will have an opportunity to provide their name, address, and/or email address to the BLM in order to receive an updated list of issues following the end of the public scoping period on April 27th, and be informed when the draft Environmental Impact Statement is available for public review and comment.
Thank you.
Jim Foote
Monument Manager
Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
1201 Bird Center Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 833-7136
Fax (760) 833-7199
