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10 CapitalPress.com Friday, September 13, 2019 BLM final plan to manage SE Oregon expected in early ’20 By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press The final Environmental Impact Statement connected to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plan for man- aging 4.6 million acres of southeastern Oregon could be released as soon as Febru- ary, the agency’s Vale District Manager Don Gonzalez said. The district is amending a 2002 plan that was vacated in federal appeals court and then subject to a 2010 settlement agreement. The settlement required updated information about lands with wilderness characteristics and an anal- ysis of various management scenarios. A public com- ment period ended Aug. 28 on the draft management plan amendment and EIS. Gonzalez said review- and-protest periods — of 30 days for the public and 60 for the Oregon governor’s office — start after the final EIS is released. BLM will ask tribes to participate in a govern- ment-to-government consul- tation if they wish. The agency would try to resolve any protests before issuing a final record of deci- sion, he said. Parties that for- mally protest the final EIS have standing to appeal the record of decision. As for tribes, “that consul- tation occurs when the tribe wants to start it, but we would like to complete it before we issue the record of decision,” Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management’s district office in Vale, Ore. Gonzalez said. Comments on the draft EIS included that BLM’s preferred alternative does not match that of the Inte- rior Department-sanctioned, multi-stakeholder Southeast- ern Oregon Resource Advi- sory Committee, he said. The committee supported the alternative that protects 33 of the 76 areas deemed to have wilderness characteristics. “We will address that in the final environmental impact statement,” Gonzalez said. Of the four manage- ment-action alternatives pro- posed, the one BLM prefers aligns best with Interior’s priorities and BLM’s multi- ple-use mission, he said. The BLM-preferred approach would not pro- tect wilderness. It would keep current land-use plan- ning allocations and graz- ing policies while provid- ing for a sustainable forage yield. It would keep vehicle restrictions to protect grouse habitat. The Oregon Natural Des- ert Association expressed many concerns about the pro- cess and BLM’s preferred alternative. In an electronic newsletter to members, it wrote that the agency’s pre- ferred alternative “does not propose to manage any lands with wilderness character- istics in a way that will pro- tect them,” disregards stake- holder input, and “leaves many of the Owyhee’s wild- est areas vulnerable to devel- opment.” ONDA also wrote a 123-page comment letter to Gonzalez. Some people expressed concern about impacts on sage grouse habitat, inva- sive species and grazing — from permit availability to environmental and wild- fire impact, he said. Others advocated wildlife-connec- tivity corridors. FCC authorizes $4.9 billion for rural broadband Investments to be made over 10 years By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press USDA The Federal Communications Commission is investing in more and better internet connectivity across the rural U.S. icans still lack connectiv- ity — what is known as the “digital divide.” The FCC has authorized $4.9 billion over the next 10 years to continue bridging ond downstream — such as downloading files, receiv- ing emails or simply visit- ing different web pages — and 3 megabits per second upstream, such as uploading files or sending emails. Earlier this year, rural internet carriers agreed to accept subsidies from the FCC based on a model intended to keep their rates reasonable in areas where the cost of installing broad- band is high. In return, carriers must provide at least 25 Mbps upstream and 3 Mbps down- stream to more than 363,000 locations, plus 37,000 loca- tions on tribal lands. In a statement released Aug. 22, Pai said the move is a win-win for rural Amer- icans and taxpayers. “Carriers get the predict- able support they need to deliver broadband to their customers in these high- cost rural areas. And taxpay- ers, who fund this support through a fee on their phone bills, are getting more bang for their buck,” Pai said. The first due date for car- riers to improve and expand service is 2022. Walden, Oregon’s only Republican congressman, said he is grateful the FCC recognizes the need to expand rural broadband in his largely rural district. “There are still too many Oregonians who lack access to reliable broadband inter- net service and thus access to things like telemedicine, remote learning, next gen- eration emergency services and video streaming because of insufficient internet ser- vice,” Walden said. Joe Franell, CEO of Hermiston-based Eastern Oregon Telecom, said he supports any effort to close the digital divide but does not believe the latest invest- ment moves the bar far enough, or fast enough. “This is not necessarily new coverage,” Franell said. “This could be upgrades to existing networks. In fact, we may be spending over $60 million in Oregon and not bring broadband to a sin- gle new customer.” Franell also worries that, in 10 years, the FCC mini- mum broadband speeds of 25 Mbps upstream and 3 Mbps downstream will no longer be adequate for rural Oregonians. Eastern Oregon Telecom is currently building fiber optic cable to homes across three rural cities, including Adams, Athena and Weston, with a combined population of 2,136. Franell said the speeds will offer 100 Mbps both upload and download speed. Compared to 25 Mbps upstream and 3 Mbps downstream, “That’s like going from a Volkswagen to a Lamborghini,” Franell said. 37-3/106 From self-driving trac- tors to irrigation pivots con- trolled by smartphones, modern farming relies on technology to grow more crops with less water, fuel and fertilizer. Precision agriculture, in turn, requires access to high- speed broadband internet, but according to the Fed- eral Communications Com- mission approximately 19.4 million mostly rural Amer- that digital divide, with fund- ing for smaller rural carriers to maintain, improve and expand affordable broad- band in 455,334 homes and businesses across 39 states and American Samoa. Oregon will receive $67.6 million to strengthen rural broadband at 4,689 locations; Idaho will receive $49.9 million for 4,914 loca- tions; and Washington will receive $13.9 million for 2,037 locations. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai visited Eastern Oregon in 2018 with U.S. Rep. Greg Walden to discuss inter- net access in rural Umatilla County. Pai and Walden met with local officials and busi- ness leaders in Pendleton, Hermiston and Weston who talked about the challenges of having slow and inconsis- tent internet in the 21st cen- tury economy. According to the latest FCC Broadband Deploy- ment Report, communities are making progress in clos- ing the digital divide, which Pai described as the com- mission’s top priority. The report shows the number of Americans without broad- band access dropped from 26.1 million in 2016 to 19.4 million at the end of 2017. The minimum bench- mark for broadband inter- net is defined in terms of downloading and upload- ing speeds. The FCC stan- dard is 25 megabits per sec- 37-3/100 37-3/106
