The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Cruces District announced today that it signed the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision Record for the proposed Southern Road Improvement Project (Project), a 23.6-mile section of county roads in Doña Ana and Sierra Counties.
The FONSI and DR is the BLM’s final decision on an Environmental Assessment (EA) which was prepared to analyze the effects of the BLM’s issuance of right-of-way (ROW) grants to Doña Ana and Sierra Counties for the improvement of existing county roads E-070, E-071 and A-013. Collectively, the roads are commonly known as the Southern Road and are currently unpaved and maintained by the counties. The Southern Road was previously authorized under the authority of Revised Statute 2477.
Based on the information contained in the EA, the proposed action and alternatives do not constitute a major federal action having a significant effect on the human environment and does not require BLM to prepare an environmental impact statement.
The FONSI is based on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) criteria for significance, regarding the context and intensity of the impacts described in the EA.
The DR, FONSI and EA number DOI-BLM-NM-L000-2012-0117-EAcan be found at https://goo.gl/HKMTsg.
The counties, in partnership with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA), have proposed to improve Southern Road by utilizing state funds administered by the NMSA. The majority of the proposed road improvements will remain within the existing roadway footprint.
Other participating agencies with interests in the Southern Road Project include the New Mexico State Land Office, which is a land owner in the area, and the National Park Service, which administers the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, in partnership with the BLM. Several private landowners are also stakeholders in the proposed Project.
For questions and comments regarding the proposal, the public may contact Anthony Hom, BLM Realty Specialist at 575-202-8841, or by visiting him at the BLM Las Cruces District Office at 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005.