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<br />000798 <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />1. Staff review of original RARE I areas to determine if revisions are <br />necessary. <br /> <br />2. Holding public meetings to determine: <br /> <br />a. What additional areas the public thinks should be considered for <br />study; and <br /> <br />b. What criteria the public recommends for describing a National <br />Wilderness System. <br /> <br />3. Making recommendations to the Congress and the American people that <br />will help round out a National Wilderness System and allocate other roadless <br />lands for nonwilderness uses. <br /> <br />More than 200 meetings were held during the fall of 1977 where more than <br />1900 areas were identified for further consideration. Several criteria <br />emerged as generally the consensus of public thinking on what the makeup <br />of a National Wilderness System should be. The U5F5 is presently developing <br />procedures for applying these criteria to the areas identified for further <br />consideration. A draft programmatic environmental statement (E5) being <br />prepared for release in June. The draft ES will be supplemented by State <br />or geographic area documents. The public will have the field season of <br />1978 to review the identified areas and the draft E5. It is anticipated <br />that the final E5 will be available in December. The E5 will address the <br />additions of recommended areas to the National Wilderness Preservation <br />System, and areas that are to be made available for nonwilderness use. <br /> <br />The U5F5 has made a concerted effort to coordinate the RARE II process with <br />the BLM, as well as other management agencies. Unfortunately, the differ- <br />ence in timing and legislative requirements has limited coordination to <br />the exchange of information on activities and attendance by BLM personnel <br />at a number of U5FS public meetings on RARE II. Both agencies have expressed <br />a desire to coordinate efforts as much as possible, particularly regarding <br />the timing of public meetings and the treatment of potential wilderness <br />involving land under the administration of both agencies. <br /> <br />SUMMARY <br /> <br />In summary, the U5F5 and the BLM are working with the same resource values, <br />but their legal mandates differ, and therefore, their review processes <br />differ considerably. <br />