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1 <br />' CHAPTERSIX consultation and coordination <br />' 6.1 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SUMMARY <br />As required by NEPA, BLM has provided for an early and open process to determine the scope <br />' of significant issues to be addressed in the EIS. Scoping is not a single, isolated action, but an <br />ongoing process. The scoping process helps to: (1) inform the public and affected agencies <br />about the background, purpose and features of the proposed project; (2) objectively identify <br />' public issues and concerns about the Proposed Action; (3) gather additional information about <br />the issues; and (4) identify a reasonable range of alternatives and potential impacts to be <br />addressed. <br />To identify the issues and concems related to the Yankee Gulch Project, public scoping was <br />undertaken by the BLM as follows: <br />' • A Notice of Intent to prepaze an EIS initiated the 30-day scoping period and was published <br />in the Federal Register on June 15, 1998. The comment period extended until July 10, 1998. <br />A public notice announcing the proposed project and scoping meetings was published in the <br />Rifle Citizen Telegram on June 10, 1998, and the Meeker Herald on June 11, 1998. <br />• A Public Scoping Document (June 1998) was prepazed by Steigers Corporation for the BLM <br />describing the scoping process, proposed action, alternatives and initial review of the <br />environmental and social resources that might be affected by the proposed project, and <br />' potential impacts to be analyzed in [he EIS. The document was distributed to the federal, <br />state and county agencies involved in the EIS process, and was available to the public at the <br />scoping meetings. <br />' • The BLM conducted two public scoping meetings to present the project to the public and <br />solicit public and agency comments. The meetings were held on June 24, 1998, at the BLM <br />White River Resource Area Office in Meeker, and on June 25, 1998, at the Town Hall <br />' Council Chambers in Pazachute. Based on the attendance sheets, 24 people attended the <br />meeting in Meeker and 45 people attended the meeting in Pazachute. Six comment letters <br />t were also received by the BLM. <br />• A Summary of Public Scoping Meetings (September 1998) was prepazed by the BLM <br />documenting the scoping process to date. The document describes the scoping process; <br />' summarizes the issues and concerns raised; and includes a copy of attendance sheets, public <br />notices, and comment letters. <br />6.2 CONSULTATION <br />Table 6-1 lists the government agencies, businesses, organizations, and individuals contacted or <br />' consulted with during the prepazation of the Draft EIS. <br />6.3 LIST OF REVIEWERS AND PREPARERS <br />The Yankee Gulch Project Draft EIS was prepazed by a third party contractor working under the <br />direction of and in cooperation with the lead agency for the project, the BLM White River <br />Resource Area. <br />6-1 <br />