The purpose of the RMP [Resource Management Plan] is to guide management of the pubic lands and resources in the GRA [Grand Resource Area]. Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop, maintain, and revise land use plans for management of the public lands and their resources, with public involvement ... A second need for the preparation of this plan is to meet the requirements for a site-specific grazing EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] ordered by the United States District Court, District of Columbia, in 'Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. vs. Morton', 388 F. Supp. 829 (1974). The GRA grazing EIS was incorporated into the RMP/EIS; livestock management was identified as a required issue for impact analysis.

This Proposed RMP will direct resource management activities including leasing minerals such as oil and gas; construction of electrical transmission lines, pipelines, and roads; grazing management; recreation and outfitting; preserving and restoring wildlife habitat; selling or exchanging lands for the benefit of local communities; military use of the planning area; and conducting other activities that require land use planning decisions.

The DOE Notice of Availability for this environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register on Friday, October 18, 1996 (61 FR 54437). The final environmental impact statement identifies potential adverse effects resulting from the four use alternatives evaluated and discusses measures that DOE considered for the mitigation of these potential adverse effects. The Secretary of Energy signed the Record of Decision on the management and operation of the Nevada Test Site and other DOE sites in the state of Nevada on December 9, 1996. These decisions will result in the continuation of the multipurpose, multi-program use of the Nevada Test Site, under which DOE will pursue a further diversification of interagency, private industry, and public-education uses while meeting its Defense Program, Waste Management, and Environmental Restoration mission requirements at the Nevada Test Site and other Nevada sites, including the Tonopah Test Range, the Project Shoal Site, the Central Nevada Test Area, and on the Nellis Air Force Range Complex. The Record of Decision also identifies specific mitigation actions beyond the routine day-to-day physical and administrative controls needed for implementation of the decisions. These specific mitigation actions are focused on the transportation of waste and on groundwater availability. This Mitigation Action Plan elaborates on these mitigation commitments.