[Federal Register: March 20, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 53)]
[Notices]
[Page 13969-13970]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20mr06-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision (ROD) for the
Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS) for the
Proposed Addition of Maneuver Training Land at Fort Irwin, California
AGENCY: U.S. National Training Center and Fort Irwin, Department of the
Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of its
ROD for the Proposed Addition of Maneuver Training Land at Fort Irwin,
California. On 20 January 2006, the Army published a notice of
availability of its SFEIS. The SFEIS reviewed the environmental,
cultural, and socioeconomic impacts of five action alternatives
associated with the addition of maneuver training land at Fort Irwin,
as well as a No Action (status quo) alternative. Based on the SFEIS,
the Army has demised to implement Alternative I, the East/West
Alternative. Under this alternative, additional lands totaling
approximately 150,510 acres would be added to the available training
lands. The decision includes training in new areas to the east and west
of the existing Fort Irwin, and in a portion of southern Fort Irwin
previously off-limits to training. Expansion of the maneuver area of
the National Training Center (FTC) provides an extended battle space
(land and air) for training Army brigade-sized units according to the
Army's training and combat operations. Today's Army can drive faster,
shoot farther, and operate over wider ranges than the Army of 1981,
when the FTC opened.
[[Page 13970]]
These advances in technology are the driving factor for this expansion.
Alternative I was chosen because it best meets the Army's need for
additional training land. There are impacts to many natural resources
expected as part of the proposed action. Mitigation has been proposed
to offset the impacts identified in the SFEIS. Even taking into account
this mitigation, however, there will still be significant impacts to
threatened and endangered species, loss of vegetation cover, loss and
disruption of soil surfaces, and loss of wilderness characteristics to
adjacent wideness areas.
The decision also restates the army's continuing commitment to
environmental stewardship by implementing mitigation and monitoring
measurers to offset potential reverse environmental impacts associated
with the preferred alternative, as identified in the SFEIS and the ROD.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Army's ROD may be made to:
Ms.Jennifer Barry, NTC Land Expansion Program, ATTN: AFZJ-ST, Strategic
Planning Division, P.O. 105004, Fort Irwin, California, 93210, or by
calling (760) 380[dash]6174, or by sending an e-mail to
Jennifer.Barry@Irwin.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Ms. Jennifer Barry, or
Mrs. Nicole Lileikis, AFZJ-SP Strategic Planning Division, P.O. 10309,
Fort Irwin, CA 92311. Interested parties may also call (760) 380-6174.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The project involves acquisition of
approximately 127,000 new acres on the east and southwest sides of the
existing NTC and the return to training use of approximately 23,000
acres in the south that are currently restricted from military
training. Implementation of the Preferred Alternative as outlined in
the SFEIS will occur in a phased approach. Training will occur in the
Eastgate parcel first, followed by the UTM 90 (the southern edge of
Fort Irwin), and the last area on which training will begin will be the
western area.
The Preferred alternative best meets the purpose and need for
training at Fort Irwin and is crucial to achieving a trained military
to provide for the current and future national security of the country.
The selected alternative has significant impacts, which are
described in the SFEIS. Among these are impacts to the Desert Tortoise.
The action also includes mitigation measures that will support
conservation and management of the tortoise. The SFEIS discusses a
Biological Opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the
effects of the proposed action on both the Desert Tortoise and another
threatened or endangered species, the Lane Mountain Milk Vetch. The
SFEIS also includes a Supplemental Biological Assessment prepared by
the Army that addresses the crucial habitat of the Desert Tortoise.
Copies of the SFEIS ROD can be found at the following libraries for
public reading: Library of Congress; Riverside Main Library; San Diego
County Library; San Bernardino County Libraries at the following
locations--Hesperia, San Bernardino, Apple Valley, Trona, Barstow, Big
Bear, Lucerne Valley, Victorville, Wrightwood, and Yucca Valley.
The Record of Decision is also posted at the land Expansion Web
site http://www.fortirwinlandexpansion.com.
Dated: March 14, 2006.
Addison D. Davis, IV,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, (Environment, Safety and
Occupational Health), OASA(I&E).
[FR Doc. 06-2625 Filed 3-17-06; 8:45 am]
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