[Federal Register: September 14, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 178)]
[Notices]
[Page 52540-52542]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14se07-25]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Intermountain Region, Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth National
Forests; Amendment to the 2003 Land and Resource Management Plans
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS).
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of proposed
nonsignificant amendments to the three Southwest Idaho Ecogroup (SWIE)
2003 Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans). Amendments to
the 2003 Forest Plans for the Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth National
Forests will add, and/or modify existing, management direction, as
needed, to implement a comprehensive, Forest Plan-level, wildlife
conservation strategy (WCS). This WCS will identify both short- and
long-term management strategies and priorities for maintaining and
restoring habitats associated with terrestrial wildlife species. The
proposed nonsignificant amendments will provide management direction
and guidance that focuses on those habitats, and their associated
species, identified in the WCS as being of greatest conservation
concern during the current planning period (i.e., next 10-15 years).
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
within 30 days following the date of publication of this NOI. The Draft
EIS is expected to be available in mid- to late-winter 2008 for a 90-
day comment period. The single Final EIS and three RODs, one for each
Forest Plan, are expected to be completed by late summer 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Randall Hayman, Forest Planner,
Boise National Forest; 1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200; Boise, Idaho
83709; or by fax at 208-373-4111; or you may hand-deliver your comments
to the Boise Forest Supervisor's Office, located at 1249 South Vinnell
Way, Suite 200, Boise, during normal business hours from 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an e-mail
message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to:
comments-intermtn-boise@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randall Hayman, Forest Planner, Boise
National Forest at the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Separate RODs for revised Forest Plans were
issued in July 2003 for each of the SWIE National Forests (Boise,
Payette, and Sawtooth). The RODs implemented Alternative 7, as
identified in the single FINAL EIS that disclosed the environmental
effects of the seven alternative Forest Plan strategies considered for
these three National Forests. Implementation of the three revised
Forest Plans began in September 2003.
Analyses supporting Forest Plan Revision identified wildlife
habitats that had declined from historical conditions and associated
these habitats with species of conservation concern (2003 Final EIS,
pp. 3-255 to 3-289). Based on an update to the 2003 multi-scale
analysis initiated in 2005, the Forest Supervisors for the three
Forests are in
[[Page 52541]]
the process of identifying priorities for maintaining and restoring
habitats during the current 10-15 year planning period, as part of the
comprehensive WCS. The WCS will also identify priorities for longer-
term maintenance and restoration for other habitats that have
experienced varying levels of decline.
The analysis supporting the revised Forest Plans, and subsequent
updates to this multi-scale analysis, were developed using the
principles and scientific methods generated during the Interior
Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (Boise Forest Plan, p. II-
41; Payette Forest Plan, p. II-41; Sawtooth Forest Plan, p. II-38). The
updated analysis also incorporates new information generated after the
Forest Plans were revised in July 2003, including best available
science as of this date. New information includes mid-scale assessments
such as the 2005 Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies for the
States of Idaho and Utah, respectively, and the 2006 Conservation Plan
for the Greater Sage Grouse in Idaho.
Purpose and Need for Action
The SWIE revised Forest Plans identified the need to include
management direction to focus restoration activities in habitats for
species of concern (Boise and Payette Forest Plans, p. II-10 and,
Sawtooth Forest Plan, p. II-9). However, while the 2003 Forest Plans
include general direction that addresses this need, they do not include
specific direction that spatially prioritizes one habitat area over
another at scales smaller than Forest Plan management areas.
Recognizing the importance of completing this task, the Responsible
Official included, in each of the 2003 Plans, Forest Plan wildlife
objective (WIOB03), which calls for prioritizing wildlife habitat to be
restored at a mid- or Forest-scale using information from sources such
as species habitat models and fine scale analyses.
Therefore, the purpose of this action is twofold: (1) To amend
management direction and/or other components of the SWIE Forest Plans
to reflect findings and priorities identified in the WCS as needed to
guide Forest Plan implementation for the remainder of this planning
period; and (2) to update the wildlife assessments pertaining to 36 CFR
219.19 (1982) as needed to reflect findings in updated analyses, as
well as outcomes anticipated from implementing the amended Forest
Plans.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is to implement nonsignificant Forest Plan
amendments that will include new or modified management direction and/
or other components of the three Forest Plans, as needed, to reflect
findings and priorities identified in the WCS to guide Forest Plan
implementation for the remainder of this planning period.
Responsible Officials
The Responsible Officials are the three Forest Supervisors for the
Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth National Forests:
Richard A. Smith, Forest Supervisor for the Boise National Forest,
USDA--Forest Service; 1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200, Boise, Idaho
83709.
Suzanne C. Rainville, Forest Supervisor for the Payette National
Forest, USDA--Forest Service; 800 West Lakeside Avenue, McCall, Idaho
83638.
Jane P. Kollmeyer, Forest Supervisor for the Sawtooth National
Forest, USDA--Forest Service; 2647 Kimberly Road East, Twin Falls,
Idaho 83301.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Responsible Officials will review the Final EIS and determine
if the 2003 Plan for his/her respective Forest should be amended and/or
modified, or if the current Forest Plan should remain unchanged.
Scoping Process
Written comments must be received within 30 days from the day
following publication of this NOI in the Federal Register. Providing
comments within this time period ensures that they will be available to
the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them
during preparation of the specific proposed amendments and Draft EIS.
Additional opportunities for public participation will be provided
following completion of specific proposed amendments, prior to release
of the Draft EIS. Information and status updates of this amendment
process, including specific proposed amendments, will begin to be
posted on the Web site, http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/boise/, by early winter
2007.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
A legal notice will be published in the newspaper of record for
each National Forest and a Notice of Availability (NOA) will be
published in the Federal Register to inform the public when the Draft
EIS is available for review and comment. The Draft EIS will be
distributed to all parties who respond during the scoping process, or
who otherwise notify the agency at some point following publication of
this NOI of their interest to continue to receive information
pertaining to this proposal.
The comment period on the Draft EIS will end 90 days from the date
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the NOA in the Federal
Register.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
Draft EISs must structure their participation in the environmental
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to
the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections
that could be raised at the Draft EIS stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.
2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris,
490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court
rulings, it is very important that those interested in this proposed
action participate by the close of the 90-day comment period so that
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the Draft EIS should
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also
address the adequacy of the Draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
and will be available for public inspection.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21)
[[Page 52542]]
Dated: September 7, 2007.
Richard A. Smith,
Forest Supervisor, Boise National Forest.
[FR Doc. 07-4552 Filed 9-13-07; 8:45 am]
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