[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 53 (Monday, March 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 14876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6756]




[[Page 14875]]

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Part V





Department of the Interior





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Bureau of Indian Affairs



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Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Livestock 
Grazing and Prairie Dog Management for the Rosebud and Cheyenne River 
Sioux Reservations in South Dakota; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 53 / Monday, March 20, 1995 / Notices 
   
[[Page 14876]] 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for Livestock Grazing and Prairie Dog Management for the Rosebud and 
Cheyenne River Sioux Reservations in South Dakota

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that a Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (FEIS) for proposed livestock grazing and prairie dog 
management for the Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservations in 
South Dakota is available for final public review. This notice is 
furnished as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
Regulations (40 CFR 1503 and 1506.9) to obtain comments from government 
agencies and the public on the FEIS.

DATE: Send comments on or before April 19, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Mr. Donald Whitener, Acting Area Director, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Aberdeen Area Office, 115 4th Avenue SE., 
Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401. Fax (605) 226-7446.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wayland Lilly, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Aberdeen Area Office, 115 4th Avenue SE., Aberdeen, South 
Dakota 57401. Telephone (605) 226-7621. Fax (605) 226-7358. Copies of 
the FEIS are available at this address. All agencies and individuals 
who participated in the scoping process and public hearings have been 
sent copies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1991, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 
reviewed tribal council proposals to poison black-tailed prairie dogs 
on the Cheyenne River and Rosebud Sioux Reservations. An Environmental 
Assessment (EA) and a Biological Assessment were prepared, pursuant to 
NEPA and to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), respectively. Because of 
insufficient personnel, time, and funds, the BIA was unable to meet 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and NEPA requirements for 
analyzing impacts on prairie dog/black-footed ferret habitat and 
threatened and endangered species, such as the bald eagle, peregrine 
falcon, and American burying beetle. The BIA, therefore, only 
investigated the effects of prairie dog poisoning programs proposed by 
the tribal councils.
    The BIA initiated the EIS with a Notice of Intent in the Federal 
Register on November 18, 1992, after the USFWS issued an opinion that 
the proposed poisoning programs would jeopardize the endangered, black-
footed ferret. The draft EIS was published in June 1994 (Federal 
Register, June 16, 1994).
    Public involvement in scoping included three (3) open meetings on 
each reservation, radio and newspaper announcements, and direct 
mailings of scoping notices. The 60-day comment period on the draft EIS 
ended on August 20, 1994. Eleven (11) Federal, state, and local 
agencies, ten (10) organizations, and twelve (12) individuals provided 
comments. Some of these were submitted by letter, in response to 
extensive mailings of the draft EIS, summary, and availability notices. 
Others were delivered orally, at the public hearing on the draft held 
on each reservation. Most comment addressed the proposed action for the 
Rosebud Reservation.
    The BIA received the draft Biological Opinion for comment from the 
USFWS on November 10, 1994. The Aberdeen Area Office responded with 
concerns regarding BIA trust responsibilities towards tribes and the 
implementation of reasonable and prudent alternatives and conservation 
measures. The final Biological Opinion was issued on December 29, 1994.
    The alternatives for the Cheyenne River Reservation include No 
Action (current management); a Proposed Action (Prairie Management 
Plan); four alternatives that would preserve approximately 10,000 acres 
of prairie dogs on Indian trust lands along the Moreau River while 
treating various proportions of prairie dog acreage on trust lands away 
from the river; and a fifth alternative that would treat half of the 
prairie dog acres on the reservation, including those along the Moreau 
River.
    Alternatives for the Rosebud Reservation include No Action; a 
Proposed Action that would treat 100 percent of prairie dog acres on 
Indian trust lands; an alternative that would not treat prairie dogs 
within the 7,416-acre Corn Creek Management Area (CCMA), but would 
treat 100 percent of prairie dog acres outside the CCMA; and an 
alternative that also would treat all prairie dog towns outside the 
CCMA, but would limit those on trust lands within the CCMA to a single 
treatment.
    All action alternatives for both reservations include grazing 
management systems.
    The preferred alternative for Cheyenne River is the Proposed 
Action, which consists of the tribal Prairie Management Plan. This 
would restore the prairie ecosystem to a more natural state, in which 
prairie dog populations and other wildlife species coexist with 
livestock production. The plan includes: (1) A grazing management 
system that would increase water development and fencing to improve 
cattle distribution; (2) funding for habitat set-asides, to compensate 
landowners for retaining prairie dog colonies in order to maintain 
biodiversity and enhance black-footed ferret populations, should the 
ferret be reintroduced; (3) conservation measures for threatened and 
endangered species; (4) education of permittees, landowners, tribal and 
BIA land managers, and the public on the use and benefits of proposed 
management techniques; and (5) limitations on the control of prairie 
dogs in certain areas, such as cemeteries, pow wow grounds, and near 
residences.
    The preferred alternative for Rosebud is the Proposed Action. This 
consists of a plan that would restore the prairie ecosystem to where 
prairie dog populations are maintained at levels that improve range 
conditions for livestock production, and thus increase income to the 
tribe and to Indian landowners. It includes: (1) A grazing management 
system that would increase water development, fencing, mechanical 
treatments, and planting to improve cattle distribution; (2) use of 
zinc phosphide to eradicate black-tailed prairie dogs on 100% (45,000 
acres) of trust lands, with additional treatments in the third and 
fifth year following to ensure complete control; and (3) safety and 
environmental mitigation measures, as listed on pages 3-14 through 3-15 
of the DEIS, for the use of zinc phosphide. The black-footed ferret is 
not considered in this alternative, in deference to a Rosebud Sioux 
Tribal Council resolution requesting that the ferret not be 
reintroduced on or near the reservation.

    Dated: March 13, 1995.
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-6756 Filed 3-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P