[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15122-15123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6974]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rangeland Health; Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Box Elder,
Cache, Rich, Tooele, Weber, Morgan, Summit Counties, Utah and Uinta
County, Wyoming
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement on a proposal to amend the Wasatch-Cache National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan to add management direction and standards
and guidelines for desired future condition of rangelands.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
in writing by April 20, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to William P. LeVere, Deputy Forest
Supervisor, 8236 Federal Building, 125 South State St., Salt Lake City,
Utah 84138.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reese Pope, Planning Staff Officer,
(801) 524-5188.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wasatch-Cache National Forest is
proposing to amend the Wasatch-Cache National Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan to add management direction and standards and
guidelines for desired future condition of rangelands. The desired
future condition of four range types will be defined: Riparian,
uplands, alpine, and aspen. Riparian areas will be managed for mid-to-
late seral ecological conditions to maintain or restore biological,
physical, and aesthetic values of riparian ecosystems. Uplands will be
managed for mid-to-late seral status to maintain watershed conditions.
Alpine areas will be managed for protective ground cover with a
diversified vegetative cover. Management of aspen will be to maintain
and improve aspen sites and associated vegetation. Specific utilization
standards and stubble heights will be set to move toward desired
rangeland conditions.
A scoping document has been sent to 700 individuals and
organizations and local and state government agencies. Preliminary
issues identified by the interdisciplinary team include effects on
threatened, endangered, and sensitive species, effects on riparian
areas and upland watershed conditions, effects to local economies,
effects on rangeland from livestock and wildlife, effects on
recreational values and visual resources and effects on range condition
on important wildlife habitat. Two preliminary alternatives have been
identified. The proposed action which would amend the Forest Plan with
new management direction for rangelands and the No Action which would
continue setting direction in individual allotment management plans.
The public is invited to submit comments or suggestions to the
address above. The responsible official is William LeVere, Deputy
Forest Supervisor. A draft EIS is expected to be filed in May of 1995
and the final EIS filed in August of 1995.
The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency's notice
of availability appears in the Federal Register. It is very important
that those interested in the proposed action participate at that time.
To be the most helpful, comments on the draft environmental impact
statement should be as specific as possible and may address the
adequacy of the statement or the merits of the alternatives discussed
(see The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3).
In addition, Federal court decisions have established that
reviewers of draft environmental impact statements must structure their
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewers' position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,
553 (1978). Environmental objections that could have been raised at the
draft stage may be waived if not raised until after completion of the
final environmental impact statement. City of Angoon v.
[[Page 15123]] Hodel, (9th Circuit, 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc.
v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). The reason for
this is to ensure 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.
Dated: March 14, 1995.
William P. LeVere,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-6974 Filed 3-21-95; 8:45 am]
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