[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 199 (Monday, October 16, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53581-53582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-25486]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Sequoia National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on a proposed Amendment to the Land and Resource 
Management Plan (LRMP) to clarify the standards and guidelines under 
which commercial livestock grazing may be managed on the Sequoia 
National Forest, Tulare County, California.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions to the responsible 
official Del A. Pengilly, Acting Forest Supervisor, Sequoia National 
Forest, 900 W. Grand Avenue, Porterville, California 93257-2035.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions about the proposed Amendment to Julie Allen, Land 
Management Planning Officer, Sequoia National Forest, 900 W. Grand 
Avenue, Porterville, California 93257-2035, telephone (209) 784-1500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Sequoia National Forest proposes to 
amend the standards and guidelines in its LRMP in regards to commercial 
livestock grazing and to evaluate this proposal in an EIS. A range of 
alternatives for this proposed amendment will be considered and 
documented in the EIS. One of these will be a no action/no change 
alternative, essentially leaving the current Land and Resource 
Management Plan in place. Other alternatives will propose to adopt 
standards and guidelines regarding commercial livestock grazing 
including the grazing related portions of the 1990 Mediated Settlement 
Agreement as is or with modifications.

[[Page 53582]]

    Intensive scoping for this proposed Forest Plan amendment was done 
in March and April of 1995. At that time it was thought that this 
amendment would be analyzed in documented as an environmental 
assessment. Given the scope of the proposal, and a desire to provide 
additional procedural opportunities for comment, the Forest Supervisor 
has decided to document this analysis in an environmental impact 
statement. By this notice, further scoping comments are invited from 
any who might not have commented before. Those who have, need not do so 
again. All input from the public will be considered in preparation of 
the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS).
    The draft EIS (DEIS) is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by 
November 1995. At that time EPA will publish a notice of availability 
of the DEIS in the Federal Register.
    The comment period on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date that 
EPA's Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register. It is 
very important that those interested in the management of the Sequoia 
National Forest participate at that time. To be the most helpful, 
comments on the DEIS 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). Comments should refer to specific pages 
or chapters of the DEIS.
    Federal court decisions have established that reviewers of DEIS's 
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). Also, environmental objections that 
could be raised at the DEIS stage, but that are not raised until after 
completion of the final EIS, 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 
comment period on the DEIS 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 EIS.
    After the comment period for the draft EIS ends, the comments 
received will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in the 
preparation of the Final EIS.

    Dated: October 6, 1995.
Juliet B. Allen,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-25486 Filed 10-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M