[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58858-58859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29526]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Motorized Vehicular Access to the Private Property Within the 
Kalmiopsis Wilderness, Siskiyou National Forest, Curry County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare and environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (Agency) will prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the

[[Page 58859]]

environmental impacts for a site-specific Proposed Action to permit, 
with stipulations, motorized vehicular access over an existing 12 miles 
of road, to private in-holdings inside the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, 
Chetco River drainage, of the Illinois Valley Ranger District, Siskiyou 
National Forest, Curry County, Oregon. The Agency gives notice of the 
full environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur 
on the Proposed Actions, so that interested and affected persons are 
aware of how they may participate and contribute to the analysis.

DATE: Issues with the Proposed Action must be received in writing by 
January 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written issues with the Proposed Action to Mary 
Zuschlag, District Ranger, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568 
Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon, 97523.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions about the Proposed Action and EIS to Don McLennan, 
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568 
Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon, 97523 or by calling (541) 592-
2166.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wilderness Act of 1964 states that 
privately owned land completely surrounded by National Forest System 
lands designated by this Act as wilderness, shall be given such rights 
as may be necessary to assure adequate access to the landowner and 
their successors and that where valid occupancies are wholly within a 
designated wilderness area, the Secretary of Agriculture shall permit 
ingress and egress by means which have been or are being customarily 
enjoyed with respect to other such areas similarly situated.
    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act states that 
subject to terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture may 
prescribe, the Secretary shall provide such access to non-federally 
owned lands within the boundaries of the National Forest System as the 
Secretary deems adequate to secure to the owner the reasonable use and 
enjoyment thereof.
    In preparing the EIS, the Agency will tier to the Amended Land and 
Resource Management Plan for the Siskiyou National Forest, consider 
submitted written issues with Proposed Action, and develop alternatives 
that respond to the significant issues with the Proposed Action. In 
addition, the agency will analyze a no-action alternative.
    Public participation will be important at several times during the 
analysis. The first time is during the scoping period [Reviewer may 
wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environment 
Policy Act (CFR) at 40 CFR 1501.7]. The Agency will be seeking written 
issues with the Proposed Action from Federal, State, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribes, the permit applicant, and other 
individuals who may be interested in or affected by the Proposed 
Action. This input will be used to develop alternatives. The scoping 
process includes:
    1. Contacting Federal, State, and local agencies, any affected 
Indian tribes, the permit applicant, and other individuals who may be 
interested in or affected by the Proposed Action.
    2. Identifying potential issues.
    3. Selecting significant issues with the Proposed Action, needing 
in-depth analysis.
    4. Eliminating insignificant issues; issues that have been analyzed 
and documented in a previous EIS, issues that controvert the need for 
the Proposed Action, or issues that are outside the authority of the 
Responsible Official to decide.
    5. Identifying resources that have a potential for being effected 
by the Proposed Action.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for review in May 1997. At 
that time, EPA will publish a Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS 
in the Federal Register.
    A 45-day comment period for the Draft EIS will be from the date the 
EPA's Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register. To assist 
the Agency, comments on the Draft EIS will need to be written, be as 
specific as possible, refer to specific pages and chapters of the Draft 
EIS, and address either the adequacy of the Draft EIS or the merits of 
the alternatives discussed in the Draft EIS (40 CFR 1503.3).
    It is important to give Reviewers notice at this early stage of 
several court rulings related to public participation in the 
environmental review process. First, Reviewers of a Draft EIS must 
structure their participation in the environmental review process of 
the Proposed Action so that it is specific, 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 early-on in the 
environmental review process, 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. versus 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 45-day comment period so that substantive comments are available to 
the Agency at a time when the Agency can meaningfully consider and 
respond to them in the Final EIS.
    After the 45-day comment period ends on the Draft EIS, comments 
will be considered and analyzed by the Agency in preparing the Final 
EIS. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed in September 1997. In 
the Final EIS, the Agency is required to respond to the comments 
received (40 CFR 1503.4). The Responsible Official will be Mike Lunn, 
Forest Supervisor, who will consider the Final EIS, applicable laws, 
regulations, policies, and analysis files in making a decision 
regarding this Proposed Action. The Responsible Official will document 
the decision and rationale in the Record of Decision. That decision 
will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR 215.

    Dated: November 7, 1996.
J. Michael Lunn,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-29526 Filed 11-18-96; 8:45 am]
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