[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36759-36760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17927]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Rocky Mountain Region Environmental Impact Statement for Sheep 
Flats Diversity Unit Timber Sales, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison 
National Forests, Mesa County, Colorado

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision of a notice of intent to prepare an environmental 
impact statement.

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RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: The responsible official for this environmental 
impact statement is Mr. Robert Storch, Forest Supervisor of the Grand 
Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests, 2250 Highway 50, 
Delta, Colorado 81416.

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement about four (4) proposed timber sales: Valley View, Sheep 
Flats, Grove Creek, and Leon. These sales are located in the Sheep 
Flats Diversity Unit on the Grant Mesa National Forest, Collbran Ranger 
District.

DATES: Publication of Draft EIS: July 1997; Final EIS: January, 1988.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Pam Bode, Team Leader, USDA Forest 
Service, 216 North Colorado Street, Gunnison, CO, 81230. Contact Pam 
Bode also for further information. Phone: 970-641-0471. FAX: 970-641-
1928.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Supervisor will use this 
Environmental Impact Statement to decide how to manage the timber 
resource within the Sheep Flats Diversity Unit. The Forest Service is 
proposing to harvest four timber sales on this National Forest system 
land. Even-aged and uneven-aged silvicultural systems are being planned 
in Engelmann spruce, sub-alpine fir, and aspen stands. These sales are 
scheduled to be offered within a five to ten year period after this 
analysis.
    Initial scoping of interested parties identified three preliminary 
issues. These are: (1) Constructing roads and harvesting timber within 
areas that were identified as the Salt Creek Roadless Area and Priest 
Mountain Roadless Area during the 1979 RARE II process, (2) harvesting 
old growth timber, and (3) cumulative impacts on ecosystems from 
logging operations in and around the sale areas.
    Five alternatives will be studied in this analysis. Alternative 1 
is no action. Alternatives 2 and 4 harvest suited timber but do not 
enter the Salt Creek Roadless Area. Alternatives 3 and 5 harvest suited 
timber throughout the Diversity Unit, including within the Salt Creek 
Roadless Area. Alternatives 2 and 3 emphasize maintenance of current 
old growth attributes and wildlife habitat networks while moderately 
improving timber structural diversity. Alternative 4 and 5 emphasize 
timber structural diversity and production for wood fiber. The proposed 
action is Alternative 5.

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                                                                  Acres planned for                             
                                                                       harvest                                  
                         Alternative                         --------------------------    Volume in     Number 
                                                                             RARE II      board feet    of sales
                                                              Total acres     acres                             
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1...........................................................            0            0               0         0
2...........................................................          682            0       2,222,000         1
3...........................................................        2,615         1798      11,158,000         4
4...........................................................          889            0       3,172,000         1
5...........................................................        3,591         2766      15,279,000         4
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    This notice is a renotification of the Forest Service's intent to 
study these timber sales within the Sheep Flats Diversity Unit. 
Previous notices of intent were published in the Federal Register 
Volume 57, 31, on 2/14/92, and volume 61 
177, on 9/11/96. A previous notice of availability 
of the draft EIS was published in Volume 59, 5, on 
1/7/94. This revised notice provides new dates for completions of the 
revised draft and the final Environmental Impact Statements. The 
alternatives that are being studied have changed substantially from the 
previous document.
    Since this is a renotification, news releases have already been 
issued and a public meeting has already taken place in March 1992. 
Field tours to the proposed area have already been conducted with 
concerned parties. Additional news releases have been issued explaining 
the new timeline for

[[Page 36760]]

this analysis. Parties that expressed interest previously have been 
informed individually by mail that this analysis is continuing. No 
additional public meetings are planned, however, the Forest Service is 
willing to consider any party's request for additional field tours or 
public meetings.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of availability 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 environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that 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 environmental impact stage but that are not raised until after 
completion of the final environmental 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 45 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 
environmental impact statement 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 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement 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.

    Dated: June 23, 1997.
Robert L. Storch,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 97-17927 Filed 7-8-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M