[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57120-57121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27629]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Bureau of Land Management
Forest Service
[MT-060-08-1220-00, 1617P]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Off-Highway Vehicle 
Environmental Impact Statement and Plan Amendment

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior and Forest Service, 
Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) 
have prepared a Draft Off-Highway Vehicle Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and Plan Amendment. The Draft EIS/Plan Amendment 
describes the analysis completed on the proposed management changes in 
off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on public lands administered by the BLM 
and FS, Northern Region, in Montana, North Dakota, and portions of 
South Dakota. Five alternatives, including a No Action Alternative, 
were developed to meet the purpose and need of the project and respond 
to significant issues. The purpose and need are to address the impacts 
of OHV travel on open areas that are currently available to motorized 
cross-country travel. The No Action Alternative would maintain current 
management. Areas currently open yearlong or seasonally to cross-
country travel would remain open. Alternatives 1 and 2 would restrict 
motorized cross-country travel yearlong. Alternative 3 would restrict 
motorized cross-country travel yearlong in North Dakota, most of 
Montana, and portions of South Dakota. Alternative 4 would limit 
motorized cross-country travel seasonally.

DATES: The comment period on the Draft EIS/Plan Amendment will end 90 
days from the date the Environmental Agency publishes the notice of 
availability in the Federal Register. The expected end of the comment 
period is February 3, 2000. Open houses on the Draft EIS/Plan Amendment 
will be held in communities in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota 
during the review period. The locations for the open houses are listed 
below but also look for an article in your local paper because 
locations, dates and/or time may change.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Date                            Location           Time  (p.m.)               Place
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 15...........................  Lemmon, SD...............       2:00-6:00  To be determined.
November 16...........................  Buffalo, SD..............       2:00-6:00  Harding County Jury/Court
                                                                                    Room.
November 16...........................  Hamilton, MT.............       4:00-8:00  To be determined.
November 16...........................  Libby, MT................       4:00-9:00  Libby City Hall, Ponderosa
                                                                                    Room.
November 17...........................  Pierre, SD...............       2:00-6:00  RAMKOTA.
November 17...........................  Kalispell, MT............       5:00-8:00  Outlaw Inn.
November 17...........................  Trout Creek, MT..........       1:00-4:00  U.S. Forest Service.
November 18...........................  Belle Fourche, SD........       2:00-6:00  BLM Office.
November 18...........................  Eureka, MT...............       6:00-9:00  Lincoln Co. Electric.
November 18...........................  Lewistown, MT............       4:00-7:00  BLM Office, Airport Road.
November 19...........................  Ekalaka, MT..............       2:00-6:00  Carter Country Jury/Court
                                                                                    Room.
November 22...........................  Great Falls, MT..........       4:00-7:00  BLM/FS Office, 1101 15th
                                                                                    Street North.
November 22...........................  Bozeman, MT..............       4:00-8:00  Gallatin Co Courthouse, 311
                                                                                    West Main.
November 29...........................  Bowman, ND...............       4:00-8:00  To be determined.
November 30...........................  Dickinson, ND............       4:00-8:00  BLM Office, 2933 Third Avenue
                                                                                    West.
November 30...........................  Billings, MT.............       4:00-8:00  BLM Office, 5001 Southgate
                                                                                    Drive.
November 30...........................  Miles City, MT...........       5:00-7:00  BLM Office, 111 Garryowen
                                                                                    Road.
December 1............................  Bismarck, ND.............       4:00-8:00  U.S. Forest Service, 240 West
                                                                                    Century.
December 1............................  Red Lodge, MT............       4:00-8:00  U.S. Forest Service.
December 1............................  Colstrip, MT.............       5:00-7:00  Bicentennial Library, 415
                                                                                    Willow Avenue.
December 2............................  Watford City, ND.........       4:00-8:00  To be determined.
December 2............................  Lincoln, MT..............       4:00-8:00  Lincoln Community Hall.
December 2............................  Glendive, MT.............       5:00-7:00  Glendive Medical Center,
                                                                                    Carney Conference Room #2.
December 3............................  Rapid City, SD...........       3:00-7:00  West River Research & Ag.
                                                                                    Crt., 1905 Plaza Blvd.
December 6............................  Townsend, MT.............       4:00-8:00  Townsend Library.
December 7............................  Missoula, MT.............       4:00-8:00  Boone and Crocket Club.
December 7............................  Malta, MT................       4:00-7:00  BLM Office.
December 7............................  Havre, MT................       4:00-7:00  BLM Office.
December 7............................  Broadus, MT..............       5:00-7:00  Powder River County
                                                                                    Courthouse, Election Rm.
December 8............................  Helena, MT...............       4:00-8:00  U.S. Forest Service, 2880
                                                                                    Skyway Drive.
December 8............................  Glasgow, MT..............       4:00-7:00  BLM Office.
December 9............................  Dillon, MT...............       4:00-8:00  U.S. Forest Service, 420
                                                                                    Barrett Street.

[[Page 57121]]

 
December 9............................  Butte, MT................       4:00-8:00  BLM Office, 106 North
                                                                                    Parkmont.
December 14...........................  Browning, MT.............       3:30-7:00  Tribal Offices.
December 15...........................  Choteau, MT..............       2:00-7:00  Stage Stop Inn.
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ADDRESSES: Address all comments to OHV Plan Amendment, Lewistown Field 
Office, P.O. Box 1160, Lewistown, MT 59457-1160.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the above Lewistown address during 
regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, 
except holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If 
you wish to withhold your name or street address from public review or 
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state 
this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such 
requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions 
from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Majerus, 406-538-1924 or Dick 
Kramer, 406-329-1008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Draft EIS/Plan Amendment discloses the 
potential environmental consequences of managing cross-country off-
highway vehicle (OHV) use on public lands administered by the BLM and 
FS, Northern Region, in Montana, North Dakota, and portions of South 
Dakota (excluding the Black Hills National Forest, Buffalo Gap 
Grasslands and the Fort Pierre Grasslands). The agencies recognize that 
many recreation users do not differentiate between BLM and FS lands. 
The agencies feel it is better customer service to have consistent 
policies across agency boundaries; therefore, the plan amendment will 
be a joint BLM and FS proposal. The BLM and FS are joint lead agencies 
responsible for preparation of the EIS/plan amendment.
    The increased popularity and widespread use of OHVs on public lands 
in the 1960s and early 1970s prompted the development of a unified 
federal policy for such use. Executive Order 11644 was issued in 1972 
and Executive Order 11989 was issued in 1977. They provided direction 
for federal agencies to establish policies and provide for procedures 
to control and direct the use of OHVs on public lands so as to (1) 
protect the resources of those lands, (2) promote the safety of all 
users of those lands, and (3) minimize conflicts among the various uses 
on those lands. The BLM and FS have developed regulations in response 
to the Executive Orders (43 CFR 8342 and 36 CFR 219 and 295). Under 
those regulations, OHV use can be restricted or prohibited to minimize 
(1) damage to the soil, watershed, vegetation, or other resources of 
the public lands; (2) harm to wildlife or wildlife habitats; and (3) 
conflict between the use of OHVs and other types of recreation.
    The BLM and FS recognize in their respective resource management 
plans and forest plans, policy, and manual direction, that off-highway 
vehicle use is a valid recreational activity when properly managed. 
Managing this use along with other recreation uses and the need to 
protect resource values has become increasingly more difficult with 
increasing public demands and decreasing budgets.
    The purpose of this EIS/plan amendment is to address the impacts of 
wheeled (motorcycles, four-wheel drive vehicles, sport utility 
vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, etc.) off-highway vehicle travel on 
open areas that are currently available to motorized cross-country 
travel. It will amend forest plan and resource management plan OHV area 
designations to preserve future options for site-specific travel 
planning. This would provide timely interim direction that would 
prevent further resource damage, user conflicts, and related problems, 
including new user-created roads, associated with motorized cross-
country travel until subsequent site-specific travel planning is 
complete. Site-specific travel planning, or activity planning, will 
address OHV use on specific roads and trails. This amendment would not 
change the current limited/restricted yearlong or closed designations, 
or designated intensive off-road vehicle use areas.
    About 16 million acres of public land are currently available to 
motorized cross-country travel in the analysis area, either yearlong or 
seasonally, which has the potential to: spread noxious weeds, cause 
erosion, damage cultural sites, create user conflicts, and disrupt 
wildlife and damage wildlife habitat.
    Problems do not occur equally throughout the analysis area. 
Motorized cross-country travel is generally limited by current 
technology to areas that are less steep and have more open vegetative 
communities. Random use in open areas has created trail networks 
throughout the analysis area. Some of this use has occurred in riparian 
areas and on highly erodible slopes.
    Monitoring of OHV travel at FS and BLM offices indicates that 
problems exist where unrestricted motorized cross-country travel is 
allowed. Many units have completed or begun site-specific travel 
planning. Most notable efforts are the Elkhorn Mountains near Helena, 
Montana, and the Whitetail-Pipestone area near Butte, Montana.
    Members of the public and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife 
and Parks Commission have shared their concerns about unrestricted OHV 
travel on public lands. The four BLM Resource Advisory Councils 
(citizen groups that represent a balance of commodity, conservation, 
and other public interests) in Montana, North Dakota, and portions of 
South Dakota, expressed serious concerns about allowing continued, 
unrestricted, motorized cross-country travel on public lands.
    The BLM and FS are concerned that continuing unrestricted use could 
potentially increase these problems. Areas that are open yearlong or 
seasonally to motorized cross-country travel in current forest plans 
and resource management plans will require a plan amendment to address 
these issues. This proposal to manage the cross-country aspect of 
motorized vehicle use is part of our responsibility as public land 
managers to balance human use with the need to protect natural 
resources.

    Authority: Sec. 202, Pub. L. 94-579, 90 Stat. 2747 (43 U.S.C. 
1712), Sec. 6, Pub. L. 94-588, 90 Stat. 2949 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

    Dated: October 15, 1999.
Thomas P. Lonnie,
Acting State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
Dale N. Bosworth,
Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 99-27629 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]
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