[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8510-8512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4368]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Silver Pearl Land Exchange; Eldorado National Forest, El Dorado 
and Placer Counties, California

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) on a proposal to acquire approximately 3,994 acres of 
Sierra Pacific Industries Corporation land in exchange for 2,126 acres 
of National

[[Page 8511]]

Forest System land. The purpose of the exchange is to improve land 
management efficiencies by consolidating land ownership, while 
obtaining lands providing a variety of public benefits, including 
ecological and recreational values; and to eliminate the need to 
provide access to a private parcel within a roadless (RARE II) area. It 
is believed that the integrity of recreational, ecological and economic 
values will be improved by the consolidation of ownership resulting 
from a land exchange. The values of the lands exchanged must be equal.

DATES: The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is scheduled to 
be completed in June 2002 for public review and comment. The final EIS 
is scheduled to be completed by December 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Elaine Gee, Project Leader, 
Eldorado National Forest, 7600 Wentworth Springs Road, Georgetown, CA 
95634.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and comments about this EIS 
should be directed to Elaine Gee, at the above address, or call her at 
530-333-4312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service is initiating this action 
in order to exchange lands that will provide a balance in public 
benefits while improving management opportunities. Lands within the 
Rubicon River Canyon (recommended for Wild and Scenic River status), 
the Silver Fork of the American River (a Wild and Scenic eligible 
river) and the Pyramid-Bassi Roadless Area (RARE II); lands along the 
Pony Express National Historic Trail are proposed for acquisition; 
along with other lands containing unique ecological values, valuable 
timber resources and important recreational opportunities. The lands to 
be exchanged also contain important resource values, including lands 
suitable for growth and harvest of commercial conifers and areas that 
contain quality wildlife habitat. Also considered is the opportunity to 
consolidate lands into contiguous blocks that can be more efficiently 
and economically managed, thereby facilitating the ownership objectives 
of both the Forest Service and Sierra Pacific Industries Corporation. 
All federal lands proposed for exchange are on the Eldorado National 
Forest and are in compliance with the land adjustment management 
direction in the 1989 Eldorado National Forest Land and Resources 
Management Plan.
    The exchange meets the public interest requirements in 36 CFR 
254.3(b): (1) The resource values and the public objectives served by 
the non-federal lands and interests to be acquired are equal or exceed 
the resource values and the public objectives served by the federal 
lands to be disposed; and (2) the intended use of the disposed federal 
land will not substantially conflict with established management 
objectives on adjacent federal lands.
    Lands will be exchanged on a value for value basis, based on 
current fair market value appraisals. The appraisal is prepared in 
accordance with the Uniform Standards for Federal Land Acquisition. The 
appraisal prepared for the land exchange is reviewed by a qualified 
review appraiser to ensure that it is fair and complies with the 
appropriate standards. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, all exchanges must be equal in value. Forest Service 
regulations at 36 CFR 254.3(c) require that exchanges must be of equal 
value or equalized pursuant to 35 CFR 254.12 by cash payment after 
making all reasonable efforts to equalize values by adding or deleting 
lands. If lands proposed for exchange are not equal in value, either 
party may make them equal by cash payment not to exceed 25 percent of 
the federal land value.
    The decision to be made is what lands, if any, should be exchanged 
as part of this proposal. The proposed action is to exchange 
approximately 2,126 acres of National Forest System land for 
approximately 3,994 acres of Sierra Pacific Industries Corporation 
land, adjusted for equal value as required by law. Other alternatives 
will be developed based on significant issues identified during the 
scoping process for the environmental impact statement. All 
alternatives will need to respond to the specific condition of 
providing benefits equal to or better than the current condition. 
Alternatives being considered at this time include: (1) no action and 
(2) exchanging lands as identified in the proposed action.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking information, 
comments, and assistance from the Federal, State, and local agencies 
and other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or 
affected by the proposed action. To facilitate public participation 
information about the proposed action was mailed to all who expressed 
interest in the proposed action based on publication in the Eldorado 
National Forest Schedule of Proposed Action. The Forest Service hosted 
a public meeting/open house to present the proposal at the Eldorado 
National Forest Headquarters at 100 Forni Road Placerville, CA on 
December 13, 2001. Notification of the additional public scoping 
periods will be published in the Mountain Democrat, Placerville, CA. 
The DEIS is scheduled to be available in June 2002 and the Forest will 
host another public meeting after the draft is mailed to interested 
parties.
    Comments submitted during the scoping process should be in writing 
and should be specific to the proposed action. The comments should 
describe as clearly and completely as possible any issues the commenter 
has with the proposal. The scoping process includes:
    (a) Identifying potential issues;
    (b) Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.
    (c) Eliminating nonsignificant issues or those previously covered 
by a relevant previous environmental analysis;
    (d) Exploring additional alternatives;
    (e) Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed 
action and alternatives.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by June 
2002. EPA will publish a notice of availability of the draft EIS in the 
Federal Register. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days 
from the date the EPA notice appears in the Federal Register. At that 
time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to interested and 
affected agencies, organizations, and members of the public for their 
review and comment. It is very important that those interested in the 
management of the Eldorado National Forest participate at that time.
    The Forest Service believes 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 of the proposal so that it 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 EIS 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, 803f. 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 so that substantive comments and 
objections

[[Page 8512]]

are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it can 
meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should 
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to 
specific pages or chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address 
the adequacy of the draft EIS 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).
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in December 2002. In the 
final EIS, The Forest Service is required to respond to substantive 
comments received during the comment period that pertain to the 
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making the decision 
regarding this proposal.
    John Berry, Forest Supervisor, Eldorado National Forest is the 
responsible official. As the responsible official he will document the 
decision and reasons for the decision in the Record of Decision. That 
decision will be subject to Forest Service appeal regulations (36 CFR 
part 215).

    Dated: February 19, 2002.
John D. Berry,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-4368 Filed 2-22-02; 8:45 am]
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