[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12958-12959]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6674]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Lost Cabin Mine, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, Carbon 
County, WY

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to assess and disclose the environmental effects of 
lode and placer exploration at the Lost Cabin Mine. The Lost Cabin Mine 
is located in Township 14 North, Range 86 West, Sections 1 and 12 in 
Carbon County, Wyoming. Mining operations would include repairing three 
existing shafts and obtaining ore samples from four un-patented lode 
claims. A small loader and track-hoe would be used to obtain the 
samples, and samples would be crushed on-site and transported from the 
area using four-wheel and six-wheel all terrain vehicles (ATV's). 
Approximately 1.6 miles of an existing, closed road (Way 4170) that 
historically accessed the mine area would need to be widened and 
repaired to allow access to the site. Roughly \1/8\ mile of road would 
also need to be constructed to link the four un-patented lode claim 
sites.
    An historical search of Government Land Office plats indicate that 
a ``wood road'' accessed the mine site as early as 1899. By 1901, an 
``improved road'' that accessed Vulcan Mountain from Saratoga, Wyoming 
was in place. This road also provided a direct link with the Southern 
Wyoming Tramway which carried mined ore to a smelter in Encampment, 
Wyoming. It further provided access to other major mining communities 
in the near vicinity. Although the road is depicted on Forest Service 
maps through 1956, more recent maps do not indicate that it is still a 
part of the Forest Transportation System.
    The Lost Cabin Mine is located in the Mowry Peak inventoried 
roadless area, as described in Appendix G to the Final EIS for the 
Medicine Bow National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. If the 
project is approved as proposed, the proponent would be allowed to 
widen and repair two miles of an existing, closed road and construct 
roughly \1/8\ mile of road within the roadless area boundary. The EIS 
will comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (42 U.S.C. sections 4321-4370a), the National Forest Management Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1600-1614), and the U.S. Mining Laws (30 U.S.C. 21-54), and 
their implementing regulations.

Project Purpose: The purpose of the Lost Cabin Mine analysis is to 
determine how the surface use connected with operations authorized by 
the United States mining laws (30 U.S.C. 21-54), which grant a 
statutory right to enter upon public lands to search for mineral 
deposits, shall be conducted to minimize adverse environmental impacts 
on National Forest System surface resources. It is not the purpose of 
the analysis to determine management of mineral resources. The 
responsibility for that determination lies with the Secretary of the 
Interior.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposal and the scope of the analysis 
will be accepted and considered at any time after publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register and prior to a decision being made. All 
comments and suggestions are welcome.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Melissa Martin, Medicine Bow-Routt 
National Forest Supervisor's Office, 2468 Jackson Street, Wyoming 
82070. Electronic mail (e-mail) may be sent to [email protected] and 
FAX may be

[[Page 12959]]

sent to (307) 745-1398. Telephone: (307) 745-2371.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Florich, Recreation and Lands 
Program Manager, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, 2468 Jackson 
Street, Laramie, Wyoming, 82070. Telephone: (307) 745-2435.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Decision To Be Made

    The Responsible Official will consider the results of the analysis 
and its findings and then document the final decision in a Record of 
Decision (ROD). The decision will include a determination as to where 
and under what terms and conditions the proponent may access the Lost 
Cabin Mine while also protecting the surface natural resources in the 
area and providing for public safety.

Responsible Official

    Rick Cables, Regional Forester, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 
Region, 740 Simms Street, Golden, Colorado 80401 is the official 
responsible for making the decision on this action. He will document 
his decision and rationale in a Record of Decision.

Preliminary Issues

    Proposed construction/reconstruction of access roads to the lode 
sites could alter the character of the Mowry Peak roadless area.

Public Involvement

    Public scoping describing the Plan of Operations associated with 
the Lost Cabin Mine was initiated on January 7, 2002, and 17 comment 
letters were received. All comments received from the January 7, 2002 
scoping effort will be combined with comments received as a result of 
this Notice of Intent. Comments from both scoping efforts will be 
reviewed to identify potential issues for this analysis. Since the 
previously received comments will be incorporated into this analysis, 
individuals who responded to the January 7, 2002 scoping request need 
to provide comments at this time only if they wish to provide 
additional information to what they previously submitted. While 
comments are welcome at any time, comments received within 30 days of 
the publication of this notice in the Federal Register will be most 
useful for the identification of issues and the analysis of 
alternatives. As previously mentioned, comments may be sent by 
electronic mail (e-mail) to [email protected]. Written comments may be 
mailed to the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, 2468 Jackson Street, 
Laramie, Wyoming 82070, attention: Melissa Martin. Please reference the 
Lost Cabin Mine EIS on the subject line. The name and mailing address 
of the commenter should be provided with their comments so that future 
documents pertaining to this environmental analysis and the decision 
can be provided to interested parties.

Estimated Dates for Filing

    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review during July, 
2002. At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) 
of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the 
draft EIS will be for a period of not less than 45 days from the date 
the EPA publishes the NOA in the Federal Register. It is important that 
those interested in the management of this area to comment at that 
time. The final EIS is expected to be available in October 2002. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service will respond to any comments received 
during the public comment period that pertain to the environmental 
analysis. Those comments and the Forest Service responses will be 
disclosed and discussed in the final EIS and will be considered when 
the final decision about this proposal is made.

Release of Names

    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the 
public record on this Proposed Action and will be available for public 
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and 
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have 
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR parts 215 or 
217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27 (d), any person may request 
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing 
how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality. 
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the 
FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited 
circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service 
will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the 
request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the 
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the 
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within ten 
(10) days.

The Public's Obligation To Comment

    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers an 
early notice of several court rulings related to public participation 
in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft EIS's 
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 during the draft EIS stage, but 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). As a result of these previous 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 EIS. To 
assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and 
concerns related to the proposed action, comments on this draft EIS 
should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer 
to specific pages or chapters of the draft document. Comments may also 
address the adequacy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement or the 
merits of the alternatives displayed in the document. Reviewers should 
refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations at 40 CFR 
1503.3 for implementing the procedural provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act for addressing these points. Please note that 
any comments that are submitted in relation to this draft EIS will be 
considered public information.

    Dated: March 12, 2002.
Rick Cables,
Regional Forester.
[FR Doc. 02-6674 Filed 3-19-02; 8:45 am]
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