[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40684-40685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14853]


 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 114 / Thursday, June 13, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 40684]]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Tongue Allotment Management Planning on the Tongue Ranger 
District, Bighorn National Forest, Sheridan County, WY

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to update range management planning on twenty-three 
livestock grazing allotments (currently managed as seventeen 
allotments) which will result in development of new allotment 
management plans (AMPs). There are twelve cattle and horse allotments 
and eleven sheep and goat allotments. The cattle and horse allotments 
are Amsden, Copper Creek/Upper Dry Fork, Freezeout, Little Tongue, 
Lower Tongue, Nickelmine, Pass Creek, Prospect/Cedar, Upper Tongue and 
Wolf Creek. The sheep and goat allotments are Bull Creek/Bruce 
Mountain/Woodrock, Fishhook, Fool Creek, Lookout Mountain, Owen Creek, 
Pole Creek, Spring and Wallrock/Hidden Tepee. The allotments are 
located approximately 50 miles, by road, northwest of Sheridan, Wyoming 
in the Tongue River drainage. National Forest System lands within the 
Bighorn National Forest will be considered in the proposal. Management 
actions are planned to be implemented beginning in the year 2003. The 
agency gives notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-
making process that will occur on the proposal so that interested and 
affected people may become aware of how they may participate in the 
process and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by July 15, 2002, or thirty days from publication of this 
notice. Scoping comments previously submitted for this project do not 
need to be submitted again.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning this 
proposal to Craig Yancey, District Ranger, Tongue Ranger District, 
Bighorn National Forest, 2013 Eastside 2nd Street, Sheridan, Wyoming 
82801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the proposed 
action and EIS to David Beard, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Bighorn 
National Forest, Tongue Ranger District, 2013 Eastside 2nd Street, 
phone (307) 674-2600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the analysis is to determine 
if livestock grazing will continue on the analysis area. If the 
decision is to continue livestock grazing, then updated management 
strategies outlining how livestock will be grazed and at what levels 
will be developed to assure implementation of Forest Plan management 
direction. The analysis will consider actions that continue to improve 
trends in vegetation, watershed conditions, and ecological 
sustainability relative to livestock grazing within the twenty-three 
allotments. The allotments are located within the Tongue watershed on 
the Tongue and Medicine Wheel/Paintrock districts on the Bighorn 
National Forest.
    The action is needed to develop new AMPs which incorporate results 
of recent scientific research and analysis at the watershed level.
    The Bighorn National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan 
(Forest Plan), as amended, identifies livestock grazing as an 
appropriate use and identifies lands capable and suitable for domestic 
livestock.
    The Forest planning process allocated specific management direction 
across the Bighorn National Forest. Within the area encompassed by the 
twenty-three allotments, management areas include 1.11 (wilderness), 2A 
(semi-primitive motorized recreation), 2B (rural and roaded natural 
recreation), 3A (semi-primitive nonmotorized recreation), 3B (primitive 
recreation), 4B (wildlife), 4D (aspen), 5B (winter range), 6A 
(livestock forage improvement, 6B, (livestock grazing), 7E (timber), 9A 
(riparian areas), 9B (water yield) and 10D (wild and scenic rivers).
    The twenty-three allotments encompass approximately 172,000 acres 
of National Forest System Lands and 2,500 acres of Non Forest Service 
lands. Important riparian areas occur in several of the allotments 
including Copper Creek, Freezeout, Little Tongue, Lower Tongue, Pass 
Creek, Upper Tongue, Prospect/Cedar, Nickelmine, Pole Creek, Fishhook/
Fool Creek and Bull Creek/Bruce Mountain/Woodrock. The management of 
riparian areas to protect them from livestock is of key concern. Some 
exclusive have been built in riparian areas to protect resources from 
these impacts.
    Potential focal/MIS species include amphibians such as the wood 
frog and spotted frog that inhabit wetland areas, particularly near 
Woodrock. An additional potential focal species is the watervole that 
inhabits riparian areas on several allotments.
    Approximately thirty miles of the Tongue River are in the Forest 
Plan as a wild and scenic management area. The Upper North Tongue River 
is a fourteen-mile long stretch of stream that is a very popular 
fishery in the northern part of the forest. There are numerous heritage 
resources in the planning area including several prehistoric sites and 
the historical Woodrock Tie Hack District. The Wyoming Department of 
Game and Fish has rated the Tongue River within the canyon as a Blue 
Ribbon Stream--a fishery of national importance. Fish species within 
the planning area include native populations of brook trout, brown 
trout, rainbow trout, Yellowstone Cutthroat trout and Snake River 
Cutthroat trout.
    Preliminary issues include: (1) The effects of livestock grazing on 
riparian conditions (including water quality, water temperature and 
stream bank stability); (2) effects of livestock grazing on fisheries 
and wildlife habitat, including big game winter range; (3) the effects 
of no grazing or reduced grazing on the local economy; (4) management 
of livestock near developed campgrounds and in areas heavily used for 
dispersed recreation; and (5) the effects of livestock grazing on TES 
species.
    A detailed public involvement plan has been developed, and an 
interdisciplinary team has been selected to do the environmental 
analysis, prepare and accomplish scoping and public involvement 
activities.

[[Page 40685]]

    Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as required 
by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), will be completed on all proposed 
activities.
    Public involvement is especially important at several points during 
the analysis, beginning with the scoping process. The Forest Service 
will be consulting with Indian Tribes and seeking information, 
comments, and assistance from Federal, State, local agencies, tribes, 
and other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or 
affected by the proposals. The scoping process includes:
    1. Identifying issues including key issues to be analyzed in depth.
    2. Developing alternatives based on themes which will be derived 
from issues recognized during scoping activities.
    3. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposals and 
alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and cumulative effects and 
connected actions).
    4. Developing a list of interested people to keep apprised of 
opportunities to participate through meetings, personal contacts, or 
written comments.
    Public comments are appreciated throughout the analysis process. 
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and be available for public review by February 2003. The 
comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register. The final 
EIS is scheduled to be available June 2003.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice of this early stage of public participation and 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 environment review of the proposal so 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). Environmental objections that could have been raised at the 
draft stage may be waived or dismissed by the court if not raised until 
after completion of the final EIS. 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 substantive 
comments and objections are made available to the Forest Service at a 
time when it can meaningfully consider and respond to them in the final 
EIS.
    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 statement. 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.)
    In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to 
substantive comments and responses 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 
a decision regarding the proposal. The Responsible Officials on the 
Bighorn National Forest are Craig Yancey, Tongue District Ranger and 
Dave Myers, Medicine Wheel/Paintrock District Ranger. The Responsible 
Officials will document the decision and rationale for the decision in 
the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to appeal under 
36 CFR part 215.

    Dated: May 28, 2002.
Craig L. Yancey,
Tongue District Ranger.
    Dated: May 31, 2002.
Dave Myers,
Medicine Wheel/Paintrock District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 02-14853 Filed 6-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-FN-M