[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67147-67148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27981]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Wasatch Powderbird Guides Outfitter and Guide Special Use Permit, 
Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Salt Lake Ranger District, Salt Lake 
County, UT and Uinta National Forest, Pleasant Grove and Spanish Fork 
Ranger Districts, Utah County, UT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Salt Lake Ranger District, of the Wasatch-Cache National 
Forest, will prepare an EIS on Wasatch Powderbird Guides request for a 
5-year outfitter and guide special use permit for guided helicopter 
skiing on National Forest System lands.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by December 13, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Loren Kroenke, District Ranger, 
6944 South 3000 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84121.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Scheid, District Environmental 
Coordinator, (801) 733-2689 or at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Wasatch Powderbird Guides, a current Special 
Use Permit permittee, is proposing to operate a heli-skiing operation 
for another five years along the Wasatch Front of the Wasatch-Cache and 
Uinta National Forests. This proposal includes elements on both private 
and public lands. Elements include the landing of helicopters to drop 
off and pick up heli-skiers that are skiing across both private and 
public lands. A complete description is available from the Salt Lake 
Ranger District.
    Preliminary issues were identified from the 1999 permit renewal EIS 
and include potential effects on public safety, effects on designated 
Wilderness areas, effects on wildlife, including golden eagles and 
threatened, endangered and forest sensitive species, economic effects 
of Wasatch Powderbird Guides and the local economy, and effects on 
other winter recreationalists, including noise and competition for 
untracked powder skiing.
    Two preliminary alternatives have been identified. The proposed 
action alternative is Wasatch Powderbird Guides proposal and includes 
replacing the existing Sunday/Monday Tri-Canyon closure with 15-day 
annual average cap in the area and other minor modifications designed 
to increase operational flexibility and minimize user conflicts. The No 
Action Alternative would allow continued use as authorized under the 
1999 Record of Decision. Other potential alternatives will address 
issues raised during the public scoping process. Detailed descriptions 
of the Proposed and No Action Alternatives are available on the 
Wasatch-Cache National Forest Web site at www.fs.fed.us/wcnf.
    The public is invited to submit comments or suggestions to the 
address above. The responsible officials are Tom Tidwell and Pete Karp, 
Forest Supervisors of the Wasatch-Cache and Uinta National Forests, 
respectively. A Draft EIS is expected to be filed in May of 2003 and 
the Final EIS filed in September of 2003.
    The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in 
the Federal Register. It is very important that those interested in 
this proposed action participate during that time. To be most helpful, 
comments on the draft EIS should be as specific as possible and may 
address the adequacy of the statement or the merits of the alternatives 
discussed (see The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental 
Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3).

[[Page 67148]]

    In addition, Federal court decisions have established that the 
reviewers of the 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). 
Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage 
may be waived if not raised until after completion of the final EIS. 
City of Angoon v. Hodel, (9th Circuit, 1986), and Wisconsin Heritages, 
Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). The reason 
for this is to ensure 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.

    Dated: October 29, 2002.

Carol Majeske, for Loren M. Kroenke,
Salt Lake District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 02-27981 Filed 11-1-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M