[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70090-70091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29404]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Navajo Ten-Year Forest Management Plan, Navajo Nation, 
Arizona/New Mexico

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA) intends to file a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (FPEIS) for the proposed Navajo Nation Ten-Year Forest 
Management Plan with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 
FPEIS, which was prepared in cooperation with the Navajo Nation, is now 
available for public review. Details on the project location and on the 
alternatives and environmental issues addressed in the FPEIS are 
provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

DATES: Comments on the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact

[[Page 70091]]

Statement must be received by December 21, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Jonathan 
Martin, Regional Forester, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Regional 
Office, PO Box 1060, Gallup, New Mexico 87305.
    Copies of the FPEIS have been sent to all agencies and individuals 
who participated in the scoping process or public hearings, and to 
those who commented on the Draft FPEIS. To get a copy of the FPEIS, 
please write to the Navajo Nation Forestry Department, PO Box 230, Fort 
Defiance, Arizona 86504, or call (928) 729-4007. The FPEIS is available 
for review at two locations: (1) The Branch of Environmental Services, 
Navajo Regional Office, Federal Building, 301 West Hill, Gallup, New 
Mexico; and (2) the Branch of Forestry, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1 
mile north on Route 12, Fort Defiance, Arizona.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Martin, (928) 729-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to adopt a ten-year 
forest management plan for the Navajo Forest. The Navajo Forest lies in 
the Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau areas of the Navajo Nation, 
along the Arizona-New Mexico border. The area encompasses nearly 
600,000 acres.
    The FPEIS presents a preferred alternative, the no action 
alternative and three other alternatives. The preferred alternative 
uses even-aged and uneven-aged management for timber harvesting, with 
consideration for Special Management Areas (SMAs) that would be 
excluded from commercial timberland to protect critical wildlife 
habitat and vital watershed areas. The other alternatives are (1) No 
action, which would continue current levels of timber harvesting with 
even-aged management and without consideration for SMAs; (2) even-aged 
management for timber harvesting, with consideration for SMAs; (3) 
uneven-aged management for timber harvesting, without consideration for 
SMAs; and (4) no timber harvesting or SMAs. All of the alternatives 
include timber protection plus monitoring and/or mitigation measures.
    Areas of environmental concern addressed in the FPEIS include 
timber resources, other forest resources, water resources, biological 
resources, air quality, cultural resources and socio-economics.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the 
ADDRESSES section, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or 
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. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with section 1503.1 of the 
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR part 1500 through 
1508) implementing the procedural requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), 
and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the 
exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: October 25, 2002.
Neal A. McCaleb,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-29404 Filed 11-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P