[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 240 (Friday, December 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76713-76714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31397]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Forest Plan Amendment for Travel Management of the Road and Trail 
System on the Gallatin National Forest, Montana; Gallatin National 
Forest; Sweet Grass, Park, Carbon, Gallatin, Madison, and Meagher 
Counties, Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of a proposed 
amendment to the Gallatin National Forest Land and Resource Management 
Plan (Forest Plan) that will establish direction for public 
recreational use and access using the Forest's road and trail system. 
For each road and trail the Amendment will specify the types of uses 
that are appropriate including pleasure driving, high clearance and 
off-road vehicle use, motorcycle use, biking, horseback riding, 
snowmobiling, hiking, skiing and snowshoeing. The amendment will also 
establish travel management goals, objectives and standards for sub-
areas within the Gallatin National Forest.
    The Gallatin National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan 
(Forest Plan) provides overall guidance for land management activities 
that occur on the Forest. Forest plans are developed, revised, and 
amended in compliance with the National Forest Management Act of 1976 
(NFMA); and the regulations for National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Planning at 36 CFR part 219. This amendment would remove 
some existing Forest Plan provisions pertaining to travel management 
and replace them with an overall travel management plan specific to 
roads and trails. A range of 4 to 6 alternatives are targeted for 
consideration in the travel planning process.

DATES: Alternatives are expected to be ready for public review and 
comment by February or March, 2003. Requests to receive information and 
notification of opportunities to provide comments should be received 
prior to that time.

ADDRESSES: Requests to be placed on the travel planning mailing list 
should be sent to Pam Bentley, Gallatin National Forest Supervisors 
Office, P.O. Box 130, Bozeman, Montana, 59771-0130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Christiansen, Travel Planning 
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Gallatin National Forest Supervisors 
Office, (406) 587-6750.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gallatin National Forest includes 
approximately 1.9 million acres of public land adjacent to the northern 
and western boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. It lies within all 
or portions of Sweet Grass, Park, Carbon, Meagher, Gallatin, and 
Madison Counties, Montana. Local communities include Bozeman, Big Sky, 
West Yellowstone, Livingston, Big Timber, Gardiner, and Cooke City, 
Montana. There are over 1300 miles of road and

[[Page 76714]]

2300 miles of trail accessing the Forest that facilitate a variety of 
management activities and provide opportunities for public recreation 
use. In general, the road and trail system and recreation use of the 
Forest has evolved incrementally over many decades based on site-
specific demands and capabilities. There has never been a comprehensive 
evaluation on whether it is the best way to provide for these demands 
in conjunction with other resources uses and land stewardship needs. 
Due to changing and increasing trends in recreation use, recent 
acquisitions of over 150,000 acres of land into public ownership, and 
other resource and environmental issues, the Forest Service believes 
that it is timely to establish a forest-wide travel management plan and 
incorporate it into the Forest Plan.
    The purpose for a Gallatin National Forest Travel Management Plan 
and Amendment are to: (1) Provide for public access and recreational 
demand of the road and trail system on the Forest considering both the 
quantity and quality of opportunity to be provided. (2) Bring road and 
trail use into compliance with laws, regulations, and other higher 
level management direction. (3) Correct unacceptable resource damage 
that may be occurring due to the use of or condition of Forest roads 
and trails. (4) Provide for public understanding of the types of use 
and season of use allowed for each road and trail. (5) Identify 
administrative access routes to facilitate management of a variety of 
resources on the Gallatin National Forest. (6) Replace outdated, 
ineffective, and/or unclear Forest Plan standards and other direction 
applicable to road and trail management.
    As a beginning to the travel planning process the Forest Service 
has prepared a ``benchmark'' travel management plan alternative. The 
benchmark is not considered an agency proposal or preferred alternative 
because it does not have the benefit of public input or preliminary 
environmental analysis. It has been developed as a conceptual travel 
management plan to focus interested citizen and user group 
participation and initial environmental analysis from Forest Service 
specialists. Based on early public comment and analysis the benchmark 
will be used to develop a range of 4 to 6 alternatives that represent 
various interests and respond to environmental issues. The alternatives 
will represent ``proposed options'' for a travel management plan and 
will be made available for review, comment, and modification during the 
late winter/early spring of 2003. The benchmark can be viewed on the 
Gallatin National Forest Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/rl/gallatin/travel_planning. A copy can also be obtained on CD by calling or 
writing the contact persons identified above.
    Comments on the alternatives from the public and other agencies 
will be used in preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS). More specifically, comments will be used to modify and refine 
the alternatives and identify potential resource issues (environmental 
effects) that should be considered in analysis.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review on January of 
2004. At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of 
the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft 
EIS will be 90 days from the date the EPA's notice of availability 
appears in the Federal Register. The Final EIS is scheduled for 
completion in the spring of 2004.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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).
    Because of these court rulings, it is very important that those 
interested in this proposed action participate during comment periods 
provided so that substantive comments and objections are made available 
to the Forest Service at a time when they can meaningfully consider 
them. To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering 
issues, comments should be specific to concerns associated with the 
management of roads and trails on the Gallatin National Forest. 
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 structuring comments.
    I am the responsible official for this Environmental Impact 
Statement and the ultimate decision for a Gallatin National Forest 
Travel Management Plan and Forest Plan Amendment. My address is Forest 
Supervisor, Gallatin National Forest, P.O. Box 130, Federal Building, 
Bozeman, MT 59771.

    Dated: December 4, 2002.
Rebecca Heath,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-31397 Filed 12-12-02; 8:45 am]
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