[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8874-8875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4486]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


EastBridge Allotment Range Analysis; Caribou-Targhee National 
Forest, Caribou and Bonneville Counties, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Soda Springs Ranger District, Caribou-Targhee National 
Forest, will be preparing an Environmental Impact State (EIS) to 
analyze the effects of authorizing grazing on several cattle 
allotments. Allotment Management Plans for the: Bridge Creek, Jacknife, 
Tincup, Stump Creek, and Salt Lick Cattle Allotments will be updated 
based on the analysis. The project area is located within Caribou and 
Bonneville counties in Idaho and in Lincoln County, Wyoming.
    The Jacknife, Tincup, Stump Creek, and Salt Lick Cattle Allotments 
are located approximately 35 miles northeast of Soda Springs. They are 
in Townships 4, 5, and 6 South, Ranges 45 and 46 East. A small part of 
the Tincup and Stump Creek Allotments are in Wyoming (Townships 33 and 
34 North, Range 118 West). The Bridge Creek Allotment is located 
approximately ten miles west of the Jacknife Allotment in Townships 4 
and 5 South, Ranges 43 and 44 East.
    The EIS will display the effects of authorizing cattle grazing on 
these allotments. Public comments will be used to identify issues and 
possible alternative management options. The purpose and need for this 
action is to utilize the opportunity to manage existing cattle grazing 
under updated management direction to move existing resource conditions 
to desired states within the project area. The EIS will outline 
standards and guidelines for livestock management, which will be used 
to revise Allotment Management Plans for each allotment. The EIS and 
subsequent revision of the Allotment Management Plans will bring these 
allotments into compliance with Public Law 104 of the Rescissions Act, 
and other applicable laws and regulations. Based on the environmental 
analysis in the EIS, the District Ranger will decide whether to 
authorize domestic livestock grazing under proposed management 
direction on the project area's suitable rangelands, and if so, what 
changes need to be made to the representative Allotment Management 
Plans in accordance with Forest Plan goals, objectives, and desired 
future conditions.

DATES: Written comments concerning the analysis should be received 
within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Soda Springs Ranger District, Attn: 
David Whittekiend, 421 West 2nd South, Soda Springs, Idaho 83276. The 
responsible official for this decision is David Whittekiend, District 
Ranger.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be directed to Victor Bradfield, Range Management 
Specialist, at (208) 547-4356.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS and subsequent revision of the 
Allotment Management Plans will bring these allotments into compliance 
with Public Law 104, and other applicable laws and regulations.
    The Forest Service invites written comments and suggestions on the 
issues related to the proposal and the area being analyzed. Information 
received will be used in preparation of the Draft EIS and Final EIS. 
For most effective use, comments should be submitted to the Forest 
Service within 30 days from the date of publication of this Notice in 
the Federal Register.
    Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to 
visit with Forest Service officials at any time during the EIS process. 
Two specific times periods are identified for the receipt of formal 
comments on the analysis. The two comment periods are, (1) during the 
scoping process, the next 30 days following publication of this Notice 
in the Federal Register, and (2) during the formal review period of the 
Draft EIS.
    The Forest Service estimates the Draft EIS will be filed within 6 
months of this Notice of Intent, approximately May 2003. The Final EIS 
will be filed within 6 months of that date, approximately October 2003.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 days from the date the environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give

[[Page 8875]]

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 
intentions.
    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 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 environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft environmental impact statement. Comments may also address the 
adequacy of the draft environmental impact statement 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.)
    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 10 days.

    Dated: February 20, 2003.
David C. Whittekiend,
Soda Springs Ranger District.
[FR Doc. 03-4486 Filed 2-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M