[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43487-43489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18685]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bridger-Teton National Forest; Pinedale Ranger District; WY; 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Green River Area Rangeland 
Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

[[Page 43488]]


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

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the effects of domestic 
livestock grazing in the upper Green River area. The analysis contained 
in the EIS will be used by the Responsible Official to decide whether 
or not, and how, livestock grazing would be authorized on the grazing 
allotments within the project area. The project area is located in 
western Wyoming; approximately 30 miles northwest of Pinedale, Wyoming 
near the Green River Lakes. The majority of the project area lies 
within Sublette County, with small portions that extend into Teton and 
Fremont counties. The entire 162,800 acre project area lies within the 
boundaries of the Pinedale Ranger District. The project area is 
comprised on the following six grazing allotments: Badger Creek, 
Beaver-Twin Creeks, Noble Pastures, Roaring Fork, Upper Green River, 
and Wagon Creek.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by August 25, 2003. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected in September of 2003 and the final environmental impact 
statement is expected in January of 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Craig Turlock, District Ranger, 
Pinedale Ranger District, Box 220, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941. For further 
information, mail correspondence to mailroom r4 bridger [email protected] 
and on the subject line, put only ``Upper Green Grazing Allotments''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Turlock, District Ranger, 
Pinedale Ranger District, (see ADDRESSES above).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this analysis is to determine if livestock grazing 
is appropriate within the analysis area. If livestock grazing is 
appropriate, there may be a need to update and/or refine desired 
rangeland conditions and develop new management prescriptions to meet 
them. Integral to this is a need to confirm or attain compliance and 
consistency of this analysis and its resultant decision with legal 
mandates, including the National Environmental Policy Act of 1976 
(NEPA), as well as policy direction, including the Bridger-Teton 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). To 
date the Forest Service has identified three alternatives.

Alternative B: Proposed Action

    The Forest Service proposes to authorize grazing use within the 
project area under updated grazing management direction, in order to 
move existing rangeland resource conditions toward the desired 
conditions that will be developed by an interdisciplinary team. The 
updated direction would be incorporated in respective allotment 
management plans (AMP's) to guide grazing management within the project 
area. New Allotment Management Plans (AMP's) would be developed for the 
Badger Creek, Beaver-Twin Creeks, Noble Pastures, and Wagon Creek 
allotments, and the existing AMP's for the Roaring Fork and Upper Green 
River allotments would be updated as a result of this action. Grazing 
management strategies would be developed or revised in accordance with 
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 36 CFR 222.1(b)(2), which 
describes allotment management planning provisions. Current grazing 
management strategies would be maintained where resource objectives are 
being achieved, and new management strategies would be implemented in 
areas where resource objectives have not been met. Rotational grazing 
systems would be initiated in the Badger Creek, Beaver-Twin Creeks, and 
Roaring Fork allotments and modified, as needed, in the remaining 
allotments to ensure desired conditions are reached.

Possible Alternatives

Alternative A--Grazing as Currently Permitted (No Action Alternative)

    Although allotment management plans (AMP's) would be prepared for 
each of the six allotments, the grazing management practices specified 
for the allotments with existing AMP's would not be changed. The Upper 
Green River and Roaring Fork allotments would continue to operate under 
the guidelines specified in AMP's that are over 25 years old, and 
season-long grazing would persist in the Badger Creek and Beaver-Twin 
Creeks allotments. In addition, no new utilization standards would be 
initiated to move existing resource conditions in the project area 
toward the desired future conditions (DFC's) specified in the Forest 
Plan.

Alternative C--No Grazing by Domestic Livestock (No Grazing 
Alternative)

    Alternative C would eliminate livestock grazing in the project 
area. This alternative was developed to demonstrate the effects that 
eliminating domestic cattle grazing would have on the environment and 
to more clearly illustrate the potential effects of implementing either 
Alternative A or Alternative B. Under this alternative, domestic 
livestock grazing in all six allotments of the project area would be 
phased out over several years as existing Term Grazing Permits expire.

Responsible Official

    Craig Trulock, District Ranger, Pinedale Ranger District, PO Box 
220, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision, which is based on this analysis, will be to decide if 
livestock will be allowed to graze on the allotment complex, either 
through the implementation of the proposed action, or an alternative to 
the proposed action. The decision would include any mitigation measures 
needed in addition to those prescribed in the Forest Plan.

Scoping Process

    The following methods were used to invite the public to participate 
in this project: A scoping letter was mailed to those listed on the 
Bridger-Teton National Forest's general mailing list on February 10, 
2000. The mailing list included private landowners, term grazing permit 
holders, special interest groups, interested members of the public, and 
local, state, and federal agencies. The letter described the proposed 
action, the purpose and need for the project, the process that would be 
followed for completing the environmental analysis, and the scope of 
the decision to be made. Additionally, the letter solicited public 
participation in the process, specifically the submission of comments, 
concerns, and recommendations regarding management of the six 
allotments in the project area.
    Term grazing permit holders, or their representatives, were 
contacted shortly after the project was initiated to solicit their 
input concerning management of the six allotments within the project 
area.
    The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance 
from individuals, organizations, tribal governments, and federal, 
state, and local agencies interested in or affected by this project. 
Comments submitted on the 2000 scoping effort and any new comments will 
be used to prepare the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). 
Public participation will be solicited by notifying in person and/or by 
mail known interested and affected publics. News releases will be used 
to give the public general notice. Public participation activities 
would include requests for written comments. Scoping includes: (1) 
Identifying potential

[[Page 43489]]

issues, (2) narrowing the potential issues and identifying significant 
issues of those that have been covered by prior environmental review, 
(3) exploring alternatives in addition to No Action, and (4) 
identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed action and 
alternatives.

Preliminary Issues

    The Forest Service has identified the following potential issues. 
Through the 2000 scoping effort, issues have been refined. Public input 
is especially valuable here. It will help us determine which of these 
merit detailed analysis. It will also help identify additional issues 
related to the proposed action that may not be listed here.
    Issue 1--Effects of livestock grazing on riparian and aquatic 
function.
    Issue 2--Effects of livestock grazing on Threatened, Endangered and 
Sensitive species.
    Issue 3--The social and economic effects of authorizing livestock 
grazing in the area.
    Issue 4--Effects of livestock grazing on rangeland function.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. 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 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 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 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, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: July 11, 2003
Craig P. Trulock,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 03-18685 Filed 7-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M