[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 55242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24166]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 184 / Tuesday, September 23, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 55242]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


South Bear River Range Allotment Management Plan Revisions; 
Caribou-Targhee National Forest; Bear Lake and Franklin Counties, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Montpelier Ranger District, Caribou-Targhee National 
Forest will be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
analyze the effects of continued domestic livestock grazing on eight 
cattle allotments and two sheep allotments within the South Bear River 
Ranger project area. The project area is the Idaho tract of the Cache 
National Forest. It includes the portion of the Bear River Range of the 
Wasatch Range which extends from the Utah-Idaho border to just south of 
Emigration Highway, Idaho. The communities of Fish Haven, St. Charles, 
Bloomington, and Paris are situated east of this area, and Preston and 
Franklin lie west of the project area. Allotment Management Plans would 
be revised on the following allotments: Bear Lake C&H, Bloomington C&H, 
Cherryville C&H, Franklin Basin S&G, Fish Haven C&H, Logan River S&G, 
Mink Creek C&H, Paris-Liberty C&H, and Sugar Creek C&H. The scope of 
the analysis is limited to the consideration of the revision of the 
Allotment Management Plans and connected actions. The project impact 
zone includes Bear Lake and Franklin Counties, Idaho, and Idaho Fish 
and Game Hunting Units (77) and (78). Implementation of this project is 
scheduled to begin fiscal year 2005. The decision would provide 
guidance for grazing allotments in the project area for the next twenty 
years.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis described 
in this Notice should be received within 30 days of the date of 
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. No scoping meetings 
are planned at this time. Information received will be used in 
preparation of the Draft EIS and Final EIS.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Montpelier Ranger District, Attn. 
Dennis Deuhren, 322 North 4th St., Montpelier, Idaho 83254. The 
responsible official for this decision is Dennis Deuhren, District 
Ranger.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be directed to Heidi Heyrend, Rangeland 
Management Specialist at (208) 847-0375.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS and subsequent revision of the 
Allotment Management Plans will bring these allotments in 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 time periods are identified for the receipt of formal 
comments on the analysis. The two comment periods include during the 
scoping process (the next thirty days following the publication of this 
Notice in the Federal Register) and during the formal review period of 
the Draft EIS.
    The Forest Service estimates the Draft EIS will be filed within 5 
months of this Notice of Intent, approximately April 2004. The Final 
EIS will be filed within 6 months of that date, approximately September 
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 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: September 11, 2003.
Dennis Duehren,
District Ranger, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Intermountain Region, 
USDA Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 03-24166 Filed 9-22-03; 8:45 am]
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