[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 69986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30871]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

RIN 0596-AB90


Forest Transportation System Analysis; Revisions to Road 
Management Policy

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of issuance of final agency directive.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service is issuing a final directive that 
incorporates direction previously issued in the Forest Service 
directive system as Interim Directive (ID) 7710-2001-3 and ID 7710-
2001-1, with minor clarifications. This final directive provides 
internal administrative direction to guide Forest Service employees in 
the improvement of the analysis of and decisionmaking about the forest 
transportation system. The final directive is issued to the Forest 
Service Manual (FSM) Title 7700--Engineering, Chapter 7710--
Transportation Atlas, Records, and Analysis, as Amendment 7700-2003-2.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The final directive is effective December 16, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The final directive, which includes a digest of the summary 
of changes and the revised directive text in its entirety, is available 
electronically via the World Wide Web/Internet at http://www.fs.fed.us/im/directives/fsm/7710. Single paper copies of the directive also are 
available by contacting the USDA Forest Service, Engineering Staff 
(Mail Stop 1101), 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-
1101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Beighley or Nelson Hernandez, 
Engineering Staff, Forest Service, at (703) 605-4617 and (703) 605-
4613, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    On January 12, 2001, the Forest Service concurrently adopted 
revised final regulations at 36 CFR part 212 (66 FR 3206) and revised 
agency directives in Forest Service Manual (FSM) Chapter 7700--Zero 
Code and Chapter 7710--Transportation Atlas, Records, and Analysis (66 
FR 3219) to guide transportation planning, analysis, and management, 
especially road management on National Forest System lands. These 
regulations and directives together comprise what is referred to as the 
Forest Service Road Management Strategy.
    The final rule at 36 CFR part 212 directs the Responsible Official 
of each National Forest, Grassland, or other unit of the National 
Forest System to perform a comprehensive analysis of the road system 
within the unit and to document the overall forest transportation 
system in a transportation atlas.
    The directive at FSM Chapter 7710 (Amendment 7700-2001-3) 
established standards for creation of the road atlas and for 
determining the scope and scale of roads analyses needed to inform road 
management decisions; that is, road construction, reconstruction, and 
decommissioning. Additionally, this revision of FSM Chapter 7710 
included interim requirements that, rather than addressing the 
transportation atlas, record, or analysis, imposed a significant 
restriction on road construction or reconstruction in inventoried 
roadless areas and contiguous unroaded areas until a forest-scale roads 
analysis is completed and incorporated into the Forest plan.
    Upon adoption of the road management final rule and directives in 
January 2001, the Department and the agency reviewed those documents to 
determine if there were impediments to implementation. These reviews 
led the agency to initiate several Interim Directives (IDs).
    The first was ID 7710-2001-1, issued May 31, 2001 (66 FR 44590), 
which encouraged reliance on local expertise and authority over forest-
level issues as much as possible. The next two IDs (7710-2001-2 and 
2400-2001-3) issued July 27, 2001 (66 FR 44111), implemented the 
Chief's June 7, 2001, announcement to manage and protect inventoried 
roadless areas as an important component of the National Forest System 
and to reserve the authority to make decisions, except in specific 
circumstances, regarding road management activities and timber 
harvesting in those areas. In a letter to Regional Foresters dated June 
12, 2001, the Deputy Chief for National Forest System, noting the 
Chief's June 7, announcement, asked Regional Foresters and Forest 
Supervisors to review the road management policy to identify any 
provisions that they believed should be revised.
    Further review of the road management policy resulted in the 
issuance of two new IDs (7710-2001-3 and 1920-2001-1) issued December 
14, 2001 (66 FR 65796), which separated interim requirements related to 
road construction and reconstruction in inventoried roadless areas from 
the roads analysis direction in FSM Chapter 7710 and relocated the 
modified interim requirements to FSM Chapter 1920--Land and Resource 
Management Planning.
    Over 72,000 responses in the form of letters, faxes, and e-mail 
messages were received on the three different Federal Register notices 
regarding the five IDs concerning the management of the forest 
transportation system analysis and roadless area protection. These 
comments came from private citizens, elected officials, and from groups 
and individuals representing businesses, private organizations, and 
Federal agencies. Responses consisted of over 9,500 original responses 
and over 62,500 form letters.
    Public comment on the five IDs addressed a wide range of topics, 
many of which were directed at management of roadless areas and issues 
associated with the ID 1920-2001-1 to FSM Chapter 1920. Many people 
supported the IDs to FSM Chapter 7710, which provided for better 
inventory, analysis, and management of the Forest Service roads system, 
and separated direction for managing roads from direction on managing 
National Forest System land. Some respondents requested that the Forest 
Service revise the ID to FSM Chapter 7710 to clarify the definition of 
a road and the need for and content of a roads analysis.
    This final directive to FSM 7710 represents the culmination of the 
agency's internal and public reviews of the practices concerning 
management of the forest transportation system. The agency has decided 
to incorporate the current ID direction into Amendment 7700-2003-2 to 
FSM 7710, with some minor clarifications. Comments regarding ID 1920-
2001-1 to FSM Chapter 1920 on roadless area management will be 
addressed when the Amendment to that chapter is finalized.

    Dated: December 8, 2003.
Dale N. Bosworth,
Chief.
[FR Doc. 03-30871 Filed 12-15-03; 8:45 am]
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