[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42636-42641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16191]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

36 CFR Part 294

RIN 0596-AC10


Special Areas; State Petitions for Inventoried Roadless Area 
Management

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comment.

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

[[Page 42637]]

SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service is proposing 
changes to Subpart B of Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, 
Protection of Inventoried Roadless Areas (the roadless rule), adopted 
on January 12, 2001 (66 FR 3244). This proposed rule would replace the 
existing rule with a petitioning process that would provide Governors 
an opportunity to seek establishment of management requirements for 
National Forest System inventoried roadless areas within their States. 
This opportunity for State petitions would be available for 18 months 
following the effective date of the final rule. It is anticipated that 
this timeframe will be sufficient for States to collaborate effectively 
with local governments, stakeholders and other interested parties to 
develop proposals that consider a full range of public input. A State 
petition would be evaluated and, if accepted by the Secretary of 
Agriculture, the Forest Service would initiate subsequent State-
specific rulemaking for the management of inventoried roadless areas in 
cooperation with the State involved in the petitioning process, and in 
consultation with stakeholders and experts.
    In proposing this rule and seeking public comment, the agency is 
responding to the continued controversy, policy concerns, and legal 
uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the roadless rule. Public 
comments received will be considered in the development of the final 
rule.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing by September 14, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments by mail to: Content Analysis Team, 
Attn: Roadless State Petitions, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 221090, 
Salt Lake City, UT 84122; by facsimile to (801) 517-1014; or by e-mail 
at [email protected]. If you intend to submit comments in 
batched e-mails from the same server, please be aware that electronic 
security safeguards on Forest Service and Department of Agriculture 
computer systems for prevention of commercial spamming may limit 
batched e-mail access. However, the Forest Service is interested in 
receiving all comments on this proposed rule. Therefore, please call 
(801) 517-1020 to facilitate transfer of comments in batched e-mail 
messages. Comments also may be submitted via the World Wide Web/
Internet Web site http://www.regulations.gov. Please note that all 
comments, including names and addresses when provided, will be placed 
in the record and will be available for public inspection and copying. 
The agency cannot confirm receipt of comments. Individuals wishing to 
inspect comments should call Jody Sutton at (801) 517-1023 to schedule 
an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Barone, Planning Specialist, 
Ecosystem Management Coordination Staff, Forest Service, USDA, (202) 
205-1019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service commitment 
to land stewardship and public service is the framework within which 
the agency manages natural resources as provided by law, regulation, 
and other legal authorities. Implicit in this statement is the agency's 
collaboration with public, private, and nonprofit partners. As a leader 
in natural resource conservation, the USDA Forest Service provides 
leadership in the conservation, management, and use of the Nation's 
forest, rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems.
    The USDA Forest Service manages National Forest System (NFS) lands 
to maintain and enhance the quality of the environment to meet the 
Nation's current and future needs. Activities implemented consistent 
with land and resource management plans (forest plans) provide for 
sustainable management by restoring and maintaining species diversity 
and ecological productivity, and support recreation, water, timber, 
minerals, fish, wildlife, wilderness, and aesthetic values for current 
and future generations.
    State governments are important partners in management of the 
Nation's land and natural resources. States, particularly in the West, 
own and manage large tracts of land with tremendous social and 
biological value. State governments have frequently pioneered 
innovative land management programs and policies. State governments 
exert considerable influence over statewide economic development and 
private land use, both of which significantly affect natural resource 
management. In addition, State conservation agencies' relationships 
with others offer additional partnership opportunities. Strong State 
and Federal cooperation regarding management of inventoried roadless 
areas can facilitate long-term, community-oriented solutions.
    On January 12, 2001, the Department promulgated the roadless rule 
at 36 CFR part 294 (66 FR 3244), which fundamentally changed the Forest 
Service's longstanding approach to management of inventoried roadless 
areas by establishing nationwide prohibitions generally limiting, with 
some exceptions, timber harvest, road construction, and road 
reconstruction within inventoried roadless areas on NFS lands.
    Concerns were immediately expressed by those most impacted by the 
roadless rule's prohibitions. These concerns included the sufficiency 
and the accuracy of the information available for public review during 
the rulemaking process; the inclusion of an estimated 2.8 million acres 
of roaded lands in the land base affected by the rule's prohibitions; 
the denial of requests to lengthen the public review period; the denial 
of cooperating agency status requested by several Western States; the 
sufficiency of the range of alternatives considered in the rulemaking 
process; the need for flexibility and exceptions to allow for needed 
resource management activities that would enhance or improve roadless 
values or characteristics; and the changes made in the proposed rule 
after the closure of the public comment period. Concerns were also 
expressed about applying one set of standards uniformly to every 
inventoried roadless area.
    On May 4, 2001, the Secretary of Agriculture expressed the 
Administration's commitment to the objective of conserving inventoried 
roadless areas in the NFS, and also acknowledged concerns raised by 
local communities, tribes, and States impacted by the roadless rule. At 
that time, the Secretary indicated that USDA would move forward with a 
responsible and balanced approach to re-examining the roadless rule in 
an effort to address those concerns while enhancing roadless area 
values and characteristics. To meet this objective, management of 
inventoried roadless areas must address those activities having the 
greatest likelihood of altering, fragmenting, or otherwise degrading 
roadless area values and characteristics. Appropriate management of 
inventoried roadless areas must also address reasonable and legitimate 
concerns about how the agency provides for the conservation of roadless 
areas. For example, providing for outdoor recreation opportunities for 
fishing and hunting in remote areas may at times require access and 
active management activities to restore or maintain habitat conditions 
for the management of some fish and wildlife species.
    On July 10, 2001, the Forest Service published an advance notice of

[[Page 42638]]

proposed rulemaking (ANPR) (66 FR 35918) seeking public comment 
concerning how best to proceed with long-term conservation and 
management of inventoried roadless areas. The ANPR also acknowledged 
that the future management of inventoried roadless areas would depend 
on a number of factors, such as court decisions, public comments, and 
the consideration of practical options and other administrative tools 
for amending the current roadless rule to address inventoried roadless 
area protection.
    The Forest Service received over 726,000 responses to that ANPR. 
The responses represented two main points of view on natural resource 
management and perspectives on resource decisionmaking: (1) Emphasis on 
environmental protection and preservation, and support for making 
national decisions; and (2) emphasis on responsible active management, 
and support for local conservation decisions made through the land and 
resource management planning process. A 1,200-page summary of this 
public comment was prepared in May of 2002, and is available on the 
World Wide Web/Internet on the Forest Service Web site for Roadless 
Area Conservation at: http://www.roadless.fs.fed.us.
    Until promulgation of the 2001 roadless rule, the Forest Service 
managed roadless areas based on individual forest plans. Forest plans 
have been developed for each unit of the NFS through a public notice 
and comment process, building on years of scientific findings and 
extensive public involvement in forest planning. Forest plans typically 
identify and recommend areas that would be appropriate to be designated 
as wilderness by the Congress, and provide guidance on activities and 
uses in these areas.

Litigation History

    The roadless rule has been the subject of nine lawsuits in Federal 
district courts in Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, and the 
District of Columbia. In one of these lawsuits, the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Idaho issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting 
implementation of the roadless rule on May 10, 2001.
    The preliminary injunction decision was reversed by the U.S. Court 
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
    On June 10, 2003, a settlement agreement was reached in another of 
those lawsuits, the State of Alaska v. USDA litigation. In that 
settlement, the Department of Agriculture agreed to propose an 
amendment to the roadless rule to temporarily withdraw the Tongass 
National Forest in Alaska from the provisions of the rule, as well as 
to issue an ANPR to seek public comment on permanently withdrawing both 
the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests from the provisions of the 
roadless rule. On December 30, 2003, the Department adopted a final 
rule that temporarily withdrew the Tongass National Forest. Management 
of inventoried roadless areas on the Tongass is now governed by the 
existing forest plan. Pursuant to the current revised forest plans for 
the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests, road construction will 
not occur on approximately 90 percent of roadless area lands and timber 
management will not occur on over 95 percent of roadless area lands.
    In still another lawsuit, on July 14, 2003, the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Wyoming found the roadless rule to be unlawful and 
ordered that the rule ``be permanently enjoined.'' That ruling has been 
appealed to the Tenth Circuit by intervenors.

Conclusion

    USDA is committed to conserving and managing roadless areas and 
considers roadless areas an important component of the NFS. The 
Department believes that revising 36 CFR part 294 to replace the 
existing rule with a State petitioning process that will allow State-
specific consideration of the needs of these areas is an appropriate 
solution to address the challenges of roadless area management on NFS 
lands.
    States affected by the roadless rule have been keenly interested in 
inventoried roadless area management, especially the Western States 
where most of the agency's inventoried roadless areas are located. 
Collaborating and cooperating with States on the long-term strategy for 
the management of inventoried roadless areas on NFS lands would allow 
for the recognition of local situations and resolution of unique 
resource management challenges within a specific State. Collaboration 
with others who have a strong interest in the conservation and 
management of inventoried roadless areas would also help to ensure 
balanced management decisions that maintain the most important 
characteristics and values of those areas.
    The State petitions under this proposed rule would have to include 
specific information and recommendations for the management 
requirements for individual inventoried roadless areas within a 
particular State. Petitions would have to be submitted to the Secretary 
of Agriculture within 18 months of the effective date of the final 
rule. USDA is seeking comments on the sufficiency of this timeframe. 
Petitions would be evaluated, and if accepted the Secretary would 
initiate subsequent rulemaking for inventoried roadless areas within 
that State. The Department's general petitioning process for the 
approval, amendment or repeal of rules (7 CFR 1.28) would remain 
available after expiration of the 18 month petitioning period.
    The Secretary is considering the establishment of a national 
advisory committee to provide expert consultation on the implementation 
of this State-specific petition rulemaking process and seeks public 
input regarding whether to establish such a committee. The advisory 
committee would provide input regarding whether additional information 
is needed from a petitioner (proposed Sec.  294.13 (a)(1)), the 
Secretary's response to a petition (proposed Sec.  294.13 (a)(2)), the 
nature and extent of appropriate NEPA documentation associated with 
development of a State-specific rule, and the Secretary's decision on 
promulgating a State-specific rule (proposed Sec.  294.15). The 
advisory committee would include members with expertise in fish and 
wildlife biology, fish and wildlife management, forest management, 
outdoor recreation, and other important disciplines, as well as 
representatives of State and local governments.

Regulatory Certifications

Regulatory Impact

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under USDA procedures and 
Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review. It has 
been determined that this is not an economically significant rule. This 
proposed rule would not have an annual effect of $100 million or more 
on the economy nor adversely affect productivity, competition, jobs, 
the environment, public health or safety, nor State or local 
governments. This proposed rule would not interfere with an action 
taken or planned by another agency. Finally, this action would not 
alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 
programs or the rights and obligations of recipients of such programs. 
However, because this proposed rule raises novel legal or policy issues 
arising from legal mandates or the President's priorities, it has been 
designated as significant and, therefore, is subject to Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) review in accordance with the principles 
set forth in E.O. 12866.
    Moreover, this proposed rule has been considered in light of 
Executive Order

[[Page 42639]]

13272 regarding proper consideration of small entities and the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), which 
amended the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 
Predicting the economic impacts of this proposed rule on small entities 
as defined by SBREFA is difficult since it is not known how many 
petitions would be submitted or how they would propose to change 
management requirements for inventoried roadless areas. The agency is 
seeking comment on this determination. Comments can be submitted as 
provided in the ADDRESSES section of this preamble. This proposed rule 
would not impose record keeping requirements; would not affect small 
entities' competitive position in relation to large entities; and would 
not affect small entities' cash flow, liquidity, or ability to remain 
in the market.
    A cost-benefit analysis has been prepared for this proposed rule 
that incorporates by reference the November 2000 detailed regulatory 
impact analysis prepared for the roadless rule promulgated in January 
of 2001. A quantitative analysis of costs and benefits associated with 
this proposed rule is not feasible, however, because there is no 
experience with implementing the roadless rule, and thus there are no 
data available. In addition, many of the effects of this proposed rule 
are not readily quantifiable in financial terms because they would be 
based on future State-specific rulemaking. For these reasons, the cost-
benefit analysis prepared for this proposed rule focuses on the 
qualitative aspects of implementing a State petition process. Detailed 
quantitative analysis would be conducted in the future if and when any 
State-specific rulemaking proposals are made.
    The range of potential costs and benefits of this proposed rule has 
been estimated by comparing selected effects if 58.5 million acres of 
inventoried roadless areas are managed following the prohibitions for 
road construction and timber management activities in the 2001 roadless 
rule, or if these same areas are managed in accordance with the 
existing management requirements contained in land management plans. 
Approximately 25 percent of the total acres of inventoried roadless 
areas are in the State of Alaska. About 72 percent of the total is in 
11 Western States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Oregon, 
New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, California, and Arizona. The remaining 3 
percent is scattered among the remaining 27 States. While it is 
currently unknown which States may choose to submit a petition for 
State-specific rulemaking, the Forest Service assumes that all 39 
States will do so in the first year after the rule is final. The costs 
to the Forest Service and the Department to evaluate and make a 
decision on a petition are estimated to range from $75,000 to $150,000. 
Costs could range from $25,000 to $100,000 for an individual State 
submitting a petition. Total costs to the States for 39 petitions would 
range from $975,000 to $3,900,000, therefore; and total costs to the 
Government would range from $2,925,000 to $5,850,000. Total costs of 
the rule are therefore estimated to range from $3,900,000 to 
$9,750,000.
    While the effects of implementing this proposed rule are 
speculative due to the programmatic nature of establishing a 
petitioning process, they are expected to be within the existing 
parameters of the effects of implementing the provisions of the 2001 
roadless rule or of implementing existing land management plans. This 
proposed rule is expected to provide a variety of potential beneficial 
effects, which include the conservation of roadless areas; the 
protection of human health and safety; the reduction of hazardous fuels 
and restoration of essential wildlife habitats; the assurance of 
reasonable access to public and private property or facilities; and the 
improvement of collaboration and partnerships with States.

Environmental Impact

    The Department prepared a draft environmental impact statement 
(EIS) (May 2000) and a Final EIS (November 2000) in association with 
promulgation of the 2001 roadless rule. The DEIS and FEIS examined in 
detail the no action alternative in which no rule prohibiting 
activities in inventoried roadless areas would be issued, and 
management of inventoried roadless areas would be governed by existing 
forest plans. The environmental impacts of revising 36 CFR part 294 are 
essentially those disclosed and discussed for the no action alternative 
displayed in FEIS. The FEIS is available in the document archives 
section of the Roadless Area Conservation World Wide Wed/Internet site 
at http://www.roadless.fs.fed.us.
    This proposed rule would establish administrative procedures to 
allow a Governor to petition the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake 
future rulemaking for the management of inventoried roadless areas 
within a specific State. Thus, subsequent State-specific roadless area 
rulemaking may be proposed in the future, at which time the agency 
would fully consider the environmental effects of that rulemaking in 
compliance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures. 
This proposed rule is merely procedural in nature and scope and, as 
such, has no direct, indirect, or cumulative effect on the environment. 
Section 31.1b of Forest Service Handbook 1909.15 (57 FR 43168; 
September 18, 1992) excludes from documentation in an environmental 
assessment or impact statement ``rules, regulations, or policies to 
establish Service-wide administrative procedures, program processes, or 
instruction.'' The agency's assessment is that this rule falls within 
this category of actions and that no extraordinary circumstances exist 
which would require preparation of an environmental assessment or an 
environmental impact statement.

No Takings Implications

    This proposed rule has been analyzed in accordance with the 
principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12360, and it has 
been determined that the proposed rule would not pose the risk of a 
taking of private property, as the proposed rule is limited to the 
establishment of administrative procedures.

Energy Effects

    This proposed rule has been analyzed under Executive Order 13211, 
Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use. It has been determined that this proposed rule 
does not constitute a significant energy action as defined in the 
Executive order.

Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. After adoption of this proposed rule as a final 
rule, (1) all State and local laws and regulations that conflict with 
this rule or that would impede full implementation of this rule would 
be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect would be given to this rule; 
and (3) this rule would not require the use of administrative 
proceedings before parties could file suit in court challenging its 
provisions.

Unfunded Mandates

    Pursuant to Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 
U.S.C. 1531-1538), which the President signed into law on March 22, 
1995, the Department has assessed the effects of this proposed rule on 
State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector. This 
proposed rule does not compel the expenditure of $100 million or more 
by any State, local, or tribal government, or anyone in the private

[[Page 42640]]

sector. Therefore, a statement under section 202 of the act is not 
required.

Federalism

    The agency has considered this proposed rule under the requirements 
of Executive Order 13132, Federalism. The agency has made a preliminary 
assessment that the rule conforms with the federalism principles set 
out in this Executive order; would not impose any significant 
compliance costs on the States; and would not have substantial direct 
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government. Based on 
comments received on this proposed rule, the agency will consider if 
any additional consultation will be needed with State and local 
governments prior to adopting a final rule.

Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications as defined by 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments. Therefore, advance consultation with tribes is not 
required.

Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501, et seq.) and implementing regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, 
Controlling Paperwork Burden on the Public, Sec.  294.13 and Sec.  
294.14 of this proposed rule contain information collection 
requirements and, therefore, require approval by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). Proposed Sec.  294.13 describes the 
administrative process that Governors must follow to petition the 
Secretary for rulemaking to govern inventoried roadless areas with 
their States. Proposed Sec.  294.14 sets out what must be included in a 
petition submitted to the Secretary requesting State-specific 
rulemaking.
    Estimate of burden: If a State decides to submit a petition, the 
management requirements for each inventoried roadless area within the 
State must be reviewed and evaluated on area-specific unique 
situations, or circumstances. The State petition will have to be 
accompanied by the appropriate level of detailed information and 
rationale to allow the Department to evaluate the recommended 
management requirements and make a disposition on the petition. 
Although the Secretary's response and any subsequent rulemakings will 
be developed in collaboration with the State, a State's petition 
represents solely the views of the petitioner and do not prejudge or 
reflect the views of the Forest Service or Secretary. Information 
provided by or obtained from outside parties which USDA subsequently 
adopts, endorses, or uses to formulate or support a regulation will be 
publicly available.
    The agency estimates that the burden for an individual State could 
be as high as 1,000 hours for a single petition, depending on the 
quantity of inventoried roadless areas within the State and the extent 
of adjustment to inventoried roadless area management recommended in an 
individual petition.
    Respondents: State Governors.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: There are 39 States with 
inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands within their 
boundaries that would be eligible to submit petitions to the Secretary 
under this rule. The agency anticipates that all petitions would be 
submitted during the first year this rule is in effect.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: One per State.
    Estimated annual number of responses: The maximum number of 
responses from States that could be received in a given year would be 
39.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: The estimated total 
burden for 39 respondents is 39,000 hours.
    Accordingly, the agency seeks comments on:
    (1) Whether this collection of information is necessary for the 
stated purposes and the proper performance of the functions of the 
agency, including whether the information will have practical or 
scientific utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments can be submitted as provided in the ADDRESSES section of 
this preamble. In submitting the request for approval of this 
information collection to OMB, the agency will summarize and address 
comments received on the information collection component of this 
proposed rule.

Government Paperwork Elimination Act Compliance

    The Forest Service is committed to compliance with the Government 
Paperwork Elimination Act (44 U.S.C. 3504), which requires Government 
agencies to provide the public the option of submitting information or 
transacting business electronically to the maximum extent possible.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 294

    National Forests, Navigation (air), Recreation and recreation 
areas, Wilderness areas, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Therefore, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Forest 
Service proposes to revise part 294 of title 36 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations to read as follows:

PART 294--SPECIAL AREAS

Subpart B--State Petitions for Inventoried Roadless Area Management

Sec.
294.10 Purpose.
294.11 Definition.
294.12 State petitions.
294.13 Petition process.
294.14 Petition contents.
294.15 State-specific rulemaking.
294.16 Scope and applicability.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 472, 529, 551, 1608, 1613; 23 U.S.C. 201, 
205.


Sec.  294.10  Purpose.

    The purpose of these administrative procedures is to set forth a 
process for State-specific rulemaking to address the management of 
inventoried roadless areas in areas where the Secretary determines that 
regulatory direction is appropriate based on a petition from the 
affected Governor.


Sec.  294.11  Definition.

    Inventoried roadless areas--Areas identified in a set of 
inventoried roadless area maps, contained in the Forest Service 
Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact Statement, 
Volume 2, dated November 2000, which are held at the National 
headquarters office of the Forest Service, and any subsequent update or 
revision of those maps.


Sec.  294.12  State petitions.

    The Governor of any State that contains National Forest System 
lands may petition the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate 
regulations establishing management requirements for all or any portion 
of National Forest System inventoried roadless areas within that State. 
Any such petition

[[Page 42641]]

must be submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture not later than [date 
to be inserted 18 months from the effective date of the final rule].


Sec.  294.13  Petition process.

    (a) Review and consideration of petitions made pursuant to Sec.  
294.12 shall be accomplished as follows:
    (1) Review--The Secretary shall review petitions and may request 
additional information from a petitioner before deciding whether to 
accept the petition. If the Secretary requests additional information 
from a petitioner, the petition will be considered complete when the 
petitioner provides the additional information.
    (2) Disposition--The Secretary or the Secretary's designee shall 
respond to the petition within 180 days of receipt of a completed 
petition. The response shall accept or decline the petition to initiate 
a State-specific rulemaking.


Sec.  294.14  Petition contents.

    (a) Any petition made pursuant to Sec.  294.12 shall provide the 
following:
    (1) The location and description of the particular lands for which 
the petition is being made, including maps and other appropriate 
resources in sufficient detail to enable consideration of the petition;
    (2) The particular management requirements recommended for the 
lands and any exceptions;
    (3) The identification of the circumstances and needs intended to 
be addressed by the petition, including conserving roadless area values 
and characteristics; protecting human health and safety; reducing 
hazardous fuels and restoring essential wildlife habitats; maintaining 
existing facilities such as dams, or providing reasonable access to 
public and private property or public and privately owned facilities; 
and technical corrections to existing maps such as boundary adjustments 
to remove existing roaded areas;
    (4) A description of how the recommended management requirements 
identified in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of this section differs 
from existing applicable land management plan(s) or policies related to 
inventoried roadless area management, while still complying with 
applicable laws and regulations;
    (5) A description of how the recommended management requirements 
identified in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of this section compares 
to existing State land conservation policies and direction set forth in 
any applicable State land and resource management plan(s);
    (6) A description of how the recommended management requirements 
identified in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of this section would 
affect the fish and wildlife that utilize the particular lands in 
question and their habitat;
    (7) A description of any public involvement efforts undertaken by 
the State during development of the petition, including efforts to 
engage local governments and persons with expertise in fish and 
wildlife biology, fish and wildlife management, forest management, 
outdoor recreation, and other important disciplines; and
    (8) A commitment by the State that it will participate as a 
cooperating agency in any environmental analysis for a rulemaking 
process.


Sec.  294.15  State-specific rulemaking.

    If the Secretary or the Secretary's designee accepts a petition, 
the Forest Service shall be directed to initiate notice and comment 
rulemaking to address the petition. The Forest Service shall coordinate 
development of the proposed rule with the State. The Secretary or the 
Secretary's designee shall make the final decision for any State-
specific inventoried roadless area management rule.


Sec.  294.16  Scope and applicability.

    (a) The provisions of this regulation apply exclusively to the 
development and review of petitions made pursuant to this subpart.
    (b) Nothing in this regulation shall be construed to provide for 
the transfer to, or administration by, a State or local authority of 
any Federally owned lands.

    Dated: July 12, 2004.
Dale N. Bosworth,
Chief.
[FR Doc. 04-16191 Filed 7-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P