[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68303-68304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25972]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest, Bearlodge Ranger District, Wyoming, 
Dean Project Area Proposal and Analysis

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement on a proposal to implement multiple resource management 
actions within the Dean Area as directed by the Black Hills National 
Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The Dean Project Area covers 
about 12,468 acres of National Forest System land and about 2,256 acres 
of interspersed private land within the Redwater Creek watershed 
directly north of Sundance, Wyoming. Proposed actions would modify the 
structure of forest stands across the planning area to reduce fuel 
loads, potential for uncharacteristically intense wildfire behavior, 
and risk of insect outbreaks; provide for diverse wildlife habitat and 
restore hardwoods; and provide a mix of motorized and non-motorized use 
opportunities.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by December 22, 2004. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected to be available for public review by March 2005 and the final 
environmental impact statement is expected to be completed by June 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Steve Kozel, District Ranger, Black 
Hills National Forest, Bearlodge Ranger District, 121 S. 21st Street, 
Sundance, Wyoming 82729. Telephone Number: (307) 283-1361. E-mail: 
[email protected] with ``Dean 
Project'' as subject.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janis Bouma, Project Coordinator, 
Black Hills National Forest, Bearlodge Ranger District, at above 
address, phone (307) 283-1361.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The actions are proposed in direct response 
to management direction provided by the Black Hills National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The site-specific 
actions are based on Forest Plan Standards and

[[Page 68304]]

Guidelines to promote existing resource conditions in the Dean Project 
Area toward meeting Forest Plan Goals and Objectives. The project area 
lies in the Bear Lodge Mountains in the Black Hills National Forest, 
directly north of Sundance, Wyoming. Anticipated issues include: Fire 
and fuels hazard in the project area; support and opposition to 
vegetation treatment such as timber harvest; impacts of vegetation 
treatment and multiple forest uses on wildlife habitat; motorized and 
non-motorized recreation; and travel management.

Purpose of and Need for Action

    There is a need to reduce the potential for uncharacteristically 
intense wildlife behavior and insect infestation, provide diverse 
wildlife habitat, and manage motorized recreation in the Dean Project 
Area. This project will address Forest Plan Goal 2 (providing for 
biologically diverse ecosystems) and Goal 3 (providing for sustained 
commodity uses) consistent with Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines.

Proposed Action

    Actions proposed in the Dean Project Area include:
     Modifying stand structure across the planning area to 
reduce potential for uncharacteristically intense wildfire behavior and 
benefit wildlife. This action includes thinning the forest, removing 
conifers from stands of hardwoods such as aspen, bur oak, and birch, 
and expanding and/or creating meadows.
     Reducing fuel loads by decreasing the volume and 
arrangement of both existing fuels and those resulting from other 
vegetation treatment activities. Treatment could include lopping, 
chipping, crushing, piling and burning, and prescribed burning on up to 
3,494 acres.
     Reducing the density of pine stands on up to 5,730 acres 
to decrease the potential for spreading crown fires, increase tree 
growth and vigor, and lessen the risk of insect infestation and 
disease. This may be done by using commercial timber harvest to thin 
out merchantable trees and using other methods to thin small, 
unmerchantable trees. These actions would provide wood fiber to local 
industry and would require construction of up to 10 miles of new 
specified roads.
     Modifying the Forest Plan through a non-significant 
Amendment to change Management Area (MA) designation in part of the 
project area to better reflect actual conditions. The entire project 
area is currently in MA 5.4 (Big Game Winter Range Emphasis). The lower 
elevations and south aspects on the east side of the project area 
currently provide appropriate and important winter range for deer and 
elk and are utilized as such. However, the remainder of the project 
area is heavily used by deer and elk only during the spring, summer, 
and fall, including calving and fawning periods. Therefore, the Forest 
proposes to change the Management Area designation in a portion of the 
project area to MA 5.6 (Forest Products, Recreation, and Big Game 
Emphasis) to reflect the actual utilization and better manage the 
project area to benefit a variety of wildlife, including big game 
species, and better reflect existing non-motorized recreation 
opportunities.
     Providing a mix of motorized and non-motorized 
opportunities and protecting wildlife in the area by closing the 
project area to off-road motorized travel and restricting ATV use to 
designated routes. Main system routes currently open to motorized 
travel would remain open. Approximately 16.1 miles of roads would also 
be decommissioned.

Responsible Official

    Steve Kozel, District Ranger, Black Hills National Forest, 
Bearlodge Ranger District, 121 S. 21st Street, Sundance, Wyoming 82729.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether or not to implement the proposed 
action or alternatives at this time.

Scoping Process

    Comments and input regarding the proposal will be requested via 
direct mailing from the public, other groups and agencies during the 
30-day (plus) public comment period in November and December 2004. 
Also, response to the draft EIS will be sought from the interested 
public in March 2005.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. It is our desire 
to involve interested parties and especially adjacent landowners in 
identifying the issues related to proposed activities. Comments will 
assist the planning team identify key issues and opportunities used to 
develop project alternatives and mitigation measures.

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 last 45 days (beginning around March 1, 2005) 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.

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

    Dated: November 17, 2004.
Brad Exton,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-25972 Filed 11-23-04; 8:45 am]
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