[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3508-3509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1295]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Commercial Pack Stock Use Authorizations for the Ansel Adams and 
John Muir Wildernesses; Inyo and Sierra National Forests; Inyo, Fresno, 
Madera, and Mono Counties, CA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service published a notice of intent to 
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Commercial Pack 
Stock Use Authorizations for the Ansel Adams and John Muir Wildernesses 
Project in the Federal Register on June 15, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 
114, pages 33346-33348). A revised notice of intent is being issued for 
several reasons. A Trail Management Plan for the Ansel Adams and John 
Muir Wildernesses, previously under analysis in a separate 
environmental document, has been combined into this project. The Dinkey 
Lakes portion of the Trail Management Plan will be conducted in a 
future analysis. To incorporate the Trail Management Plan, the Purpose 
and Need and Proposed Action for the project have been revised only to 
reflect the combination of the two proposals into one. This is 
described in more detail below.
    In addition, the decision to be made reflects a change that this 
proposal will only amend the Ansel Adams and John Muir portions of the 
2001 Wilderness Management Plan. No commercial pack stock use will be 
authorized under this proposal. Finally, the name of the project has 
been changed to better describe the proposed action and is now ``Trail 
and Commercial Pack Stock Management in the Ansel Adams and John Muir 
Wildernesses.''

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis and revised notice 
of intent should be received within 30 days following the publication 
of this notice in Federal Register. Comments previously submitted for 
the scoping of the proposed action as described in the June 15, 2004, 
Federal Register are part of the project record and will be considered 
in the Draft EIS. There is no need for these comments, or comments made 
to the Trail Management Plan to be resubmitted as the proposed actions 
have not changed, just combined into one proposal.
    A draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed with 
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public 
review in April 2005. At that time the EPA will publish a Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. The comment period on the draft 
EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA published the Notice of 
Availability. The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in December 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Forest Supervisor, Attention: 
Wilderness Planning, Inyo National Forest, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 200, 
Bishop, CA 93514. Comments may be sent electronically to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Hennessy, Wilderness 
Specialist, Inyo National Forest, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 200, Bishop, CA 
93514, (760) 873-2448.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To better reflect the purpose and need for 
the project, the name of the project has been changed to ``Trail and 
Commercial Pack Stock Management in the Ansel Adams and John Muir 
Wildernesses.'' Publication of the Draft and Final Environmental Impact 
Statements will be under this name.
    Comments previously submitted for the scoping of the proposed 
action for this project as described in the June 15, 2004, Federal 
Register are part of the project record and will be considered in the 
Draft EIS. Comments previously submitted for the Trail Management Plan 
Environmental Assessment Proposed Action are also a part of the record 
and will be considered in the Draft EIS. There is not a need for these 
comments to be resubmitted.
    Nature of Decision to Be Made: The decision to be made is whether 
or not to continue commercial pack stock operations in the John Muir 
and Ansel Adams Wildernesses and, if so, to determine the amount, type, 
and locations where these activities would occur. The decision will 
also establish a Trail Management Plan for both wildernesses which 
determines the trails that will be maintained on the Forests' 
inventories and how they will be managed. This Trail Management Plan 
was originally under analysis in a separate proposal, but due to public 
comments and the apparent connected nature of the two proposals, the 
trail plan and commercial pack stock proposals were combined into a 
single analysis. The incorporation of the Trail Plan into the overall 
Wilderness planning effort will better disclose the cumulative effects 
of commercial pack stock use in the two wildernesses.
    Purpose and Need for Action: These actions are needed for several 
reasons. While the Wilderness Act does contain provisions for 
commercial activities in wilderness areas, these activities are 
permitted ``to the extent necessary for activities which are proper for 
realizing the recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas.'' 
There is a need, therefore, to clearly articulate the extent necessary, 
including the locations and the amount and type of use, that commercial 
pack stock is necessary in the Ansel Adams and John Muir Wildernesses. 
There is a need for limits on commercial pack stock operations in order 
to maintain desired resource and experiential conditions identified in 
the 2001 Wilderness Plan and Record of Decision. There is also a need 
for a trail management plan that establishes a

[[Page 3509]]

system of trails that provides access to the Ansel Adams and John Muir 
Wildernesses and identifies the appropriate maintenance and management 
levels of the trail system such that the wilderness values are 
protected.
    This proposal responds in part to the Court Order of November 1, 
2001, (and modified January 10, 2002) which requires that the Forest 
Service complete a cumulative impacts analysis within the NEPA process, 
and that it consider limits on numbers of stock animals used in 
conjunction with commercial operators, limits on the group size (both 
people and number of stock both on and off trail), trail suitability 
for various use types, and designation of campsites for use by 
commercial pack stations.
    Proposed Action: To meet the purpose and need, the Forest Service 
proposes to amend the 2001 Ansel Adams, John Muir, and Dinkey Lakes 
Wildernesses Management Plan to provide further standards and 
guidelines for commercial pack stock activities. The standards and 
guidelines proposed for modification from existing Wilderness Plan 
direction relate to use levels; trail suitability for commercial pack 
stock operations; grazing suitability and utilization levels; and, use 
of campsites and campfires. Currently, commercial pack stock use 
accounts for approximately 15% of total use in these two wildernesses, 
with around 3500 people a year being serviced to over 400 destinations. 
The proposed action will also establish a system of trails and trail 
management levels for each system trail, consistent with the desired 
condition of areas within the two wildernesses as identified in the 
2001 Wilderness Plan and Record of Decision. Approximately 960 miles of 
trails are being proposed to be managed as a system trail.
    Responsible Official: The responsible officials are Jeffrey E. 
Bailey, Forest Supervisor, Inyo National Forest, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 
200, Bishop, CA 93514 and Edward C. Cole, Forest Supervisor, Sierra 
National Forest, 1600 Tollhouse Road, Clovis, CA 93611.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: 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 
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: January 18, 2005.
Jeffrey E. Bailey,
Forest Supervisor, Inyo National Forest.
    Dated: January 13, 2005.
Edward C. Cole,
Forest Supervisor, Sierra National Forest.
[FR Doc. 05-1295 Filed 1-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P