[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14636-14637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5704]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest; South Dakota and Wyoming; Inyan Kara 
and Jewel Cave Mineral Withdrawal

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Black Hills National Forest proposes to recommend 
withdrawal of two areas of National Forest System lands from mineral 
entry. The proposed action would recommend the withdrawal of these 
lands from mineral exploration and development under the General Mining 
Law of 1872, as amended.

DATES: A public meeting will be held to explain the project and take 
public comment. The meeting will be held at the Black Hills National 
Forest Supervisor's Office on April 26, 2005, at 7 p.m. m.d.t.

ADDRESSES: The Supervisor's Office is located at 25041 North Highway 
16, Custer, South Dakota.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, mail 
correspondence to Alice Allen, Project Leader, Black Hills National 
Forest, 330 Mt. Rushmore Rd., Custer, South Dakota 57730; or, at 
[email protected].

Purpose and Need for Action

    This action is needed to protect unique resource values (FSM 
2761.03 (1)), i.e., cave resources and prehistoric and historic 
cultural properties from disturbance and adverse effects associated 
with mineral extraction. Currently the Forest has no authority to deny 
mining projects in these areas. This proposal is consistent with 
direction in the Black Hills National Forest Revised Forest Plan to 
pursue mineral withdrawals where appropriate (Standard 1509).

Proposed Action

    The Black Hills National Forest proposes to recommend withdrawal of 
two areas of National Forest system lands from mineral entry. The first 
area contains lands (4,696 acres) adjacent to Jewel Cave National 
Monument in South Dakota. The Jewel Cave withdrawal area is located 
about 10 miles west of Custer, SD on the Hell Canyon Ranger District, 
Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota. The second area is a 
disjunct section of NFS lands (1,278 acres) in the vicinity of Inyan 
Kara Mountain, Wyoming. The Inyan Kara withdrawal area is located about 
12 miles south of Sundance, WY on the Bearlodge Ranger District, Black 
Hills National Forest, Wyoming.

Possible Alternatives

    In addition to the proposed action, the Forest Service also 
evaluated two alternatives:
    No Action Alternative--This alternative is required as a comparison 
to the action alternatives. Under the No Action alternative, the 
existing withdrawal at Jewel Cave would remain in effect. No additional 
area would be withdrawn. No withdrawal would take place at Inyan Kara. 
Mining activities could occur at either site.
    Alternative 3--Under this alternative, only about 1,064 acres would 
be withdrawn near Jewel Cave. This alternative addresses public 
concerns that the withdrawal area under the Proposed Action is larger 
than necessary to protect the cave resources and would adversely affect 
mining opportunities. Fewer acres would be withdrawn allowing greater 
potential for mineral development. Under Alternative 3 the Inyan Kara 
withdrawal area would remain the same as the Proposed Action. All of 
Inyan Kara is considered sacred by Native Americans. Reducing the 
acreage of the proposed withdrawal would not meet the purpose of 
protecting cultural, historic, and prehistoric resources at the site.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this action. The 
USDI Bureau of Land Management and USDI National Park Service are 
cooperating agencies.

Responsible Official

    The Forest Service official who will make the recommendation to the 
BLM on this withdrawal proposal is the Rocky Mountain Regional 
Forester. The Responsible Officials for any USDI-BLM decision to 
withdraw lands from mineral entry are as follows. For the Jewel Cave 
withdrawal, the responsible Official is the Montana State Director, 
USDI Bureau of Land Management, Billings, MT. For the Inyan Kara 
withdrawal, the responsible Official is the Wyoming State Director, 
USDI Bureau of Land Management, Cheyenne, WY.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The USDI Bureau of Land Management is a cooperating agency and is 
responsible for the final decision regarding this mineral withdrawal. 
Mineral withdrawals fall under the administrative responsibilities of 
the USDI Bureau of Land Management (43 CFR 2310.1). Section 104 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 gives the Secretary of 
the Interior general authority to make, modify, extend, or revoke most 
withdrawals on public or reserved Federal lands. The Forest Service 
must apply to the Secretary of the Interior for withdrawal actions on 
National Forest System lands (FSM 2761.01). The Forest Service 
initiates an application with the BLM for a mineral withdrawal. The BLM 
publishes notice of an application and withdrawal proposal in the 
Federal Register. The Forest Service then completes an environmental 
assessment (EA) and supporting specialist reports to meet the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (1969).
    This EA is not a decision document. Based upon the effects of the 
alternatives, the Recommending FS official will recommend to the BLM an 
alternative to limit disturbance to protect the cave and archeological 
resources and provide supporting rationale. The Director of the BLM 
makes the final decision on the proposed withdrawal and publishes 
notice of the decision in the Federal Register. Thus, the Forest 
Service recommendation is not appealable (36 CFR 215.12(h)). The 
Recommending Forest Service official in this case will

[[Page 14637]]

be the Rocky Mountain Regional Forester (FSM 2761.04).
    The BLM Responsible Officials will decide (1) if mineral 
withdrawals are necessary to protect the significant resources located 
at Jewel Cave and at Inyan Kara, and (2) if so, what the appropriate 
size of those withdrawals should be.

Scoping Process

    The proposal was listed in the Schedule of Proposed Actions on 
October 2004. The proposal was provided to the public and other 
agencies for comment during scoping November 3 through December 5, 
2004. In addition, as part of the public involvement process, the 
agency provided maps and information on the Black Hills National Forest 
Web site (http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills).

Preliminary Issues

    The Forest Service identified one topic raised during scoping. This 
issue is: The size of the withdrawals is too large and will have 
adverse effects on mining opportunities.

    Dated: March 17, 2005.
Dorothy FireCloud,
Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 05-5704 Filed 3-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P