[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 81 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21994-21995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8482]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Study, Mark Twain National Forest, 
Madison, WA, and Wayne Counties, MO

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental effects of 
proposed activities within the three OHV Study project areas. The three 
OHV Study project areas are located on National Forest System lands 
administered by the Potosi/Fredericktown and Poplar Bluff Ranger 
Districts is southeast Missouri. The legal descriptions of the three 
study areas are as follows:
    Palmer Study Area--This study area would be located on the Potosi 
Unit of the Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District in Washington County, 
approximately 12 miles southwest of Potosi, Missouri. This trail system 
would be managed for a variety of motorized vehicles, including jeeps 
and dune buggies. Trailheads and parking areas would also be 
constructed at some locations.
    Cherokee Pass Study Area--This study area would be located on the 
Fredericktown Unit of the Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District in 
Madison County, approximately seven miles south of Fredericktown, 
Missouri. This trail system would be managed for ATV and equestrian 
use. Other motorized vehicles such as motorcycles, jeeps, and dune 
buggies, would not be allowed. Trailheads and parking areas would also 
be constructed at some locations.
    Blackwell Ridge Study Area--This study area would be located on the 
Poplar Bluff Ranger District in Wayne County, approximately 1\1/2\ mile 
north of Williamsville, Missouri. This trail system would be managed 
for ATV and motorcycles. Other motorized four-wheel drive vehicles, 
jeeps, and dune buggies, would not be allowed. Trailheads and parking 
areas would also be constructed at some locations.
    The primary purpose of this project is to study OHV use and users 
to guide future management options on OHV trail opportunities and use. 
This study will also evaluate equipment impacts to natural resources. 
Social impacts, such as customer satisfaction, demographics of trail 
users, and compatibility between trail users, would also be studied.
    The Mark Twain National Forest needs to determine if designating 
more motorized trails can be done in a manner that not only provides 
for this recreational use, but also addresses environmental concerns. 
It is hoped that by providing additional designated OHV trails, OHV 
users would avoid undesignated roads and trails and, thereby, the 
overall environmental damage from unauthorized use can be reduced. 
Observations by OHV managers locally and from other states indicate 
that when OHV riders have designated areas to ride, they are more 
likely to stay on designated routes.
    Therefore, the OHV customer, the resource manager, and the 
environment should all benefit from this study. Resource managers would 
be able to direct OHV customers to a designated trail system where 
impacts are confined, minimized, evaluated, monitored, and mitigated. 
With this study, OHV customers would know they are in an area where 
they can legally ride in a setting they enjoy. The Forest Service can 
promote responsible OHV use, better communicate with this forest user 
group, promote local partnerships for conservation education and OHV 
trail maintenance, and evaluate resource and social impacts.
    The focus of this study is to evaluate OHV use in three separate 
study locations and publish an evaluation of what is learned. The 
results of this study would be used to guide future management 
decisions on OHV trail management here and elsewhere in the National 
Forest System. At the end of the study period, unless the study is 
modified or terminated early, a separate decision, following the 
National Environmental Policy Act process, would be made as to whether 
or not to designate all, part, or none of the three areas as permanent 
OHV trails. The data collected from this study and other ongoing 
national studies would be used to corroborate and assist in making that 
decision.

DATES: An original Notice of Intent was published in the Federal 
Register on May 6, 2004. Comments concerning the proposal should have 
been received during the original comment period. The Forest Service 
expects to file a Draft EIS with the Environmental Protection Agency 
and make it available for public comment by December 2005.

[[Page 21995]]


ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this revision should be received in 
writing within 30 days of this Notice's publication. Send comments to: 
Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District, P.O. Box 188, Potosi, MO 63664. 
Electronic comments must be sent via the Internet to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom McGuire, Project Leader/Integrated 
Resource Analyst, Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District, P.O. Box 188, 
Potosi Missouri 63664, phone (573) 438-5427.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Further information about the proposal can 
be found in the original notice of intent originally published in the 
Federal Register, Vol. 69, No. 88, pp.25365-25367, on May 6, 2004. The 
scope of the project has not changed; therefore, this revised notice of 
intent does not initiate a new scoping period for this proposal. The 
notice of intent is being revised because the publication of the Draft 
EIS has been delayed for more than six months. The original release 
date was expected to be September 2004; the new expected release date 
is December 2005, and the Final EIS is expected to be released in March 
2006.

Estimated Dates for Filing

    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency and available for public review in December 2005. A 
45-day comment period will follow publication of a Notice of 
Availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. Comments 
received on the draft EIS will be analyzed and considered in 
preparation of a final EIS, expected in March 2006. A Record of 
Decision (ROD) will also be issued at that time along with the 
publication of a Notice of Availability of the final EIS and ROD in the 
Federal Register.

Reviewers Obligation To Comment

    The Forest Service believes it is important at this early stage to 
give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
the draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental 
review of the proposal in such a way 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, 513 (1978). Also, 
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft EIS stage 
but that are not raised until after completion of the final EIS 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 of the draft EIS 
in order that substantive comments and objections are available to the 
Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and 
respond to them in the final EIS. To assist the Forest Service in 
identifying and considering issues and concerns on the proposed action, 
comments should be as specific as possible. 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.

Responsible Official

    The responsible official for this environmental impact statement is 
Ronnie Raum, Forest Supervisor, Mark Twain National Forest, 401 
Fairgrounds Rd, Rolla, MO 65401 (573) 364-4621.

    Dated: April 19, 2005.
Michael J. Weber,
District Ranger, Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District, P.O. Box 188, 
Potosi, Missouri 63664.
[FR Doc. 05-8482 Filed 4-27-05; 8:45 am]
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