[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12162-12164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2202]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Renewal of Special-Use Permits for Recreational Residences on the 
Safford Ranger District, Coronado National Forest, Graham County, AZ

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the President's Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Coronado National Forest, announces its 
intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate a 
proposed action to renew individual special-use permits (SUPs) for 
occupancy and use of 88 existing recreational residences on the Safford 
Ranger District. If a decision is made to renew, term permits would be 
issued for a 20-year period beginning on January 1, 2009. No change in 
the use of the residences would occur upon issuance of a new permit.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by April 10, 2006. Written and oral scoping comments will also be 
received at open-house public meetings scheduled to be held in Tucson, 
Arizona, on March 27, 2006, and Safford, Arizona, on March 28, 2006.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) in the fall of 2006. At that time, EPA will 
publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the Federal 
Register, which will begin a period of public review of the Draft EIS. 
The review period will comprise 45 days from the date of publication of 
the NOA in the Federal Register. The Final EIS is scheduled to be 
completed in the winter of 2006/2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this notice may be mailed to the Bill 
Lewis, Recreation and Special-Uses Program Manager, Coronado National 
Forest, 300 West Congress Street, Tucson, Arizona 85701. You may also 
submit written comments by facsimile to Mr. Lewis at (520) 388-8305. 
Comments may be submitted by electronic mail to [email protected]. Envelopes and the subject line of electronic mail 
messages or faxes should be labeled ``Safford Recreational Residence 
EIS.''
    Public meetings will be held during the scoping period at the 
following locations, dates, and times: Tucson-Pima County Main Library, 
Basement Meeting Room, 101 North Stone Avenue, Tucson, Arizona, March 
27, 2006 (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.), The Manor House, Arizona Room, 415 East 
U.S. Highway 70, Safford, Arizona, March 28, 2006 (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Special-Uses 
Program, please contact Mr. Bill Lewis, Recreation and Special-Uses 
Program Manager, Coronado National Forest, at the above address, and 
telephone (520) 388-8422. Questions on the Forest Service NEPA process 
or FOIA requirements may be directed to Ms. Andrea Wargo Campbell, 
Forest NEPA Coordinator, at the same address, and telephone (520) 388-
8352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The U.S. Forest Service has offered a recreational residence 
program on National Forest System lands since the 1920's. The program 
was initiated with the objective of encouraging city-dwellers to enjoy 
the recently established national forests by permitting them to 
construct vacation homes on specified plots. It expanded through the 
1960's to encompass a total of 19,000 cabins nationwide before the 
program was discontinued.
    There are now about 15,000 Forest Service cabins nationwide, each 
of which is maintained under the terms and conditions of SUPs issued by 
the managing Forest. Though some cabins have been traded on the open 
market, many are still owned by the descendants of the individuals who 
built them.
    Eighty-eight (88) recreational residences are located on the 
Safford Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest near Safford, 
Arizona: 14 at an area known as Columbine and 74 at Turkey Flat. The 
owners of these recreational residences hold Forest Service SUPs that 
allow each unit to be occupied under specific terms and conditions. 
Restrictions imposed on the use of recreational residences on National 
Forest System lands include, among other conditions, a prohibition on 
year-round residency and vacation rental, and constraints on proposed 
remodeling that would change the footprint or character of a residence.
    Special-use permits issued for recreational residences on the 
Safford Ranger District are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2008. 
Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 2709.11, Chapter 41.23a(2), requires that 
special-uses program staff ``initiate the analysis and action to issue 
a new permit 2 years prior to expiration of the current term permit''. 
The Handbook further states that, because ``recreation residences have 
been in place for many years, and experience in administering this use 
has shown that continuing the use does not cause significant 
environmental impacts, issuance of a new permit can be made without 
further environmental documentation'' [2709.11, Chapter 41.23a(1)]. 
However, ``if the use has not been analyzed sufficiently as part of an 
EA or EIS completed within 5 years of permit expiration, (the program 
must) complete the appropriate environmental analysis and 
documentation'' [2709.11, Chapter 41.23a(1)(b)]. Because NEPA 
documentation for the SUPs issued for recreational residences on the 
Safford District was completed more than five years prior to the 
upcoming permit expiration, the Forest Service has decided to prepare 
an EIS for the proposed permit renewal action.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Service's proposed action is to renew SUPs issued for 
recreational residences on the Safford Ranger District upon their 
expiration on December 31, 2008. The renewal period would extend 20 
years, from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2028. Permit holders 
would be required to abide by all terms and conditions expressed in 
their respective SUPs and in accordance with the annual Operation and 
Maintenance (O&M) Plan conveyed with each SUP. (Examples of an SUP and 
O&M Plan are available for public review on the Coronado National 
Forest Web site at ``http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado''.) Prior to the 
renewal of an SUP, each recreational

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residence will be subject to inspection by Forest Service personnel to 
confirm that the permit holder is in compliance with the terms and 
conditions of his/her current permit [FSH 2709.11, 41.23a(3)].

Purpose of and Need for Action

    The purpose of and need for Forest Service action is based upon the 
anticipated expiration of the SUPs for recreational residences on the 
Safford Ranger District. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, the Forest Service is directed to consider special 
uses of National Forest System lands requested by the public, and to 
permit such uses when (1) they are allowable under the FLMPA and (2) 
they are implemented in accordance with goals, objectives, standards, 
and guidelines expressed in a Forest's Land and Resource Management 
Plan (LRMP). Action is needed at this time because the permits on the 
Safford Ranger District are scheduled to expire. It is Forest Service 
policy to continue recreation residence use and to work in partnership 
with holders of these permits to maximize public recreational benefits 
[Forest Service Manual (FSM) 2347.1; LRMP, pp. 9, 41 and 59].

Preliminary Identification of Issues

    Based on a preliminary assessment of the potential impacts of the 
proposed action, the following issues were identified:
    1. Insect infestation and fire have affected the population and 
habitat of the Mt. Graham red squirrel in the area of the Columbine 
recreational residences.
    2. When a wildfire occurs, the appropriate response in the area of 
the recreational residences is suppression, which disrupts the natural 
fire cycle and the ability of the ecosystem to restore itself to 
natural historic fire-adapted conditions.

Responsible Official

    Mr. William A. Schuckert, Safford District Ranger, Coronado 
National Forest, will be the Responsible Official for this EIS process. 
The address for the Safford Ranger District is 711 14th Avenue, Suite 
D, Safford, Arizona 85546.

Nature of NEPA Decision To Be Made

    The Safford District Ranger's decision will recommend 
implementation of one of the following alternatives: (1) The proposed 
action to renew the recreational residence SUPs for a 20-year period, 
(2) an alternative to the proposed action, if any exist, or (3) the no-
action alternative. If the Ranger's decision is that no action should 
be taken, an SUP would be issued to each permit holder for a 10-year 
period, and during this period, each owner would be required to remove 
his/her residences from National Forest System lands at his/her 
expense.

National Forest Management Act Consistency Determination

    A decision to issue new recreational residence permits, following 
expiration of the current permits, requires, in addition to a NEPA 
review, a determination of the consistency of the renewal action with 
the governing Land and Resource Management Plan for the Coronado 
National Forest (1986, as amended). According to policy, when a 
recreational residence use is consistent with the Land and Resource 
Management Plan, the use shall continue (FSM 2721.23e), and a new 
permit shall be issued to the current permit holder [FSM 2721.23e(1)], 
upon request. Consistency determinations are made by tract, not 
individual lots; therefore, on the Safford Ranger District, two 
consistency determinations will be made: one for residences at 
Columbine, the other for those at Turkey Flat.

Comments Requested

    The Forest Service encourages citizens to express issues, concerns, 
and suggestions they may have about this proposed action. Comments 
should be directly related to the proposed action to best assist us in 
our environmental impacts analysis. Although comments are welcome at 
any time, they will be most useful to us if they are received by April 
10, 2006. If you have any questions about this notice or the comment 
process, please contact Bill Lewis, Recreation and Special-Uses Program 
Manager, Coronado National Forest, at (520) 388-8422 prior to 
submitting your comments.
    Written comments may be sent by U.S. mail to Bill Lewis (RE: 
Safford Recreation Residences EIS), Coronado National Forest, 300 West 
Congress Street, Tucson, Arizona 85701 or by facsimile to Mr. Lewis at 
(520) 388-8305. Alternatively, comments may be submitted by electronic 
mail to the following address: ``[email protected]''. Please include ``Safford Recreation Residences 
EIS'' in the subject line of all e-mails.
    Comments and personal information associated with them, such as 
names and addresses, will become part of the administrative project 
record for this NEPA review. As such, they may be made available to a 
third-party upon request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA). If you do not wish your personal information to be subject to 
release under FOIA, you may chose not to include it with your comments. 
Alternatively you may request an exemption from FOIA with your comment 
submittal. Should you choose the latter, you will be informed by the 
Forest Service as to whether or not your request qualifies for an 
exemption. If it does not, you will be afforded the opportunity to 
resubmit your comments without personal information or to withhold 
them.

Early Notice of the Importance of Public Participation in the NEPA 
Process

    Following the 30-day scoping period announced in this notice, the 
Forest Service will prepare a draft environmental impact statement 
(DEIS). Upon completion, the DEIS will be made available for a 45-day 
public review and comment period that will begin on the date that the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes a notice of Availability of 
the DEIS in the Federal Register. The Forest Service believes that, at 
this early stage, it is important to provide the public with notice 
about several court rulings related to public participation in the NEPA 
environmental review process.
    First, reviewers of a DEIS must structure their participation in 
the NEPA review so that it is meaningful and alerts the 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 DEIS stage but are not raised until after 
completion of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) 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. Wisc. 1980)]. Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those parties who are interested in this 
proposed action participate before the close of a public comment period 
so that substantive comments and objections are available to the Forest 
Service in a timely manner that will allow them to be meaningfully 
considered and subsequently addressed in the FEIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns about the proposed action, comments on a DEIS should be as 
specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific 
line numbers, pages, and/or chapters of the DEIS. Comments may address 
the adequacy of the DEIS or the merits of the alternatives formulated 
and

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discussed in it. For comments of this nature, reviewers may choose to 
refer to CEQ regulations at 40 CFR 1503.3.
    Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record of this NEPA 
review and will be available or public inspection (Authority: 40 CFR 
1501.7 and 1508.22; FSF 1909.15, Section 21).
    Authorization: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as amended 
(42 U.S.C. 4321-4346); Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 
CFR parts 1500-1508); U.S. Department of Agriculture NEPA Policies and 
Procedures (7 CFR part 1b).

    Dated: March 1, 2006.
Jeanine A. Derby,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-2202 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M