[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 53 (Monday, March 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13969-13970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2625]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision (ROD) for the 
Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS) for the 
Proposed Addition of Maneuver Training Land at Fort Irwin, California

AGENCY: U.S. National Training Center and Fort Irwin, Department of the 
Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of its 
ROD for the Proposed Addition of Maneuver Training Land at Fort Irwin, 
California. On 20 January 2006, the Army published a notice of 
availability of its SFEIS. The SFEIS reviewed the environmental, 
cultural, and socioeconomic impacts of five action alternatives 
associated with the addition of maneuver training land at Fort Irwin, 
as well as a No Action (status quo) alternative. Based on the SFEIS, 
the Army has demised to implement Alternative I, the East/West 
Alternative. Under this alternative, additional lands totaling 
approximately 150,510 acres would be added to the available training 
lands. The decision includes training in new areas to the east and west 
of the existing Fort Irwin, and in a portion of southern Fort Irwin 
previously off-limits to training. Expansion of the maneuver area of 
the National Training Center (FTC) provides an extended battle space 
(land and air) for training Army brigade-sized units according to the 
Army's training and combat operations. Today's Army can drive faster, 
shoot farther, and operate over wider ranges than the Army of 1981, 
when the FTC opened.

[[Page 13970]]

These advances in technology are the driving factor for this expansion.
    Alternative I was chosen because it best meets the Army's need for 
additional training land. There are impacts to many natural resources 
expected as part of the proposed action. Mitigation has been proposed 
to offset the impacts identified in the SFEIS. Even taking into account 
this mitigation, however, there will still be significant impacts to 
threatened and endangered species, loss of vegetation cover, loss and 
disruption of soil surfaces, and loss of wilderness characteristics to 
adjacent wideness areas.
    The decision also restates the army's continuing commitment to 
environmental stewardship by implementing mitigation and monitoring 
measurers to offset potential reverse environmental impacts associated 
with the preferred alternative, as identified in the SFEIS and the ROD.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Army's ROD may be made to: 
Ms.Jennifer Barry, NTC Land Expansion Program, ATTN: AFZJ-ST, Strategic 
Planning Division, P.O. 105004, Fort Irwin, California, 93210, or by 
calling (760) 380[dash]6174, or by sending an e-mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Ms. Jennifer Barry, or 
Mrs. Nicole Lileikis, AFZJ-SP Strategic Planning Division, P.O. 10309, 
Fort Irwin, CA 92311. Interested parties may also call (760) 380-6174.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The project involves acquisition of 
approximately 127,000 new acres on the east and southwest sides of the 
existing NTC and the return to training use of approximately 23,000 
acres in the south that are currently restricted from military 
training. Implementation of the Preferred Alternative as outlined in 
the SFEIS will occur in a phased approach. Training will occur in the 
Eastgate parcel first, followed by the UTM 90 (the southern edge of 
Fort Irwin), and the last area on which training will begin will be the 
western area.
    The Preferred alternative best meets the purpose and need for 
training at Fort Irwin and is crucial to achieving a trained military 
to provide for the current and future national security of the country.
    The selected alternative has significant impacts, which are 
described in the SFEIS. Among these are impacts to the Desert Tortoise. 
The action also includes mitigation measures that will support 
conservation and management of the tortoise. The SFEIS discusses a 
Biological Opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the 
effects of the proposed action on both the Desert Tortoise and another 
threatened or endangered species, the Lane Mountain Milk Vetch. The 
SFEIS also includes a Supplemental Biological Assessment prepared by 
the Army that addresses the crucial habitat of the Desert Tortoise.
    Copies of the SFEIS ROD can be found at the following libraries for 
public reading: Library of Congress; Riverside Main Library; San Diego 
County Library; San Bernardino County Libraries at the following 
locations--Hesperia, San Bernardino, Apple Valley, Trona, Barstow, Big 
Bear, Lucerne Valley, Victorville, Wrightwood, and Yucca Valley.
    The Record of Decision is also posted at the land Expansion Web 
site http://www.fortirwinlandexpansion.com.

    Dated: March 14, 2006.
Addison D. Davis, IV,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health), OASA(I&E).
[FR Doc. 06-2625 Filed 3-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M