[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45517-45518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6788]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Intermountain Region, Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth National 
Forests; Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Revised Land and Resource Management Plan Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare a supplement to the final 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Southwest Idaho Ecogroup 
Revised Land and Resource Management Plan EIS to present additional 
information concerning terrestrial Management Indicator Species (MIS).

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
45 days after publication of the draft supplement to the Southwest 
Idaho Ecogroup Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (SWIEG FLRMP) 
EIS. The draft supplement to the SWIEG FLRMP EIS is expected December 
2006 and the final supplement is expected March 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Sharon LaBrecque, Planning, GIS and 
Vegetation Staff Officer, Sawtooth National Forest; 2647 Kimberly Road 
East, Twin Falls, Idaho 83301; or via telephone at (208) 737-3200; or 
you may hand-deliver your comments to the Sawtooth Forest Supervisor's 
Officer, located at 2647 Kimberly Road East, Twin Falls, during normal 
business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
Federal holidays. Electronic comments must be submitted in a format 
such as an e-mail message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), 
and Word (.doc) to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon LaBrecque, GIS and Vegetation 
Staff Officer, Sawtooth National Forest at the address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service is proposing to prepare a 
supplement to the final environmental impact statement for the SWIEG 
FLRMP. In accordance with FSH 1909.15--Chapter 10--Section 18, the 2003 
SWIEG FLRMP Final EIS has been reviewed. The Forest Service will 
prepare a supplement to the Final EIS by analyzing and presenting 
additional information concerning terrestrial management Indicator 
Species (MIS) specific to the 1982 regulations at 36 CFR 219.20. The 
scope and analysis of the proposed supplement to the Final EIS will be 
limited to the requirements for MIS analysis in 36 CFR 219.20.
    The original Notice of Intent for revision of the SWIEG FLRMP EIS 
was published in the Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 79, April 24, 1998. 
In July, 2003, a separate Record of Decision (ROD) was issued for each 
of the three SWIEG Forests (Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth) which 
implemented Alternative 7 as described in their respective ROD. All 
three RODs were appealed in 2004. The Appeal Deciding Officer affirmed 
each ROD on March 9, 2005.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The supplement will not change the purpose and need which was 
described in the SWIEG FLRMP Final EIS on pages 1-4 through 1-8. The 
scope of the supplement is only to provide additional analysis 
regarding terrestrial MIS.

Proposed Action

    The supplement will not change the proposed action which was 
described in the SWIEG FLRMP Final EIS on pages 1-1 through 1-3. The 
scope of the supplement is only to provide additional analysis in 
accordance with 36 CFR 219.20 regarding terrestrial MIS.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official is Jack Troyer, Intermountain Regional 
Forester, USDA--Forest Service; 324 25th Street; Ogden, UT 84401.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Responsible Official will review the supplement and determine 
if the 2003 Records of Decision for the Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth 
National Forests, based on the SWIEG FLRMP Final EIS, should be 
modified or if the original decisions are to remain in effect and 
unchanged.

Scoping Process

    Extensive public involvement has occurred on this project over the 
last ten years in the form of news releases, field tours, and public 
meetings. No additional scoping is planned for this supplement.

[[Page 45518]]

Comment Requested

    A legal notice will be published in the newspaper of record and a 
Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal Register to 
inform the public when the supplement to the SWIEG FLRMP EIS is 
availale for review and comment. The draft supplement to the SWIEG 
FLRMP EIS will be distributed to all parties that received the 2003 
SWIEG FLRMP Final EIS and Record of Decision and to those parties that 
filed an appeal of the 2003 decision.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: A draft supplement to the SWIEG FLRMP EIS will be 
prepared for comment. The comment period on the draft supplement to teh 
SWIEG FLRMP EIS will be 45 days from the date the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal 
Register.
    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 
the draft supplement must structure their participation in the 
environmental reivew 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 supplement 
stage but that are not raised until after completion of the final 
supplement 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 
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 supplement to the SWIEG FLRMP EIS. To 
assist the Forest Service it is helpful if comments refer to specific 
pages or chapters of the draft supplement. 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: August 3, 2006.
Sharon LaBrecque,
Planning, GIS and Vegetation Staff Officer, Sawtooth National Forest.
[FR Doc. 06-6788 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am]
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