[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 178 (Friday, September 14, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52539-52540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4373]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest, Northern Hills Ranger District, 
South Dakota, West Rim Project Area

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement on a proposal to implement multiple resource management 
actions within the West Rim Project Area to implement the amended Black 
Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The West Rim 
Project Area covers approximately 43,028 acres of National Forest 
System land and approximately 10,129 acres of interspersed private land 
southwest of Spearfish, South Dakota. a 1/2 mile buffer around all 
parcels of private land is identified as Wildland Urban Interface 
(WUI). Proposed actions include a combination of vegetation and fuels 
treatments to reduce fire hazard, reduce mountain pine beetle 
susceptibility, and improve vegetative diversity. The proposed action 
includes approximately 6,800 acres of commercial thinning, 3,500 acres 
of overstory removal, 13,700 acres of pre-commercial thinning, 2,300 
acres of commercial seed cuts, 470 acres of fuel reduction treatments, 
and up to 13,800 acres of prescribed burning. Approximately 25 miles of 
new road construction would be necessary to carry out the proposed 
vegetation management actions.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by October 15, 2007. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected to be available February 2008 and the final environmental 
impact statement is expected to be completed by July 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Rhonda O'Byrne, District Ranger, 
Northern Hills Ranger District, 2014 North Main Street, Spearfish, SD 
57783. Telephone number: (605) 642-4622. E-mail: [email protected] with ``West Rim Project'' 
as the subject.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Stores, Assistant District 
Planner, Northern Hills Ranger District, 2014 North Main Street, 
Spearfish, SD 57783. Telephone number: (605) 642-4622.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of and Need for Action

    The purpose of and need for the actions proposed in the West Rim 
project area is to reduce fire hazard and the risk of mountain pine 
beetle infestation and to increase vegetative diversity. All actions 
are intended to move toward or achieve related forest Plan Goals and 
Objectives, consistent with forest Plan Standards and Guidelines.

Proposed Action

    Proposed actions include the following:
    Reduce the acres at moderate-to-high fire hazard by thinning stands 
to decrease crown proximity and by reducing fuel accumulations. 
Thinning may use commercial or non-commercial methods. Fuel reduction 
treatments could include lopping, chipping, crushing, piling and 
burning, construction of fuel breaks, and broadcast prescribed burning.
    Reduce acres at high or medium susceptibility to mountain pine 
beetle by thinning stands and changing stand structure. Commercial and 
non-commercial (including prescribed burning) methods may be used.
    Increase vegetative diversity through understory or overstory 
thinning, including commercial and non-commercial timber harvest. 
Remove ponderosa pine from hardwood, meadow, and riparian areas. Manage 
known location of old growth for old growth characteristics.
    Road construction and maintenance activities necessary to access 
areas proposed for timber harvest. New roads would be closed following 
harvest, and existing roads that are not in the National Forest System 
could also be closed in conjunction with this project.
    The Forest Service is the sole responsible agency for this project; 
no cooperators are participating in project planning.

Responsible Official

    Rhonda O'Byrne, District Ranger, Northern Hills Ranger District, 
2014 North Main Street, Spearfish, SD 57783.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether or not to approve the proposed 
action or alternatives at this time. No Forest Plan amendments are 
proposed.

Scoping Process

    Comments and input regarding the proposed action are being 
requested from the public and other interested parties in conjunction 
with this notice of intent. The comment period will be open for thirty 
days, beginning on the date of publication of this notice of intent. An 
open house to gather comments from local individuals and groups will be 
held on September 19, 2007, at the Northern Hills Ranger District 
office in Spearfish, SD. Also, response to the draft EIS will be sought 
from the interested public beginning approximately in February 2008.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. It is our desire 
to involve interested parties and especially adjacent landowners in 
identifying the issues related to proposed activities. Comments will 
assist in identification of key issues and opportunities to develop 
project alternatives and mitigation measures.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement will be 
prepared for comment. The comment period on the draft environmental 
impact statement will be 45 days (beginning approximately February 15, 
2008) 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 
draft environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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

[[Page 52540]]

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 environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. it is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. 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 (40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 
Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, section 21).

    Dated: August 31, 2007.
Craig Bobzien,
Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest.
[FR Doc. 07-4373 Filed 9-13-07; 8:45 am]
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