[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23180-23181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9311]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Land Management Planning Adjustment of Previously Initiated Land 
Management Plan Revisions for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests 
and the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, in Colorado and 
Kansas

AGENCY: The Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Cimarron and 
Comanche National Grasslands, USDA Forest Service.

    Authority: 36 CFR 219.14(b)(3).

    Notice: Resumption of planning and adjustment to the National 
Forest System Land Management Planning Rule (2008 Planning Rule) for 
previously-initiated land management plan revisions; the Pike and San 
Isabel National Forests and the Cimarron and Comanche National 
Grasslands.
SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is resuming preparation of the Pike 
and

[[Page 23181]]

San Isabel National Forests land management plan (Forests Plan), and 
the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands land management plan 
(Grasslands Plan) as directed by the National Forest Management Act 
(NFMA). Preparation of these two plans, which will replace the single 
1984 land and resource management plan (as amended) (1984 Plan) for all 
four units, was halted when the 2005 Planning Rule was enjoined. A new 
planning rule (36 CFR 219) was implemented on April 21, 2008, allowing 
the planning processes to be resumed.

DATES: Resumption is effective upon publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barb Masinton, 719-553-1475.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Responsible Official (Forest Supervisor) 
for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Cimarron and 
Comanche National Grasslands will resume the previously-initiated land 
management plan (plan) revisions under the requirements of the 2008 
Planning Rule. The plan revisions will be conducted in accordance with 
all Forest Service directives applicable to the 2008 Planning Rule.
    All four units (the Pike and the San Isabel National Forests, and 
the Cimarron and the Comanche National Grasslands) fall under the 1984 
Plan. As part of the revision process, the Responsible Official is 
preparing two separate plans. The revision of the 1984 Plan was 
initiated iii 1999 under the 1982 Planning Rule, a process that was 
transitioned to the 2005 Planning Rule on May 26, 2005 (Federal 
Register Notice Vol. 70(101), p. 30411). The first of the two plans to 
be released is the Grasslands Plan. Several public meetings were 
conducted to provide opportunities for interested parties to 
collaborate on the development of the Grasslands Plan. A proposed 
(draft) plan was available for a 90-day public comment period from 
December 28, 2005 through April 3, 2006, and a pre decisional version 
was available in March 2007. An objection period was underway when the 
2005 Planning Rule was enjoined. The planning process for the second of 
the two plans, the Forests Plan, was also underway when the 2005 
Planning Rule was enjoined; a proposed plan was not yet available for 
public review.
    On March 30, 2007, the federal district court for the Northern 
District of California enjoined the Forest Service from implementing 
and using the 2005 Planning Rule until the agency provided notice of 
the rulemaking and a comment period and conducted an assessment of the 
rule's effects on the environment and completed consultation under the 
Endangered Species Act. Plan revisions of both the Forests Plan and the 
Grasslands Plan were suspended in response to the injunction. On April 
21, 2008, the Forest Service adopted a new planning rule-the 2008 
Planning Rule (36 CFR 219 (2008)). The 2008 Planning Rule explicitly 
allows the resumption of plan revisions that followed the requirements 
of the 2005 Planning Rule (36 CFR part 219 (2005)) based on a finding 
that the revision process conforms to the 2008 Planning Rule (36 CFR 
219. 14(b)(3)(ii)).
    Based on the discussions above, I find that the planning actions 
taken before April 21, 2008 conform to the planning requirements of the 
2008 Planning Rule and the plan revision processes undertaken to date 
for each plan may resume.
    The public will continue to be invited to collaborate during the 
resumed development of each revised plan. For information about the 
revision of these plans, documents associated with both revision 
efforts, including schedules, see: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/projects/forest_revisionlindex.shtml

    Dated: April 23, 2008.
Robert J. Leaverton,
Forest Supervisor.
 [FR Doc. E8-9311 Filed 4-28-08; 8:45 am]
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