[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27490-27491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10408]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 93 / Tuesday, May 13, 2008 /
Notices
[[Page 27490]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Idaho Panhandle/Kootenai/Lolo National Forests; Lincoln and
Sanders Counties, MT; Boundary and Bonner Counties, ID; and Pend
Oreille County, WA; Forest Plan Amendments for Motorized Access
Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery
Zones
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact
statement to amend land and resource management plans for the Idaho
Panhandle, Kootenai and Lolo National Forests.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare a Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (SETS) for Motorized Access Management within the
Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones to present
additional information on grizzly bear mortality and population trends
and account for uncertainty in relevant grizzly bear research. The SEIS
will include a detailed analysis of Alternative D Modified and
Alternative E that reflect the current condition of habitat security
for grizzly bears. The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was
published in the Federal Register (66 FR 57717) on November 16, 2001
and notice of the Final EIS (67 FR 11692) was published on March 15,
2002. On March 24, 2004, the Record of Decision (ROD) was signed that
amended the Forest Plans for the Kootenai, Lolo and Idaho Panhandle
National Forests. The ROD amended the objectives, standards, and
guidelines that address grizzly bear management within the Selkirk and
Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones.
Alternative E was selected for implementation, with the
incorporation of terms and conditions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's (USFWS) Biological Opinion.
On December 13, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled
against the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
in a lawsuit brought by the Cabinet Resource Group, Great Bear
Foundation, Idaho Conservation League, Natural Resources Defense
Council, and Selkirk Conservation Alliance. Judge Molloy ordered that
the 2002 Final Environmental Impact Statement and 2004 Record of
Decision be set aside as contrary to law and that the matter be
remanded to the Forest Service for preparation of a new environmental
analysis that complies with 40 CFR 1502.22 (a) and (b). As a result of
an action considered no longer valid, on May 17, 2007, the USFWS
withdrew its Biological Opinion for the Forest Service's proposed
action.
DATES: Scoping is not required for supplements to environmental impact
statements (40 CFR 1 502.9(c)(4)). There was extensive public
involvement in the development of the proposed action, the 2001 Draft
ETS and the 2002 Final EIS, and the Forest Service is not inviting
comments at this time. The agency expects to file a Draft SETS with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and make it available for public,
agency and tribal government comment in July 2008. A Final SETS is
expected to be filed in April 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Paul Bradford, Forest Supervisor,
Kootenai National Forest, 31374 U.S. Hwy 2 West, Libby, MT 59923-3022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirsten Kaiser, Grizzly Bear Access
Amendment Interdisciplinary Team Leader (406) 283-7659.
Responsible Officials: Ranotta McNair, Idaho Panhandle National
Forests-Forest Supervisor; Paul Bradford, Kootenai National Forest-
Forest Supervisor; and Deborah Austin, Lob National Forest-Forest
Supervisor.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service will supplement the Final
EIS for Motorized Access Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak
Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones to respond to the December 2006 court
order. The SEIS will incorporate best and current scientific
information available on grizzly bear mortality and population trends
and account for the Wakkinen study's authors' uncertainty for bears'
studied habitat. The SEIS will include a detailed analysis of
Alternative D Modified and Alternative E that reflect the current
condition of habitat security for grizzly bears. The analysis will
result in a new decision that amends the Forest Plans of the Kootenai,
Lolo and Idaho Panhandle National Forests; and the values that address
grizzly bear management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Recovery
Zones.
The SEIS and the supporting environmental documents will be
programmatic and will examine the effects of setting predetermined
levels of human (motorized) access within grizzly bear recovery zones.
Site-specific decisions on individual roads or trails will be addressed
in project-level planning.
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose and need for action is to amend the three Forest Plans
to include a set of motorized access and security guidelines that meet
the agency's responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act to
conserve and contribute to recovery of grizzly bears.
More specifically, there were needs to comply with: (1) The 1994
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) Task Force Report; (2) the
1995 Amended Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statements on the
Kootenai and Lob National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans;
(3) the 1995 decision by the Chief of the Forest Service on the Appeal
of the Kootenai Forest Plan; and (4) the Stipulations of a 2001
Settlement Agreement in a Lawsuit Challenging Implementation of the
Interim Rule Set developed by the Selkirk/Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear
Subcommittee of the IGBC.
The Forest Supervisors are proposing to amend their respective
Forest Plans regarding Forest Plan standards and monitoring
requirements that respond to the recommendations of the Interim Access
Management Strategy and Interim Access Management Rule Set developed by
the Selkirk/Cabinet-Yaak Subcommittee of the IGBC. The decision to be
made is whether to adopt the preferred alternative as designed and
identified as Alterative E in the 2004 Record of Decision (ROD), or
with different requirements, or to select another alternative.
This amendment would result in a new appendix to the Idaho
Panhandle and Lolo National Forest Land and
[[Page 27491]]
Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans). It would result in an
addendum to the Kootenai National Forest, Forest Plan, Appendix 8.
Copies of the environmental documents and 2004 ROD are available on
the Kootenai National Forest internet Web site at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rl/kootenai/projects/planning/documents/forest_plan/amendments/index.shtml. Documents may also be requested by contacting
Kirsten Kaiser, Team Leader, at 406-283-7659.
Preliminary Issues and Alternatives
Issues raised during the comment period on the DEIS centered around
three main topics: (1) grizzly bear and best available science,
specifically the science that was used in the environmental analysis
and by the IGBC including the biological defensibility of the 55
percent Core, 33 percent OMRD and 26 percent TMRD standards; (2)
reductions in motorized public access; and (3) impacts to employment
and income.
Early Notice of Environmental Review
The Forest Supervisors are giving notice that the Idaho Panhandle,
Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests are supplementing an existing
environmental analysis for this proposed action so that interested or
affected people can participate in the analysis and contribute to the
final decision. The Forest Service is seeking comments from
individuals, organizations, tribal governments, and Federal, State, and
local agencies that are interested or may be affected by the proposed
action. The draft SETS is intended to provide additional evaluation of
current information on grizzly bears, and provide that information to
the public. The public is invited to help identify issues and concerns
related to the preferred alternative and the supplemental analysis
documented in the draft SEIS.
Estimated Dates for Filing
The draft SEIS is expected to be filed with the EPA and to be
available for public review in July 2008. The comment period on the
draft SEIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the Notice
of Availability in the Federal Register. The draft SEIS will be
distributed to all parties that received the 2002 FEIS and Record of
Decision as well as to those who expressed interest.
The final SEIS is scheduled to be completed by April 2009. In the
final SEIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments
received during the comment period that pertain to the environmental
consequences discussed in the draft SEIS and applicable laws,
regulations, and policies considered in making a decision regarding the
proposal.
The Reviewer's Obligation To Comment
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice at this early stage 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 [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 90-day comment period
so that 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 preferred alternative and the supplemental
analysis, comments on the draft SEIS should be as specific as possible.
It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or sections of
the draft SEIS. 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.
Dated: May 1, 2008.
Paul Bradford,
Kootenai National Forest Supervisor
[FR Doc. E8-10408 Filed 5-12-08; 8:45 am]
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