[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54786-54788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22150]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (Draft EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts of 
authorizing Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture (LMJV) to access 287.5 acres 
of private property surrounded by National Forest System land. The 
Forest Service must provide adequate access for the reasonable use and 
enjoyment of private land. LMJV intends to construct a resort and other 
facilities known as the Village at Wolf Creek on their property, which 
lies entirely within the Wolf Creek Ski Area. An alternative that 
evaluates combining the access for both the Village at Wolf Creek and 
the Wolf Creek Ski Area into a single grade-separated interchange will 
be analyzed.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by October 31, 2008. The draft EIS is expected May 2009; the final EIS 
is expected December 2009.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Wolf Creek Access EIS, C/O Content 
Analysis Group, 1584 South 500 West, Suite 202, Woods Cross, UT, 84010, 
or [email protected]. Fax: 801-397-5628. Electronic 
copies of the scoping packet will be available on the World Wide Web at 
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/riogrande/projects/forcomment/index.shtml.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Bryan, Wolf Creek Access Project 
Leader, 401 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla, MO 65401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: LMJV acquired 300 acres surrounded by 
National Forest System lands within the Wolf Creek Ski Area (Ski Area) 
boundary in a land-for-land exchange with the Forest Service in 1987. 
Subsequently, LMJV transferred 12.5 acres of that parcel to the Wolf 
Creek Ski Corporation for the development of new ski lifts and ski 
trails. Mineral County Board of County Commissioners, the regulatory 
authority on private property development, approved LMJV's Final 
Planned Use Development (PUD) for a year-round resort village, known as 
the Village at Wolf Creek, on the remaining 287.5 acres in 2004. A 
lawsuit challenging the PUD resulted in the following court order: 
``[We] conclude that [the state statute] requires at a minimum year-
around wheeled vehicle access between State Highway 160 and the 
Village.'' Wolf Creek Ski Corp. v. Board of County Com'rs of Mineral 
County, 170 P.3d 821, 830 (Colo.App. 2007). The result of the state 
court litigation was to void the county approval of LMJV's PUD. While 
no PUD is currently in effect, the Forest Service takes note that the 
state court litigation upheld the PUD on all issues other than access.
    In March 2006, Forest Supervisor Peter Clark (retired), of the Rio 
Grande National Forest (RGNF) signed a Record of Decision (ROD) and 
issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the 
Application for the

[[Page 54787]]

Transportation and Utilities Systems and Facilities for the Village at 
Wolf Creek. A lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Forest Service, 
challenging the 2006 ROD and Final EIS. All parties involved reached a 
settlement agreement on February 19, 2008 to resolve the litigation in 
which the Forest Service agreed to withdraw the 2006 ROD and initiate a 
new scoping process and preparation of a new draft and final EIS in 
connection with LMJV's application. In June 2008, LMJV submitted an 
amended Application for Transportation and Utility Systems and 
Facilities on Federal Lands (application). This NOI initiates the new 
EIS preparation.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this action is to provide safe and efficient road 
access compatible with Ski Area operations to the private property 
surrounded by NFS lands. This action is needed to meet the mandate of 
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (Pub. L. 
96-487) to provide access to private land. Section 1323(a) of ANILCA 
provides that the Forest Service must grant access across federal lands 
as the Forest Service deems adequate to secure the owners the 
reasonable use and enjoyment of their land, subject to Forest Service 
rules and regulations. However, the Forest Service does not have 
regulatory authority over the density of development on the private 
land and any parcel of private land surrounded by Forest Service land 
could have a range of reasonable uses. The Forest Service does not 
decide which use of the private property within the range of reasonable 
uses will be allowed. However, the Forest Service must provide access 
over National Forest System lands that are adequate to allow use and 
enjoyment of the private property within that range of reasonable uses.
    A key purpose for the 1987 land exchange decision was to provide 
for private land to be developed for residential and commercial uses in 
a manner that would complement the ski area. Based on the previously 
referenced State of Colorado appellate court ruling, Mineral County 
could not approve subdivision of the Village property for purposes of 
residential and commercial development without ``year-around wheeled 
vehicle'' access. Therefore, the Forest Service concludes that ANILCA 
requires it to grant ``year-around wheeled vehicle access'' so that 
LMJV may use its property for residential and commercial purposes as 
contemplated by the 1987 land exchange. This conclusion does not 
prejudge the density of development that Mineral County may approve.

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action is to authorize the construction and use of a 
safe and efficient road, approximately 1,650 feet in length, across NFS 
land to provide ``year-around wheeled vehicle access'' to LMJV for 
their reasonable use and enjoyment of the proporty. The proposal 
includes authorization of rights-of-way adjacent to the access road for 
the installation of utilities to service the Village property.

Possible Alternatives

    In addition to the Proposed Action and No Action Alternative, where 
the access road and Village at Wolf Creek would not be constructed, one 
alternative being considered would combine the LMJV Village at Wolf 
Creek access and Wolf Creek Ski Area access into one integrated access 
using a single grade-separated interchange access point from U.S. 
Highway 160.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The Forest Service is the lead agency. Cooperating agencies may 
include Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Army Corps of 
Engineers (ACOE), Mineral County, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 
Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Colorado Division of Water Resources, Colorado Department of Health and 
Environmental Resources, and Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Responsible Official

    Dan S. Dallas, Forest Supervisor of the Rio Grande National Forest, 
1803 West Hwy 160, Monte Vista, CO 81144.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Access must be granted to private inholdings in accordance with 
ANILCA, so the decision is not whether to grant access. The decisions 
to be made are: (1) The means, mode, and route of safe and efficient 
access across NFS lands that is adequate for the Applicant to exercise 
the reasonable use and enjoyment of the private property; and (2) 
whether to authorize rights-of-way for utility facilities across NFS 
lands, and if so, the location and specifications of such rights-of-
way.

Open House Scoping Meetings

    The public is invited to attend any of three open house scoping 
meetings to obtain more information and provide written comment about 
the project. Each open house scoping meeting will begin at 5 p.m. and 
end at 7:30 p.m. Dates and locations for the open house scoping 
meetings are:
    October 7--Creede Mining Museum, 503 Forest Service Road 9, Creede, 
CO 81130.
    October 8--Rio Grande County Annex, 965 6th St., Del Norte, CO 
81132.
    October 9--Pagosa Springs Community Building, 451 Hot Springs 
Blvd., Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

Preliminary Issues

    Preliminary issues, which will be refined from this public 
involvement and analysis process, include (1) Compatibility with the 
Wolf Creek Ski Area operations, (2) public safety associated with the 
traffic levels at U.S. Highway 160 intersection, (3) public access to 
Alberta Park Reservoir, and (4) potential impacts to wetlands and fens.

Permits or Licenses Required

    LMJV will need to obtain a Highway Access Permit from Colorado 
Department of Transportation. LMJV may also need to obtain an 
individual 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. To assist the 
Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and concerns on 
the proposed action, comments on the proposed action should be as 
specific as possible. In addition, the Forest Service welcomes comments 
on the alternative of a single grade-separated interchange access point 
from U.S. Highway 160 for both the Wolf Creek Ski Area and Village at 
Wolf Creek.

Importance of Public Participation in This and Subsequent Environmental 
Review

    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such a way that they are useful to the Agency's preparation of 
the EIS. Therefore, comments should be provided prior to the close of 
the comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer's 
concerns and contentions. The submission of timely and specific 
comments can affect a reviewer's ability to participate in subsequent 
administrative review or judicial review.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record 
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be 
accepted and

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considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the respondent 
with standing to participate in subsequent administrative review or 
judicial review.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22, 36 CFR 220.5(b) and Forest 
Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 21.

    Dated: September 11, 2008.
Dan S. Dallas,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E8-22150 Filed 9-22-08; 8:45 am]
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