[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26711-26714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11364]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Plan Revision for Coconino National Forest; Coconino, Gila and 
Yavapai Counties, AZ

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to revise plan.

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SUMMARY: As directed by the National Forest Management Act, the USDA 
Forest Service is preparing the Coconino National Forest's revised land 
management plan (Forest Plan) and will also prepare an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) for this revised Forest Plan. This notice 
briefly describes the nature of the decision to be made, the proposed 
action and need for change,

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and information concerning public participation. It also provides 
estimated dates for filing the EIS and the names and addresses of the 
responsible agency official and the individuals who can provide 
additional information. Finally, this notice briefly describes the 
applicable planning rule and how work done on the plan revision under 
the 2008 planning rule will be used or modified for completing this 
plan revision.
    The revised land management plan will supersede the land management 
plan previously approved by the Regional Forester on August 28, 1987, 
that has had twenty-two subsequent amendments covering a variety of 
topics ranging from community concerns, changes to administrative and 
recreation sites, special use permits, noxious weeds, and additional 
direction for the Mexican spotted owl, the northern goshawk, and old 
growth. This amended 1987 Plan will remain in effect until the revised 
plan takes effect.

DATES: Comments concerning the need for change provided in this notice 
will be most useful in the development of the draft revised plan and 
draft environmental impact statement if received by June 30, 2010. The 
agency expects to release a draft revised plan and draft environmental 
impact statement for formal comment by winter, 2011-2012 and a final 
revised plan and final environmental impact statement by fall, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Plan Revision Team, Coconino 
National Forest, 1824 South Thompson St. Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Comments 
may also be sent via e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yewah Lau, Forest Planner, Coconino 
National Forest, 1824 South Thompson Street, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, 
[email protected], 928-527-3411. Information on this revision is also 
available at the Coconino National Forest revision Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/plan-revision.shtml.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Name and Address of the Responsible Official

    Corbin Newman, Regional Forester, Southwestern Region, 333 Broadway 
SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102.

Nature of the Decision To Be Made

    The Coconino National Forest (Forest) is preparing and EIS to 
revise the current Forest Plan. The EIS process is meant to inform the 
Regional Forester so that he can decide which alternative best meets 
the need to achieve quality land management under the sustainable 
multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs of people 
while protecting forest resources, as required by the National Forest 
Management Act and the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act.
    The revised Forest Plan will describe the strategic intent of 
managing the Coconino National Forest for the next 10 to 15 years and 
will address the need for change described below. The revised Forest 
Plan will provide management direction in the form of goals (desired 
conditions), objectives, suitability determinations, standards, 
guidelines, and a monitoring plan. It may also make new recommendations 
for wilderness, research natural areas, and other Special Areas.
    This decision will not authorize project-level activities on the 
Forest. The designation of routes, trails, and areas for motorized 
vehicle travel are not considered during plan revision but are 
addressed in a separate EIS for public travel management planning on 
the Coconino National Forest. Some issues (e.g., hunting regulations), 
although important, are beyond the authority or control of the Coconino 
National Forest and will not be considered. In addition, some issues, 
such as Wild and Scenic River suitability determinations, may not be 
undertake at this time, but addressed later in future planning efforts.

Need for Change and Proposed Action

    According to the National Forest Management Act, Forest Plans are 
to be revised on a 10 to 15 year cycle. Social and economic conditions 
have changed since the 1987 Plan, and it is necessary to provide new 
management direction that balances current social, economic, and 
ecological demands on forest resources, so that the resources are 
maintained into the future. Public and employee collaboration, along 
with science-based evaluations, helped the plan revision team identify 
what current guidance is working, what new conditions need to be 
addressed, and what ongoing challenges could be better addressed. Three 
primary need for change topics have been identified: (1) Recreation; 
(2) community-forest interaction; and (3) maintenance and improvement 
of ecosystem health. The need for change is more fully described in the 
Analysis of the Management Situation (AMS) report, which is available 
on the Forest's Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/projects/plan-revision/index.shtml.
    The proposed action is to revise the current Forest Plan to address 
these three topics--Recreation: Recreational use of the Forest has 
changed significantly since the current Forest Plan was developed. Some 
related concerns include increased use of developed recreation areas; 
changing populations; increased conflicts in values, culture and 
expectations; new types of recreation; increased recognition of tribal 
cultural uses and values; public safety; and pressures on riparian and 
wilderness areas.
    Therefore, the revised Forest Plan should:
     Update desired conditions and other plan components for 
recreation and scenery management where guidance is partial or absent 
in the current Forest Plan.
     Update plan components for existing Special Areas.
     Where appropriate, incorporate the intent of Special Area 
proposals received by the Forest into revised Plan desired conditions. 
After incorporation, the Forest Leadership Team will reconsider the 
remaining Special Area proposals for possible recommendation as Special 
Areas. Previously proposed Research Natural Areas and potential 
wilderness areas will be considered later in the revision process.
    Community-Forest Interaction: Relationships with the community have 
changed significantly since the current Forest Plan was developed. Some 
related concerns include a shift from a commodity-based to service-
based economy, the influence of forest management activities on the 
local economy, population growth and loss of access or open space, and 
increased demand for community infrastructure.
    Therefore, the revised Forest Plan should:
     Update Plan language to acknowledge open space values.
     Update Plan language to acknowledge potential future 
community expansion desires.
     Update guidance on energy and mineral development.
     Provide guidance related to forest products and 
consideration of culturally important forest products.
     Clarify regulatory authorities relating to air quality and 
include approaches for addressing smoke emissions.
     Review and update Plan guidance on communication sites.

[[Page 26713]]

    Maintenance and Improvement of Ecosystem Health: Since the 
development of the current Forest Plan, there is new knowledge of the 
forest ecosystems, and the emphasis of forest management has shifted 
from timber outputs to the maintenance and improvement of ecosystem 
health. Ecosystem health related concerns include forest resilience, 
changed frequency and severity of natural disturbances in fire-adapted 
ecosystems, the decline of aspen, the loss of understory species, lack 
of current plan direction for rarer ecosystems (such as tundra, spruce-
fir, and riparian), susceptibility to catastrophic disturbances (fire, 
drought, insects and disease), climate change, invasive species, and 
habitat connectivity.
    Therefore, the revised Forest Plan should:
     Update desired conditions and objectives for soil 
resources.
     Integrate and update management direction for riparian, 
aquatic, and water resources.
     Incorporate desired conditions that reflect the 
composition, structure, and natural disturbance attributes appropriate 
for the different ecosystems, and integrate desired conditions across 
different resource areas.
     Address non-native invasive animals (including 
invertebrates) and grasses.
     Ensure plan components address concerns of Forest analysis 
species and their habitat.
     Acknowledge the importance of habitat connectivity.
     Consider strategies to address effects of climate change.
    Though the needs for change identified in the AMS report are the 
primary drivers of plan revision, they do not represent a comprehensive 
list of needed changes. Review of the current Forest Plan identified 
other needed updates. Direction in the existing plan that is still 
current and timely will be carried forward into the revised plan, but 
other direction may be modified or removed for the following reasons:
     Administrative functions, such as budgeting, are described 
rather than the desired conditions of land and resources;
     Duplications or conflicts exist with direction found in 
existing laws, regulations or policy; or
     The plan is based on outdated information, such as 
policies, schedules of activities, or science.

Public Involvement

    Public involvement and collaboration has already occurred. The 
Coconino National Forest plan revision team provided multiple ways for 
the public, other agencies, and tribes to contribute ideas about how 
the current Forest Plan needs to change or improve including topics not 
addressed in the plan. Public involvement began in earnest in mid-2006. 
Formal and informal meetings, information in the Coconino National 
Forest Annual Stakeholders Report, letters, e-mails, phone calls, radio 
announcements, and postings to the Coconino National Forest webpage 
were used to share and gather information and encourage participation. 
Plan revision team members also gave presentations, went to the field, 
and met with individuals and groups. Four topic-based workgroups were 
also formed to focus on Special Areas, socio-economic diversity, 
ecological diversity, and species diversity. Information collected from 
the public was used to identify needs for change in the current Forest 
Plan. Topics brought forward by the public and other agencies were 
summarized in the Analysis of the Management Situation report and 
presented to the Forest leadership team. These topics included: species 
diversity, special management areas, livestock grazing, recreation, 
roads and trails, fuel reduction, forest products and industry, water 
and riparian areas, open space, land sale exchange, and places of 
interest.
    The Forest will continue regular and meaningful consultation and 
collaboration with tribal nations on a government-to-government basis 
to address issues that significantly or uniquely affect their 
communities.
    The Forest desires to continue collaborative efforts with members 
of the public who are interested in forest management, as well as 
Federal and State agencies, local governments, and private 
organizations. Focused public meetings to gather input on desired 
conditions for specific forest resources are anticipated to be held in 
the summer/fall of 2010. In addition, a larger public information 
meeting will be planned to provide general information and collect 
public comments when the draft plan is near completion. The dates, 
times, and locations of these meetings will be posted on the Forest's 
Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/plan-revision.shtml. The 
information gathered at these meetings, as well as other feedback will 
be used to prepare the draft revised Forest Plan and draft EIS.
    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 revised plan and the EIS. Therefore, comments on the proposed 
action and need for change will be most valuable if received by June 
30, 2010, and should clearly articulate the reviewers' concerns. The 
submission of timely and specific comments can affect a reviewer's 
ability to participate in subsequent administrative or judicial review. 
At this time, we anticipate using the 2000 planning rule pre-decisional 
objection process (36 CFR 219.32) for administrative review.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including the 
names and addresses of those who comment will be part of the public 
record. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered.

Applicable Planning Rule

    Preparation of the revised plan was underway when the 2008 National 
Forest System land management planning rule was enjoined on June 30, 
2009, by the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
California (Citizens for Better Forestry v. United States Department of 
Agriculture, 632 F. Supp. 2d 968 (N.D. Cal. June 30, 2009)). On 
December 18, 2009, the Department reinstated the previous planning 
rule, commonly known as the 2000 planning rule in the Federal Register 
(Federal Register, Volume 74, No. 242, Friday, December 18, 2009, pages 
67059 thru 67075). The transition provisions of the reinstated rule (36 
CFR 219.35 and appendices A and B) allow use of the provisions of the 
National Forest System land and resource management planning rule in 
effect prior to the effective date of the 2000 Rule (November 9, 2000), 
commonly called the 1982 planning rule, to amend or revise plans. The 
Coconino National Forest has elected to use the provisions of the 1982 
planning rule, including the requirement to prepare an EIS, to complete 
its plan revision.
    Although the 2008 planning rule is no longer in effect, information 
gathered prior to the court's injunction is useful for completing the 
plan revision using the provisions of the 1982 planning rule. The 
Coconino National Forest has concluded that the following material 
developed during the plan revision process to date is appropriate for 
continued use in the revision process. These materials are also 
available on the Forest's Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/projects/plan-revision/index.shtml.
     The Economic and Social Sustainability Report that was 
completed in March 2008 is not affected by the change in planning rule 
and will continue to be used as a reference in the planning process. 
Any new available information since this report was

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completed will also be considered in the plan revision process.
     The inventory and evaluation of potential wilderness areas 
that were previously underway, are consistent with appropriate 
provisions of the 1982 planning rule, and will be brought forward into 
this plan revision process.
     The Ecological Sustainability Report that was completed in 
September 2009 was near completion at the time of the 2008 rule 
injunction. It was amended to be in conformance with the 2000 planning 
rule transition language and 1982 planning rule provisions. It will 
continue to be used as a reference in the planning process as 
appropriate. This is scientific information and is not affected by the 
change of planning rule. Any new available information since this 
report was completed will also be considered in the plan revision 
process.
     Additional background reports, assessments, and 
information generated for the Coconino plan revision effort may be 
useful; some of which are available on the above listed Coconino plan 
revision documentation Web site.
    As necessary or appropriate, the above listed material will be 
further adjusted as part of the planning process using the provisions 
of the 1982 planning rule.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1600-1614; 36 CFR 219.35 (74 FR 67073-
67074.)

    Dated: May 4, 2010.
M. Earl Stewart,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2010-11364 Filed 5-11-10; 8:45 am]
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