[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 78 (Friday, April 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22670-22671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9743]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon Ranger District, South 
Dakota, Vestal Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement on a proposal to use multiple vegetation treatments focused 
on reducing the threat to ecosystem components including forest 
resources from an existing insect epidemic (mountain pine beetle), 
creating a landscape condition that reduces the potential for high 
severity wildfire adjacent to the at-risk community of Custer, SD. The 
proposal is being planned for the 43,516 acre Vestal Project that 
includes about 25,726 acres of National Forest System land and about 
17,790 acres of interspersed private land. The project area is located 
surrounding the city of Custer, SD. This project will be conducted as 
an authorized project under Section 102 of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). Actions proposed for the Vestal Project 
would occur on National Forest System lands only.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis would be most 
useful if received by 30 days following the date of this notice. The 
draft environmental impact statement is expected to be available for 
public review by November 2011 and the final environmental impact 
statement is expected to be completed by March 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Lynn D. Kolund, District Ranger, 
Black Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon Ranger District, 330 Mount 
Rushmore Road, Custer, South Dakota 57730. Telephone Number: (605) 673-
4853. E-mail: [email protected]. Electronic comments must be readable in Word, Rich 
Text or PDF formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have any questions or need 
additional information, please contact Kelly Honors, Team Leader or 
Lynn D. Kolund, District Ranger, at the Hell Canyon Ranger District 
office in Custer, SD at (605) 673-4853.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The actions proposed are in direct response 
to management direction provided by the Black Hills National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The site specific 
actions are designed, based on Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines, to 
move existing resource conditions in the Vestal Project toward meeting 
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives. The project area is located 
surrounding the at-risk community of Custer, SD.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The primary purpose for action in the Vestal project is to reduce 
the threat to forest resources from the existing mountain pine beetle 
(MPB) epidemic. This action is needed because there is a rapidly 
increasing MPB outbreak occurring within the project area which is 
resulting in substantial levels of pine mortality. Existing stand 
conditions across the project area are largely at medium to high risk 
for MPB caused mortality.
    A secondary purpose of this project is to protect local communities 
and watersheds from large-scale wildfire. This action is needed because 
the project area is located within and surrounding the town of Custer, 
SD and overall fire hazard in the area is high due to dense stand 
conditions and dead, dry fuels resulting from MPB caused mortality. 
Approximately 40 percent of lands in the project area are privately 
owned, with an estimated 3,194 private structures.

Proposed Action

     Thin and harvest approximately 19,779 acres of pine stands 
using a variety of methods to treat mountain pine beetle (MPB) infested 
stands, reduce the overall density of pine trees and create a mosaic of 
structural stages across the landscape. Both commercial harvest and 
non-commercial thinning will be used to reduce the stand density, and 
associated fuel hazard conditions and susceptibility to mountain pine 
beetle infestations.
     Reduce the amount of fuels that currently exist and that 
are modified by mountain pine beetle caused mortality by creation of 
fuelbreaks on 180 acres and deadfall treatment on 24,110 acres. 
Deadfall treatments could include lopping, chipping, crushing, piling 
and burning, and mastication of fuels. Prescribed broadcast burning on 
approximately 1,761 acres is also planned to disrupt the continuity of 
surface and canopy fuels. The deadfall treatment and prescribed burning 
would occur on sites also proposed for other mechanical treatments.
     Remove conifers from hardwood stands and meadows on 
approximately 1,889 acres and convert pine stands to aspen on 126 acres 
to provide additional wildfire protection by enhancing natural fuel 
breaks.
     Removal of live pine trees which have mountain pine beetle 
larva in them across the entire project area and as a stand alone 
treatment on approximately 3,655 acres. This is a suppression method 
for mountain pine beetle infestations.
     Conversion of 0.6 miles of unauthorized road to system 
road to facilitate treatments, and closure of approximately 0.9 miles 
of system road to protect resources.

Responsible Official

    Lynn D. Kolund, District Ranger, Hell Canyon Ranger District, Black 
Hills National Forest, 330 Mount Rushmore Road, Custer, South Dakota 
57730.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether or not to implement the proposed 
action or possible alternative at this time.

Scoping Process

    The Hell Canyon Ranger District has mailed letters with 
comprehensive scoping documents to local and tribal government 
representatives, permittees, organizations and others. A public notice 
will also be published in local newspapers. The scoping document with 
attached maps will also be posted on the Black Hills National Forest 
Web site. A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, 2011 
from 5-7 p.m. at the Custer High School, Custer, South Dakota. Scoping 
comments submitted based on this NOI will be most useful if received 
within 30 days from the date of this notice.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent is part of the scoping process which will 
guide the development of the EIS. Comments received will assist the 
planning team to identify key issues and opportunities used to refine 
the proposal or develop possible alternatives. Comments on the DEIS 
will be requested during the 45 day comment period following 
publication of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register, 
expected in November, 2011.

[[Page 22671]]

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    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 
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.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21.

    Dated: April 18, 2011.
Dennis Jaeger,
Deputy Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011-9743 Filed 4-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P