[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44602-44603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18843]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLIDB00100 LF10000PP.HT0000 LXSS020D0000 4500020817]


Notice of Temporary Closure of Roads and Trails on Public Lands 
Adjacent to Big Willow Creek in Payette County, ID

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Temporary Closure.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Big Willow closure to 
motorized vehicle use is in effect on public lands administered by the 
Four Rivers Field Office, Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

DATES: The closure will be enforced immediately and will remain in 
effect for 2 years following the date this notice is published in the 
Federal Register or until rescinded or modified by the authorized 
officer or designated Federal officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Humphrey, Four Rivers Field 
Manager, at 3948 Development Avenue, Boise, Idaho 83705, via e-mail at 
[email protected], or phone (208) 384-3430. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above 
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours 
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above 
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice affects closure of approximately 
37 miles of roads and trails in an area

[[Page 44603]]

of Payette County, Idaho, located approximately 14 miles northwest of 
Emmett, Idaho. All roads and trails on the following described public 
lands, all of which are contiguous, are closed to motorized vehicle 
use.

Boise Meridian

T. 8 N., R. 2 W.,
    Sec. 5, lot 4;
    Sec. 6, all;
    Sec. 7, lot 1, portions of the NW\1/4\NE\1/4\ and NE\1/4\NW\1/4\ 
north and west of Big Willow Road.
T. 8 N., R. 3 W.,
    Sec. 1, lots 1, 3, 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\;
    Sec. 2, lots 1, 2, 3, 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\;
    Sec. 3, lots 1, 2, 3, 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, SW\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 4, lot 1, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 8, portion of the SE\1/4\SE\1/4\ south and east of Stone 
Quarry Road;
    Sec. 9, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, portion of the SW\1/4\NW\1/4\ 
south and east of Stone Quarry Road, N\1/2\S\1/2\, and portion of 
the SW\1/4\SW\1/4\ north and west of Big Willow Road;
    Sec. 10, W\1/2\NW\1/4\, and portion of the N\1/2\SW\1/4\ north 
of Big Willow Road;
    Sec. 12, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/2\, and SE\1/4\NW\1/4\.
T. 9 N., R. 2 W.,
    Sec. 19, lot 4, and S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 28, S\1/2\SW\1/4\, and portion of the S\1/2\SE\1/4\ south 
and west of Dry Creek Road;
    Sec. 29, S\1/2\;
    Sec. 30, lots 1, 2, 3, 4, W\1/2\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, E\1/
2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 31, lots 2, 3, 4, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, 
SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 32, all;
    Sec. 33, portion of NE\1/4\NE\1/4\ south and west of Dry Creek 
Road, NW\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 34, portion of NW\1/4\NW\1/4\ south and west of Dry Creek 
Road.
T. 9 N., R. 3 W,
    Sec. 25, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, SW\1/4\NW\1/4\, SW\1/4\, N\1/
2\SE\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 26, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 34, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\ and SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 35, all.

    The area described contains approximately 7,134 acres.

    Closure of these routes to motorized vehicle use is necessary 
because habitat for Packard's milkvetch (Astragalus cusickii var. 
packardiae), a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA), is at risk from further damage by motorized vehicles. The 1988 
Cascade Resource Management Plan (RMP) classified off-highway vehicle 
(OHV) use in the area as limited to existing or designated roads and 
trails. At that time, approximately 37 miles of roads and trails 
existed on the area's public lands. The Cascade RMP effectively closed 
all other lands in the area to OHV use. Nonetheless, by 2009, the 
number of road and trail miles in the area had grown to 160 (a 430 
percent increase). The proliferation of unauthorized routes was a 
primary factor in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision in 
November 2010 to identify Packard's milkvetch as a candidate species 
under the ESA. Unauthorized OHV activity is causing direct (e.g. 
destruction of plants) and indirect impacts (e.g. increased sediment 
from adjacent areas and introduction/expansion of noxious and invasive 
weeds into milkvetch habitat) to the species. The FWS has assigned a 
Listing Priority Number 3 rating to the Packard's milkvetch. This 
rating ranks species on a 1 (highest) to 12 (lowest) scale to reflect 
the relative risk of extinction and the impact of the loss of the 
species as a whole. Closure of the 37 miles of roads and trails will 
prevent further establishment of unauthorized OHV roads and trails and 
help prevent further impacts to, and ensure suitable conditions for, 
Packard's milkvetch plants and their associated habitat. When added to 
the existing restrictions on OHV use in the 1988 Cascade RMP, the 
closure will serve to protect the species and its habitat on 7,134 
acres of public lands.
    The BLM will post closure signs at main entry points to the closed 
area and/or other locations on-site. This closure will be posted in the 
Boise District BLM office. Maps of the affected area and other 
associated documents are available at 3948 Development Avenue, Boise, 
Idaho 83705. Under the authority of Section 303(a) of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1733(a)), 43 CFR 8360.0-7 
and 43 CFR 8364.1, the BLM will enforce the following rule within the 
Big Willow closure:

Motorized vehicles must not be used on the closed roads and trails.

    Exemptions: The following persons are exempt from this order: 
Federal, State, and local Law Enforcement officers and employees in the 
performance of their official duties; members of organized rescue or 
fire-fighting forces in the performance of their official duties; and 
persons with written authorization from the BLM.
    Penalties: Any person who violates the above rule may be tried 
before a United States Magistrate and fined no more than $1,000, 
imprisoned for no more than 12 months, or both. Violators may also be 
subject to the enhanced fines provided for in 18 U.S.C. 3571.

    Authority: 43 CFR 8364.1.

Terry Humphrey,
Four Rivers Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 2011-18843 Filed 7-25-11; 8:45 am]
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