[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 16 (Thursday, January 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 5165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01254]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


First Phase of the Forest Planning Process for the Bio-Region

AGENCY: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, California.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to initiating the first phase of the forest 
planning process for the Bio-Region.

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SUMMARY: Come gather 'round people
    Wherever you roam
    And admit that the waters
    Around you have grown
    And accept it that soon
    You'll be drenched to the bone
    If your time to you is worth savin'
    Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
    For the times, they are a-changin'.

Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-changin' (copyright) 1963, 
1964, 1991, 1992.

    The Pacific Southwest Region is initiating the first phase of the 
forest planning process pursuant to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule which 
will describe the strategic direction for management of forest 
resources for the next ten to fifteen years. This notice communicates 
that the informal phase of the Bio-Regional Assessment has begun.

DATES: The Bio-Regional Assessment Report will be completed in July 
2013. The Forest-level Assessment Reports for the three early adopter 
Forests which will tier from the Bio-Regional Assessment Report and 
will be completed in December, 2013. The formal revision process will 
begin in 2014.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region 5, Attn.: 
Ecosystem Planning, 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, California, 94592.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald L. Pugh, Deputy Director, 
Ecosystem Planning, 707-562-8951. 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: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    The Pacific Southwest Region of the United States, United States 
Department of Agriculture, along with the Sierra, Inyo, and Sequoia 
National Forests, are initiating the first phase of the forest planning 
process pursuant to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule. Forest plans 
describe the strategic direction for management of forest resources for 
the next ten to fifteen years, and are adaptive and amendable as 
conditions change over time. This initial phase includes the assessment 
of resource condition and trend at the bioregional and forest scales. 
Although not required by the new Planning Rule, the Region will 
complete a Bio-Regional Assessment to help provide a landscape scale 
perspective to the required forest assessments. An assessment is the 
first step in revising forest plans.
    Under the 2012 Planning Rule, the planning process is continuous 
and includes three stages extending over the life of the Revised Forest 
Plan. The first stage is the assessment of resources, and occurs in the 
first year. The second stage is the formal process required by the 
National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) and includes the preparation of 
Draft Environmental Impact Statements and Revised Forest Plan for 
public review and comment, and the preparation of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement and Revised Forest Plan. We expect the 
second stage to take two years. The third stage of the process is 
monitoring and feedback, which is ongoing over the life of the revised 
forest plans.
    We are committed to collaboration and to strengthening public 
engagement throughout the process. Collaboration and communication 
plans are being developed with the help of stakeholders at the regional 
and forest levels. Each plan is unique to the needs of the people and 
communities being served. The goal is not complete agreement; we seek 
common context and understanding.
    Regional and forest specialists have begun collecting information 
to describe existing resource conditions and trends. The Bio-Regional 
Assessment Report will be completed in July 2013.

Responsible Official

    Regional Forester Randy Moore, Pacific Southwest Region, U.S.D.A. 
Forest Service.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Region-wide conditions and trends will be addressed in the Bio-
Regional Assessment to help provide a landscape scale context for the 
Sierra Nevada, southern Cascades, and the Modoc Plateau. The bio-
regional Assessment Report will be completed in July 2013.

Scoping Process

    At this phase of forest plan revision there is no formal Scoping 
Process; however, we are committed to collaboration and to 
strengthening public engagement throughout the process. A collaboration 
and communication plan that was developed with the help of stakeholders 
is in place.
    For information on current events, meetings, workshops, important 
dates and how to participate in forest plan revision, visit the Pacific 
Southwest Region 5 Web site: http://www.fs.usda.gov/r5/; and Our Forest 
Place: http://ourforestplace.ning.com/.

    Dated: January 9, 2013.
Randy Moore,
Regional Forester.
[FR Doc. 2013-01254 Filed 1-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M