[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 248 (Thursday, December 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78326-78327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30815]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Revision of the Land Management Plans for the Inyo, Sierra and 
Sequoia National Forests

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice to initiate the development of land management plan 
revisions for the Inyo, Sierra, and Sequoia National Forests.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5) has initiated land 
management plan revisions for the Inyo, Sierra, and Sequoia National 
Forests. The Final Assessments and other related information for these 
forests have been posted to the Region 5 Web site at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/landmanagement/planning. The Forest Service 
invites the public to help develop a ``need for change'' and desired 
conditions that will lead to a proposed action for the land management 
plan revisions.

DATES: Public workshops to share information about the plan revision 
process will occur the week of January 27t, 2014, and will 
be announced through press release and on the above Web site shown. The 
Web site will also provide recommended reading for the public in 
preparation for these workshops. The recommended reading consists of 
preliminary staff work by the Forest Service on the need for change to 
help guide and focus the workshops. The workshops will concentrate on 
(1) gathering feedback from the public regarding the preliminary need 
for change topic areas, which will focus the revision process, (2) 
identifying missing need for change topics, and (3)

[[Page 78327]]

developing desired future conditions for the topics identified.
    The Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS is scheduled to be published 
in the Federal Register in April 2014. In order to conduct an efficient 
analysis process, one Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be 
prepared for the plan revision process of the Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo 
National Forests. In addition, a separate Record of Decision (ROD) and 
Land Management Plan will be developed for each of these forests.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or questions concerning this notice should 
be addressed to Land Management Plan Revision, U.S. Forest Service, 
Ecosystem Planning Staff, 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592.
    Comments or questions may also be sent via email to [email protected]. All correspondence received, including names 
and addresses when provided, are placed in the record and are available 
for public inspection and copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Whitall, Regional Social 
Scientist, 707-562-8823. Individuals who use telecommunication devices 
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Pacific 
Time), Monday through Friday. More information on the planning process 
can also be found on the Pacific Southwest Region Plan Revision Web 
site at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/landmanagement/planning.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule 
(36 CFR Part 219), the planning process encompasses three-stages: 
Assessment, plan revision, and monitoring. The first stage of the 
planning process involves assessing social, economic, and ecological 
conditions of the planning area, which is documented in an assessment 
report. Final assessment reports for the Inyo, Sierra and Sequoia 
national forests are posted on the Region 5 Web site at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/landmanagement/planning. This Web site also has 
information on a preliminary need for change that the Forest Service 
developed based on these assessments. These will be vetted and 
discussed at public workshops in January 2014. This notice announces 
the start of the second stage of the planning process, which is 
revising the land management plans. The first task of plan revision is 
to develop a preliminary ``need for change'' that identifies the areas 
that need for change in management direction outlined in the current 
plans. The preliminary need for change is based on what is important to 
people, threats to resources, undesirable trends in social, economic, 
or ecological sustainability, and a need to correct current direction 
in plans that are not meeting needs to provide benefits sustainably. In 
addition, it is important to focus on areas where changes to the forest 
plan can do something substantial to correct concerns identified in the 
near term. The need for change will be responsive to new information 
learned through monitoring and assessment.
    Based on the public feedback from the public meetings held in 
January, a proposed action will be developed that responds to needs for 
change. A Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
for the land management plan revisions for the Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo 
National Forests, which will include a description of the preliminary 
need for change and a description of the proposed action, will be 
published in April 2014 in the Federal Register.
    Forest plans developed under the National Forest Management Act 
(NFMA) of 1976 describe the strategic direction for management of 
forest resources for ten to fifteen years, and are adaptive and 
amendable as conditions change over time. The Forest Plan for the Inyo 
National Forest was approved in 1988, Sierra NF in 1991, and the 
original Sequoia NF Plan was approved in 1988. A Significant Amendment 
to these Forest Plans was approved in 2004 as part of the Sierra Nevada 
Forest Plan Amendment (aka, the Sierra Nevada Framework). The Sequoia 
NF has a Mediated Settlement Agreement from 1990 that is still in 
effect on the lands outside the Sequoia National Monument. The portion 
of the Sequoia NF in the Giant Sequoia National Monument has a Plan, 
EIS and ROD that amended the Forest Plan that was completed in 2013. 
Because the Giant Sequoia National Monument Plan was just completed, it 
will not be addressed in this revision process. On January 31, 2013, a 
public announcement was made that the Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo NFs were 
beginning to work on the Assessment for revising their Forest Plan.
    This current notice announces the start of the second stage of the 
planning process, the development of the land management plan 
revisions. Once the plan revisions are completed, they will be subject 
to the objection procedures of 36 CFR Part 219, Subpart B, before they 
can be approved. The third stage of the planning process is monitoring 
and evaluation that will occur over the life of the revised plans.
    Opportunities for public engagement such as public meetings, 
workshops, and comment periods will be posted at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/landmanagement/planning. This information will 
be updated as the process continues. Information will also be sent to 
the Forest's stakeholder mailing list. If anyone is interested in being 
added to this mailing list to receive these notifications, please 
contact Debra Whitall, Regional Social Scientist at the email or 
mailing address identified in the For Further Information Contact 
section above.

Responsible Official

    The responsible official for each revision of the land management 
plan is the Forest Supervisor for each forest:

Ed Armenta, Forest Supervisor, Inyo National Forest Service, 351 Pacu 
Lane, Suite 200, Bishop, CA 93514.
Dean Gould, Forest Supervisor, Sierra National Forest Service, 1600 
Tollhouse Road, Clovis, CA 93611.
Kevin Elliott, Forest Supervisor, Sequoia National Forest, 1839 South 
Newcomb Street, Porterville, CA 93257.

    In order to simplify the process, one Notice of Initiation was sent 
out for all three of these forests and signed by Deputy Regional 
Forester Barnie Gyant, Pacific Southwest Regional Office, 1323 Club 
Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592. The responsible officials for these plan 
revisions are the Forest Supervisors as listed above.

    Dated: December 17, 2013.
Barnie Gyant,
Deputy Regional Forester, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-30815 Filed 12-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P