[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 176 (Friday, September 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54762-54763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22890]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest; Montana; Supplemental EIS 
for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan To Comply With District of Montana Court Order

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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

SUMMARY: The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest will prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to the 2009 
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Revised Land and Resource 
Management Plan (Forest Plan) environmental analysis in response to an 
August 27, 2015 Order from the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Montana. The Court directed the Forest Service to ``properly disclose 
the information underlying its analysis of snowmobile impacts on big 
game wildlife'' and ``adequately appl[y] the minimization criteria in 
the [2005 Travel Management Rule].''

DATES: Under 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4), there is no formal scoping period for 
this proposed action. The Draft SEIS is expected to be published in 
November 2015, which will then begin, in accordance with 36 CFR 
219.16(a)(2), a 90-day public comment period on the Draft SEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jan Bowey, Beaverhead-Deerlodge 
National Forest, 125 Mill Street, Sheridan, MT 59749 (406) 842-5432. 
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at

[[Page 54763]]

800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 2009 Forest Plan provides management 
direction for activities on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 
for the next 10 to 15 years, including direction on eight topics 
(vegetation, wildlife, aquatic resources, recreation and travel 
management, fire management, livestock grazing, timber and recommended 
wilderness).
    In 2010, WildEarth Guardians, Friends of the Bitterroot, Inc., and 
Montanans for Quiet Recreation, Inc., filed a complaint in U.S. 
District Court for the District of Montana (Case 9:10-cv-00104-DWM) 
alleging inadequate analysis of the ``site-specific impacts of 
snowmobile use on big game winter habitat and conflicting recreational 
uses'' when developing the Forest Plan, failure ``to apply certain 
criteria [referred to as the minimization criteria] when designating 
areas open to snowmobile use'' and that Subpart C of the 2005 Travel 
Management Rule concerning over-snow vehicles was invalid. In its June 
22, 2015 Opinion (WildEarth Guardians et al. v. Montana Snowmobile 
Ass'n, 790 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 2015)), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit found the Forest Service provided sufficient information 
to establish that it took a ``hard look'' at the impacts of snowmobile 
use on non-motorized recreational uses and sufficiently analyzed these 
conflicts. Further, the U.S. Court of Appeals found that plaintiffs' 
challenge to the Subpart C exemption in the Travel Management Rule was 
not ripe for review.
    However, in the same opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals held that 
the Forest Service did not provide the public adequate access to 
information about the impact of snowmobiles on big game wildlife and 
habitat and did not allow the public to play an appropriate role in the 
decision-making process. The U.S. Court of Appeals also found the 
Forest Service did not adequately apply the minimization criteria found 
in the Travel Management Rule. The matter was remanded to the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Montana.
    In an August 27, 2015 Order, the U.S. District Court for the 
District of Montana ordered the Forest Service to ``properly disclose 
the information underlying its analysis of snowmobile impacts on big 
game wildlife'' and ``adequately appl[y] the minimization criteria in 
the [2005 Travel Managment Rule].'' The SEIS will disclose information 
underlying its analysis of snowmobile impacts on big game wildlife and 
apply the minimization criteria to areas on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge 
National Forest open to over-snow vehicle use during the winter 
recreation season (December 2 through May 15).
    A Draft SEIS is expected to be available for public review and 
comment in November 2015. The comment period for the Draft SEIS will be 
90 days from the date the Notice of Availability is published in the 
Federal Register 36 CFR 219.16(a)(2).

    Dated: September 4, 2015.
Melany Glossa,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2015-22890 Filed 9-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-11-P