[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54786-54787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19608]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 159 / Wednesday, August 17, 2016 / 
Notices  

[[Page 54786]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Revision of the Land Management Plan for Francis Marion National 
Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of the opportunity to object to the Revised Land 
Management Plan for the Francis Marion National Forest prior to 
approval

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SUMMARY: The Francis Marion National Forest, located in South Carolina, 
has prepared an environmental impact statement, a revised land 
management plan and a draft record of decision. This notice is to 
inform the public that a 60-day period is being initiated where 
individuals or entities with specific concerns on the Francis Marion's 
Revised Land Management Plan and its associated Final Environmental 
Impact Statement may file an objection for a Forest Service review 
prior to the approval of the Revised Land Management Plan.

DATES: The Francis Marion's Revised Land Management Plan, Final 
Enviromental Impact Statement, Draft Record of Decision, and other 
supporting information, will be available for review at http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/scnfs/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5393142 starting August 19, 2016.
    A legal notice of the initiation of the 60-day objection period is 
also being published in the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests 
newspaper of record, which is The State. The date of the publication of 
the legal notice in The State will determine the actual date of 
initiation of the 60-day objection period. A copy of the legal notice 
that is published in The State will be posted on the Web site described 
above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Revised Land Mangement Plan for the Francis 
Marion National Forest, Final Environment Impact Statement, and Draft 
Record of Decision can be obtained online at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/scnfs/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5393142 or at the 
following offices:
     Supervisor's Office, 4931 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 
29212 (Telephone: 803-561-4000)
     Francis Marion District Office, 2967 Steed Creek Road, 
Huger, SC 29450 (Telephone: 843-336-3248)
    Objections must be submitted to the Reviewing Officer Tony Tooke, 
Regional Forester, at USDA-Forest Service, ATTN: Objection Reviewing 
Officer, 1720 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309 (Telephone: 404-347-
4177; Fax: 404-347-4821). Or objections may be submitted electronically 
at [email protected]
    Note that the office hours for submitting a hand-delivered 
objection are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding 
Federal holidays. Electronic objections must be submitted in a commonly 
used format such as an email message, plain text (.txt), rich text 
format (.rtf) or Microsoft Word[supreg] (.doc or .docx).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Morrison, Forest Planner, Francis 
Marion National Forest at 803-561-4000. 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. (Eastern time), Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service, Southern Region, Francis 
Marion National Forest, has prepared a Revised Land Mangement Plan, 
Final Environmental Impact Statement, and a Draft Record of Decision. 
This notice is to inform the public that a 60-day period is being 
initiated where individuals or entities with specific concerns on the 
Francis Marion's Revised Land Management Plan and its associated Final 
Environmental Impact Statement may file an objection for a Forest 
Service review prior to the approval of the Revised Land Management 
Plan. The publication date of the legal notice in the Francis Marion 
and Sumter National Forests newspaper of record, The State, will 
initiate the 60-day objection period and is the exclusive means for 
calculating the time to file an objection (36 CFR 219.16 and 219.52). 
An electronic scan of the notice with the publication date will be 
posted at the Francis Marion National Forest Web site at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/scnfs/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5393142.
    The objection process under 36 CFR 219 subpart B, provides an 
opportunity for members of the public who have participated in the 
planning process for the Francis Marion National Forest to have any 
unresolved concerns reviewed by the Forest Service prior to a final 
decision by the Responsible Official. Only those who provided 
substantive formal comments during opportunities for public comment 
during the planning process are eligible to file an objection. 
Regulations at 36 CFR 219.62 define substantive formal comments as:

    ``Written comments submitted to, or oral comments recorded by, 
the responsible official or his designee during an opportunity for 
public participation provided during the planning process, and 
attributed to the individual or entity providing them. Comments are 
considered substantive when they are within the scope of the 
proposal, are specific to the proposal, have a direct relationship 
to the proposal, and include supporting reasons for the responsible 
official to consider.''

How to File an Objection

    The Forest Service will accept mailed, emailed, faxed, and hand-
delivered objections concerning the Revised Land Management Plan and 
associated Final Environmental Impact Statement for 60 calendar days 
following the date of the publication of the legal notice of this 
objection period in newspaper of record, The State. It is the 
responsibility of the objector to ensure that the Reviewing Officer 
receives the objection in a timely manner. The regulations prohibit 
extending the length of the objection filing period.
    Objections must be submitted to the Reviewing Officer, who will be 
Tony Tooke, Regional Forester for the Southern Region, at the address 
shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Objections or objection 
content specific to the identification of species of conservation 
concern will be forwarded to Brian Ferebee, Associate Deputy Chief, 
delegated Reviewing Officer for the Chief of the Forest Service.
    An objection must include the following (36 CFR 219.54(c)):
    (1) The objector's name and address along with a telephone number 
or email address if available--in cases where no

[[Page 54787]]

identifiable name is attached to an objection, the Forest Service will 
attempt to verify the identity of the objector to confirm objection 
eligibility;
    (2) Signature or other verification of authorship upon request (a 
scanned signature for electronic mail may be filed with the objection);
    (3) Identification of the lead objector, when multiple names are 
listed on an objection. The Forest Service will communicate to all 
parties to an objection through the lead objector. Verification of the 
identity of the lead objector must also be provided if requested;
    (4) The name of the plan revision being objected to, and the name 
and title of the Responsible Official;
    (5) A statement of the issues and/or parts of the plan revision to 
which the objection applies;
    (6) A concise statement explaining the objection and suggesting how 
the proposed plan decision may be improved. If the objector believes 
that the plan revision is inconsistent with law, regulation, or policy, 
an explanation should be included;
    (7) A statement that demonstrates the link between the objector's 
prior substantive formal comments and the content of the objection, 
unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the 
opportunities for formal comment; and
    (8) All documents referenced in the objection (a bibliography is 
not sufficient), except that the following need not be provided:
    a. All or any part of a Federal law or regulation,
    b. Forest Service Directive System documents and land management 
plans or other published Forest Service documents,
    c. Documents referenced by the Forest Service in the planning 
documentation related to the proposal subject to objection, and
    d. Formal comments previously provided to the Forest Service by the 
objector during the plan revision comment period.

Responsible Official

    The responsible official for the revision of the land management 
plan for the Francis Marion National Forest is Rick Lint, Forest 
Supervisor, Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests, 4931 Broad 
River Road, Columbia, SC 29212.

    Dated: August 10, 2016.
John Richard Lint,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2016-19608 Filed 8-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3411-15-P