[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60759-60761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27595]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[17XL LLID930000 L11100000.DF0000 LXSGPL000000 4500103385]


Notice of Intent To Prepare Two Great-Basin-Wide Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statements to Reduce the Threat of Wildfire and 
Support Rangeland Productivity

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
intends to prepare two programmatic Environmental Impact Statements 
(EISs) for BLM Districts in the Great Basin region. By this Notice BLM 
is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues to be addressed in the environmental 
analyses.

DATES: This Notice initiates the public scoping process for the two 
programmatic EISs. Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until 
February 20, 2018. The date(s) and

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location(s) of any scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days 
in advance through local media, newspapers and the BLM website at: 
https://go.usa.gov/xnQcG. In order for comments to be considered for 
the draft programmatic EISs, all comments must be received prior to the 
close of the 60-day scoping period or 15 days after the last public 
meeting, whichever is later. We will provide additional opportunities 
for public participation upon publication of the draft programmatic 
EISs.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the programmatic EISs by 
any of the following methods:
     Website: https://go.usa.gov/xnQcG.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 208-373-3805.
     Mail: Jonathan Beck, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 83709.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Beck, Project Manager Boise 
Support Team, telephone 208-373-3841; address 1387 S. Vinnell Way, 
Boise ID 83709; email [email protected]. Contact Mr. Beck to add your name 
to our mailing list. Persons who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-
8339 to contact the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with Mr. Beck. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is proposing to develop two 
programmatic EISs: (1) Fuel Breaks Programmatic EIS and (2) Fuels 
Reduction and Rangeland Restoration Programmatic EIS. One EIS will 
analyze potential effects of constructing fuel breaks and the other EIS 
will analyze potential effects of reducing fuel loading, and restoring 
rangeland productivity within the Great Basin region, which includes 
portions of the states of Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, California, Utah, and 
Washington.
    Both projects would protect and conserve natural habitats from loss 
resulting from wildfires and the spread of invasive species. Although 
these proposals are similar, they have different purposes. The purpose 
of the Fuel Breaks Programmatic EIS is the protection of life and 
property and to reduce the threat and size of wildfires on western 
rangelands. The purpose of the Fuels Reduction and Rangeland 
Restoration Programmatic EIS is to restore the rangelands habitat so 
they provide multiple use opportunities for all user groups and habitat 
for the hundreds of plants and animals that define this iconic 
landscape.
    The BLM is proposing to prepare these analyses concurrently to gain 
efficiencies in scoping and effects analyses. The goal of these 
programmatic EISs is to analyze the region-wide and cumulative impacts 
of the proposed actions and to gain efficiencies in subsequent National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses required for individual 
projects.

Purpose

    The programmatic EISs would expedite the development, enhancement, 
maintenance and utilization of fuel breaks, fuels reduction, and 
rangeland restoration for the protection, recovery, and conservation of 
natural western habitats in the Great Basin region. The projects would 
reduce the threat of habitat loss from fires and restore habitat to 
maintain the rangeland's productivity and support the western 
lifestyle. Fuel breaks act as fire-anchor points and firefighter 
staging areas; provide protection of ongoing and pending habitat 
restoration projects; and assist in quicker and earlier fire 
suppression response times, thereby reducing wildfire risk, aiding in 
the protection of human life and property, protecting taxpayer 
investment in habitat restoration projects, and improving western 
landscapes by offering multiple use opportunities. The restoration will 
replace invasive species with native habitat, decreasing the continuous 
cover of annual grasses that fuel large wildfires.

Need

    Large-scale wildfires have increased significantly throughout the 
western United States in recent years, particularly in sagebrush-steppe 
ecosystems, resulting in the widespread loss of sagebrush-steppe 
vegetation. These wildfires are largely a result of continuous fuel 
loading, caused by widespread increases in invasive annual grasses and 
very large areas of continuous sagebrush cover. In the last decade, 
fires have exceeded 100,000 acres on a regular basis, and the number of 
areas that burn again before habitat can establish has increased. These 
large-scale wildfires, with very high to extreme burning conditions, 
have resulted in increased numbers of injuries and deaths among 
wildland firefighters and increased destruction of private property and 
habitat loss for a variety of species. Wildfires have resulted in 
widespread impacts to healthy sage-lands quality, and have hampered 
BLM's ability to maintain productive lands. These large-scale, repeated 
wildfires facilitate the spread of invasive annual grasses, further 
reducing rangeland quality and availability, thereby adversely 
affecting sagebrush-recovery rates or, in some instances, preventing 
recovery altogether. In warm, dry settings, sagebrush-steppe usually 
takes, at a minimum, many decades to recover, even where invasive 
annual grasses or other invasive plant species do not become dominant. 
Invasive species and conifer encroachment can be exacerbated as a 
result of wildfires in sagebrush ecosystems, resulting in an increased 
risk of wildfires (positive feedback loop). By compartmentalizing 
desirable vegetation and providing safer access for firefighters, fuel 
breaks aid in decreasing potential habitat loss from wildfires, 
protecting habitat restoration areas, and combatting the spread of 
invasive species, i.e., decreasing or eliminating this positive 
feedback loop. By restoring native habitat, invasive species that are 
helping to fuel these unnaturally large fires will be reduced or 
removed, making the rangelands more resistant to future wildfires.
    The programmatic EISs, once implemented, will provide for increased 
firefighter safety in the event of wildfires and faster response times 
to wildfires. They will also assist in the maintenance, protection and 
restoration of the iconic sagebrush western landscape.
    The programmatic EISs will provide a mechanism for the BLM to 
streamline any future NEPA processes pertaining to fuel breaks, fuels 
reduction, and rangeland restoration proposals in the Great Basin 
region.

Scoping and Preliminary Issues

    The public scoping process is conducted to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the 
programmatic EISs. At present, the BLM has identified the following 
preliminary issues:
    1. Fuel break construction and associated road improvement for 
firefighter access could increase human activity in remote areas and 
introduce noxious and invasive weeds and increase the incidence of 
human-caused wildfires.
    2. Fuel break construction could remove or alter sagebrush habitat, 
rendering it unusable for some species.
    3. Fuel break construction on either side of existing roads may 
create movement barriers to small-sized wildlife species by reducing 
hiding cover.

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    4. Fuel break construction in highly resistant and resilient 
habitats may not be necessary because those sites are less likely to 
burn or will respond favorably to natural regeneration.
    5. After habitat restoration treatments, historic uses such as 
livestock grazing and recreation activities may be temporarily halted 
until the treatment becomes established and objectives are met.
    6. Fuel reduction treatments in pinyon/juniper could disrupt 
traditional tribal use of these sites.
    7. The use of non-native species in fuel breaks could affect listed 
species and affect species composition in adjacent native plant 
communities.
    Project design features would be used to minimize impacts to 
rangelands, sensitive species habitat, cultural sites and watersheds, 
and to limit introduction and spread of noxious and invasive weeds.
    The BLM will use and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to help 
fulfill the public involvement requirements under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Tribes 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed fuel break, fuel reduction, and rangeland restoration 
programmatic proposals that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to 
participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be 
requested by the BLM to participate in the development of the 
environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7.

Timothy M. Murphy,
BLM Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-27595 Filed 12-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-AK-P