[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13726-13727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06518]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest; South Dakota and Wyoming; Amendment 
of the Land Management Plan for the Black Hills National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of the opportunity to object to a Forest Plan Amendment.

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SUMMARY: Black Hills National Forest, located in South Dakota and 
Wyoming, prepared a non-significant, programmatic Forest Plan Amendment 
to replace an existing standard with updated language found in the 
Regional Watershed Conservation Practices Handbook (WCPH) relative to 
maintaining or improving long-term levels of organic matter and 
nutrients on all lands. The Forest Plan Amendment accompanies the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Draft Record of Decision 
(ROD) for the Black Hills Resilient Landscapes (BHRL) project. This 
notice is to inform the public that a 60-day period is being initiated 
where individuals or entities with standing to object on the

[[Page 13727]]

amendment may file an objection for Forest Service review prior to the 
approval of the Record of Decision.

DATES: The BHRL FEIS, including this Forest Plan Amendment, Draft ROD, 
and other supporting information, will be available for review at 
http://www.tinyurl.com/BHRLProject by April 4, 2018.
    A legal notice of the initiation of the 60-day objection period is 
also being published in the Black Hills National Forest's newspaper of 
record, which is the Rapid City Journal. The date of publication of the 
legal notice in the Rapid City Journal will determine the actual date 
of initiation of the 60-day objection period. A copy of the legal 
notice that is published in the Rapid City Journal will be posted on 
the website listed above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the BHRL FEIS, including the Forest Plan 
Amendment, and the Draft ROD can be obtained online at: http://www.tinyurl.com/BHRLProject; or by visiting or mailing a request to the 
Forest Supervisor's Office at the following location:
     1019 North 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730 (Telephone: 605-
673-9200);
    Objections must be submitted to the Reviewing Officer:
     Regional Forester, USDA-Forest Service, ATTN: Objection 
Reviewing Officer, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Building 17, Lakewood, CO 80401 
(Fax: 303-275-5134).
    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: Kelly Honors, Environmental 
Coordinator, Black Hills National Forest at 605-673-9207. 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, Rocky Mountain Region, 
Black Hills National Forest, prepared a Forest Plan Amendment for 
maintaining and improving long-term levels of organic matter and 
nutrients on all lands. This notice is to inform the public that a 60-
day period is being initiated where individuals or entities with 
standing, may file an objection for Forest Service review prior to the 
approval of the ROD for the BHRL Project.
    The publication date of the legal notice in Black Hills National 
Forest's newspaper of record, the Rapid City Journal, 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 on Black 
Hills National Forest's website at: http://www.tinyurl.com/BHRLProject.
    The objection process under 36 CFR 219, subpart B, provides an 
opportunity for members of the public who have standing, 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 the public comment period 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 Forest Plan Amendment for 60 
calendar days following the date of the publication of the legal notice 
of this objection period in the newspaper of record, the Rapid City 
Journal. 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 
the Regional Forester for the Rocky Mountain Region, at the address 
shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
    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 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 forest plan amendment being objected to, and 
the name and title of the Responsible Official;
    (5) A statement of the issues and/or parts of the forest plan 
amendment 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 forest plan amendment 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 amendment comment period.

Responsible Official

    The responsible official for this Forest Plan Amendment is Mark Van 
Every, Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest, 1019 North 5th 
Street, Custer, SD 57730.

    Dated: March 12, 2018.
Chris French,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2018-06518 Filed 3-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3411-15-P