[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42862-42863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18353]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Revision of the Land Management Plan for El Yunque National 
Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of the opportunity to object to the Revised Land 
Management Plan for El Yunque National Forest prior to approval.

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SUMMARY: El Yunque National Forest, located in Puerto Rico, has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), a Revised Land 
Management Plan and a Draft Record of Decision (ROD). This notice is to 
inform the public that a 60-day period is being initiated where 
individuals or entities with specific concerns on El Yunque's Revised 
Land Management Plan and its associated FEIS may file an objection for 
a Forest Service review prior to the approval of the Revised Land 
Management Plan.

DATES: El Yunque's Revised Land Management Plan, FEIS, Draft ROD, and 
other supporting information, will be available for review at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/elyunque/landmanagement/planning starting August 
17, 2018.
    A legal notice of the initiation of the 60-day objection period is 
also being published in El Yunque National Forest's newspaper of 
record, which is El Nuevo Dia. The date of the publication of the legal 
notice in El Nuevo Dia will determine the actual date of initiation of 
the 60-day objection period. A copy of the legal notice that is 
published in El Nuevo Dia will be posted on the website described 
above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Revised Land Mangement Plan for El Yunque 
National Forest, the FEIS, and the Draft ROD can be obtained online at: 
http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/elyunque/landmanagement/planning; or by 
visiting the Forest Supervisor's Office at the following location:
     Supervisor's Office, Rd. PR 191 Int. 988, Km. 4.4, Bo. 
Barcelona, Palmer, PR 00721 (Telephone: 787-888-1880); or by mailing a 
request to:
     Forest Supervisor's Office, HC 01 Box 13490, Rio Grande, 
PR 00745. Objections must be submitted to the Reviewing Officer:
     Regional Forester, USDA--Forest Service, Attn: Objection 
Reviewing Officer, 1720 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309 (Telephone: 
404-347-4177; Fax: 404-347-4821).
    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: Pedro Rios, Forest Planning Staff 
Officer, El Yunque National Forest at 787-888-1880. 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, El 
Yunque National Forest, has prepared a Revised Land Mangement Plan, 
FEIS, and a Draft ROD. This notice is to inform the public that a 60-
day period is being initiated where individuals or entities with 
specific concerns on El Yunque's Revised Land Management Plan and its 
associated FEIS and Draft ROD, 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 El Yunque National 
Forest's newspaper of record, El Nuevo Dia, 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 El Yunque National 
Forest's website at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/elyunque/landmanagement/planning.
    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 El Yunque 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

[[Page 42863]]

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 FEIS for 60 calendar days following the date of the 
publication of the legal notice of this objection period in the 
newspaper of record, El Nuevo Dia. 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 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 Glenn Casamassa, 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 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 El Yunque National Forest is Sharon Wallace, Forest 
Supervisor, El Yunque National Forest, HC 01 Box 13490, Rio Grande, PR 
00745.

    Dated: July 9, 2018.
Chris French,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2018-18353 Filed 8-23-18; 8:45 am]
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