[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34172-34174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11928]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bighorn National Forest; Wyoming; Invasive and Other Select Plant 
Management

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, USDA, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to disclose the effects of continued control of 
noxious, invasive, and select native plant species through the 
integration of manual, mechanical, biological, ground herbicide, and 
aerial herbicide control methods on the Bighorn National Forest (BNF). 
Effects analysis of these treatments will be projected over the next 10 
to 20 years. The BNF is currently treating noxious weeds and invasive 
plants under the June 19, 1998 Decision Notice, Noxious Weed 
Management. There is a need to update this decision since it did not 
include consideration of aerial application of herbicides, the presence 
of new invasive plant populations, or herbicide treatments of select 
native plant species to achieve desired resource conditions.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by July 20, 2020. The draft EIS is expected November 2020 and the final 
EIS is expected June 2021.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Forest Supervisor, Bighorn National 
Forest, 2013 Eastside Second Street, Sheridan, Wyoming 82801. Comments 
may also be sent via email to [email protected], or via 
facsimile to 307-674-2668.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher D. Jones, Project 
Coordinator, at the above address, by phone at 307-674-2627, or via 
email [email protected].
    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 Standard Time, Monday through 
Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    BNF ecosystems are increasingly threatened by invasive plants. 
These plants include several invasive annual grasses including 
cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), 
and ventenata (Ventenata dubia). Invasive species are threatening or 
dominating desired native plant communities, big game winter ranges, 
sage-grouse habitat, soil and watershed resources, recreation, domestic 
livestock forage availability, and aesthetic values on the BNF. A shift 
from desired native vegetation to invasive plants alters wildlife 
habitat, decreases wildlife and livestock forage, reduces species 
diversity, increases soil erosion due to a decrease in surface cover, 
alters the fire return interval, and promotes undesirable monocultures.
    In addition, there are select native plant species, such as 
sagebrush and larkspur, in need of management to meet desired 
conditions for wildlife and livestock forage. This analysis will 
consider the use of various treatments to achieve desired conditions 
for sagebrush including a mix of early-, mid-, and late-structural 
stages.
    The purpose of this project is to prevent and reduce the loss of 
native plant communities associated with the spread of invasive plant 
species, to meet desired conditions for select native plant species, 
and to reduce the impacts from invasive plants on other resources. This 
purpose would be achieved by addressing the following needs:
     To meet existing law, regulation and agency policy 
directing the Forest Service to treat non-native and invasive plants 
and update existing management direction to include new invasive plant 
species and new treatments.
     To make cooperative treatment and control of invasive 
plant species more consistent and effective across land ownership 
boundaries.
     To help meet or maintain desired resource conditions on 
the BNF. This includes:
    [cir] Limiting the spread of invasive plant species into areas with 
little or no infestation and reducing fuel loading and the resulting 
fire hazard and/or risk;

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    [cir] achieving desired conditions for select native plant species 
(for example, sagebrush and larkspur), through the use of herbicides 
and the other actions;
    [cir] using adaptive management in the treatment of invasive and 
select native plant species in order to meet desired conditions as 
existing resource and managerial conditions change over time; and
    [cir] safely and effectively applying herbicides, in uniform 
applications, on the steeper slopes that characterize critical big game 
winter ranges.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Service, through the application of a revised treatment 
strategy, proposes to continue to treat invasive and select native 
plant species on the BNF through a combination of control methods based 
on site-specific conditions and circumstances, EPA labels, USDA Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) direction, state statute 
requirements for herbicide application licensing, and resource 
protection measures to ensure that treatment methods are properly used. 
The proposed action would utilize a variety of tools, singularly or in 
combination, to implement an integrated vegetation management strategy. 
Proposed control methods include:
     Mechanical methods, such as hand-pulling, mowing or 
cutting;
     Revegetation, where competitive vegetation is seeded to 
reduce invasive species, possibly after other treatments;
     Grazing with livestock;
     Biological control using predators, parasites, and 
pathogens;
     Herbicide control using ground-based or aerial application 
methods;
     Prescribed fire (may be conducted in conjunction with 
herbicide application);
     Education programs to inform people of the effects of 
invasive plant infestations, methods of spread, and preventative 
management opportunities and practices; and
     Prevention by using practices that reduce invasive plant 
spread, including a weed-free forage and gravel program and washing 
vehicles to remove seeds and plant parts.
    Potential treatment areas include, but are not limited to the 
following: (1) Any infestations near landownership boundaries, 
especially where the adjacent landowners are treating their lands; (2) 
crucial big game winter ranges and other species habitat areas; (3) 
fuels reduction project areas; (4) burned areas; (5) roads and trails; 
(6) power lines; (7) rights-of-ways; (8) gravel and rock quarries; (9) 
timber harvest areas; and (10) areas where invasive weeds already 
exist. It is anticipated that the Forest Service may receive requests 
from intermingled and adjacent landowners to be partners on projects 
that might be proposed to treat invasive and other plant populations 
that are found on multiple land ownerships that include National Forest 
System lands. Northeast Wyoming, specifically Sheridan, Johnson, and 
Campbell Counties, is the only known location in the northern Great 
Plains eco-region with medusahead and ventenata. The BNF would be 
unable to effectively perform its shared stewardship responsibilities 
if unable to aerially treat them.
    The selection of control methods is not a choice of one tool over 
another, but rather a selection of a combination of tools that would be 
most effective on target species for a location.
    The BNF would also utilize the proposed control methods listed 
above to manage select native plant species, including sagebrush and 
larkspur, in order to achieve desired ecosystem and habitat conditions. 
For sagebrush, the BNF has a successful history of burning and mowing 
with the objective of creating a diversity of early-, mid-, and late-
seral stages.
    The proposed action would broaden the current plant management 
methods and strategies by:
     Utilizing best available science to develop desired 
conditions for other select native plant species prior to identifying 
treatments;
     Treating new infestations through adaptive management 
tools for assessing new treatments and new sites;
     Treating new and existing invasive species in addition to 
those listed as noxious weeds by the State of Wyoming;
     Permitting the use of newly developed, more species-
specific, EPA-registered herbicides. A Forest Service and state agency 
cooperator assessment team would be established to review the EPA-
issued registration eligibility decision and determine the new 
herbicide's appropriateness for use on public lands;
     Broadening control methods to include the use of aerial 
application of herbicides in limited or specific circumstances;
     Broadening protection measures for ground and aerial 
applications of herbicides; and
     Broadening management methods to meet desired conditions 
by treating select native plant species to include the use of 
herbicides.

Possible Alternatives

    The Forest Service will consider a reasonable range of 
alternatives, including a no action alternative. The action 
alternatives could vary in the amount and location of areas considered 
for treatment. The BNF may consider the herbicide treatment of select 
native plant species, such as sagebrush and larkspur, as an alternative 
separate from invasive species, in order to better differentiate the 
environmental consequences.

Responsible Official

    The Forest Supervisor for the BNF is the Responsible Official.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Given the purpose and need, the Responsible Official will review 
the proposed action, the other alternatives (including the `cost or 
benefit' of the no action alternative), and the environmental 
consequences in order to determine whether to expand current efforts to 
control and manage invasive species and select native plant species; 
what control methods and herbicides would be used; what protection and 
monitoring measures would be required; and whether to include an 
adaptive management approach to address future spread of invasive weeds 
or select native plant species.
    National and regional policies and Forest Plan direction require 
consideration of effects of all projects on invasive plant spread and 
implementation of preventative measures where practical to limit those 
effects. In addition, Forest Plan direction requires consideration of 
achievement of desired conditions for native vegetation and habitats.
    Reconsideration of other existing project-level decision or 
programmatically prescribing protection measures or standards for 
future forest management activities are beyond the scope of this 
document.

Preliminary Issues

    Issues identified by the Forest Service at this time include the 
effects of treatments on native vegetation, biological diversity, 
natural productivity, and habitat structure. Preliminary issues also 
include effects of herbicides on threatened, endangered, or sensitive 
species and their habitats; on soils, water, and aquatic resources; and 
on human health. The public is encouraged to identify additional issues 
in their comments.

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the

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development of the EIS. Public participation will be especially 
important at several points during the analysis, beginning with the 
scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7). The decision and reasons for the 
decision will be documented in a Record of Decision. The decision will 
be subject to Forest Service Project-Level Predecisional Administrative 
Review Process (Objection Process) (36 CFR part 218, subparts A and B). 
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times and 
in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of the 
EIS.
    Therefore, comments should be provided prior to the close of the 
comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer's concerns 
and contentions. Comments received in response to this solicitation, 
including names and addresses of those who comment, will become part of 
the public record for this proposed action. Comments submitted 
anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous 
comments will not provide the respondent eligibility to participate in 
subsequent administrative or judicial review.

Allen Rowley,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2020-11928 Filed 6-2-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3411-15-P