[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57408-57409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22537]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest; Lawrence, Meade, Pennington, Custer, 
and Fall River Counties, South Dakota; Crook and Weston Counties, 
Wyoming; Revision of the Land and Resource Management Plan for the 
Black Hills National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of initiating the assessment phase of the Land 
Management plan revision for the Black Hills National Forest.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
initiating the Land Management Plan revision process, pursuant to the 
2012 Planning Rule (36 CFR 219) and as directed by the National Forest 
Management Act, for the Black Hills National Forest (Black Hills), 
located in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. This process 
will result in a revised Land Management Plan which will guide all 
resource management activities on the Black Hills National Forest for 
approximately fifteen years. This notice announces the initiation of 
the assessment phase, the preliminary stage of the plan revision 
process. Assessments will identify and consider relevant and readily 
accessible material about ecological, social, and economic conditions 
and trends in the planning area, including best available scientific 
information. Findings will be documented in assessment reports. Trends 
and conditions identified in the assessments will then help describe a 
need to change the existing plan and inform the revision of the Forest 
Plan.

DATES: In the fall and winter of 2021, the public will be invited to 
engage and participate in the assessment phase of the revision process; 
engagement opportunities will be posted on the Black Hills National 
Forest Planning website, located at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/blackhills/forestplanrevision. The Black Hills will conduct 
consultation with Tribes as part of the assessment phase of revision. 
Information will also be shared through electronic mailing lists, 
social media, and media outlets. If members of the public are 
interested in learning more, please visit the website listed above and 
select the link to subscribe to updates on the Black Hills Forest Plan 
Revision. The public can also sign up by sending an email to 
[email protected].
    The Forest Service will produce a set of draft assessments for 
public review and comment, expected around March 2022. The Forest 
Service will review and incorporate public comments and additional 
information from tribal consultation on the draft assessments and 
produce a final set of assessments to inform plan revision for the 
Black Hills National Forest. The Forest Service may then initiate 
procedures pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to 
prepare a revised Land Management Plan.

ADDRESSES: For questions about Land Management Plan revision or 
comments on initiating the assessment phase of plan revision, please 
address mail to: Black Hills National Forest, Attn: Lou Conroy--Forest 
Plan Revision, 1019 N 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730, or via email to 
[email protected]. All correspondence, including names and 
addresses, will be part of the public record.
    More information on the planning process can also be found on the 
Black Hills National Forest Planning website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/blackhills/forestplanrevision.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lou Conroy, Revision Team Leader, at 
[email protected] or by phone at (605) 673-9200.

[[Page 57409]]

    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf/hard-of-
hearing (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FRS) at 
1-800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 
1976 requires that the Forest Service develop a Land and Resource 
Management Plan, often called a Forest Plan, for every national forest. 
Forest Plans provide the strategic direction for management of forest 
resources and are amendable as conditions change over time.
    The Black Hills Forest Plan was first released in 1983, revised in 
1997, and amended in 2006. The 2006 version serves as the current 
Forest Plan for the Black Hills National Forest.
    This notice announces the start of the first stage of the process, 
during which updated information from the public, Tribes, other 
government agencies, and non-governmental parties, will be compiled 
into assessment reports. Information relevant to these reports 
typically includes the status and trends of ecological, social, and 
economic conditions within the planning area and across the broader 
landscape. Federal Regulation (36 CFR 219.6) requires the assessment of 
(1) Terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, and watersheds; (2) 
Air, soil, and water resources and quality; (3) System drivers, 
including dominant ecological processes, disturbance regimes, and 
stressors, such as natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, 
and climate change, and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic 
ecosytems in the plan area to adapt to change; (4) Baseline assessment 
of carbon stocks; (5) Threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate 
species, and potential species of conservation concern present in the 
plan area; (6) Social, cultural, and economic conditions; (7) Benefits 
people obtain from the national forest system planning area (ecosystem 
services); (8) Multiple uses and their contributions to local, 
regional, and national economies; (9) Recreation settings, 
opportunities and access, and scenic character; (10); Renewable and 
nonrenewable energy and mineral resources; (11) Infrastructure, such as 
recreational facilities and transporation and utility corridors; (12) 
Areas of tribal importance; (13) Cultural and historic resources and 
uses; (14) Land status and ownership and access patterns; and (15) 
Existing designated areas located in the plan area including wilderness 
and wild and scenic rivers and potential need and opportunity for 
additional designated areas.
    During this assessment phase, the Forest Service invites other 
government agencies, Tribes, non-governmental parties, and the public 
to share information about social, economic, and environmental 
conditions of the Black Hills National Forest and the broader 
landscape. Existing information about conditions on the Black Hills 
National Forest, supplemented with information gathered through public 
engagement and tribal consultation, will be integrated into final 
resource assessments. The Forest Service will host public outreach 
forums to share progress and gather additional information.
    Responsible Official: The responsible official for the revision of 
the land and resource management plan for the Black Hills National 
Forest is Jeff Tomac, Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest, 
1019 N 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730, phone 605-673-9200.

    Dated: September 27, 2021.
Barnie Gyant,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2021-22537 Filed 10-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P