[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54241-54242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19018]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[2231A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Notice of Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan; 
Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as the lead 
Federal agency, with the Navajo Nation as a cooperating agency, has 
prepared a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS) 
for the proposed Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan (NNIWMP) 
and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: The BIA will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days after the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: The FPEIS and associated documents are available for review 
online at https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan and by request at the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Navajo Regional Office, 301 West Hill Street, Gallup, NM 
87301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leonard Notah, NEPA Coordinator, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Regional Office, Branch of 
Environmental Quality Compliance and Review, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup, New 
Mexico 87301, [email protected], (505) 863-8256. Individuals in the 
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 54242]]

Background

    The proposed action is the implementation of the NNIWMP. The BIA 
Navajo Regional Office prepared the NNIWMP to determine the most 
effective and appropriate methods to treat noxious and invasive weeds. 
The FPEIS discloses the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental 
impacts of weed treatment techniques that would result from the 
proposed action and alternatives. The weed treatment techniques provide 
the BIA with the tools to implement an integrated approach to treating 
weeds on the Navajo Nation (Navajo Tribal Trust Lands and Navajo Indian 
Allotments).

Purpose

    The purpose of the NNIWMP is to prevent, eradicate, contain, and/or 
monitor 45 noxious weed species on the Navajo Nation including Navajo 
Tribal Trust Lands and Navajo Indian Allotments. The NNIWMP focuses on 
managing non-native invasive plant species using mechanical, manual, 
cultural, biological, and chemical weed treatment methods. The 
following objectives were developed for the NNIWMP:
     Develop the best control techniques described for the 
target weed species in a planned, coordinated, and economically 
feasible program to limit the impact and spread of noxious and invasive 
weeds;
     Incorporate project successes and lessons learned from 
completed weed projects on the Navajo Nation when developing weed 
removal project proposals through adaptive management;
     Identify and prevent the expansion of existing 
infestations of target weed species, and quickly prevent the spread of 
new high priority weed species in the project area;
     Coordinate weed removal efforts with adjacent landowners, 
land managers, and/or Federal agencies to prevent the further spread of 
weed populations (e.g., State roads and Bureau of Land Management);
     Provide and promote economic opportunities to the Navajo 
people by improving rangeland productivity and potentially providing 
economic opportunities to remove noxious plant species; and
     Develop a public education program focusing on weed 
identification, prevention, and removal techniques for local 
communities and non-profit organizations.

Duration

    The NNIWMP encompasses a ten (10) year period but will incorporate 
a plan review after five (5) years. Repeated treatments will be 
necessary for most species since seeds can be viable in soil for ten 
(10) or more years. Therefore, reoccurring weed treatments will be 
implemented until the desired management goal is reached.

Stakeholders

    Cooperating agencies for this NEPA process include: the Navajo 
Nation, Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Utah Department of 
Transportation (UDOT), Navajo Nation Soil and Water Conservation 
Districts (SWCD), San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service 
(NRCS), the Bureau of Land Management, USDA Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) and the National Park Service. The BIA will 
seek to coordinate weed removal projects on adjacent lands managed by 
the above-mentioned agencies and neighboring areas managed by the 
Coconino National Forest and the Hopi Tribe.

Next Steps

    The BIA issued a Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement on October 29, 2021 (86 FR 60065). The 
BIA responded to public comments during the Draft Programmatic EIS 
public review period. In accordance with NEPA, an agency must prepare a 
concise public Record of Decision (ROD) at the time the agency makes a 
decision in cases involving an EIS (40 CFR 1505.2). The BIA will issue 
the ROD no earlier than 30 days after the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing the 
availability (40 CFR 1506.10).

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with section 1503.1 of the 
Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.) and 
the Department of the Interior Regulations (43 CFR part 46) 
implementing the procedural requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and in accordance with the 
exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by part 209 of the Department Manual.

Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022-19018 Filed 9-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P