[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 51 (Thursday, March 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16235-16236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05352]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Lolo National Forest; Revision of the Land Management Plan for 
the Lolo National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Assessment and Initiate Land 
Management Plan Revision for the Lolo National Forest.

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[[Page 16236]]

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
initiating the Land Management Plan (Plan) revision process, pursuant 
to the 2012 Planning Rule and as directed by the National Forest 
Management Act, for the Lolo National Forest located in western 
Montana. This process will result in a revised Land Management Plan 
which will guide all resource management activities on the Lolo 
National Forest for approximately 15 years. This notice announces the 
initiation of the assessment phase, the beginning of plan development, 
and the preliminary stages of the plan revision process. The assessment 
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. Trends 
and conditions identified in the assessment will then help describe a 
need to change the existing plan and inform the revision of the Plan.

DATES: In the winter and spring of 2023, the public has been invited to 
engage and participate in the assessment phase of the revision process. 
Engagement opportunities are posted on the Lolo National Forest Plan 
Revision website, located at https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/lolo/planrevision. The Lolo National Forest 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 Lolo Plan Revision. The public can also 
sign up by sending an email to [email protected]. The Forest 
Service will produce a draft assessment for public review and comment, 
expected around May 2023. The Forest Service will review and 
incorporate public comments and additional information from tribal 
consultation on the assessment and produce a final assessment to inform 
plan revision for the Lolo 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: Lolo National Forest Supervisor's Office, Attn: Amanda 
Milburn--Lolo Plan Revision, 24 Fort Missoula Rd., Missoula, MT 59804, 
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 Lolo Plan 
Revision website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/lolo/planrevision.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Milburn, Plan Revision Team 
Leader, 406-438-6440.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf and hard 
of hearing (TDD) may call the Federal 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 Lolo 
Forest Plan was adopted in 1986. This notice announces the start of the 
first stage of the plan revision process, during which updated 
information from the public, Tribes, other government agencies, and 
non-governmental parties, will be compiled into an assessment. 
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 
transportation 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 Lolo National Forest and the broader landscape. 
Existing information about conditions on the Lolo 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 Lolo National Forest is 
Carolyn Upton, Forest Supervisor, Lolo National Forest Supervisor's 
Office, 24 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, MT 59804, phone 406-329-3750.

    Dated: March 10, 2023.
Troy Heithecker,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2023-05352 Filed 3-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P