[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22999-23000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07892]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Ashley National Forest; Utah and Wyoming; Revision of the Land 
Management Plan for the Ashley National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of opportunity to object to the revised Land Management 
Plan and the Regional Forester's list of species of conservation 
concern for the Ashley National Forest.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
revising the Ashley National Forest's Land Management Plan (Plan). The 
Forest Service has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS) for its revised Plan and a draft Record of Decision (ROD). This 
notice is to inform the public that the Ashley National Forest is 
initiating a 60-day period where individuals or entities with specific 
concerns about the Ashley National Forest's revised Plan and the 
associated FEIS may file objections for Forest Service review prior to 
the approval of the revised Plan. This is also an opportunity to object 
to the Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern for 
the Ashley National Forest.

DATES: The publication date of the legal notice in the Ashley National 
Forest's newspaper of record, the Vernal Express (Vernal, Utah), 
initiates the 60-day objection period and is the exclusive means for 
calculating the time to file an objection (36 CFR 219.52(c)(5)). An 
electronic scan of the legal notice with the publication date will be 
posted at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/ashley/landmanagement/planning.

ADDRESSES: The Ashley National Forest's revised Plan, FEIS, draft ROD, 
and Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern and 
other supporting information will be available for review at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/ashley/landmanagement/planning or at the following 
office: Ashley National Forest, 355 North Vernal Ave., Vernal, UT 
84078, phone: (435) 781-5118.
    Objections must be submitted to the Objection Reviewing Officer by 
one of the following methods:
     Electronically to the Objection Reviewing Officer: 
Electronic comments are preferred and may be submitted through the 
project web page at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=49606; 
click ``Comment/Object on Project.'' Electronic submissions (including 
all attachments) must be submitted in one of the following formats: MS 
Word (*.docx), Rich Text Format (*.rtf), or Adobe PDF (*.pdf) and must 
be readable and searchable with optical character recognition software. 
An automated response will confirm your electronic objection has been 
received.
     Via regular mail, carrier, or hand delivery to the 
following address: USDA Forest Service Intermountain Region, ATTN: 
Objection Reviewing Officer, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401. Office 
hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays. Please be explicit as to whether the objection is for 
the ``Ashley National Forest Plan'' or the ``Ashley Species of 
Conservation Concern'' for the Ashley National Forest. Please 
coordinate any hand-delivered objections with the objections and 
litigation staff directly through email ([email protected]) in order to ensure the objection is properly 
documented and a receipt provided.
     By Fax: To the Objection Reviewing Officer at 801-625-
5365. Faxes must be addressed to ``Objection Reviewing Officer.'' The 
fax coversheet should include a subject line with ``Ashley National 
Forest Plan Revision Objection'' or ``Ashley Species of Conservation 
Concern'' and specify the number of pages being submitted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley National Forest Planner, 
Anastasia Allen, at (406) 270-9241 or [email protected].
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf or hard 
of hearing (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-

[[Page 23000]]

877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The decision to approve the revised Plan for 
the Ashley National Forest and the Regional Forester's list of species 
of conservation concern for the Ashley National Forest will be subject 
to the objection process identified in 36 CFR part 219 Subpart B 
(219.50 to 219.62). Per 36 CFR 219.53 only individuals and entities who 
have submitted substantive formal comments related to a plan revision 
during the opportunities for public comment that are attributable to 
the objector may file an objection unless the objection concerns an 
issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment.

How To File an Objection

    Objections must be submitted to the Reviewing Officer at the 
address shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 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 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 proposed plan, plan amendment, or plan revision 
comment period.
    It is the responsibility of the objector to ensure that the 
Objection Reviewing Officer receives the objection in a timely manner. 
The regulations generally prohibit extending the length of the 
objection filing period (36 CFR 219.56(d)). However, when the time 
period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday, the time is 
extended to the end of the next Federal working day (11:59 p.m. for 
objections filed by electronic means such as email or facsimile 
machine) (36 CFR 219.56).
    Responsible Official: The responsible official who will approve the 
ROD for the Ashley National Forest revised Plan is Susan Eickhoff, 
Forest Supervisor for the Ashley National Forest, 350 North Vernal 
Ave., Vernal, UT 84078, (435) 781-5101. The responsible official for 
the identification of the species of conservation concern for the 
Ashley National Forest is Mary Farnsworth, Intermountain Region 
Regional Forester, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401.
    The Regional Forester is the reviewing officer for the revised Plan 
since the Forest Supervisor is the deciding official (36 CFR 
219.56(e)). Objection review of the list of species of conservation 
concern will be subject to a separate objection process from the Plan 
revision. The Chief of the Forest Service is the reviewing officer for 
the list of species of conservation concern as the Regional Forester is 
the responsible official (36 CFR 219.56(e)(2)). This authority may be 
delegated to an individual Deputy Chief or Associate Deputy Chief for 
National Forest System, consistent with delegations of authority 
provided in the Forest Service Manual at sections 1235.4 and 1235.5.

    Dated: April 7, 2023.
Jacqueline Emanuel,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2023-07892 Filed 4-13-23; 8:45 am]
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