[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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