[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32178-32179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10638]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Notice of Intent To Publish for Public Comment Proposed Permanent 
Hunting Order in the Wall Ranger District of the Buffalo Gap National 
Grassland

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Forest Service (Forest Service or Agency), United States 
Department of Agriculture, is giving notice of its intent to publish 
for public comment a proposed permanent order prohibiting prairie dog 
hunting on 106,568.5 acres of the Wall Ranger District in the Buffalo 
Gap National Grassland. At the end of the advance notice period, the 
Forest Service will seek public comments, as specified in this notice, 
on the proposed permanent hunting order.

DATES: Advance notice of the opportunity to provide public comment on 
the proposed permanent hunting order is being provided until May 26, 
2023. Beginning on May 26, 2023, the Forest Service will accept 
comments on the proposed permanent hunting order for 60 days. The 
notice of opportunity for public comment will be posted on the Nebraska 
National Forests and Grasslands (NNFG) web page at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices.

ADDRESSES: The proposed permanent hunting order, the justification for 
the proposed permanent order, and map are posted on the Forest 
Service's Regulations and Policies web page at www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Johndreau, Recreation Program 
Manager, 308-432-0330 or [email protected]. Individuals who use 
telecommunication devices for the deaf and hard of hearing may call the 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the 
year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Advance Notice and Public Comment Procedures

    Section 4103 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, 
and Recreation Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-9, title IV, (Sportsmen's 
Access and Related Access)), hereinafter ``the Dingell Act,'' requires 
the Forest Service to provide advance notice and opportunity for public 
comment before temporarily or permanently closing any National Forest 
System lands to hunting, fishing, or recreational

[[Page 32179]]

shooting. Section 4103 applies to the proposed permanent order 
prohibiting prairie dog hunting on 106,568.5 acres of the Wall Ranger 
District in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. This notice meets the 
requirement in section 4103 to publish a notice of intent in the 
Federal Register in advance of the public comment period.
    Following the notice of intent, section 4103(b)(2) of the Dingell 
Act requires an opportunity for public comment on proposed temporary or 
permanent hunting, fishing, or recreational shooting orders. Because 
the proposed order would permanently prohibit prairie dog hunting on 
106,568.5 acres of Wall Ranger District in the Buffalo Gap National 
Grassland, the public comment period must be at least 60 days. 
Beginning on May 26, 2023, the Forest Service will accept public 
comments on the proposed permanent order for 60 days. The notice of 
opportunity for public comment will be posted on the NNFG's web page at 
www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices.
    Section 4103(b)(2) of the Dingell Act requires the Forest Service 
to respond to public comments received on the proposed permanent order 
before issuing a final permanent order, including an explanation of how 
any significant issues raised by the comments were resolved and, if 
applicable, how resolution of those issues affected the proposed 
permanent order or the justification for the proposed permanent order. 
The final permanent order, the justification for the final permanent 
order, and the response to comments on the proposed permanent order 
will be posted on the NNFG's web page at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices.

Background and Need

    The proposed permanent order would implement a requirement in the 
Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands (NNFG) 2001 Revised Land and 
Resource Management Plan (LRMP), as amended in 2005 and 2008, to 
prohibit prairie dog hunting on 106,568.5 acres of Management Area 3.63 
in the Wall Ranger District of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The 
effects of this prohibition were analyzed in the environmental impact 
statements for the 2001 LRMP and its subsequent amendments. The purpose 
of the LRMP direction and the proposed permanent order is to maintain 
quality ferret habitat with a sufficient food source (prairie dogs), 
prevent incidental take of the endangered black-footed ferret, and 
protect the safety of the Agency's personnel and contractors as they 
study and manage the ferrets.
    The proposed permanent order, the justification for the proposed 
permanent order, and map are posted on the Forest Service's Regulations 
and Policies web page at www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies.

    Dated: April 7, 2023.
Jacqueline Emanuel,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2023-10638 Filed 5-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P