[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46358-46359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11664]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 29, 2024 / 
Notices  

[[Page 46358]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bridger-Teton National Forest; Wyoming; Revision of the Land 
Management Plan for the Bridger-Teton National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate the assessment phase of the Land 
Management Plan revision for the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
initiating the assessment phase of the Land Management Plan revision 
process for the Bridger-Teton National Forest, located in Wyoming. The 
assessment supports the subsequent planning phase, which will result in 
a revised land management plan to guide all resource management 
activities on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The assessment will 
identify and consider relevant and readily accessible material about 
ecological, social, and economic conditions and trends in the planning 
area and will identify best available scientific information including 
and Native or Indigenous knowledge. Findings will then help describe 
the need to change the plan and inform revision of the plan.

DATES: In late 2022, the Bridger-Teton National Forest Supervisor and 
staff initiated engagement with Tribes, and letters inviting 
consultation were mailed to Tribes in November 2023. Additional 
engagements with Tribal, county, State, and Federal entities, as well 
as public engagement opportunities occurred in 2023 and early 2024. 
Additional engagement with Tribes, cooperating agencies, and the public 
are planned for 2024 through the assessment phase. Future engagements 
will be planned for the subsequent plan revision phases. Interested 
parties may learn more about this and future planning phases, as well 
as information on opportunities to engage by visiting the Bridger-Teton 
land management planning website, located at https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/btnf/landmanagement/planning/?cid=FSEPRD1093592.
    A draft assessment for public review and comment is expected in 
summer 2024. After review and incorporation of public comments and 
additional information from Tribal consultation on the draft 
assessment, a final assessment and need to change the plan will be 
produced and used in subsequent phases of the plan revision.

ADDRESSES: For questions about Land Management Plan revision or 
comments on initiating the assessment phase of plan revision, please 
address mail to: Bridger-Teton National Forest, Attn: Forest Plan 
Revision, P.O. Box 1888, Jackson, WY 83001 or hand-deliver to the 
Supervisor's Office, 340 N Cache Street, Jackson, WY. Questions may 
also be sent electronically to [email protected]. All correspondence, including names and addresses, will 
be part of the public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dominique Brough, Forest Plan Revision 
Team Leader, by phone at (307) 739-5508 or by email at 
[email protected]; or Mary Cernicek, Strategic Communications 
and Planning Public Affairs Officer, by phone at (307) 739-5564 or by 
email at [email protected]. Individuals who use telecommunications 
devices for the deaf (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 2012 Planning Rule (36 CFR part 219), 
which implements the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976, 
provides that the Forest Service develop, maintain, and revise Land 
Management Plans for all National Forests and Grasslands. Land 
Management Plans provide the programmatic framework for management of 
forest resources and are amendable as conditions change over time. The 
current Bridger-Teton Land Management Plan was adopted in 1990.
    The 2012 Planning Rule requires the assessment to include 
information regarding the status and trends of ecological, social, and 
economic conditions within the planning area and across the broader 
landscape. In particular, the agency must identify and evaluate 
information relevant to the plan area for the following: (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 ecosystems 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. (36 CFR 219.6)
    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 Bridger-Teton National Forest and the broader 
landscape. Existing information about conditions on the Bridger-Teton, 
including information gathered through public engagement, from 
cooperating agencies, and Tribal consultation, will be integrated into 
the assessment. The Forest Service will host public outreach forums to 
share progress and gather additional information.
    Topics of interest will be discussed in the assessment and 
subsequent plan development phases include: areas of tribal importance; 
at-risk species; livestock grazing; management within

[[Page 46359]]

inventoried roadless areas; watersheds and intact ecosystems; habitat 
connectivity; sustainable recreation; human population pressures; 
mature and old growth forest conditions; fire management within the 
wildland urban interface; and timber management and production trends. 
Wilderness evaluation and the identification of eligible wild and 
scenic rivers will be separate from the assessment but included in plan 
development.
    Responsible Official: The responsible official for the revision of 
the Land Management Plan is Chad Hudson, Forest Supervisor, Bridger-
Teton National Forest.

    Dated: May 17, 2024.
Troy Heithecker,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2024-11664 Filed 5-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P