[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58714-58715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15652]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Amendment to the Caribou National Forest Land Management Plan

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of opportunity to object to the amendment to the Land 
Management Plan for the Caribou National Forest.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
amending the Caribou National Forest Land Management Plan (forest 
plan). The Forest Service has prepared a Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Crow Creek Pipeline Project 
Lower Valley Energy and draft record of decision that includes a 
programmatic plan amendment to the forest plan. The plan amendment 
would establish a utility corridor and applies to approximately 44 
acres of National Forest System lands on the Montpelier Ranger 
District. This notice is to inform the public that the Caribou-Targhee 
National Forest is initiating a 60-day period where individuals or 
entities with specific concerns about the amendment to the forest plan 
may file objections for Forest Service review prior to the approval of 
the amendment.

DATES: The publication date of the legal notice in the Caribou-Targhee 
National Forest newspaper of record, Idaho State Journal, initiates the 
60-day objection filing period and is the exclusive means for 
calculating the time to file an objection (36 CFR 219.52(c)(5)). An 
electronic copy of the legal notice with the publication date will be 
posted at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/ctnf/?project=63218.

ADDRESSES: The Crow Creek Pipeline Project Lower Valley Energy Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement draft record of decision 
and other supporting information will be available for review at: 
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/ctnf/?project=63218.
    Objections must be submitted to the objection reviewing officer by 
one of the following methods:
     Objections may be submitted electronically at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/ctnf/?project=63218 with subject: Caribou 
National Forest Plan Amendment Objection. Electronic submissions must 
be submitted in a format (Word, PDF, or Rich Text) that is readable and 
searchable with optical character recognition software.
     By Fax: (801) 625-5365. Faxes must be addressed to 
``Objection Coordinator.'' The fax coversheet should include a subject 
line with ``Caribou National Forest Plan Amendment Objection'' and 
specify the number of pages being submitted.
     Via regular mail to the following address: Objection 
Reviewing Officer, Caribou National Forest Plan Amendment, Forest 
Service Intermountain Regional Office, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 
84401.
     Hand delivery of written objections during normal working 
hours to the Intermountain Regional Office, Hansen Federal Building, 
Room 4016, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robbert Mickelsen, Caribou-Targhee 
National Forest Ecosystem Branch Chief, [email protected], 
208-557-5764. Individuals who use telecommunications devices for the 
hearing impaired 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 amendment would establish a 20-foot-wide 
utility corridor (corresponding with the Crow Creek Pipeline Project's 
permanent right-of-way) where management prescription 8.1(b)--
Concentrated Development Areas would apply instead of the existing 
management prescription. Management prescription 8.1(b) applies to 
concentrated developments, including communication sites, utility 
corridors, and administrative sites. The utility corridor would cross 
forest plan management prescription areas: 2.7.1(d)--Elk and Deer 
Winter Range, Critical; 2.7.2(d)--Elk and Deer Winter Range; 2.8.3--
Aquatic Influence Zone; and 6.2(b)--Rangeland Vegetation Management. 
The plan amendment would change approximately 8.5 acres of prescription 
2.7.1(d)--Elk and Deer Winter Range, Critical; 3.6 acres of 
prescription 2.7.2(d)--Elk and Deer Winter Range; and 32 acres of 
prescription 6.2(b)--Rangeland Vegetation Management to prescription 
8.1(b)--Concentrated Development Areas. The portions of the proposed 
utility corridor that occur within prescription 2.8.3--Aquatic 
Influence Zone overlap with the other prescriptions and are accounted 
for in the aforementioned acres.
    The decision to approve the amendment to the Caribou National 
Forest plan in association with the decision on the Crow Creek Pipeline 
Project Lower Valley Energy is subject to the objection process 
pursuant to 36

[[Page 58715]]

CFR 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 amending the forest plan 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, plan amendment, or 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, plan 
amendment, or plan revision to which the objection applies;
    (6) A concise statement explaining the objection and suggesting how 
the draft decision may be improved. If the objector believes that the 
plan, plan amendment, or 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 
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 record of decision 
and the amendment to the forest plan is Mel Bolling, Caribou-Targhee 
Forest Supervisor, 1405 Hollipark Dr., Idaho Falls, ID 83401, 208-557-
5761. The Deputy Regional Forester is the reviewing officer for the 
amendment to the forest plan because the Forest Supervisor is the 
responsible official (36 CFR 219.56(e)).

Keith Lannom,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2024-15652 Filed 7-18-24; 8:45 am]
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