[Federal Register: April 9, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 68)] [Notices] =20 [Page 18144-18145] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09ap10-35] =20 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service =20 Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming=20 Kemmerer Grazing and Rangeland Vegetation Management Project AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Bridger-Teton National Forest will prepare an=20 Environmental Impact Statement to analyze the effects of continued=20 authorization of grazing on 16 sheep allotments on the Kemmerer Ranger=20 District in southwest Wyoming. The first Notice of Intent to prepare an=20 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal=20 Register on 11/17/2008 (Volume 73,222, pages 67835-67836) and=20 included 15 grazing allotments. This Notice of Intent is revised from=20 the original to include the addition of the Porcupine allotment to the=20 proposed project area. The project area encompasses 176,828 acres of=20 National Forest System lands within Lincoln County of western Wyoming.=20 Most of the project area's east boundary is west of Commissary Ridge;=20 the west boundary is Salt Creek. The center of the project area lies=20 roughly 17 air miles northeast of Cokeville, Wyoming. The allotments=20 included in the analysis are: Porcupine, Lower Salt Creek, Buckskin=20 Knoll, Lake Alice, Smiths Fork, Aspen Springs, Basin Creek, Devil's=20 Hole, Elk Creek, Green Knoll, Indian Creek, Lake Mountain, Pole Creek,=20 Sams Allen Creek, South Fontenelle and Spruce Creek Allotments. The analysis contained in the EIS will be used by the Responsible=20 Official to decide whether or not, and if so, how to authorize=20 livestock grazing and manage rangeland vegetation within the project=20 area. DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis were solicited in=20 the 11/17/2008 Notice of Intent. All comments that were received during=20 the previous analysis period are being considered in the current=20 analysis. The Draft EIS is expected in May of 2010 and the Final EIS is=20 expected in September of 2010. ADDRESSES: District Ranger, Kemmerer Ranger District, Kemmerer Ranger=20 District, Bridger-Teton National Forest, 308 U.S. Highway 189 North,=20 Kemmerer, WY 83101. Send electronic mail to: commen= ts-intermtn-bridger- teton-kemmerer@fs.fed.us and on the subject line put only ``Kemmerer = Grazing Allotments.'' FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aimee Cameron, Rangeland Management=20 Specialist, Kemmerer Ranger District, 308 U.S. Highway 189 North,=20 Kemmerer, WY, 83101 (307-828-5115), amieecameron@fs.fed.us. = Individuals=20 who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the=20 Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8=20 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:=20 Purpose and Need for Action The purpose of this analysis is to determine if continued livestock=20 grazing is appropriate within the project area. If livestock grazing is=20 re-authorized then the adaptive management strategies under which=20 grazing would be managed to maintain or achieve desired conditions and=20 meet Forest Plan objectives. Desired conditions are defined by the=20 Bridger Teton Land and Resource Management Plan, Forest Service Manual,=20 and applicable laws. This effort is undertaken to comply with the 1995=20 Rescissions Act (Pub. L. 104-19). Proposed Action The proposed action is to continue to authorize livestock grazing=20 on 16 allotments within the project area with updated livestock grazing=20 and rangeland vegetation management direction. Resource desired=20 conditions are identified. Grazing practices addressing frequency of=20 grazing and of rest from grazing will be guided by the amount and=20 diversity of vegetation given the capability of soils, as well as=20 indicators of soil quality such as amount of ground cover, sign of=20 active erosion and healing of headcuts. Other Best Management Practices=20 addressing the timing, duration, and in specific settings the=20 intensity, of use are identified. Adaptive management is part of the=20 proposed action. Identified are: criteria to guide management, pre- determined optional courses of action used to make adaptive changes in=20 management over time, and the focused monitoring which provides the=20 basis for adjusting management to attain desired resource conditions.=20 One last element of rangeland vegetation [[Page 18145]] management, non-structural improvements, is included. Allotment=20 Management Plans will become part of a re-issued term grazing permit=20 and contain the livestock grazing and rangeland vegetation management=20 direction identified by the Responsible Official's decision. Possible Alternatives To date the Bridger-Teton National Forest has identified two=20 alternatives to the proposed action: (A) No Domestic Livestock Grazing,=20 and (B) Continuation Of Current Livestock Management. Alternative A=20 would eliminate livestock grazing on the project area over the next=20 five years. This alternative will demonstrate the effects of=20 eliminating livestock grazing on the environment and more clearly=20 illustrate the potential effects of implementing any grazing and=20 rangeland vegetation management alternative. Alternative B would=20 continue current grazing management practices including annual=20 adjustments in authorized livestock numbers and season. Responsible Official The official responsible for this proposed action is the Kemmerer=20 District Ranger, Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National=20 Forest, 308 U.S. Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Nature of Decision To Be Made The decision to be made, based on this analysis, is if livestock=20 will be allowed to continue to graze on 16 allotments within the=20 project area, and if so, under what management direction. The=20 management direction would be either through implementation of the=20 proposed action or a grazing alternative to the proposed action. Preliminary Issues Preliminary issues associated with the proposed action include: (1) The amount and diversity of vegetation in some locations is=20 less than the current capability of soils. (2) Sediment delivery to drainages supporting fisheries, and=20 retention of precipitation on uplands, as evidenced by headcutting/ gullies and sign of active erosion. (3) Wildlife values within some aspen stands are minimized by a=20 lack of diverse aspen age classes; in some locationss the diversity of=20 herbaceous and shrub species in the sunderstory is also diminished. Scoping Process This Notice of Intent continues the scoping process. The first=20 formal opportunity to respond to the proposed action was during the=20 public scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) which began with the issuance of=20 the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS published in the Federal=20 Register on 11/17/2008 (Volume 73, 222, pages 67835-67836). A=20 scoping letter was mailed to those listed on the Bridger-Teton National=20 Forest's general mailing list on 11/18/2008. The mailing list included=20 private landowners, term grazing permit holders, special interest=20 groups, interested members of the public, and local, State, and Federal=20 agencies. The letter decribed the proposed action, the environmental=20 analysis, and the scope of the decision to be made. Additionaly, the=20 letter solicited public participation in the process, specifically the=20 submission of comments, concerns, and recommendations regarding the=20 management of grazing allotments within the project area. News releases=20 were also made to encourage public comments and input into the project.=20 The scoping process is used to assist the forest in identifying=20 specific issues to be addressed related to the purpose and need and the=20 scope of the decision. Although a formal comment period is not being reopened for this=20 NOI, comments related to the scope of the anyalysis will be accepted=20 any time prior to the final decision being made. All previously=20 submitted comments will be used to prepare the Draft EIS. Additional=20 news releases will be prepared to give the pulbic general notice=20 concerning the progress on this project analysis. Ongoing information=20 related to the proposed action and related analysis will be posted on=20 the Bridger-Teton National Forest Web site http://= frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=3DleavingFR.html&lo= g=3Dlinklog&to=3Dhttp://www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf. Early Notice of = Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent=20 Environmental Review: A Draft EIS will be prepared for comment. The=20 comment period on the Draft EIS will be for a period of 45 days from=20 the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Notice of=20 Availability in the Federal Register. The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important=20 to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public=20 participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of=20 a Draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental=20 review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to=20 the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power=20 Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections=20 that could be raised at the Draft EIS stage but that are not raised=20 until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may=20 be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d=20 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490=20 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings,=20 it is very important that those interested in this proposed action=20 participate by the close of the 45 day comment period so that=20 substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest=20 Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to=20 them in the final environmental impact statement. To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues=20 and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the Draft EIS should=20 be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to=20 specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also=20 address the adequacy of the Draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives=20 formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer=20 to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing=20 the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at=20 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. Comments received, including=20 the names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part=20 of the public record on this proposal and will be available for public=20 inspection. Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook=20 1909.15, Section 21. Date: April 5, 2010. Tracy Hollingshead, District Ranger, Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National=20 Forest. [FR Doc. 2010-8104 Filed 4-8-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-11-P