[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 155 (Friday, August 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46185-46186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6845]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Aerial Herbicide Application; Caribou-Targhee National Forest; 
Caribou and Franklin Counties, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Montpelier Ranger District, Caribou-Targhee National 
Forest will be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
analyze the effects of adding aerial herbicide applications to the 
existing integrated noxious weed management activities within the Cache 
Valley Front on 31,000 acres of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. 
The project area is in the Idaho tract of the Cache National Forest. It 
includes a portion of the west slope of the Bear River Range that 
extends from Highway 36 to Soda Point. The project area is south of 
Soda Springs, and east of Grace, ID, and is within the Montpelier 
Ranger District, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho. The scope of 
this analysis is limited to the addition of aerial herbicide 
application to existing integrated weed management activities within 
the Caribou-Targhee National Forest boundary. The project impact zone 
includes Caribou and Franklin Counties, Idaho, and Idaho Fish and Game 
Hunting Unit (75). Implementation of this project is scheduled to begin 
in fiscal year 2007. The decision would authorize aerial application of 
herbicide within the Cache Valley Front on 31,000 acres of the Caribou-
Targhee National Forest.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis described 
in this Notice should be received within 30 days of the date of 
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. No scoping meetings 
are planned at this time. Information received will be used in 
preparation of the Draft EIS and Final EIS.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Montpelier Ranger District, Attn. 
Dennis

[[Page 46186]]

Duehren, 322 North 4th St., Montpelier, Idaho 83254. The responsible 
official for this decision is Dennis Duehren, District Ranger.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be directed to Heidi Heyrend, Rangeland 
Management Specialist, at (208) 847-0375.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service invites written comments 
and suggestions on the issues related to the proposal and the area 
being analyzed. Information received will be used in preparation of the 
Draft EIS and Final EIS. For most effective use, comments should be 
submitted to the Forest Service within 30 days from the date of 
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register.
    Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to 
visit with Forest Service officials at any time during the EIS process. 
Two specific time periods are identified for the receipt of formal 
comments on the analysis. The two comment periods include during the 
scoping process (the next thirty days following the publication of this 
Notice in the Federal Register) and during the formal review period of 
the Draft EIS.
    The Forest Service estimates the Draft EIS will be filed within 4 
months of this Notice of Intent, approximately December 2006. The Final 
EIS will be filed within 4 months of that date, approximately April 
2007.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is 
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and 
contentions, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 
553 (1978). Also environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived or dismissed by the courts, City of Angoon v, Hodel, 803 F.2d 
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 45-day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest 
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. Comments received, including 
the names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part 
of the public record on this proposal and will be available for public 
inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: July 28, 2006.
Dennis Duehren,
District Ranger, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Intermountain Region, 
USDA Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 06-6845 Filed 8-10-06; 8:45 am]
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