This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

69097 

Vol. 71, No. 229 

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area 

(SRA) Advisory Council 

AGENCY: USDA Forest Service, 

Willamette National Forest. 

ACTION: Notice of Solicitation for 

Nominations. 

SUMMARY: The Willamette National 

Forest is seeking nominees for eight 

positions on the Opal Creek Advisory 

Council. The Council was originally 

established in June 2000 with 13 

members. On April 20, 2007, eight 

member’s terms will expire. Five of the 

current members will remain on the 

Council to provide continuity for new 

members. 

The Advisory Council makes 

recommendations to the Detroit District 

Ranger on matters relating to the 

management of the Opal Creek Scenic 

Recreation Area (SRA). 

The Advisory Council is composed of 

a diverse group of citizens, which 

allows for sharing of technical 

knowledge and personal experience. 

Members represent interests including, 

but not limited to: Timber industry; 

environmental organizations; mining 

industry; land inholders within the 

Opal Creek Wilderness and SRA; 

economic development interests; and 

Indian tribes. Other members serving on 

the Council as required by the Act 

represent Marion County, communities 

within a 25 mile radius of the SRA, 

State of Oregon, and City of Salem. 

Positions to be filled are from timber 

industry, economic development, 

Indian Tribes, communities within 25- 

miles of the SRA, the City of Salem, 

Marion County, the State of Oregon, and 

one at-large member. Examples of ‘‘atlarge’’ members who may be interested 

in serving on this Council include 

recreation interests, adjacent landowner, 

educators and researchers. 

Nominees must be United States 

citizens, at least 18 years old. 

Willamette officials will recommend 

nominees’ appointments to the 

Secretary of Agriculture based on 

criteria which include: 

(1) Familiarity with the Opal Creek 

SRA; 

(2) Knowledge and understanding of 

other cultures; 

(3) Ability to actively participate in 

diverse team settings; 

(4) Respect and credibility in local 

communities; 

(5) Past experience working with the 

government planning processes; 

(6) Demonstrated skill in working 

toward mutually beneficial solutions to 

complex issues; and 

(7) Commitment to attending 

Advisory Council and other meetings. 

The basic duties include sharing of 

technical knowledge and personal 

experience. Members also represent 

interests of appropriate groups by (1) 

generating information necessary for the 

planning and implementation process 

from interest groups, and (2) keeping 

their constituency informed of progress. 

DATES: Nomination packets should be 

received by January 8, 2007. 

Address and Contact Informaton: 

People interested in more information 

or a nomination packet should contact 

the Detroit Ranger District at 503–854– 

3366. The nomination packet can also 

be downloaded from the Opal Creek 

Advisory Council section of the 

Willamette National Forest Web site: 

www.fs.fed.us/r6/willamette/manage/ 

opalcreek/index.html. The nomination 

packet with original signatures must be 

sent to: Detroit Ranger District, Attn: 

Opal Creek DFO, HC 73 Box 320, Mill 

City, OR 97360. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Congress 

established the Opal Creek Wilderness 

and the Scenic Recreation Areas on 

November 9, 1998. As outlined in 

Section 1023 of the Omnibus Parks and 

Public Lands Management Act of 1996 

(Pub. L. 104–333), an Advisory Council 

has been chartered to serve as a 

consultant on matters relating to the 

management of the 13,408-acres Opal 

Creek Scenic Recreation Area (SRA). 

Dated: November 22, 2006. 

Dallas J. Emch, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E6–20202 Filed 11–28–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 

California, South Tahoe Greenway 

Multi-Use Trail Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The South Tahoe Greenway 

Multi-Use Trail is a California Tahoe 

Conservancy (Conservancy) proposed 

Class I or better trail that will link 

Meyers, California to Stateline, Nevada, 

generally following the former Caltrans 

U.S. Highway 50 Bypass Corridor. The 

trail will form the backbone of the bike 

trail network in South Lake Tahoe and 

line residential and lodging uses to jobs, 

schools, shopping, and recreation and 

community areas. The trail implements 

specific goals and policies of the Tahoe 

Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the 

USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin 

Management Unit (USFS), and 

Conservancy to provide a nonmotorized alternative transportation 

corridor through South Lake Tahoe. 

Approximately 0.5 mile of the trail 

corridor will cross National Forest lands 

in approximately six locations. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

December 20, 2006. The Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

is expected by summer 2007 and the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) is expected by fall/winter 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: 

Ray Lacey, Program Coordinator, 

California Tahoe Conservancy, 1061 

Third Street, South Lake Tahoe, 

California, 96150, e-mail: 

rlacey@tahoecons.ca.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt 

Dickinson, NEPA Coordinator, Lake 

Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 

College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 

96150, Mattdickinson@fs.fed.us, (530) 

543–2769; or Lisa O’Daly, Recreation 

Program Manager, Tahoe Regional 

Planning Agency, P.O. Box 5310, 128 

Market Street, Stateline, NV 89449, 

lodaly@trpa.org, (775) 589–5242. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose 

and need for action: Complete 

accessible and continuous multi-use 

trail from the existing Class I trail in 

Meyers, California to Stateline, Nevada 


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69098 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 29, 2006 / Notices 

that establishes a convenient non-auto 

transportation alternative and high 

quality recreational experience for 

residents and visitors. The South Shore 

roadway network suffers from excessive 

traffic congestion and the resulting 

degradation of air quality The South 

Shore also lacks continuous Class I 

facilities for bicycles and pedestrians 

that provide high quality recreational 

opportunities. The Tahoe Regional 

Planning Agency (TRPA) Regional 

Transportation Plan/Air Quality Plan 

identifies the unconstructed State Route 

50 right-of-way as an opportunity for 

development of a portion of the bicycle 

and pedestrian network to reduce 

dependence on private autos and 

improve air quality. 

Proposed action: The Conservancy is 

proposing to construct a 9.6-mile long 

multi-purpose trail that will provide 

residents and visitors with a nonmotorized, alternative transportation 

corridor from Meyers, California (near 

the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and 

Pioneer Trail) to Stateline, Nevada (near 

the proposed Van Sickle Bi-State Park). 

The South Tahoe Greenway Multi-Use 

Trail will generally follow the former 

Caltrans U.S. Highway 50 Bypass 

Corridor and will also utilize other 

publicly (including National Forest) and 

privately owned lands. 

Possible alternatives: Potential 

alternatives include the following: (1) 

Use of the new El Dorado County 

Sawmill Trail (located west of U.S. 

Highway 50) from Meyers to the 

intersection of Meadowvale or Elks Club 

and U.S. Highway 50; (2) Use of the U.S. 

Highway 50 corridor from Pioneer Trail 

to near Kyburz Avenue, bending around 

the north side of the Lake Tahoe Airport 

and crossing back east toward the South 

Tahoe Greenway Multi-Use trail 

corridor through Barton Meadow and 

over the Upper Truckee River on private 

property; (3) Use of alternative trail 

design measures (e.g., boardwalks, 

bridges, porous paving materials) to 

reduce or eliminate effects to sensitive 

resources; (4) Use of Pioneer Trail right 

of way from the South Tahoe Greenway 

Multi-Use Trail’s crossing location at 

Pioneer Trail to Ski Run Boulevard, 

then using Ski Run Boulevard, 

connecting back to the South Tahoe 

Greenway; (5) Use of Pioneer Trail rightof-way from Ski Run Boulevard to the 

trail’s terminus at U.S. Highway 50; and 

(6) maximize use of the former U.S. 

Highway 50 bypass right-of-way in the 

Sunset Stables project area located east 

of the Lake Tahoe Airport by locating 

the trail in the eastern-most forested 

area of the Sunset Stables project and at 

a higher elevation to allow for greater 

flexibility during future Conservancy 

design of the Sunset Stables river 

restoration project. 

Lead, Joint Lead, and Cooperating 

Agencies: The Conservancy is planning 

to construct the South Tahoe Greenway 

Multi-Use Trail. The Conservancy, 

USFS, and TRPA are preparing a joint 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/ 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

to inform agency decision makers about 

the potential environmental effects of 

the project. This joint document will 

serve as an EIR prepared by the 

Conservancy (lead CEQA agency) 

pursuant to the California 

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); an 

EIS prepared by the USFS (lead federal 

agency) pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and 

an EIS prepared by TRPA pursuant to its 

regulations. 

Responsible Official and Mailing 

Address: For Forest Service Decision, 

Terri Marceron, Forest Supervisor, Lake 

Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 

College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 

96150 is the responsible official. 

Decision to Be Made: The decision to 

be made is whether to construct a Class 

I trail on approximately 1⁄2 mile of 

National Forest System land in 

conjunction with construction of a Class 

I trail along the U.S. Highway 50 rightof-way as described in the proposed 

action, to implement another 

combination of activities which meets 

the purpose and need for action, or to 

take no action at this time. 

Scoping Process: Public scoping 

began with the publication of this 

Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. 

Notice of the preparation of the 

environmental documentation is also 

being published in a local newspaper 

(Tahoe Daily Tribune) and mailed to 

adjacent property owners. Public 

scoping opportunities with agency staff 

will be provided on the following dates: 

The City of South Lake Tahoe will 

provide an opportunity for public input 

at their Council hearing on Tuesday, 

November 28 beginning at 9 a.m. at the 

Lake Tahoe Airport, 1901 Airport Road, 

South Lake Tahoe, CA; and the TRPA 

will hold a public scoping hearing 

before their Hearings Officer on 

December 14 beginning at 2 p.m. at the 

TRPA offices, 128 Market Street, 

Stateline, NV. The Forest Service will 

accept comments at these public 

meetings. 

Preliminary Issues: During 

preparation of the Multi-Use Trail 

Preliminary Concept Plans, the 

following issues were identified: 

Disturbance of stream environment zone 

and the Upper Truckee River floodplain 

from new trail construction; potential 

water quality degradation from runoff 

and erosion from new trail creation; 

wildlife habitat environmental effects 

from direct habitat removal and 

potential habitat degradation from 

increased visitation to the project area; 

effects to sensitive vegetation 

communities and loss of ‘‘old growth’’ 

trees as defined by the TRPA Code of 

Ordinances; effects to scenic quality 

along scenic highways and at the 

Pioneer Trail roadway crossing; 

conflicts (e.g., public safety and traffic 

flow) with vehicular circulation in 

neighborhood areas and at roadway 

intersections; consistency with public 

safety plans and policies, such as the 

Lake Tahoe Airport Comprehensive 

Land Use Plan; consistency with the 

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 

Forest Plan; and consistency with the 

goals of the Conservancy Sunset Stables 

Restoration and Resource Management 

Plan Project. 

Identification of Permits or Licenses 

Required: The TRPA, California 

Department of Fish and Game, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers and California 

Regional Water Quality Control Board, 

Lahontan Region may issue project 

specific permits for trail segments 

within the Lake Tahoe Region. 

Comment Requested: This notice of 

intent initiates the scoping process that 

guides the development of the 

environmental impact statement. The 

Forest Service would like to know the 

views of interested persons, 

organizations, and agencies as to the 

scope and content of the information to 

be included and analyzed in the DEIS. 

Agencies should comment on the 

elements of the environmental 

information that are relevant to their 

statutory responsibilities in connection 

with the proposed alternatives. 

Comments must be received by 

December 20, 2006. 

Person to Which Comments may be 

Mailed: Send written comments to: Ray 

Lacey, Program Coordinator, California 

Tahoe Conservancy, 1061 Third Street, 

South Lake Tahoe, California, 96150, email: rlacey@tahoecons.ca.gov. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review: There will be 

additional opportunities to comment on 

this project in addition to this scoping 

period. When the DEIS is released there 

will be a 45 day comment period from 

the date the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes the notice of 

availability of the DEIS in the Federal 

Register. 

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, 


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reviewers of draft 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 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: November 21, 2006. 

Nancy J. Gibson, 

Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor, Lake Tahoe 

Basin Management Unit. 

[FR Doc. 06–9444 Filed 11–28–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of Proposed New Fee Sites; 

Federal Lands Recreation 

Enhancement Act, (Title VIII, Pub. L. 

108–447) 

AGENCY: Willamette National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed New Fee 

Sites. 

SUMMARY: The Willamette National 

Forest is planning to charge fees at six 

recreation sites. All sites have recently 

been reconstructed or amenities are 

being added to improve services and 

experiences. Fees are assessed based on 

the level of amenities and services 

provided, cost of operation and 

maintenance, market assessment, and 

public comment. 

The fees listed are only proposed and 

will be determined upon further 

analysis and public comment. Funds 

from fees would be used for the 

continued operation and maintenance of 

these recreation sites. 

Gold Butte and Timber Butte 

Lookouts will be available for overnight 

rental. A financial analysis is being 

completed to determine the rental fee 

but may range between $40 and $80 per 

night. Lookout rentals offer a unique 

experience and are a widely popular 

offering on National Forests. Gold Butte 

was recently resorted to maintain the 

lookout’s eligibility to the National 

Register of Historic Places. Fees would 

continue to help protect and maintain 

lookouts and their historic integrity. 

The fee structure at Harralson Horse 

Camp would change from the required 

Recreation Pass to a $10 per campsite 

for overnight use. A fee of $5 per 

additional vehicle would be required 

per campsite. Recreation passes such as 

the Northwest Forest Pass would 

continue to cover day use fees at the 

trailhead. Additional amenities are 

proposed for the facility and may 

include hitching rails, additional corrals 

and campsites, and a water system. 

Improvements allow visitors with 

horses to safely secure their stock while 

protecting area resources from 

degradation. 

Elk Lake Campground is currently a 

fee free site. Improvements are being 

made including designating up to 17 

campsites, installing fire rings, picnic 

tables and adding garbage service. Three 

new toilets were installed last year. 

Improvements will address sanitation 

and safety concerns, and improve 

deteriorating resource conditions and 

recreation experiences. A financial 

analysis is being completed to 

determine fee rates. The proposed fee to 

help maintain this site would range 

between $6 and $8 a campsite, $12–$16 

for a double site, and $5 per one 

additional vehicle per campsite. 

Whitewater Trailhead would be reestablished as a fee site since amenities 

such as toilets and garbage service have 

been added, and interpretive signing is 

being developed for this site. Recreation 

Passes such as the Northwest Forest 

Pass would cover day use fees for this 

trailhead. Northwest Forest Passes are 

$5 for a daily pass and $30 for an annual 

pass. The Forest Service proposes to 

continue charging a $5 per vehicle fee 

at Upper Arm Day Use Site from 

October through March. This newly 

constructed picnic site and formal 

swimming area opened in June of 2006, 

and is operated by Santiam Recreation 

under a concessionaire special use 

permit from April through September. 

The concessionaire currently charges a 

$5 per vehicle fee during the operating 

season of their permit. 

DATES: New fees would begin after May 

2007 and contingent upon completion 

of certain improvements. The lookout 

rentals would be available once a final 

decision is made and is listed with the 

National Recreation Reservation 

Service. 

ADDRESSES: Dalles Emch, Forest 

Supervisor, Willamette National Forest, 

211 East 7th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 

97401. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dani 

Pavoni, Recreation Fee Coordinator, 

503–854–4208. Information about 

proposed fee changes can also be found 

on the Willamette National Forest Web 

site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/willamette/ 

recreation/index.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement 

Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–447) directed 

the Secretary of Agriculture to publish 

a six month advance notice in the 

Federal Register whenever new 

recreation fee areas are established. 

Once public involvement is complete, 

these new fees will be reviewed by a 

Recreation Resource Advisory 

Committee prior to a final decision and 

implementation. People wanting to rent 

Gold Butte or Timber Butte Lookouts 

would need to do so through the 

National Recreation Reservation 

Service, at www.reserveusa.com or by 

calling 1–877–444–6777 when it 

becomes available. 


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