Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 115 / Friday, June 15, 2007 / Notices 33195 

made no decision to implement any 

alternative analyzed in the document. 

The Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service is issuing this notice to advise 

the public that we are withdrawing the 

Tajique Watershed Restoration EIS and 

will not issue a Record of Decision. The 

Forest Service plans to reassess the 

proposal and determine whether or not 

to propose any activities within the 

Tajique project area. The NEPA process 

would be re-initiated for any new 

proposed actions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Lessard, District Ranger, 

Mountainair Ranger District, Cibola 

National Forest, P.O. Box 69, 

Mountainair, NM 87036-0069, Phone 

(505) 847-2290, Fax (505) 847-2238. 

Dated: May 22, 2007. 

Nancy Rose, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–2975 Filed 6–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Settlement Land Transfers; Pueblo de 

San Ildefonso and Los Alamos County, 

Santa Fe National Forest, Los Alamos 

County/Rio Arriba/Santa Fe County, 

NM 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The US Forest Service (FS) 

will prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) on a proposed action 

that implements certain aspects of the 

Pueblo de San Ildefonso Claims 

Settlement Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–

186). Portions of the Act considered in 

this analysis include mandated transfer 

of certain National Forest System lands 

to the Pueblo de San Ildefonso (about 

7,058 acres), the Pueblo of Santa Clara 

(about 740 acres), and Los Alamos 

County (about 631 acres). Lands would 

be conveyed in exchange for an 

appraised monetary value. The 

legislation also requires the Forest 

Service to offer for purchase six parcels 

of National Forest System lands to Los 

Alamos County near the community 

(totaling about 324 acres), and to 

reconstruct Forest Road (FR) 416v to a 

high-clearance, Level 2 standard. 

Although these proposed actions have 

been mandated by the Act, the Santa Fe 

National Forest will conduct a National 

Environmental Policy Act 

environmental analysis to disclose the 

impacts of these actions, and to fully 

describe any discretionary actions that 

may also be included as part of the land 

transfers called for in the Act. However, 

under the Act, discretion is limited. A 

map of the area is located at the 

following Forest Service Web site: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/projects/. 

DATES: Comments concerning the 

project must be received by July 10, 

2007. The draft environmental impact 

statement is expected in September 

2007 and the final environmental 

impact statement is expected in 

November 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Sandy Hurlocker, District Ranger, US 

Forest Service, Espan ̃ ola Ranger District, 

P.O. Box 3307, Espan ̃ ola, New Mexico 

87533. Electronic mail (e-mail) may be 

sent to: comments-southwesternsantafe-espanola@fs.fed.us and FAX 

may be sent to (505) 753–9411. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sandy Hurlocker, District Ranger, 

Espan ̃ ola, Espan ̃ ola Ranger District, 

(505) 753–7331. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: On September 27, 2006, 

the Pueblo de San Ildefonso Claims 

Settlement Act of 2005 was signed into 

law. The purpose of the Act is to resolve 

title claims asserted against the United 

States by the San Ildefonso Pueblo 

under the proceedings of the Indian 

Claims Act (Docket No. 354). Other 

purposes of the Act related to this 

analysis are (1) The authorization of the 

Pueblo to acquire and the Forest Service 

to convey National Forest System lands 

as identified in the San Ildefonso 

Settlement Agreement (Settlement Area 

Lands), and (2) the authorization of the 

Secretary of Agriculture to convey other 

lands out of the National Forest System 

in order to comply with an inter-Pueblo 

agreement and the Los Alamos 

Agreement, which has been 

incorporated by the San Ildefonso 

Settlement Agreement and ratified by 

the Act. These additional lands include 

the Water System Lands, the Northern 

Tier Lands (to be acquired by the Santa 

Clara Pueblo), and the Los Alamos 

Townsite Lands. 

The Act provides that the Settlement 

Area Land and the Northern Tier Lands 

shall be held by the Secretary of the 

Interior in trust for the benefit of each 

Pueblo. Lands acquired by Los Alamos 

County as Water System Lands become 

San Ildefonso Pueblo tribal lands if they 

were no longer needed for Los Alamos 

County’s water facilities. Most of the 

Los Alamos Townsite lands are 

currently used for Los Alamos County 

water facilities, including Los Alamos 

Reservoir and dam, as well as water 

tanks. Except for the restrictions and 

reservations identified above, the 

Secretary of Agriculture does not 

propose to place any restrictions on 

future use of the Townsite lands, 

Settlement Area lands, Water System 

lands, or Northern Tier lands. 

The Act also calls for reservation of a 

number of road easements to assure 

public access to lands that would 

otherwise be inaccessible to motorized 

vehicles once the conveyance takes 

place. For most of these reservations, 

existing roads provide adequate access 

and so only an administrative action is 

expected. However, as part of the Los 

Alamos Agreement, road improvement 

work must be completed to improve 

public access to the National Forest 

System lands adjoining the Settlement 

Area Lands prior to conveyance. The 

Act allows for reconstruction of FR 416v 

to a high clearance, Level 2 to provide 

this access. 

Even though the Act requires these 

actions and so discretion is limited, the 

Santa Fe National Forest will study and 

disclose in an environmental impact 

statement the effects of the actions 

described in the Act that relate to the 

Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to 

transfer lands and reconstruct Road 

416v. Other actions to be undertaken by 

the Department of Interior, the Pueblo 

de San Ildefonso, or Los Alamos have 

not been included in the scope of this 

proposal because they can be 

accomplished separately. A map of the 

area is located at the following Forest 

Service Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/ 

r3/sfe/projects/. 

Proposed Action 

The Santa Fe National Forest 

proposes the following: 

• Convey the Settlement Area lands 

to the Pueblo de San Ildefonso 

(approximately 7,058 acres) located in: 

Township 20 north, Range 7 east, 

sections 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 

33; and Township 19 north, Range 7 

east, sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; New 

Mexico Principal Meridian. 

• Convey the Water System lands to 

Los Alamos County (approximately 631 

acres) located in Township 20 north, 

Range 7 east, section 31; Township 19 

north, Range 7 east, sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 

8, 9; Township 19 north, Range 6 east, 

section 1; New Mexico Principal 

Meridian. 

• Convey the Northern Tier Lands to 

the Pueblo of Santa Clara 

(approximately 740 acres) located in 

Township 20 north, Range 7 east, 

sections 17, 18; New Mexico Principal 

Meridian. 

• Offer the conveyance the Los 

Alamos Townsite lands to Los Alamos 

County. These six parcels total 

approximately 324 acres of National 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
33196 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 115 / Friday, June 15, 2007 / Notices 

Forest System lands located in 

Township 19 north, Range 4 east, 

section 13; Township 19 north, Range 5 

east, sections 3, 4, 5, 18; New Mexico 

Principal Meridian. 

• Reconstruct FR 416v to a high 

clearance, Level 2, standard, following 

the existing route as much as practical. 

Reconstruction will require grading, 

culvert placement, and possibly 

relocation of short segments. 

• Ancillary actions that may be 

implemented along with the land 

transfers and road reconstruction. 

Examples include fence construction 

along boundary lines and road closures 

where roads no longer serve a purpose 

to the management of National Forests. 

Lead Agency: The USDA Forest 

Service (FS) is the lead agency. 

Responsible Official: The responsible 

Official is the Forest Supervisor, Santa 

Fe National Forest 1474 Rodeo Road, 

P.O. Box 1689, Santa Fe, NM 87504–

1689. 

Decision Framework: The NEPA 

decision to be made is limited by the 

Act. Transfer or offering for sale of lands 

is mandated. Reconstruction of FR 416v 

is also mandated as an action that must 

be completed before the land 

conveyance can occur. However, the 

Forest will evaluate effects and develop 

mitigation measures and best 

management practices to implement 

during the road reconstruction and, 

where applicable, in the land 

conveyance. 

Scoping Process: The scoping process 

will include public meetings and field 

reviews as necessary. Appropriate 

public involvement will occur in May/ 

June 2007 as initial scoping. 

Appropriate activities will occur once 

the Draft EIS is available for review, 

which is expected to occur in the 

summer of 2007. 

Preliminary Issues: Because the 

conveyance of land will not 

significantly change the expected land 

use of the transferred lands, no 

significant issues have been identified. 

Reconstruction of FR 416v has the 

potential to affect known cultural 

resource sites located within the 

existing roadway. Because the sites and 

road occupy land between a canyon 

wall and steep ground, options to avoid 

these sites are limited, and so data 

recovery is the likely method for 

mitigating impacts. No threatened or 

endangered species—or Region 3 

sensitive species—of animal or plant are 

known in the project area. Likewise, no 

Region 3 sensitive species are known. 

Because the National Forest System 

lands would be closed to the general 

public once conveyed to the Pueblos, a 

change in recreational use patterns is 

likely. A closed pumice mine exists on 

the land to be conveyed to the San 

IIdefonso Pueblo, with reclamation 

underway. Any unfinished reclamation 

will pass to the Secretary of Interior 

pursuant to the Act, Section 7(f). 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process that guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. The Forest Service 

invites written comments and 

suggestions on the proposed action, 

including any issues to consider, as well 

as any concerns relevant to the analysis. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review: A draft 

environmental impact statement will be 

prepared for comment. The comment 

period on the draft environmental 

impact statement will be 45 days from 

the date the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes the notice of 

availability 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, 

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 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. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21) 

Dated: June 1, 2007. 

Daniel J. Jiron, 

Forest Supervisor, Santa Fe National Forest. 

[FR Doc. 07–2958 Filed 6–12–07; 1:20 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Sequoia National Forest, California; 

Sequoia National Forest Public 

Wheeled Motorized Travel 

Management EIS 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Sequoia National Forest 

will prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) to disclose the impacts 

associated with the following proposed 

actions: 

1. The addition of approximately 71 

miles of existing unauthorized routes to 

the National Forest System (NFS) of 

motorized trails, open to wheeled 

motorized vehicle use by the public. 

2. The addition of approximately 0.9 

miles of existing unauthorized routes to 

NFS roads, open to all wheeled 

motorized vehicle use by the public. 

3. The change of approximately 21.8 

miles of existing NFS roads, currently 

closed to public wheeled motorized 

vehicle use, to NFS motorized trails, 

open to wheeled motorized vehicle use 

by the public. 

4. The change of approximately 8.4 

miles of existing NFS roads, currently 

open to public wheeled motorized 

vehicle use, to NFS motorized trails, 

open to all wheeled motorized vehicle 

use by the public. 

5. The change of approximately 23.2 

miles of existing NFS roads, currently 

closed to public wheeled motorized 

vehicle use, to NFS roads, open to all 

wheeled motorized vehicle use by the 

public. 

6. The change of approximately 19.5 

miles of existing NFS roads, currently 

open to wheeled motorized vehicle use 

by the public, to closed NFS roads. 

7. The change of approximately 12.4 

miles of existing NFS roads, currently 

open to public use by highway legal 

vehicles only, to NFS roads, open to all 


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