Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 149 / Friday, August 3, 2007 / Notices 43225 

• Salmon, Idaho—August 9, 2007, 

4:30–8 p.m. Salmon, Idaho—Public 

Lands Center, 1206 South Challis Street. 

• Idaho Falls, Idaho—August 15, 

2007, 4:30–8 p.m. Caribou-Targhee 

National Forest, Supervisor’s Office, 

1405 Hollipark Drive. 

• Blackfoot, Idaho—August 16, 2007, 

4:30–8 p.m. Blackfoot City Council 

Room, Library Building, 157 No. 

Broadway. 

• North Fork, Idaho—August 22, 

2007, 4:30–8 p.m. North Fork Fire 

Station, Highway 93. 

• Leadore, Idaho—August 28, 2007, 

4:30–8 p.m. Leadore Community Center, 

Highway 28. 

Notice of all meetings will be posted 

on the Forest’s website and advertised 

in the Recorder Herald, Challis 

Messenger, Arco Advertiser, and Post 

Register newspapers. 

Based on comments received as a 

result of this notice and after the Forest 

has conducted public meetings and 

afforded the public sufficient time to 

respond to the preliminary Proposed 

Action, the Forest will use the public 

scoping comments and concerns along 

with resource-related input from the 

interdisciplanary team and other agency 

resource specialists to identify a set of 

issues to carry forward into the 

environmental analysis. 

Preliminary Issues 

The Forest Service has received some 

indications of potential issues from the 

initial public involvement process. 

These potential issues include: 

(1) Adverse resource impacts caused 

by inappropriate types of vehicle use 

and unrestricted season of use. 

(2) Infringement on wildlife caused by 

roads in important or critical habitat, 

high density of roads in wildlife habitat 

areas, and disturbance of wildlife during 

critical lifecycle periods. 

(3) Loss of recreational opportunity 

when existing routes are closed to 

motorized travel. 

(4) Loss of semi-primitive and 

primitive recreational opportunity if 

more routes are open to motorized 

travel. 

(5) Failure to accommodate the 

growing number of motorized users 

desiring to use federal lands for 

recreational riding of ATVs and 

motorcycles. 

(6) Inconsistencies between adjoining 

public lands. 

(7) Enforcement concerns centered on 

whether the agency has the ability to 

provide enforcement once decisions 

have been made on allowed routes and 

uses for motorized travel. 

(8) Safety concerns on routes where 

multiple vehicle types (full-sized trucks 

and cars, ATVs, and motorcycles) are 

allowed. 

(9) Conflicts with landowners when 

routes cross private lands to access 

federally managed lands. 

The Forest Service recognizes that 

this list of issues may not be complete 

and issues will be further defined and 

refined as scoping continues. A 

comprehensive list of key issues will be 

determined before the range of 

alternatives is developed and the 

environmental analysis is started. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent begins the formal 

scoping process in the development of 

the environmental impact statement. All 

comments received during the initial 

comment period (April 2006–March 

2007) will be brought forward into this 

formal scoping, and those who 

commented then need not comment 

again to have their comments 

considered, or to demonstrate their 

interest in this planning process. Any 

new or additional comments about the 

proposed action would be most useful if 

received by September 7, 2007. Persons 

and organizations commenting during 

the intitial scoping will be maintained 

on the mailing list for future 

information about Salmon-Challis 

National Forest Travel Management 

Planning. 

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 (EPA) publishes the notice of 

availability in the Federal Register. 

Written comments are preferred and 

should include the name and address of 

the commenter. Comments submitted 

for this proposed action will be 

considered part of the public record. 

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 

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 25, 2007. 

William A. Wood, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E7–14977 Filed 8–2–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Pinalen ̃o Ecosystem Restoration 

Project, Safford Ranger District, 

Coronado National Forest, Graham 

County, Arizona 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

President’s Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) Regulations 

Implementing the Procedural Provisions 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) of 1969, the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Coronado National Forest, 

announces its intent to prepare an 

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43226 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 149 / Friday, August 3, 2007 / Notices 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

to evaluate a proposed action to thin 

dense forests, remove standing dead 

trees and down woody debris, and use 

prescribed fire on approximately 3,705 

acres in the Pinalen ̃ o Mountains in 

Graham County, Arizona, within 

Townships 8 and 9 South, Ranges 23 

and 24 East, Gila and Salt River 

Meridian. These treatments would be 

carried out over a 10-year period for the 

purposes of restoring a fire-adapted 

ecosystem and aiding in the recovery of 

the Mount Graham red squirrel 

population and habitat. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the EIS analysis must be received by 

30 days following the publication of this 

notice. The Draft EIS is expected to be 

filed with the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) in the spring of 2008. At 

that time, EPA will publish a Notice of 

Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in 

the Federal Register, which will begin 

a period of public review of the Draft 

EIS. The review period will comprise 45 

days from the date of publication of the 

NOA in the Federal Register. The Final 

EIS is scheduled to be completed in the 

summer of 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this 

notice may be mailed to the Craig 

Wilcox, Forest Silviculturist, Coronado 

National Forest, Safford Ranger District, 

711 S. 14th Ave., Suite D, Safford, AZ 

85546. Written comments may also be 

sent by facsimile to Mr. Wilcox at (928) 

428–2393. Comments may be submitted 

by electronic mail to 

cpwilcox@fs.fed.us. Envelopes and the 

subject line of electronic mail messages 

or faxes should be labeled ‘‘Pinalen ̃ o 

Ecosystem Restoration Project EIS.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the Pinalen ̃ o Ecosystem 

Restoration Project, please contact Mr. 

Craig Wilcox, Forest Silviculturist, 

Coronado National Forest, at the above 

address, and telephone (928) 348–1961. 

Questions on the Forest Service NEPA 

process may be directed to Ms. Andrea 

Wargo Campbell, Forest NEPA 

Coordinator, at 300 W. Congress St., 

Tucson, AZ 85701, and telephone (520) 

388–8352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Over the past 100 years, fire 

suppression and other factors have 

diminished the natural ecological role of 

fire in the Pinalen ̃ o Mountains on the 

Safford Ranger District of the Coronado 

National Forest, resulting in a higher 

than average stand density and a heavy 

accumulation of dead and downed trees 

(fuel load). Both of these forest 

conditions increase the probability and 

consequences of severe wildland fire 

occurrence in the area. 

In 1996 and 2004, large-acreage, highintensity wildland fires exacerbated a 

reduction in the population of the 

Federally endangered Mount Graham 

red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus 

grahamensis) through habitat loss and 

mortality. Also, since 1996, progressive 

insect infestations have defoliated and 

killed trees in the spruce-fir and mixedconifer forests of the Pinalen ̃ o 

Mountains. Tree mortality associated 

with these outbreaks has exacerbated 

the probability of wildland fire and 

contributed further to a decline in the 

red squirrel population through habitat 

loss. Today, the population of the red 

squirrel is at its lowest point since 

censuses were initiated in 1986, and the 

viability of the species is of paramount 

concern to both the Forest Service and 

other Federal and state wildlife 

management agencies. 

In May 2005, the Forest Service 

developed a tentative proposal to treat 

this area of the Forest to decrease the 

probability of severe wildland fire and 

improve general forest health. At that 

time, a scoping notice was distributed to 

the public requesting comments on the 

proposal, and two open house meetings 

were held to explain the nature of the 

treatments that were planned to be 

implemented. Based on public input 

and a continued decline in the squirrel 

population, the Forest Service has since 

recognized the need for further 

refinement of the proposed action to 

achieve a balance between short-term 

protection of squirrel habitat and longterm forest restoration. Thus, in 2007, a 

refined proposed action was developed 

to emphasize a concurrent reduction in 

the potential for severe wildland fire 

impacts and insect and disease 

outbreaks, while managing for long-term 

sustainability of red squirrel habitat. 

Given the sensitive nature of any 

proposed Forest treatments to the red 

squirrel and its habitat, the Forest 

Service decided to prepare an EIS that 

would provide a robust analysis to the 

decisionmaker, cooperating agencies 

and the public. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action that will be 

evaluated in this EIS includes both onthe-ground treatments to improve Forest 

health and improve or protect red 

squirrel habitat; and administrative 

actions to incorporate amendments to 

the governing Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan (Forest Plan), the 

latter of which will allow on-the-ground 

treatments to be implemented. 

On the ground, approximately 3,705 

acres of Forest would receive various 

combinations of silvicultural 

prescriptive treatments and/or fuel 

reduction actions, which include 

mechanical treatments and prescribed 

fire. To accomplish the proposed action, 

the Forest Plan must be amended to 

allow Christmas tree removal and public 

fuelwood gathering and to establish less 

restrictive Visual Quality Objectives 

(VQO) in the project area. Thus, the EIS 

will also evaluate proposed action of 

amending the Forest Plan to change 

current standards and guidelines for the 

project area. 

The proposed action would 

implement more than 50 combinations 

of vegetation treatment options, 

depending on stand density and other 

physical conditions. These 

combinations will follow two general 

treatment strategies tiered from 

management guidance for the Mount 

Graham red squirrel and the Mexican 

spotted owl. 

Live-tree thinning, using a 

combination of variable density, 

thinning from below, and group 

selection thinning techniques, is 

proposed as a silvicultural treatment on 

approximately 2,862 acres. In this 

treatment area, no live or dead trees 

larger than 18-inches diameter at breast 

height (dbh) would be removed on 1,773 

acres; larger than 12-inches dbh on 47 

acres; and larger than 9 inches dbh on 

1,042 acres. Pockets of standing dead 

trees (up to 18-inches dbh) would be 

removed in areas where high tree 

mortality has occurred because of 

wildland fire and/or insect infestations. 

Forest fuel reduction treatments 

would generally occur in the same areas 

where silvicultural treatments are 

proposed. These actions include 

masticating small trees (461 acres); 

lopping and scattering of trees less than 

9 inches diameter (3,092 acres); 

underburning (2,642 acres); hand piling 

and burning small trees (1,612 acres); 

and pruning trees in treatment units that 

are along major roads. 

Vegetation that is not mechanically 

reduced onsite would be removed from 

treatment units and transferred to 

collection points (landings) using 

ground-based mechanical removal 

equipment, cable logging systems, and/ 

or manual, hand-based labor. The 

transfer method for each treatment unit 

would depend upon topography, 

availability of road access, cost, and 

resource protection needs. After 

material is removed from treatment 

units and taken to landings, it would be 

processed into sawlogs, firewood, or 

chips, and trucked from the project area. 

Some material may be piled and burned 

at the landing site. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 149 / Friday, August 3, 2007 / Notices 43227 

All proposed treatments would 

include resource-specific design criteria 

to guide the manner in which the 

actions are implemented in order to 

minimize or reduce anticipated effects. 

Treatments are expected to continue in 

the project area for up to a period of ten 

years. 

Purpose of and Need for Action 

The purpose of this proposed action 

is to restore Forest ecosystem health and 

to protect habitat or restore degraded 

habitat for the endangered Mount 

Graham red squirrel. 

Current fuel loads and stand densities 

in the project area are much greater than 

historic forest conditions, leaving the 

forest increasingly vulnerable to disease, 

insect infestations, and fire. The 

ecological implications of these shifts 

have led to increased susceptibility of 

the Forest to insect outbreaks and standreplacing fires. Therefore, there is a 

need to initiate restoration of natural 

ecological processes and to treat the 

causes of declining ecosystem health by 

reducing stand densities, changing 

understory species composition, and 

reducing fuel loading. Restoration seeks 

to return forests, or to initiate an 

ecological trajectory to return forests, to 

a condition that is self-sustaining and 

compatible with the conditions under 

which they naturally evolved. 

According to the Mount Graham Red 

Squirrel Recovery Plan (USDI Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 1993, Arizona 

Ecological Services State Office, 

Phoenix, AZ), the main threats to this 

endangered subspecies are habitat loss 

and catastrophic wildland fire. Over the 

past 20 years, approximately 50% of 

previously occupied red squirrel habitat 

has been rendered unsuitable due to 

insect outbreaks and fire. Associated 

with this reduction in habitat, there is 

an accompanying decline in population 

size; the current population estimate is 

216 squirrels. As such, the remaining 

habitat, most of which falls within the 

project area, is of high importance. 

Therefore, a need exists to protect red 

squirrel habitat within the project area 

from losses due to fire, insect outbreaks, 

and diseases, and to restore areas of 

degraded habitat for this subspecies. 

Preliminary Identification of Issues 

Based on a preliminary review of the 

proposed action, the following issues 

were identified: 

1. Short term impacts to the Mexican 

spotted owl may occur. 

2. The efficacy of fuel reduction 

treatments proposed in this project is 

limited by the need to protect the Mount 

Graham red squirrel. 

3. An increase of interspecies 

competition from the introduced Abert’s 

squirrel with the Mount Graham red 

squirrel may result due to an increase in 

pine species. 

4. An increase of avian predation on 

the Mount Graham red squirrel may 

result due to a reduction in hiding 

cover. 

Responsible Official 

Jeanine Derby, Forest Supervisor, 

Coronado National Forest, will be the 

Responsible Official who prepares the 

Record of Decision at the conclusion of 

this NEPA review. The address for the 

Coronado National Forest is 300 W. 

Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701. 

Nature of NEPA Decision To Be Made 

The Coronado National Forest 

Supervisor’s decision will address 

implementation of: (1) The proposed 

action, including Forest Plan 

amendments, (2) (an) alternative(s) to 

the proposed action and/or amendments 

if any exist, or (3) the no-action 

alternative; and approve or disapprove 

each of three proposed amendments to 

the Forest Plan. 

Comments Requested 

The Forest Service encourages 

citizens to express issues, concerns, and 

suggestions they may have about this 

proposed action. Comments should be 

directly related to the proposed action 

to best assist us in our environmental 

impacts analysis. Although comments 

are welcome at any time, they will be 

most useful to us if they are received by 

30 days following the publication of this 

notice If you have any questions about 

this notice or the comment process, 

please contact Craig Wilcox, Forest 

Silviculturist, Coronado National Forest, 

Safford Ranger District, at telephone 

(928) 348–1961, prior to submitting your 

comments. 

Written comments on this notice may 

be mailed to Craig Wilcox, Forest 

Silviculturist, Coronado National Forest, 

Stafford Ranger District, 711 S. 14th 

Ave., Suite D, Safford, AZ 85546. You 

may also submit written comments by 

facsimile to Mr. Wilcox at (928) 428–

2393. Comments may be submitted by 

electronic mail to cpwilcox@fs.fed.us. 

Envelopes and the subject line of 

electronic mail messages or faxes should 

be labeled ‘‘Pinalen ̃ o Ecosystem 

Restoration Project EIS.’’

Comments and personal information 

associated with them, such as names 

and addresses, will become part of the 

administrative project record for this 

NEPA review. As such, they may be 

made available to a third-party upon 

request pursuant to the Freedom of 

Infomation act (FOIA). If you do not 

wish your personal information to be 

subject to release under FOIA, you may 

choose not to include it with your 

comments. Alternatively, you may 

request an exemption from FOIA with 

your comments submittal. Should you 

choose the latter, you will be informed 

by the Forest Service as to whether or 

not your request qualifies for an 

exemption. If it does not, you will be 

afforded the opportunity to resubmit 

your comments without personal 

information or to withhold them. 

Early Notice of the Importance of 

Public Participation in the NEPA 

Process 

Following the 30-day scoping period 

announced in this notice, the Forest 

Service will prepare a draft 

environmental impact statement (DEIS). 

Upon completion, the DEIS will be 

made available for a 45-day public 

review and comment period that will 

begin on the date that the EPA publishes 

a Notice of Availability of the DEIS in 

the Federal Register. The Forest Service 

believes that, at this early stage, it is 

important to provide the public with 

notice about several court rulings 

related to public participation in the 

NEPA environmental review process. 

First, reviewers of a DEIS must 

structure their participation in the 

NEPA review so that it is meaningful 

and alerts the 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 DEIS stage but are not 

raised until after completion of the final 

environmental impact statement (FEIS) 

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. Wisc. 1980)]. 

Because of these court rulings, it is very 

important that those parties who are 

interested in this proposed action 

participate before the close of a public 

comment period so that substantive 

comments and objections are available 

to the Forest Service in a timely manner 

that will allow them to be meaningfully 

considered and subsequently addressed 

in the FEIS. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns about the proposed action, 

comments on a DEIS should be as 

specific as possible. It is also helpful if 

comments refer to specific line 

numbers, pages, and/or chapters of the 

DEIS. Comments may address the 

adequacy of the DEIS or the merits of 

the alternatives formulated and 

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43228 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 149 / Friday, August 3, 2007 / Notices 

discussed in it. For comments of this 

nature, reviewers may choose to refer to 

CEQ regulations at 40 CFR 1503.3. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record of this NEPA review and 

will be available for public inspection 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

FSF 1909.15, Section 21). 

Authorization: National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 4321–4346); 

Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508); 

U.S. Department of Agriculture NEPA 

Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1b). 

Dated: July 30, 2007. 

Jeanine A. Derby, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–3812 Filed 8–2–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Manti-La Sal National Forest, Utah, EIS 

for Oil and Gas Leasing 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA, and 

Bureau of Land Management, USDI. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Manti-La Sal National 

Forest gives notice of the intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) to document the 

analysis and disclose the environmental 

and human effects of oil and gas leasing 

on lands administered by the Manti-La 

Sal National Forest. The Federal 

Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform 

Act of 1987 (FOOGLRA) requires the 

Forest Service to evaluate National 

Forest System (NFS) lands for potential 

oil and gas leasing. 

As the agency responsible for lease 

issuance and administration, the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) will 

participate as a cooperating agency. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis should be received by 

September 10, 2007, to be most helpful. 

The draft environmental impact 

statement is scheduled for completion 

by the spring of 2008, and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

scheduled for completion by the fall of 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: 

Dale Harber, Oil and Gas Team Leader, 

Manti-La Sal National Forest, 599 West 

Price River Drive, Price, UT 84501; 

phone (435) 636–3548; fax (435) 637–

4940; email comments-intermtn-mantilasal@fs.fed.us. Please include ‘‘Oil and 

Gas Leasing Analysis Project’’ on the 

subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann 

King, Public Affairs Officer, Manti-La 

Sal National Forest, 599 West Price 

River Drive, Price, UT 84501; phone 

(435) 636–3535. 

Fore technical information contact 

Dale Harber, Oil and Gas Team Leader, 

(435) 636–3548. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

FOOGLRA requires the Forest Service 

to evaluate NFS lands for potential oil 

and gas leasing and establishes Forest 

Service consent authority for leasing 

prior to the BLM offering NFS lands for 

lease. A leasing EIS was prepared in the 

early 1990s, with the Record of Decision 

(ROD) signed January 12, 1993, and a 

ROD modifying specific aspects of the 

original ROD signed on January 4, 1994. 

Due to the length of time since the last 

EIS was prepared and the increased 

interest by the industry due to the 

increased demand for oil and gas, high 

prices, and discoveries of oil and gas 

reserves in nearby areas with similar 

geologic conditions, it is now time to 

prepare an updated EIS to continue 

leasing. The BLM Utah State Office has 

received, and continues to receive, 

numerous Expressions of Interest for 

leasing portions of the Manti-La Sal 

Natioal Forest. 

Proposed Action 

The Forest Supervisor of the Manti-La 

Sal National Forest and the Utah State 

Director, Bureau of Land Management, 

propose to conduct that analysis and 

decide which lands to make available 

for oil and gas leasing. The analysis area 

includes all NFS lands administered by 

the Manti-La Sal National Forest. As 

part of the analysis, the Forest Service 

will identify those areas that would be 

available for leasing subject to the terms 

and conditions of the standard oil and 

gas lease form, or the use of lease 

stipulations such as those prohibiting 

surface occupancy. The analysis will 

also: (1) Identify alternatives to the 

proposed action, including that of not 

allowing leasing (no action), (2) project 

the type/amount of post-leasing activity 

that is reasonably foreseeable, and (3) 

analyze the reasonably foreseeable 

impacts of projected post-leasing 

activity [36 CFR 228.102(c)]. 

Possible Alternatives 

All alternatives studied in detail must 

fall within the scope of the purpose and 

need for action and will generally tier to 

and comply with the Manti-La Sal 

Forest Plan. Law requires evaluation of 

a ‘‘no action alternative’’. Under the No 

Action/No Lease alternative, no 

additional oil and gas leasing would 

occur. Alternatives to be evaluated 

would range from the No Action/No 

Lease alternative (most restrictive) to the 

Standard Lease Terms alterative (least 

restrictive) where all lands legally open 

to leasing would be made 

administratively available for leasing 

with only the standard BLM terms and 

conditions contained on BLM Lease 

Form 3100–11. Other alternatives which 

fall somewhere between the No Action/ 

No Lease alternative and Lease with 

Standard Terms alternative would also 

be developed and evaluated, which 

would involve making some lands 

unavailable for leasing and other lands 

available for leasing with stipulations 

for the protection of other resources and 

interests. 

The Forest is expecting that the public 

input will generate either thematic 

concerns or area-specific issues that 

may be addressed by modifying the 

proposed action to create a new 

alternative or alternatives. 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

The Forest Service is the lead agency. 

The Bureau of Land Management will 

participate as a cooperating agency. 

Responsible Officials 

Rodney L. Player, Forest Supervisor, 

Manti-La Sal National Forest, 599 West 

Price River Drive, Price, UT 84501. 

Selma Sierra, Utah State Director, 

Bureau of Land Management, 440 West 

200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 

84145. 

Nature of Decision to be Made 

The Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal 

National Forest, will decide which 

lands administered by the Manti-La Sal 

National Forest will be administratively 

available for oil and gas leasing, along 

with associated conditions or 

constraints for the protection of nonmineral interests [36 CFR 228.102(d)]. 

The Forest Supervisor will also 

authorize the BLM to offer specific 

lands for lease, subject to the Forest 

Service ensuring that the required 

stipulations are attached to the leases 

[36 CFR 228.102(e)]. 

The BLM is responsible for issuing 

and administration of oil and gas leases 

under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, 

as amended, and Federal Regulations in 

43 CFR 3101.7. The BLM Utah State 

Director must decide whether or not to 

offer for lease specific lands authorized 

for leasing by the Manti-La Sal National 

Forest and with what stipulations. 

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