Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 25, 2007 / Notices 40831 

draft environmental impact statement 

will be 45 days from the date that 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. 

Reviewers of draft environmental 

impact statements must structure their 

participation in the 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, 533 (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, 409 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 the 

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 

alternative 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. 

Dated: July 18, 2007. 

Nancy J. Rusho, 

Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–3616 Filed 7–24–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

South Project; Hell Canyon Ranger 

District, Black Hills National Forest 

Custer, SD 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

SUMMARY: The Hell Canyon Ranger 

District of the Black Hills National 

Forest intends to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for a proposal to implement multiple 

resource management actions within the 

South project area as directed by the 

Black Hills National Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan. The South 

project area is approximately 52,082 

acres in size, with 43,045 acres of 

National Forest lands, 1,197 acres of 

state land and 7,840 acres of private 

land. The project proposes to reduce the 

risk of large-scale wildfire effects on the 

At-Risks Communities (ARC) of Custer, 

Pringle and Argyle, South Dakota, 

provide for wildlife habitat needs, 

reduce risks of mountain pine beetle 

infestation, provide a sustainable supply 

of commercial timber, and provide 

management and public access. 

DATES: Comments related to this project 

will be most useful to the planning team 

if received within 30 days after 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. The draft environmental 

impact statement is expected to be 

available January 2008 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected to be completed by June 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Michael D. Lloyd, District Ranger, Black 

Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon 

Ranger District, 330 Mount Rushmore 

Road, Custer, South Dakota 57730. 

Telephone number: (605) 673–4853. Fax 

number: (605) 673–5461. Electronic 

comments must be readable in Word, 

RichText or pdf format and must 

contain ‘‘South’’ in the subject line. 

Electronic comments may be e-mailed 

to: comments-rocky-mountain-blackhills-hell-canyon@fs.fed.us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Betsy Koncerak, Project Leader, at the 

address listed above or by phone at 

(605) 673–4853. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

actions proposed are in direct response 

to management direction provided by 

the Black Hills National Forest Land 

and Resource Management Plan, as 

amended (Forest Plan). The Project Area 

is located approximately four miles west 

of Custer, South Dakota and is within 

Custer County. The northernmost point 

of the project area lies approximately 

four miles north of US Highway 16 

along Lightning Creek road. The 

southernmost point of the project area is 

approximately 12 miles south of US 

Highway 16 along Pleasant Valley Road. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose and need for action in 

the South project area is to reduce the 

risk of large-scale wildfire on the AtRisk Communities (ARCs) of Custer, 

Pringle and Argyle, South Dakota (66 FR 

43384), provide for wildlife habitat 

needs, enhance vegetative diversity, 

reduce the risk of mountain pine beetle 

infestation, and provide a sustainable 

supply of commercial timber consistent 

with direction in the Revised Forest 

Plan for the Black Hills National Forest, 

as amended (Forest Plan), while 

providing for management and public 

access needs. This project is focused on 

implementing management actions that 

move toward achieving desired 

conditions and objectives embodied in 

Goals 10 (establish and maintain a 

mosaic of vegetation conditions to 

reduce occurrences of large-scale fire, 

insect, and disease events), 2 (provide 

for biologically diverse ecosystems), and 

3 (provide for sustained commodity 

uses) of the Forest Plan. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action includes the 

following management actions: 

• Commercial thinning to 40 basal 

area on approximately 9,621 acres to 

reduce fuels around private lands to 

reduce the risk of large-scale wildfire. In 

addition, approximately 9,400 acres of 

prescribed burning is proposed to 

reduce fuels in other portions of the 

project area to create fuel breaks for 

community protection. 

• Commercial thinning to 60 basal 

area on approximately 2,628 acres to 

increase tree growth and vigor, reduce 

the potential for mountain pine beetle 

infestation and reduce the potential for 

spreading crown fires. 

• Releasing approximately 11,428 

acres of regenerated pine stands through 

overstory removal prescriptions. 

• Restoration and maintenance of 

meadows by removing conifers from 

approximately 2,847 acres of these 

habitats. 

• Reducing the density of the 

managed road system, which is 

currently 5.4 miles per square mile, by 

closing unneeded roads and by 

converting needed, unauthorized roads 

to system roads. 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
40832 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 25, 2007 / Notices 

Responsible Official 

Michael D. Lloyd, District Ranger, 

Black Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon 

Ranger District, 330 Mount Rushmore 

Road, Custer, South Dakota 57730. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The decision to be made is whether or 

not to implement the proposed action or 

an alternative to the proposed action at 

this time. 

Scoping Process 

The Hell Canyon Ranger District has 

mailed letters with comprehensive 

scoping documents to landowners, local 

and tribal government representatives, 

permittees, and other interested or 

potentially affected parties and 

organizations. The scoping document 

with attached maps will be posted on 

the Black Hills National Forest Web site 

in July 2007. Comments submitted in 

response to this NOI will be most useful 

to the project planning team if received 

within 30 days from the date of this 

notice. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent is part of the 

scoping process which will guide the 

development of the EIS. Comments 

received will assist the planing team 

with identification of key issues to 

refine the proposal, create alternative 

proposals, and identify necessary 

project design features. Comments on 

the Draft EIS will be requested during 

the 45 day comment period following 

publication of the Notice of Availability 

in the Federal Register which is 

expected in January 2008. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

A Draft EIS 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 planning team 

would like to take this opportunity to 

give reviewers advanced notice of 

several court rulings related to public 

participation in the environmental 

review process: (1) Reviewers of draft 

environmental impact statements must 

structure their participation in the 

environmental review of the proposal so 

that it is meaningful and alters an 

agency to the reviewer’s position and 

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear 

Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 

(1978); (2) 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, parties interested in this 

proposed action must submit comments 

by the close of the 45 day comment 

period to assure that the Forest Service 

planning team can meaningfully 

consider 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. Please 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 

within the statement. In addressing 

these points, 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. 

Comments received on this proposal, 

including names and addresses of those 

who comment, will be considered part 

of the public record and will be 

available for public inspection. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21) 

Dated: July 18, 2007. 

Craig Bobzien 

Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest. 

[FR Doc. 07–3621 Filed 7–24–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of Southwest Idaho Resource 

Advisory Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the authorities in 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463) and under the Secure 

Rural Schools and Community SelfDetermination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–

393), the Boise and Payette National 

Forests’ Southwest Idaho Resource 

Advisory Committee will conduct a 

business meeting, which is open to the 

public. 

DATES: Wednesday, August 8, 2007, 

beginning at 10:30 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: Idaho Counties Risk 

Management Program Building, 3100 

South Vista Avenue, Boise, Idaho. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda 

topics will include review and approval 

of project proposals, and is an open 

public forum. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doug Gochnour, Designated Federal 

Officer, at 208–392–6681 or e-mail 

dgochnour@fs.fed.us. 

Dated: July 17, 2007. 

Richard A. Smith, 

Forest Supervisor, Boise National Forest. 

[FR Doc. 07–3617 Filed 7–24–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE: 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Sierra County, CA, Resource Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Sierra County Resource 

Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet on 

August 9, 2007, in Sierraville, 

California. The purpose of the meeting 

is to discuss issues relating to 

implementing the Secure Rural Schools 

and Community Self-Determination Act 

of 2000 (Payments to States) as extended 

by Public Law 110–28 and the 

expenditure of Title II funds benefiting 

National Forest System lands on the 

Humboldt-Toiyabe, Plumas and Tahoe 

National Forests in Sierra County. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 10 a.m. (If 

there is a need to cancel this meeting, 

a back-up is scheduled for Monday, 

August 13, 2007 at the same time/ 

location.) 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Downieville Community Hall, 

Downieville, CA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann 

Westling, Committee Coordinator, 

USDA, Tahoe National Forest, 631 

Coyote St., Nevada City, CA 95959, 

(530) 478–6205, e-mail: 

awestling@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda 

items to be covered include: (1) 

Welcome and announcements; (2) status 

of previously approved projects; and (3) 

review of and decisions on new projects 

proposals for current year. The meeting 

is open to the public and the public will 

have an opportunity to comment at the 

meeting. 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES