Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 178 / Friday, September 14, 2007 / Notices 52539 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

become a matter of public record. 

Dated: September 10, 2007. 

Kenneth C. Clayton, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–18112 Filed 9–13–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Black Hills National Forest, Northern 

Hills Ranger District, South Dakota, 

West Rim Project Area 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement on a proposal to implement 

multiple resource management actions 

within the West Rim Project Area to 

implement the amended Black Hills 

National Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan. The West Rim 

Project Area covers approximately 

43,028 acres of National Forest System 

land and approximately 10,129 acres of 

interspersed private land southwest of 

Spearfish, South Dakota. a 1/2 mile 

buffer around all parcels of private land 

is identified as Wildland Urban 

Interface (WUI). Proposed actions 

include a combination of vegetation and 

fuels treatments to reduce fire hazard, 

reduce mountain pine beetle 

susceptibility, and improve vegetative 

diversity. The proposed action includes 

approximately 6,800 acres of 

commercial thinning, 3,500 acres of 

overstory removal, 13,700 acres of precommercial thinning, 2,300 acres of 

commercial seed cuts, 470 acres of fuel 

reduction treatments, and up to 13,800 

acres of prescribed burning. 

Approximately 25 miles of new road 

construction would be necessary to 

carry out the proposed vegetation 

management actions. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

October 15, 2007. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected to be available February 2008 

and the final environmental impact 

statement is expected to be completed 

by July 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: 

Rhonda O’Byrne, District Ranger, 

Northern Hills Ranger District, 2014 

North Main Street, Spearfish, SD 57783. 

Telephone number: (605) 642–4622. Email: comments-rocky-mountain-blackhills-northern-hills@fs.fed.us with 

‘‘West Rim Project’’ as the subject. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Stores, Assistant District Planner, 

Northern Hills Ranger District, 2014 

North Main Street, Spearfish, SD 57783. 

Telephone number: (605) 642–4622. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of and Need for Action 

The purpose of and need for the 

actions proposed in the West Rim 

project area is to reduce fire hazard and 

the risk of mountain pine beetle 

infestation and to increase vegetative 

diversity. All actions are intended to 

move toward or achieve related forest 

Plan Goals and Objectives, consistent 

with forest Plan Standards and 

Guidelines. 

Proposed Action 

Proposed actions include the 

following: 

Reduce the acres at moderate-to-high 

fire hazard by thinning stands to 

decrease crown proximity and by 

reducing fuel accumulations. Thinning 

may use commercial or non-commercial 

methods. Fuel reduction treatments 

could include lopping, chipping, 

crushing, piling and burning, 

construction of fuel breaks, and 

broadcast prescribed burning. 

Reduce acres at high or medium 

susceptibility to mountain pine beetle 

by thinning stands and changing stand 

structure. Commercial and noncommercial (including prescribed 

burning) methods may be used. 

Increase vegetative diversity through 

understory or overstory thinning, 

including commercial and noncommercial timber harvest. Remove 

ponderosa pine from hardwood, 

meadow, and riparian areas. Manage 

known location of old growth for old 

growth characteristics. 

Road construction and maintenance 

activities necessary to access areas 

proposed for timber harvest. New roads 

would be closed following harvest, and 

existing roads that are not in the 

National Forest System could also be 

closed in conjunction with this project. 

The Forest Service is the sole 

responsible agency for this project; no 

cooperators are participating in project 

planning. 

Responsible Official 

Rhonda O’Byrne, District Ranger, 

Northern Hills Ranger District, 2014 

North Main Street, Spearfish, SD 57783. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The decision to be made is whether or 

not to approve the proposed action or 

alternatives at this time. No Forest Plan 

amendments are proposed. 

Scoping Process 

Comments and input regarding the 

proposed action are being requested 

from the public and other interested 

parties in conjunction with this notice 

of intent. The comment period will be 

open for thirty days, beginning on the 

date of publication of this notice of 

intent. An open house to gather 

comments from local individuals and 

groups will be held on September 19, 

2007, at the Northern Hills Ranger 

District office in Spearfish, SD. Also, 

response to the draft EIS will be sought 

from the interested public beginning 

approximately in February 2008. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. It is our desire to 

involve interested parties and especially 

adjacent landowners in identifying the 

issues related to proposed activities. 

Comments will assist in identification of 

key issues and opportunities to develop 

project alternatives and mitigation 

measures. 

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 

(beginning approximately February 15, 

2008) 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 


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52540 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 178 / Friday, September 14, 2007 / Notices 

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 (40 

CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service 

Handbook 1909.15, section 21). 

Dated: August 31, 2007. 

Craig Bobzien, 

Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest. 

[FR Doc. 07–4373 Filed 9–13–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of New Fee Site 

Authority: Federal Lands Recreation 

Enhancement Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–

447). 

AGENCY: National Forests in Florida, 

Apalachicola National Forest, USDA 

Forest Service. 

ACTION: Notice of New Fee Site. 

SUMMARY: The Apalachicola National 

Forest proposes a new fee for operations 

of OHV vehicles (all terrain vehicles 

(ATVs), utility vehicles (such as a 

Kawasaki Mule), dual sport 

motorcycles, and off road motorcycles) 

on the motorized trail system. Three 

types of permits would be available: 1 

to 3 days for $10; 7 days for $25; and 

365 days for $75. For operators younger 

than 16, the 1 to 3 day permit would be 

available for $5 per operator. The funds 

may be used for: Maintaining trails, 

staffing trailheads, cleaning restrooms at 

trailheads, grading mixed use roads, 

replacing signs, and other activities to 

manage and maintain the OHV trail 

system. The Apalachicola National 

Forest has proposed a motorized trail 

system of approximately 55 miles for 

dual sport and off road motorcycles and 

another 55 miles for all terrain vehicles, 

utility vehicles, and dual sport and off 

road motorcycles. 

DATES: The proposed fee will be 

initiated April 1, 2008. Comments, 

concerns or questions about this new fee 

must submitted by November 30, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, concerns 

or questions about the new fee 

associated with the Apalachicola 

National Forest’s ATV trails, motorcycle 

trails, and mixed use roads to TRAIL 

FEES, District Ranger, Apalachicola 

National Forest, 57 Taff Drive, 

Crawfordville, FL 32327. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cathy Briggs, Recreation Manager, 

Apalachicola National Forest, 850–926–

3561 x6509 or cbriggs@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement 

Act (Title VIII, 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. The 

Recreation Resource Advisory 

Committee will review considerations 

for new fees at least three months prior 

to the proposed initiation date. OHV use 

has been ongoing for many years on the 

Apalachicola National Forest. 

Dated: September 5, 2007. 

Harold G. Shenk, 

Deputy District Ranger, Apalachicola 

National Forest. 

[FR Doc. 07–4557 Filed 9–13–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–52–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Intermountain Region, Boise, Payette, 

and Sawtooth National Forests; 

Amendment to the 2003 Land and 

Resource Management Plans 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare 

an environmental impact statement 

(EIS). 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) to disclose the 

environmental effects of proposed 

nonsignificant amendments to the three 

Southwest Idaho Ecogroup (SWIE) 2003 

Land and Resource Management Plans 

(Forest Plans). Amendments to the 2003 

Forest Plans for the Boise, Payette, and 

Sawtooth National Forests will add, 

and/or modify existing, management 

direction, as needed, to implement a 

comprehensive, Forest Plan-level, 

wildlife conservation strategy (WCS). 

This WCS will identify both short- and 

long-term management strategies and 

priorities for maintaining and restoring 

habitats associated with terrestrial 

wildlife species. The proposed 

nonsignificant amendments will 

provide management direction and 

guidance that focuses on those habitats, 

and their associated species, identified 

in the WCS as being of greatest 

conservation concern during the current 

planning period (i.e., next 10–15 years). 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received within 

30 days following the date of 

publication of this NOI. The Draft EIS is 

expected to be available in mid- to latewinter 2008 for a 90-day comment 

period. The single Final EIS and three 

RODs, one for each Forest Plan, are 

expected to be completed by late 

summer 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Randall Hayman, Forest Planner, Boise 

National Forest; 1249 South Vinnell 

Way, Suite 200; Boise, Idaho 83709; or 

by fax at 208–373–4111; or you may 

hand-deliver your comments to the 

Boise Forest Supervisor’s Office, located 

at 1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200, 

Boise, during normal business hours 

from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding Federal 

holidays. Electronic comments must be 

submitted in a format such as an e-mail 

message, plain text (.txt), rich text 

format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to: 

comments-intermtn-boise@fs.fed.us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Randall Hayman, Forest Planner, Boise 

National Forest at the address above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Separate 

RODs for revised Forest Plans were 

issued in July 2003 for each of the SWIE 

National Forests (Boise, Payette, and 

Sawtooth). The RODs implemented 

Alternative 7, as identified in the single 

FINAL EIS that disclosed the 

environmental effects of the seven 

alternative Forest Plan strategies 

considered for these three National 

Forests. Implementation of the three 

revised Forest Plans began in September 

2003. 

Analyses supporting Forest Plan 

Revision identified wildlife habitats that 

had declined from historical conditions 

and associated these habitats with 

species of conservation concern (2003 

Final EIS, pp. 3–255 to 3–289). Based on 

an update to the 2003 multi-scale 

analysis initiated in 2005, the Forest 

Supervisors for the three Forests are in 


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