Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 40 / Thursday, March 1, 2007 / Notices 9303 

includes authorizing livestock grazing 

on allotments within the Thunder 

Basin Analysis Area of the Thunder 

Basin National Grasslands, that will 

meet or move toward desired resource 

conditions. 

—Define an allotment specific starting 

point in which management is 

believed to be capable of meeting or 

moving toward desired conditions in 

a timely manner. 

—Monitor to evaluate both 

implementation and effectiveness of 

management actions. 

In all cases, management will use 

vegetation management tools that will 

meet LRMP Objectives, Standards and 

Guidelines, and maintain or move 

existing resource conditions toward 

Geographic Area desired conditions. If 

monitoring indicates that practices are 

being properly implemented and that 

resource trends are moving toward 

meeting desired conditions in a timely 

manner, management may continue. If 

monitoring indicates that there is a need 

to modify management practices, 

adaptive options as analyzed in the EIS 

will be selected and implemented. 

Possible Alternatives 

(1) No action. 

(2) Continued current management. 

Responsible Official 

Robert M. Sprentall, District Ranger, 

Douglas Ranger District, 2250 East 

Richards Street, Douglas, Wyoming 

82633, is the official responsible for 

making the decision on this action. He 

will document his decision and rational 

in a Record of Decision. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Responsible Official will consider 

the results of the analysis and its 

findings and then document the final 

decision in a Record of Decision (ROD). 

The decision will determine whether or 

not to authorize livestock grazing on all, 

part, or none of the allotments within 

the Thunder Basin analysis Area, and if 

so, what adaptive management design 

criteria, adaptive options, and 

monitoring will be implemented so as to 

meet or move toward the desired 

conditions in the defined timeframe. 

Scoping Process 

The Forest Service has publicly 

scoped the proposed action in August 

2006 as the Thunder Basin Analysis 

Area Vegetation Management 

Environmental Assessment. Individuals 

who submitted comments on this 

scoping will still have standing. These 

comments have been reviewed and are 

being considered as the analysis 

continues. 

Preliminary Issues 

The Forest Service has identified the 

following preliminary issues: (1) 

Current impacts to soil resources from 

the continuing drought, and livestock 

and wildlife grazing/browsing; (2) 

Potential impacts to livestock grazing 

permits on National Grasslands. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process which guides the 

development of the draft environmental 

impact statement. 

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 

statement will be 45 days from the date 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability in 

the Federal Register. While public 

participation is strictly optional at this 

stage, the Forest Service believes that it 

is important to give reviewers notice of 

several court rulings related to public 

participation in the subsequent 

environmental review process. First, 

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 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 draft environmental 

impact statement 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 also may address 

the adequacy of the draft environmental 

impact statement or the merits of the 

alternatives formulated and discussed in 

the statement. In addressing these 

points, reviewers may wish to refer to 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations which implement the 

procedural provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 40 CFR 

1503.3. 

Dated: February 21, 2007. 

Misty A. Hays, 

Deputy District Ranger. 

[FR Doc. 07–919 Filed 2–28–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Intergovernmental Advisory 

Committee Meeting, Northwest Forest 

Plan 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Intergovernmental 

Advisory Committee (IAC), Northwest 

Forest Plan (NWFP), has scheduled a 

meeting on March 20, 2007 from 8 a.m. 

to 12 noon. at the DoubleTree Hotel & 

Executive Meeting Center, 1000 NE 

Multnomah, Portland, Oregon 97232, 

(503) 281–6111, in the Multnomah 

Conference room. We will provide 

participants with updates on several 

ongoing projects of interest including 

monitoring, agency plan revisions, 

research activities, etc. 

The meeting is open to the public and 

fully accessible for people with 

disabilities. A 10-minute time slot is 

reserved for public comments at 8:10 

a.m. Interpreters are available upon 

request at least 10 days prior to the 

meeting. Written comments may be 

submitted for the meeting record. 

Interested persons are encouraged to 

attend. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions regarding this meeting may 

be directed to Kath Collier, Management 

Analyst, Regional Ecosystem Office, 333 

SW. First Avenue, P.O. Box 3623, 

Portland, OR 97208 (telephone: 503–

808–2165). 

Dated: February 20, 2007. 

Anne Badgley, 

Designated Federal Official. 

[FR Doc. E7–3564 Filed 2–28–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 


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