45620 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices

the Environmental Protection Agency in

April 1998. The comment period on the

draft is 45 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency

publishes the Notice of Availability in

the Federal Register. Agencies and

other interested persons or groups are

invited to write or speak with Forest

Service officials at any time during the

planning process until the 45 day

comment period on the draft ends. The

final environmental impact statement

and record of decision is expected to be

completed in June 1998.

The Forest Service believes it is

important to give reviewers notice at

this early stage 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 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.)

Please note that comments you make on

the draft environmental impact

statement will be regarded as public

information.

Decisions to be Made

Abigail Kimbell, Forest Supervisor, is

the Responsible Official and will decide

whether or not to authorize timber

harvest within the South Babione

Project Area. The Responsible Official

will make a decision regarding this

proposal after considering public

comments and the information in the

final environmental impact statement,

and applicable laws, regulations and

policies. The decision and supporting

reason will be documented in the

Record of Decision.

Dated: August 20, 1997.

Abigail R. Kimbell,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–22901 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

California Coast Province Advisory

Committee (PAC)

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The California Coast Province

Advisory Committee (PAC) will meet on

September 17 and 18, 1997, in

Garberville and Redway, CA. The PAC

will take a field trip on September 17 to

observe restoration and fisheries

activities in the Garberville area. The

field trip will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the

parking lot of the Best Western

Humboldt House, 701 Redwood Drive,

Garberville, and conclude there at 4:00

p.m. A discussion of the field trip will

be held at the breakfast room of the Best

Western Humboldt House from 4:00 to

5:30 p.m. that day. A business meeting

will be held September 18, from 8:00

a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Brass Rail

meeting room, 3188 Redwood Drive,

Redway, CA. Agenda items to be

covered include: (1) Presentation on

Northwest Forest Plan implementation

concerns; (2) Presentation on

Intergovernmental Advisory Committee

(IAC)/PAC relations; (3) Presentation on

the North Coast Geographic Information

Cooperative; (4) Presentation on

National Marine Fisheries Service

steelhead listing announcement and

clarification of consultation process/

requirements for restoration projects RE:

coho and steelhead; (5) Report and

recommendations from the Public/

Private/Tribal Partnership

Opportunities Subcommittee; (6) Report

and recommendations from the

Monitoring Subcommittee; (7) Report

and recommendations from the Work on

the Ground Subcommittee to include

the Pacific Southwest Research fuels

research proposal; (8) Report and

recommendations from the PAC/SCERT

coordinating committee; (9) Report and

recommendations from Recreation/

Tourism Subcommittee; (10) Report and

recommendations from the Coho

Subcommittee and (11) Open public

forum. All California Coast Province

Advisory Committee meetings are open

to the public. Interested citizens are

encouraged to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Daniel Chisholm, USDA, Forest

Supervisor, Mendocino National Forest,

825 N. Humboldt Avenue, Willows, CA

95988, (916) 934–3316 or Phebe Brown,

Province Coordinator, USDA,

Mendocino National Forest, 825 N.

Humboldt Avenue, Willows, CA, 95988,

(916) 934–3316.

Dated: August 21, 1997.

Arthur Quintana,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–22885 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Klamath Provincial Advisory

Committee (PAC)

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Klamath Provincial

Advisory Committee will meet on

September 11 and 12, 1997 at the Park

Community Center, Crater Lake

National Park, Steel Circle, Crater Lake,

Oregon. On September 11, the meeting

will begin at 10:00 a.m. and adjourn at

5:00 p.m. The meeting on September 12

will resume at 8:00 a.m. and adjourn at

3:00 p.m. Agenda items to be covered

include: (1) Klamath PAC salvage

subcommittee recommendation update;

(2) Northwest Forest Plan

Implementation; (3) Subcommittee

Reports; and (4) public comment

periods. All PAC meetings are open to

the public. Interested citizens are

encouraged to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Hendryx, USDA, Klamath

National Forest, at 1312 Fairlane Road,

Yreka, California 96097; telephone 916–

842–6131, (FTS) 700–467–1309.

Dated: August 18, 1997.

Robert J. Anderson,

Planning Staff Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–22894 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

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