Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 150 / Friday, August 3, 2018 / Notices 38117 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized and included in the 

submission request toward Office of 

Management and Budget approval. 

Dated: July 20, 2018. 

Patti Hirami, 

Acting Deputy Chief, State & Private Forestry. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16663 Filed 8–2–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Snow King Mountain Resort Onmountain Improvements Project 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

Bridger-Teton National Forest, 

Jackson Ranger District, Teton 

County, Wyoming 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service has 

accepted a master development plan 

from Snow King Mountain Resort. The 

master development plan is a multi-year 

plan for improvement and expansion of 

facilities at the resort, which operates in 

part under special use permit with the 

Forest Service. The proposed action is 

to update existing facilities and develop 

new winter and summer recreation 

opportunities. The Forest Service is 

considering the authorization of a 

permit boundary expansion, building a 

multi-function guest services building 

on the summit of Snow King Mountain, 

adding additional ski lifts and lift 

upgrades, building new ski runs and 

improving existing runs, expanding and 

improving snowmaking and nightlighting coverage, building a mountain 

bike park and trail system, adding 

hiking trails, and building additional 

service facilities. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

within 30 days from date of publication 

of this notice in the Federal Register. 

The draft environmental impact 

statement is expected February 2019 

and the final environmental impact 

statement is expected July 2019. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic comments are 

encouraged. Please address any form of 

comments as ‘‘Attention: SKMR Onmountain Improvement Projects.’’ 

Electronic comments should be 

submitted in rich text format (.rtf) or 

Word (.doc) to comments-intermtnbridger-teton-jackson@fs.fed.us. Written 

comments should be submitted to: 

Bridger-Teton National Forest—Jackson 

Ranger District, P.O. Box 1689, Jackson, 

WY 83001—attention Mary Moore. 

Comments may be hand-delivered to 

340 N. Cache St. between 8:00 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Moore, Jackson District Ranger, 

marymoore@fs.fed.us or (307) 739–5410. 

Individuals who use telecommunication 

devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8:00 

a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Snow 

King Mountain Resort’s multi-year 

master development plan proposes 

improvements and expansion of 

facilities at the resort, which operates in 

part under special use permit with the 

Forest Service. This Notice of Intent 

initiates the scoping period for this 

project and allows the Forest Service to 

provide background information, the 

project’s purpose and need, the 

proposed actions, preliminary issues, 

the scoping process, cooperating 

agencies, the responsible official, and 

the decision to be made. These details 

are outlined below. 

Background 

Snow King Mountain Resort was one 

of the original ski areas to be permitted 

on National Forest Land and has been 

in operation for more than seventy 

years. The resort is adjacent to the 

southern boundary of the town of 

Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming, and is 

known locally as the ‘‘Town Hill.’’ 

Roughly the lower quarter of the resort 

is private land where base-area facilities 

(e.g. Snow King Resort Hotel, rental 

condominiums, ticket sales, equipment 

rental, food service, and parking), the 

bottom terminals and lower portions of 

the resort’s three chairlifts and 

associated ski terrain, and summer 

recreational infrastructure (e.g. alpine 

slide, mountain coaster, and ropes 

course) are located. The upper threequarters of the resort are on National 

Forest System land (338 acres in the 

permit area) that comprises the three 

chairlift top terminals, ski terrain, and 

service roads. 

The resort’s ski terrain totals about 

400 acres, including about 135 acres of 

developed ski runs and 265 acres of 

natural openings and tree skiing areas, 

between and around the developed 

runs. The resort’s snowmaking system 

includes much of the ski terrain on both 

private and public land, and night 

lighting covers roughly the lower half of 

the existing slopes. 

Purpose and Need 

Two emerging developments in the 

mountain resort industry underlie the 

purpose and need for the proposed 

action. First, extensive customer surveys 

conducted by the ski industry indicate 

that visitors are increasingly seeking a 

more diverse range of recreational 

activities, particularly for families, that 

includes year-round opportunities and 

activities that are more adventurous. 

The Forest Service response to this 

trend includes our 2012 introduction of 

the Framework for Sustainable 

Recreation, which sets goals for 

providing a diverse array of recreational 

opportunities aimed at connecting 

people with the outdoors and promoting 

healthy lifestyles, in partnership with 

other public and private recreation 

providers. 

Second, passage of the Ski Area 

Recreational Opportunity Enhancement 

Act of 2011 provides direction on the 

types of summer activities the Forest 

Service should consider authorizing to 

round out the range of opportunities 

provided to the public at permitted 

mountain resorts. 

Reflecting these considerations, the 

purposes to be achieved through the 

proposed action are: 

• To maintain and improve the 

winter sport infrastructure on National 

Forest System lands at Snow King 

Mountain Resort. 

• To provide new and innovative 

forms of year-round outdoor recreation 

for residents and visitors to Jackson 

Hole, using the existing resort 

infrastructure as the hub. 

• To capitalize on the established 

relationship between the Bridger-Teton 

National Forest and Snow King 

Mountain Resort that connects visitors 

with the natural environment and 

supports the quality of life and the 

economy of the local community. 

The needs that must be resolved in 

order to achieve these purposes include: 

• Improve and increase beginner and 

intermediate ski terrain, lifts, and 

facilities to serve as the primary ski 

resort in Jackson, WY to introduce and 

recruit new skiers to the sport. 

• Expand snowmaking on the 

mountain to enable an early November 

opening for ski race training, provide 

coverage to the upper mountain, and aid 

in fire prevention. 

• Introduce high-quality guest service 

facilities to attract and retain local and 

destination skiers, serve as an event 

venue, and provide an outdoor 

education center for Jackson residents 

and visitors. 

• Provide access to a wide range of 

year-round activities catering to a 


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38118 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 150 / Friday, August 3, 2018 / Notices 

variety of visitors passing through the 

Town of Jackson. 

Proposed Action 

The Bridger-Teton National Forest 

proposes to authorize Snow King 

Mountain Resort to implement the 

following projects on National Forest 

System lands in Teton County, 

Wyoming under a special use permit: 

• A new ski school/teaching center 

on the ridgeline west of the Snow King 

summit. 

• Development of skiing in the 

natural bowl on the back side, south of 

the Snow King summit. This 

southernmost portion of the current 

special use permit area is suitable for 

development of low-intermediate and 

intermediate level ski terrain, 

complementing the summit teaching 

center. 

• A 67-acre special use permit 

boundary adjustment on the front side, 

east of the existing permit area, to 

accommodate part of a summit access 

road/novice skiway, intermediate-level 

terrain lower on the slope (including 

groomed runs and tree and glade 

skiing), and a novice route down from 

Rafferty lift (via the access road/novice 

skiway). 

• An 89-acre special use permit 

boundary adjustment on the front side, 

west of the existing permit area, to 

accommodate a summit teaching center, 

another part of the summit access road/ 

novice skiway, and to accommodate 

expert-level tree and glade skiing. 

• New ski terrain totaling about 97.5 

acres (groomed runs and teaching 

terrain). 

• Upgrading the existing Summit lift 

to a gondola, and installation of one 

new chair lift, two teaching area 

conveyors, and one surface lift. 

• On-mountain facilities (the summit 

restaurant/guest services building and 

ski patrol facility, a temporary ski patrol 

building at the top of Cougar, an 

observatory and planetarium at the 

summit, a wedding venue west of the 

summit building, and a year-round yurt 

camp at the southern point of the 

special use permit area). 

• 147.1 acres of added snowmaking 

(with few exceptions, all existing and 

proposed runs). 

• Improved and expanded lighting for 

night skiing. 

• Front-side mountain bike trails and 

a back-side mountain bike zone. 

• Hiking trails between the summit 

and the west base, west of Exhibition 

run. 

• A zip line from the summit to the 

west base area, paralleling the Summit 

lift. 

A more detailed description of the 

proposed action, including maps, is 

available at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/ 

project/?project=54202. 

Preliminary Issues 

Preliminary issues include potential 

effects on watershed resources, local 

plant and animal species, scenic 

integrity, socioeconomics, and other 

recreational use. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. In addition, a public 

open house is proposed for 2019 during 

the formal comment period on the draft 

environmental impact statement. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such manner that they are useful to the 

agency’s preparation of the 

environmental impact statement. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. 

Comments received in response to 

this solicitation, including the names 

and addresses of those who comment, 

will be part of the public record for this 

proposed action. Comments submitted 

anonymously will be accepted and 

considered. 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

The Forest Service will be the lead 

federal agency, in accordance with 40 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

1501.5(b), and is responsible for the 

preparation of the environmental impact 

statement. The Town of Jackson is a 

cooperating agency. Scoping will 

determine if any additional cooperating 

agencies are needed. 

Responsible Official 

Patricia O’Conner, Forest Supervisor, 

Bridger-Teton National Forest. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The responsible official will decide 

whether to authorize Snow King 

Mountain Resort to implement the 

actions, as proposed in the master 

development plan, in full, part or 

modified, or to take no action. If the 

decision is to authorize Snow King 

Mountain Resort’s actions in a special 

use permit, then the responsible official 

will also decide what design features 

and monitoring will be required. 

Dated: July 9, 2018. 

Chris French, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16559 Filed 8–2–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Inyo National Forest; California; 

Revision of the Land Management Plan 

for the Inyo National Forest 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of opportunity to object 

to the Revised Land Management Plan 

for the Inyo National Forest. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service is revising 

the Inyo National Forest’s Land and 

Resource Management Plan (forest 

plan). The Forest Service has prepared 

a Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) for its revised forest plan and a 

draft Record of Decision (ROD). This 

notice is to inform the public that the 

Inyo National Forest is initiating a 60- 

day period where individuals or entities 

with specific concerns about the Inyo’s 

revised forest plan and the associated 

FEIS may file objections for Forest 

Service review prior to the approval of 

the revised forest plan. This is also an 

opportunity to object to the Regional 

Forester’s list of species of conservation 

concern (SCC) for the Inyo National 

Forest. 

DATES: The Inyo’s revised forest plan, 

FEIS, draft ROD, and other supporting 

information will be available for review 

at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/R5/FPR_

Inyo and the Pacific Southwest Region 

species of conservation concern web 

page, https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/ 

landmanagement/planning/ 

?cid=STELPRD3847418. The 

publication date of the legal notice in 

the Inyo National Forest’s newspaper of 

record, The Inyo Register, initiates the 

60-day objection period and is the 

exclusive means for calculating the time 

to file an objection (36 CFR 219.52 

(c)(5)). An electronic scan of the legal 

notice with the publication date will be 

posted at the website above. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Inyo National 

Forest’s revised forest plan, FEIS, and 

draft ROD can be obtained online at: 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/inyo/ 

landmanagement/planning or at the 

following office: Inyo National Forest 

Supervisor’s Office, 351 Pacu Lane Suite 

200, Bishop, CA 93514–3101, Phone: 

760–873–2400. 

Objections must be submitted to the 

Objection Reviewing Officer Barnie 


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