United States

Department of 

Agriculture

Marketing and 

Regulatory 

Programs

Animal and 

Plant Health

Inspection 

Service

Wildlife Services

Washington, DC

Dear Interested Party:

For more than 15 years, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) have provided feral swine management and support at 

the state and local level. While these efforts have helped alleviate localized damage, 

the overall feral swine population has continued to increase rapidly, and the problems 

they cause have become national in scope. To more effectively address the damage 

and disease risks associated with this invasive species, APHIS is considering 

implementing a nationally coordinated feral swine damage management program in 

partnership with States and Tribes.

We are issuing this notice to advise you that APHIS intends to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts of the 

proposal and to engage the public in the process. The EIS will respond to a need for a 

feral swine damage management program to protect agriculture, natural resources, 

property, and human health and safety throughout the United States, and Guam, 

Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the other U.S. territories. More information 

about the proposal can be found on the APHIS feral swine web page by visiting 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/feral_swine/index.shtml and clicking on 

the feral swine EIS link. 

We are soliciting public comments to help us determine the scope of alternatives and 

environmental impacts and issues to be evaluated in the EIS. The scoping comment 

period will be open for 30 days after publication of the Notice of Intent and Scoping 

in the Federal Register. We anticipate that the Federal Register notice will be posted 

in mid May 2013. Once the Notice of Intent and Scoping is published in the Federal 

Register, APHIS will also post the closing date of the comment period on its feral 

swine web page. All comments received by the due date will be considered in 

developing the draft EIS. 

As part of our scoping process, we will also hold a public meeting to present 

information about the proposal and to take comments related to issues and 

alternatives that should be considered in the EIS. The meeting will be on Thursday, 

May 23, 2013 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the USDA Center at Riverside, 1st floor, 

Conference Centers A-D, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737. Advanced 

registration is required for this meeting. Anyone who is unable to attend in person 

can join the meeting via a live Webcast. Please visit the APHIS feral swine web page 

to register and learn more. It is not necessary to attend the meeting to engage in the 

EIS process and provide comments. 

Safeguarding American Agriculture

APHIS is an agency of USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs

An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
Interested Party 2

We will accept comments on the proposal by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0031-0001.

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send your comment to Project 

Managers, Feral Swine EIS, USDA APHIS-WS, 732 Lois Drive, Sun Prairie, 

WI 53590.

• At the public meeting in person at the USDA Center at Riverside, 1st floor, 

Conference Centers A-D, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737.

• By visiting 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/feral_swine/index.shtml for 

details on how to access the public meeting via the Internet and to submit 

comments.

More detailed information about the EIS including notices, updates and public 

participation opportunities will be available on the APHIS feral swine web page as it 

becomes available. Once again, the internet address is: 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/feral_swine/index.shtml

For further information, please contact Dr. Kimberly Wagner, Staff Wildlife 

Biologist, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 732 Lois Drive, Sun Prairie, WI 53590; (608) 

837-2727.

Thank you for your interest. 

Sincerely,

William H. Clay

Deputy Administrator