88716 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 

and TTY) or USDA through the Federal 

Relay Service at 800–877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

USDA programs are prohibited from 

discriminating based on race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, gender 

identity (including gender expression), 

sexual orientation, disability, age, 

marital status, family/parental status, 

income derived from a public assistance 

program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 

retaliation for prior civil rights activity, 

in any program or activity conducted or 

funded by USDA (not all bases apply to 

all programs). Remedies and complaint 

filing deadlines vary by program or 

incident. 

Equal opportunity practices in 

accordance with USDA’s policies will 

be followed in all appointments to the 

committee. To ensure that the 

recommendations of the committee have 

taken in account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include, to the extent 

practicable, individuals with 

demonstrated ability to represent the 

many communities, identities, races, 

ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, 

cultures, and beliefs of the American 

people, including underserved 

communities. USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider, employer, and 

lender. 

Dated: October 16, 2024. 

Cikena Reid, 

USDA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24411 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Cimarron and Comanche National 

Grasslands; Baca, Las Animas, and 

Otero Counties, Colorado; Morton and 

Stevens Counties, Kansas; Land 

Management Plan Revision 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate the 

assessment phase of the land 

management plan revision for the 

Cimarron and Comanche National 

Grasslands. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, is initiating 

the land management plan (plan) 

revision process, pursuant to the 2012 

Planning Rule and as directed by the 

National Forest Management Act, for the 

Cimarron and Comanche National 

Grasslands located in Southeast 

Colorado and Southwest Kansas. 

Currently, the Cimarron and Comanche 

National Grasslands receive 

management direction from the 1984 

Pike and San Isabel National Forests 

and Comanche and Cimarron National 

Grasslands Land and Resource 

Management Plan. Ultimately, this 

process will result in a new, separate 

plan for the Cimarron and Comanche 

National Grasslands and will guide all 

resource management activities on the 

grasslands for approximately fifteen 

years, while the remaining portion of 

the existing 1984 plan for the Pike and 

San Isabel National Forests will remain 

unchanged. This notice announces the 

initiation of the assessment phase, 

which is the preliminary stage of the 

plan revision process. The assessment 

will identify and consider relevant and 

readily accessible material about 

ecological, social, and economic 

conditions and trends in the planning 

area, including best available scientific 

information. Findings will be 

documented in an assessment report. 

Trends and conditions identified in the 

assessment will help describe the need 

to change the plan and inform revision 

of the plan. 

DATES: In spring 2024, the Forest 

Supervisor of the Pike-San Isabel 

National Forests and Cimarron and 

Comanche National Grasslands and staff 

initiated engagement with Tribes 

followed by additional outreach to 

county, state, and other Federal 

agencies. In April 2024, the Forest 

Supervisor sent Tribes formal 

government-to-government invitations 

to consult on the plan. In addition, in 

September 2024, the Forest Supervisor 

sent Tribes invitations to serve as 

cooperating agencies for the plan 

revision process. Counties and other 

local governments will also be given the 

opportunity to serve as cooperating 

agencies in the planning process. 

Extensive engagement with 

stakeholders, Tribes, Federal 

government agencies, local 

governments, and non-profits groups is 

planned throughout the assessment 

phase. Interested parties can learn more 

about dates and formats of planned 

public engagement opportunities to be 

held throughout the plan revision 

process by visiting the Cimarron and 

Comanche National Grasslands Plan 

Revision website: https://

www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/ 

landmanagement/planning/ 

?cid=FSEPRD1169904. 

A draft assessment for public review 

and comment is anticipated in summer 

2025. The Forest Service will review 

and incorporate public comments and 

additional information from tribal 

consultation on the draft assessment 

and produce a final assessment and 

need to change the plan that will inform 

subsequent phases of the plan revision 

process. The Forest Service may then 

initiate procedures pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) to prepare a revised land 

management plan in compliance with 

the National Forest System land 

management planning rule (36 CFR part 

219). 

ADDRESSES: Send written questions to: 

Pike-San Isabel National Forests and 

Cimarron and Comanche National 

Grasslands, Attn: Grassland Plan 

Revision, 5575 Cleora Road, Salida, CO 

81201. Questions may also be sent 

electronically to: sm.fs.CCNGRevision@

usda.gov. All correspondence, including 

names and addresses, will be part of the 

public record. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth 

Davis, Forest Planner, 719–429–1385, 

mary.davis@usda.gov; or Shawna 

Graves, Public Affairs Officer, 719–466– 

9122, shawna.graves@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunications devices for the 

hearing impaired may call 711 to reach 

the Telecommunications Relay Service, 

24 hours a day, every day of the year, 

including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Forest Management Act of 

1976 requires that the Forest Service 

develop a land management plan for 

every national forest and grassland. 

Land management plans provide the 

strategic direction for management of 

forest or grassland resources and are 

amendable as conditions change over 

time. The Pike and San Isabel National 

Forests and Comanche and Cimarron 

National Grasslands Land and Resource 

Management Plan was adopted in 1984. 

The Cimarron and Comanche National 

Grasslands (CCNGs) are currently 

included and managed under the 1984 

plan. This planning process will result 

in a standalone management plan for 

the CCNGs. The CCNGs include two 

national grasslands (the Cimarron, 

108,621 acres, located in Kansas, and 

the Comanche, 443,642 acres, located in 

Colorado) encompassing a total of 

552,263 acres of public land. The 

CCNGs largely consist of isolated and 

checkerboard parcels with minimal 

consolidated and contiguous Federal 

land ownership. The three largest 

community hubs within the planning 

area are La Junta and Springfield, 

Colorado, and Elkhart, Kansas. 

The planning rule requires that the 

Responsible Official complete an 

assessment for the development of a 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 88717 

plan revision (36 CFR 219.6). The 

assessment rapidly evaluates existing 

information about relevant ecological, 

economic, and social conditions, trends, 

and sustainability and their relationship 

to the land management plan within the 

context of the broader landscape (36 

CFR 219.5). The assessment must 

identify and evaluate existing 

information relevant to the plan area for 

the following: (1) Terrestrial ecosystems, 

aquatic ecosystems, and watersheds; (2) 

Air, soil, and water resources and 

quality; (3) System drivers, including 

dominant ecological processes, 

disturbance regimes, and stressors, such 

as natural succession, wildland fire, 

invasive species, and climate change, 

and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic 

ecosystems in the plan area to adapt to 

change; (4) Baseline assessment of 

carbon stocks; (5) Threatened, 

endangered, proposed, and candidate 

species, and potential species of 

conservation concern present in the 

plan area; (6) Social, cultural, and 

economic conditions; (7) Benefits 

people obtain from the national forest 

system planning area (ecosystem 

services); (8) Multiple uses and their 

contributions to local, regional, and 

national economies; (9) Recreation 

settings, opportunities and access, and 

scenic character; (10); Renewable and 

nonrenewable energy and mineral 

resources; (11) Infrastructure, such as 

recreational facilities and transportation 

and utility corridors; (12) Areas of tribal 

importance; (13) Cultural and historic 

resources and uses; (14) Land status and 

ownership and access patterns; and (15) 

Existing designated areas located in the 

plan area including wilderness and wild 

and scenic rivers and potential need and 

opportunity for additional designated 

areas. 

During this assessment phase, the 

Forest Service invites other government 

agencies, Tribes, non-governmental 

parties, and the public to share 

information about social, economic, and 

environmental conditions of the CCNGs 

and the broader landscape. Existing 

information about conditions on the 

CCNGs, supplemented with information 

gathered through public engagement, 

from cooperating agencies, and Tribal 

consultation, will be integrated into the 

assessment. The Forest Service will host 

public outreach forums to share 

progress and gather additional 

information. Information on upcoming 

engagement opportunities will be 

posted on the Cimarron and Comanche 

National Grasslands Plan Revision 

website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ 

psicc/landmanagement/planning/ 

?cid=FSEPRD1169904. 

Based on knowledge of the planning 

area, the following will likely be topics 

of interest and will be discussed in the 

assessment and subsequent plan 

development phases: areas of tribal 

importance; at-risk species and species 

of conservation concern; livestock 

grazing; oil and gas development; 

watersheds and ecological integrity; 

fragmentation; land ownership patterns; 

habitat connectivity; paleontological 

resources; fire management; and 

renewable energy. The wilderness 

evaluation and the identification of 

eligible wild and scenic rivers are also 

potential topics of interest. Separate 

evaluations of both will be released 

concurrently with the assessment and 

will be included in the plan 

development phases. 

The 1984 Pike and San Isabel 

National Forests and Comanche and 

Cimarron National Grasslands Land and 

Resource Management Plan will remain 

in effect for the Cimarron and 

Comanche National Grasslands until the 

plan revision process is complete and a 

record of decision is signed. 

Responsible Official: The responsible 

official for the revision of the land 

management plan for the Cimarron and 

Commanche National Grasslands is 

Ryan Nehl, Forest Supervisor, Pike-San 

Isabel National Forests and Cimarron 

and Comanche National Grasslands. 

Keith Lannom, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26049 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Adoption of Categorical Exclusions 

Under Section 109 of the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of adoption of multiple 

categorical exclusions. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, is adopting 

multiple categorical exclusions (CEs) 

from the Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 

Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to 

section 109 of the National 

Environmental Policy Act for future 

application to Forest Service decisions 

concerning land management activities 

that are similar in nature. This notice 

describes the categories and 

consultation between the agencies. 

DATES: The CE adoptions take effect on 

November 8, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrea Pahlevanpour, Assistant 

Director, Forest Service, Ecosystem 

Management Coordination, by phone at 

771–216–0229 or via email to 

andrea.pahlevanpour@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunications devices for the 

hearing impaired may call 711 to reach 

the Telecommunications Relay Service, 

24 hours a day, every day of the year, 

including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. National Environmental Policy Act 

and Categorical Exclusions 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), as 

amended, requires all Federal agencies 

to consider the environmental impact of 

their proposed actions before deciding 

whether and how to proceed (42 U.S.C. 

4321, 4332). The aims of NEPA are to 

ensure that agencies consider the 

potential environmental effects of their 

proposed actions in their decisionmaking processes and inform and 

involve the public in that process (42 

U.S.C. 4332). NEPA created the Council 

on Environmental Quality, which 

promulgated NEPA implementing 

regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500 through 

1508 (Council on Environmental 

Quality regulations). 

To comply with NEPA, agencies 

determine the appropriate level of 

review for a proposed action. Where 

required, these levels of review may be 

documented in an environmental 

impact statement (EIS), an 

environmental assessment (EA), or by 

reliance on a CE (40 CFR 1501.3). If a 

proposed action is likely to have 

significant environmental effects, the 

agency will prepare an EIS and 

document its decision in a record of 

decision (40 CFR 1502, 1505.2). If the 

proposed action is not likely to have 

significant environmental effects or 

where the level of significance is 

unknown, the agency will prepare an 

EA, which involves a more concise 

analysis and process than an EIS (40 

CFR 1501.5). Following preparation of 

an EA, the agency may reach a finding 

of no significant impact if the analysis 

shows that the action will have no 

significant effects (40 CFR 1501.6). If, 

following preparation of an EA, the 

agency finds that the proposed action 

will have significant effects, it will 

prepare an EIS before issuing any 

decision to authorize the action (40 CFR 

1501.6(a)(3)). 

Under NEPA and the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s implementing 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1