35904 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 126 /Wednesday, July 1, 1998 / Notices

is scheduled for completion in March,

1999.

The comment period on the draft EIS

will be 90 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency

publishes the notice of availability in

the Federal Register.

The Forest Service and BLM believe

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 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 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, 803F.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 those

interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the 90-day

comment period so substantive

comments and objections are made

available to the forest Service and BLM

at a time when it can meaningfully

consider them and respond to them in

the final environmental impact

statement.

To assist the Forest Service and BLM

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.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest

Supervisor and the Headwaters

Resource Area Manager are the

responsible officials who will make the

decision. They will decide on this

proposal after considering comments

and responses, environmental

consequences discussed in the Final

EIS, and applicable laws, regulations,

and policies. The decision and reasons

for the decision will be documented in

a Record of Decision.

Dated: June 4, 1998.

Thomas W. Heintz,

Acting Forest Supervisor, BeaverheadDeerlodge National Forest.

Dated: June 5, 1998.

Merle Good,

Area Manager, Headwaters Resource Area.

[FR Doc. 98–17467 Filed 6–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Revised East Beaver and Miner’s

Creek Timber Sale and Prescribed

Burning Project, Targhee National

Forest, Clark County, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent to

prepare environmental impact

statement.

SUMMARY: This is a revised Notice of

Intent for the East Beaver Creek Timber

Sale and Prescribed Burning Project. A

Notice of Intent was originally

published on April 20, 1998 pages

19470 and 19471 of the Federal

Register. The project is being revised to

add the Miner’s Creek Timber Sale as

part of the environmental impact

statement. The project will now be

referred to as the East Beaver and

Miner’s Creek Timber Sale and

Prescribed Burning Project. The Forest

Supervisor of the Targhee National

Forest gives notice of the agency’s intent

to prepare an environmental impact

statement. The revised proposed action

would harvest 7.4 million feet of timber

from 2,145 acres and prescribe burn

2,220 acres with 518 acres of the

burning in the timber sale harvest units.

The remaining 1,702 acres of burning

would be in nonforest types. Two miles

of temporary roads would be built, 2.6

miles of existing roads reconstructed,

and 4.4 miles of new specified roads

would be constructed. Project area is

located approximately 15 miles

northeast of Dubois, Idaho. Alternatives

will include the proposed action, no

action, and any alternatives that

respond to significant issues generated

during the scoping process. A more

detailed description is available from

the Dubois Ranger District; see address

below.

DATES: Send written comments and

suggestions on the issues concerning the

proposed action by July 20, 1998.

Comments received in response to this

solicitation, including names and

addresses of those who comment, will

be considered part of the public record

on the proposed action and will be

available for public inspection.

Comments submitted anonymously will

be accepted and considered; however,

those who submit anonymous

comments will not have a standing to

appeal the subsequent decision under

39 CFR parts 215 or 217. Additionally,

pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person

may request the agency to withhold a

submission from the public record by

showing how the Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) permits such

confidentiality. Persons requesting such

confidentiality should be aware that,

under the FOIA, confidentiality may be

granted in only very limited

circumstances, such as to protect trade

secrets. The Forest Service will inform

the requester of the agency’s decision

regarding the request for confidentiality,

and where the request is denied, the

agency will return the submission and

notify the requester that the comments

may be resubmitted with or without

name and address within 15 days.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Clarence M. Murdock, District Ranger,

Dubois Ranger District, P.O. Box 46,

Dubois, ID 83423.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Councilman, Interdisciplinary

Team Leader, phone (208) 558–7301.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

revision to this project is being made to

include the Miner’s Creek Timber Sale.

An environmental assessment was

prepared for Miner’s Creek in 1995 and

the sale was sold in 1996. After sale, a

lawsuit was filed by two environmental

groups. The Forest Service’s decision to

log the sale was upheld at the local

Federal court level but this decision was

appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of

Appeals. The 9th Circuit Court reversed

the lower court’s decision and directed

the Forest Service to prepare an

environmental impact statement. The

Miner’s Creek Timber Sale and the East

Beaver Creek Timber Sale and

Prescribed Burning Project are within

the same watersheds, have similar

issues and could be implemented at the

same time. Therefore, it made sense to

combine the projects into a single

analysis.

The Targhee Revised Land

Management Plan was approved in

1997. One of the decisions in the

Revised Plan was to allow for the

production and utilization of wood fiber

from certain areas of the Forest. The

geographic area where the proposed

action would take place has primarily a

prescription of timber management with

emphasis on big game security (5.1.4b).
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 126 /Wednesday, July 1, 1998 / Notices 35905

Prescriptions for other lands in the area

are described below.

Aquatic Influence Zones (2.8.3)—

Management emphasis is directed at the

application of ecological knowledge to

restore and maintain the health of these

areas in ways that also produce desired

resource values, products, protection,

restoration, enhancement,

interpretation, and appreciation of these

areas.

Visual Quality Maintenance (2.1.2)—

This prescription emphasizes

maintaining the existing visual quality

within major travel corridors with

quality natural vistas, while allowing

livestock production, and other

compatible commodity outputs. There is

no scheduled timber harvesting. No

scheduled harvests means timber

removed from these areas does not

contribute toward the Forests annual

allowable sale quantity.

Initial public involvement will

include mailing maps and a project

description to interested parties to

solicit comments on the proposal.

Preliminary issues include: water

quality, fisheries, elk habitat, and

motorized access by the public.

Additional opportunity to comment

on the project will occur on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (draft

EIS). The draft EIS is expected to be

filed with the Environmental Protection

Agency and available for public review

in October of 1998.

The comment period on the draft EIS

will be 45 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency’s

notice of availability appears in the

Federal Register. At the same time,

copies of the draft EIS will be

distributed to interested and affected

agencies, organizations, tribes, and

members of the public for their review

and comment. It is very important that

those interested in the proposed action

participate at that time.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice 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

reviewers’ position and contentions.

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp v.

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also,

environmental objections that could

have been raised at the draft 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,

(9th Circuit, 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. Comments may also address

the adequacy of the draft environmental

impact 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.

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed in January of 1998. In the

final EIS, the Forest Service is required

to respond to comments received during

the comment period that pertain to the

environmental consequences discussed

in the draft EIS and applicable laws,

regulations, and policies considered in

making the decisions on this proposal.

Responsible Official

Jerry B. Reese, Forest Supervisor, is

the responsible official. As responsible

official, he will document the selected

alternative for the East Beaver and

Miner’s Creek Timber Sale and

Prescribed Burning Project EIS and his

rationale in a Record of Decision.

The decision will be subject to Forest

Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR

Part 215).

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Richard N. Rine,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98–17464 Filed 6–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Committee of Scientists Meetings

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Committee of Scientists

will hold three public teleconference

calls: the first on Wednesday, July 8,

1998; the second on Friday, July 10,

1998; and the third on Wednesday, July

15, 1998. Each teleconference call will

begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m.

(eastern daylight time). The purpose of

the telephone conference calls is for the

Committee of Scientists to continue to

discuss its report and recommendations

to the Secretary of Agriculture and the

Chief of the Forest Service. The public

is invited to attend these teleconference

calls and may be provided an

opportunity to comment on the

Committee of Scientists’ deliberations

during the teleconference, only at the

request of the Committee.

DATES: The teleconference calls will be

held on Wednesday, July 8, 1998;

Friday, July 10, 1998; and Wednesday,

July 15, 1998; each from 11:00 a.m. to

2:00 p.m. (eastern daylight time).

ADDRESSES: The first teleconference, on

July 8, will be held at the USDA Forest

Service headquarters, Auditor’s

Building, 201 14th Street, SW.

Washington, DC in the Roosevelt

Conference Room and at all Regional

Offices of the Forest Service, which are

listed in the table under Supplementary

Information.

The second and third teleconferences

will be held at the USDA Forest Service

headquarters, Auditor’s Building, 201

14th Street, SW, Washington, DC in the

Chief’s Conference Room and at all

Regional Offices of the Forest Service.

Written comments on improving land

and resource management planning may

be sent to the Committee of Scientists,

P.O. Box 2140, Corvallis, OR 97339.

Also, the Committee may be accessed

via the Internet at www.cof.orst.edu./

org/scicomm/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information concerning

the teleconferences, contact Bob

Cunningham, Designated Federal

Official to the Committee of Scientists,

at telephone: (703) 306–1023 or via the

Internet at rcunningansf.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

public may attend the teleconference at

the following field locations:

USDA FOREST SERVICE REGIONAL OFFICE LOCATIONS

Region 1: Northern Region .............................. Federal Building ........................................ 200 E. Broadway ................ Missoula, MT.

Region 2: Rocky Mountain Region .................. 740 Simms St ........................................... ............................................ Golden, CO.