This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

2991 

Vol. 74, No. 11 

Friday, January 16, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

White River National Forest, Eagle/ 

Holy Cross Ranger District, Eagle 

County, CO; Edwards Inholding 

Easement Proposal 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) to disclose the 

anticipated environmental effects of a 

proposal to approve a permanent 

easement across National Forest System 

(NFS) lands for access to a 680-acre 

private inholding. The private land is 

entirely surrounded by NFS lands 

managed by the White River National 

Forest (WRNF). The proposed easement 

would provide year-round motorized 

access to the private inholding, enabling 

the owner ‘‘reasonable use and 

enjoyment’’ of the parcel as required by 

the Alaska National Interest Lands 

Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

February 19, 2009. The draft EIS is 

expected to be released in summer 2009 

and the final EIS is expected in early 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Brian Lloyd, District Ranger, Holy Cross 

Ranger District, P.O. Box 190, Minturn, 

CO 81645. Comments may also be sent 

via e-mail to 

wrnf_scoping_comments@fs.fed.us, or 

via facsimile to (970) 827–9343. 

Comments received in response to 

this solicitation, including 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; however, anonymous 

comments will not provide the 

respondent with standing to appeal the 

subsequent decision. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Lloyd, 

wrnf_scoping_comments@fs.fed.us. 

Individuals who use telecommunication 

devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 

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

Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

property is located approximately 1.25 

miles north of the I–70 Edwards 

interchange and is currently accessible 

in the summer months via Forest 

System Road (FSR) 774 and FSR 780. A 

0.8-mile segment of FSR 780 traverses 

the southeastern leg of the private land 

inholding. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The owner of the 680-acre inholding 

(the Proponent) plans to exercise their 

legal right to plat this private land into 

19 individual lots (each 35 acres in size 

or greater) for development of a lowdensity, year-round residential 

community. As such, development of 

the inholding into a viable residential 

community requires year-round, 

vehicular access across NFS lands. Per 

ANILCA, the WRNF is obligated to 

‘‘* * * provide such access to 

nonfederally owned land within the 

boundaries of the National Forest 

System * * * to secure the owner 

reasonable use and enjoyment thereof 

* * *’’ (16 U.S.C. 3210, Title I, § 1323). 

Therefore, the purpose and need of this 

proposal is rooted in the Forest 

Service’s legal obligations under 

ANILCA. 

Proposed Action 

The Proposed Action would satisfy 

the Forest Service’s minimum 

obligations to accommodate ‘‘reasonable 

use and enjoyment’’ under ANILCA. 

Issuance of a permanent easement 

would provide year-round motorized 

access to the private inholding, thus 

enabling the owner to develop it as 

legally entitled. The easement would be 

for reconstruction and use of two 

existing Forest System roads—FSR 774 

and FSR 780. The total length of the 

easement on NFS lands (FSR 774 and 

FSR 780) would be approximately 2.6 

miles (approximately 13,550 feet). The 

easement would include: 

• 1.1 miles on FSR 774 (beginning at 

the Forest Service gate at the beginning 

of FSR 774 and would be followed until 

its intersection with FSR 780), 

• 1.5 miles on FSR 780 (until it 

intersects the lower southeastern leg of 

the inholding). 

FSR 774 and FSR 780 would be placed 

within a permanent easement and 

paved/maintained for homeowners’ 

year-round use; the public would 

continue to have access to these roads 

consistent with the current seasonal 

closures. 

This alignment would provide access 

to the southeastern portion of the 

inholding. Conceptually, an additional 

5.5 miles of private road would be 

constructed throughout the eastern and 

northern portions of the private 

inholding to accommodate access to 

each of the 19 lots. Road construction 

within the inholding is not within the 

jurisdiction of the Forest Service. 

Responsible Official 

The Responsible Official is the WRNF 

Supervisor. The Responsible Official 

will document the decision and reasons 

for the decision in a Record of Decision. 

That decision will be subject to appeal 

under 36 CFR part 215 or part 251. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

Based on the analysis that will be 

documented in the forthcoming EIS, the 

Responsible Official will decide 

whether or not to implement, in whole 

or in part, the Proposed Action or 

another alternative developed by the 

Forest Service. 

Preliminary Issues 

As indicated in the 2002 WRNF Land 

and Resource Management Plan (Forest 

Plan), NFS lands in the vicinity of the 

private inholding are within two 

Management Areas (MA): 5.41—Deer 

and Elk Winter Range, and 8.32— 

Designated Utility Corridors. Per MA 

5.41, deer and elk winter ranges are 

managed to provide adequate amounts 

of quality forage, cover and solitude for 

deer, elk, and other species. Consistent 

with management direction in MA 5.41, 

human activities are managed so that 

deer and elk can effectively use NFS 

lands in the area. 

Due to the existance of NFS lands 

managed in MA 5.41, motorized travel, 

including over-the-snow vehicles, on 

FSR 774 and FSR 780 is restricted 

during winter and spring. Granting a 

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2992 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2009 / Notices 

year-round easement could result in an 

inconsistency with Forest Plan 

standards for MA 5.41. In order to 

approve road reconstruction and yearround access to the inholding across 

NFS lands, an amendment to the Forest 

Plan would be necessary. This 

amendment would be specific to 

standards included in MA 5.41 related 

to biodiversity and infrastructure. 

Permits or Licenses Required 

• An Eagle County grading permit(s) 

would be required for road construction 

on NFS and private lands. 

• Building construction permits 

would be required for individual 

buildings on each lot. 

Scoping Process 

Publication of a Notice of Intent (NOI) 

in the Federal Register begins the 

planning process under provisions of 

the National Environmental Policy Act. 

Comments will be accepted during the 

45-day scoping period as described in 

this NOI. Comments will be reviewed 

and issues identified. Issues that cannot 

be resolved by mitigation or minor 

changes to the proposed action may 

generate alternatives to the proposed 

action. This process is driven by 

comments received from the public, 

other agencies, and internal Forest 

Service concerns. To assist in 

commenting, a scoping letter providing 

more detailed information on the project 

proposal (including a map) has been 

prepared and is available to interested 

parties. Contact Brian Lloyd, District 

Ranger, at the address listed in this NOI 

if you would like to receive a copy. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process that guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. Comments that are 

site-specific in nature are most helpful 

to resource professionals when trying to 

narrow and address the public’s issues 

and concerns. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

A Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement will be prepared for 

comment. The comment period on the 

Draft Environment Impact Statement 

will be 45 days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability in 

the Federal Register. 

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 

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. 

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. The submission of timely 

and specific comments can affect a 

reviewer’s ability to participate in 

subsequent administrative appeal or 

judicial review. 

Dated: January 6, 2009. 

Mary Morgan, 

White River National Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E9–965 Filed 1–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

National Urban and Community 

Forestry Advisory Council 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The National Urban and 

Community Forestry Advisory Council 

will meet in Washington DC, February 

10–12, 2009. The purpose of the 

meeting is to discuss emerging issues in 

urban and community forestry and hear 

public input related to urban and 

community forestry. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

February 10–11, 2009, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

and February 12, 2009, 9 a.m. to 12 

noon. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Holiday Inn Capital, 550 C Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20024, phone: 

202–479–4000. Written comments 

concerning this meeting should be 

addressed to Nancy Stremple, Executive 

Staff to National Urban and Community 

Forestry Advisory Council, 201 14th St. 

SW., Yates Building (1 Central) MS– 

1151, Washington, DC 20250–1151. 

Comments may also be sent via e-mail 

to nstremple@fs.fed.us, or via facsimile 

to 202–690–5792. 

All comments, including names and 

addresses when provided, are placed in 

the record and are available for public 

inspection and copying. The public may 

inspect comments received at 201 14th 

St., SW., Yates Building (1 Central) MS– 

1151, Washington, DC 20250–1151. 

Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to 

202–205–1054 to facilitate entry into the 

building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nancy Stremple, Executive Staff or 

Robert Prather, Staff Assistant to 

National Urban and Community 

Forestry Advisory Council, 201 14th St., 

SW., Yates Building (1 Central) MS– 

1151, Washington, DC 20250–1151, 

phone 202–205–1054. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Standard Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting is open to the public. Council 

discussion is limited to Forest Service 

staff and Council members; however, 

persons who wish to bring urban and 

community forestry matters to the 

attention of the Council may file written 

statements with the Council staff (201 

14th St., SW., Yates Building (1 Central) 

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