30160 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Notices

Head wilderness when it was created in

1983. The existing Meadows road #205

crosses a portion of this inventoried

roadless area.

Wetlands

The existing roadway crosses a

several small areas of wetlands.

Geological Hazards

The only alternative to the Meadows

Road that provides access to the private

lands is another existing two-track road

that is unsafe and is closed by

landslides.

Involving the Public

The Forest Service is seeking

information, comments, and assistance

from individuals, organizations, tribal

governments, and federal, state, and

local agencies that are interested in or

may be affected by the proposed action.

The range of alternatives to be

considered in the DEIS will be based on

public issues, management concerns,

resource management opportunities,

and specific decisions to be made.

Public participation will be solicited

by notifying in person and/or by mail

known interested and affected local

government agencies. News releases

will be used to give the public general

notice.

Release and Review of the EIS

We expect the DEIS to be filed with

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and to be available for public,

agency, and tribal government comment

in summer of 2001. At that time, the

EPA will publish a notice of availability

for the DEIS in the Federal Register. The

comment period on the DEIS will be 45

days from the date the EPA 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 the DEIS must participate

in the environmental review of the

proposal in such a way that their

participation 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 DEIS stage

but are not raised until after completion

of the Final Environmental Impact

Statement (FEIS) may be waived or

dismissed by the courts: City of Angoon

v. Hodel, 803 2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir.

1986) and Wisconsin Hertages, 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 comment

period, so that substantive comments

and objectives are made available to the

Forest Service at a time when it can

meaningfully consider them and

respond to them in the FEIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns relating to the proposed

actions, comments on the DEIS 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 DEIS or the merits of

the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statements. In

addressing these points, 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.

After the comment period on the DEIS

ends, comments will be analyzed,

considered, and responded to by the

Forest Service in preparing the Final

EIS. The FEIS is scheduled to be

completed in the fall of 2001. The

responsible official will consider the

comments, responses, environmental

consequences discussed in the FEIS,

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies in making decisions regarding

these revisions. The responsible official

will document the decisions and

reasons for the decisions in a Record of

Decision. The decision will be subject to

appeal in accordance with 36 CFR part

251.

Dated: May 29, 2001.

Calvin N. Joyner,

Forest Supervisor, San Juan National Forest.

[FR Doc. 01–13991 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Eastern Washington Cascades

Provincial Advisory Committee and

Yakima Provincial Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Eastern Washington

Cascades Provincial Advisory

Committee and the Yakima Provincial

Advisory Committee will meet on

Friday, June 8, 2001, at the Wenatchee

National Forest headquarters main

conference room, 215 Melody Lane,

Wenatchee, Washington. The meeting

will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until

3 p.m. During this meeting we will

finalize advice on Dry Forest Strategy

management implementation on the

Okanogan and Wenatchee National

Forests, develop advice on noxious

weed management, and share

information on the implementation of

the Northwest Forest Plan. All Eastern

Washington Cascades and Yakima

Province Advisory Committee meetings

are open to the public. Interested

citizens are welcome to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Paul Hart, Designated Federal

Official, USDA, Wenatchee National

Forest, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee,

Washington 98801, 509–662–4335.

Dated: May 21, 2001.

Sonny J. O’Neal,

Forest Supervisor, Okanogan and Wenatchee

National Forests.

[FR Doc. 01–13992 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

John Day/Snake Resource Advisory

Council, Hells Canyon Subgroup

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Hells Canyon Subgroup

of the John Day/Snake Resource

Advisory Council will meet on June 15–

16, 2001 at the Wallowa Mountains

Visitors Center, 88401 Hwy 82,

Enterprise, OR 97828. The meeting will

begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 5

p.m. the first day and day 2 will begin

at 8 a.m and will be a field trip to the

Buckhorn Lookout Area. Agenda items

to be covered include: (1) Update on

CMP (2) Review of the fires on the NRA

in 2000. Public comments will be

received June 15, 2001 at 1:30 p.m. at

the Wallowa Mountains Visitors Center.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Kendall Clark, Area Ranger, USDA,

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area,

88401 Highway 82, Enterprise, OR

97828, 541–426–5501.

Dated: May 30, 2001.

Karyn L. Wood,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 01–14048 Filed 6–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M