[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32929-32931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15410]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Wasatch Plateau Sheep Grazing

AGENCY: Forest Service, Manti-La Sal National Forest, Sanpete, Carbon, 
Utah and Emery Counties, Utah, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of issuance of 42 
Term Grazing Permits that authorize sheep grazing on 31 allotments on 
the Wasatch Plateau. The project analysis area is located on top of the 
Wasatch Plateau approximately 9 miles east of Ephraim, Utah and 
approximately 16 miles west of Castle Dale, Utah, between the Price 
River drainage on the north and Mooseneah Peak on the south.
    The need for this analysis is to meet direction specified by 
section 504 of Public Law 104-19 (The Rescission Act of 1995) and bring 
grazing in compliance with Forest Plan direction, applicable laws, 
regulation and policy. The selected alternative, associated mitigations 
and management strategies will be implemented through the Term Grazing 
Permit and a specific allotment management plan.
    The area being analyzed is National Forest System lands where 
grazing is authorized by permit. This involves approximately 171,000 
acres of which 118,000 acres are suitable for sheep grazing. The 
permitted number of livestock is 33,382 head of sheep that generally 
graze from July 1 to September 30 for 30,587 animal unit months.
    The proposed action is to continue livestock grazing with 
modification of the permitted number of sheep and inclusion of 
additional management requirements in Term Grazing Permits. (Final 
permitted number of sheep, by allotment, is displayed on Table A.)

     Table A.--Part 1--Wasatch Plateau Sheep Grazing Proposed Action
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Permitted       Permitted
                Allotment                   number  of        grazing
                                               sheep          season
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Black Canyon............................           1,000      7/01-09/30
Clay Banks..............................           1,155      7/01-09/30
Heliotrope..............................           1,250      7/01-09/25
Indian Creek............................           1,000      7/01-09/30
Little Petes Hole.......................             971      7/15-09/30
Joes Valley.............................           1,276      6/13-09/30
Olsen Bench.............................           1,130      6/21-09/30
Peavine.................................           1,000      7/01-09/20
Potters Canyon..........................             600      7/01-09/30
Reeder Ridge............................           1,100      6/26-09/30
Ridley Ridge............................           1,090      7/01-09/30
Wagon Road Ridge........................             993      7/11-09/30
Bob Wright..............................           1,013      7/01-09/30
Booths Canyon...........................             565      7/01-09/30

[[Page 32930]]

 
Crandall Canyon.........................             658      7/06-09/25
Crandall Ridge..........................             354      7/01-09/30
Eccles..................................             750      7/16-09/25
Horse Creek.............................             666      7/01-09/30
South Skyline...........................           1,019      7/07-09/30
Spring Lake.............................           1,080      7/08-09/30
Trough Springs Ridge....................           1,000      7/01-09/30
Candland................................           1,060      7/01-09/30
Monument Peak...........................             361      7/01-09/30
Swens...................................             559      7/01-09/30
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     Table A.--Part 2--Wasatch Plateau Sheep Grazing Proposed Action
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Permitted       Permitted
                Allotment                   Number  of        Grazing
                                               Sheep          Season
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Mountain Lion...........................           1,000      6/14-09/30
Beaver Dams-Boulger.....................           1,200      7/06-10/05
Birch Creek-Bear Canyon.................           1,100      6/06-09/30
Cottonwood-Gooseberry...................             900      7/06-09/30
Island Lake.............................             954      7/05-09/25
Order Mountain..........................           1,095      7/01-09/25
Willow Creek............................           1,000      7/01-09/25
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DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis described 
in this Notice should be received on or before July 19, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ferron/Price Ranger District, 
Wasatch Plateau Sheep Grazing EIS, P.O. Box 310, Ferron, UT 84523.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be addressed to John Healy, Supervisory Range 
Management Specialist, Ferron/Price Ranger District, (435) 384-2372.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will tier to the final EIS for the 
Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest 
Plan). The Manti-La Sal Forest Plan provides the overall guidance 
(Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area Direction) to 
achieve the desired future condition for the area being analyzed, and 
contains specific management area prescriptions for the entire Forest.
    Initial scoping and issue development identified the following 
tentative issues: water quality, endangered and sensitive plant and 
animal species, cultural resources, social, economic, recreation, 
noxious weeks, riparian, and rangeland health.
    The Forest Service has previously scoped this project on two 
separate occasions, April 1999 and April 2000. If you have already 
commented, your comments are part of the record and will be considered 
in determining issues, and alternatives. The Forest Service is seeking 
additional information and comments from Federal, State, and local 
agencies as well as individuals and organizations that may be 
interested in, or affected by the proposed action. The Forest Service 
invites written comments and suggestions on the issues related to the 
proposal and the area being analyzed. Information received will be used 
in preparation of the Draft EIS and Final EIS. For most effective use, 
comments should be submitted to the Forest Service within 30 days from 
the date of publication of this Notice in the Federal Register.
    Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to 
visit with Forest Service officials at any time during the EIS process. 
Two specific time periods are identified for the receipt of formal 
comments on the analysis. The two comment periods are, (1) during the 
scoping process, the next 30 days following publication of this Notice 
in the Federal Register, and (2) during the formal review period of the 
Draft EIS.
    The Draft EIS is estimated to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review on December 20, 
2001. At that time, the EPA will publish an availability notice of the 
Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft EIS 
will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service believes 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 EIS's structure their participation in the environmental review 
of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the 
reviewers' position and intentions.
    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, 803 F. 2d 
1016, 1022 (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 we can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the Final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comment on the Draft EIS should be 
as

[[Page 32931]]

specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific 
pages or chapters of the Draft EIS. Comments may also address the 
adequacy of the Draft EIS 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, 40 CFR 
1503.3 in addressing these points.)
    The Final EIS is expected to be released April 30, 2002.
    The Sanpete an Ferron/Price District Rangers, Manti-La Sal National 
Forest, are the responsible officials for the EIS. They will make a 
decision regarding this proposal, after considering the comments, 
responses, and environmental consequences discussed in the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, and applicable laws, regulations, and 
policies. The reasons for the decision will be documented in a Record 
of Decision.

    Dated: June 1, 2001.
Elaine J. Zieroth,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 01-15410 Filed 6-18-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M