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

72422 

Vol. 70, No. 232 

Monday, December 5, 2005 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Lower Trinity Ranger District, Six 

Rivers National Forest, California, SPI 

Road Project 

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 to disclose the environmental 

effects from construction of an access 

road approximately 4,800 feet long to 

Sierra Pacific industrial private lands 

surrounded by Forest Service Lands. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

thirty days of the publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected by February 2006 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected by May 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments 

concerning this notice to Jeff Walter, 

Forest Supervisor, Six Rivers National 

Forest, 1330 Bayshore Way, Eureka, CA 

95501–3834. Comments may be (1) 

mailed to the Responsible Official; (2) 

hand delivered between the hours of 8 

a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday 

excluding holidays; (3) faxed to (707) 

442–9242; or (4) electronically mailed 

to: comments-pacificsouthwest-sixrivers@fs.fed.us. Comments submitted 

electronically must be in Rich Text 

Format (.rtf). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katherine Worn, Project Leader, Lower 

Trinity Ranger District, P.O. Box 68, 

Willow Creek, CA 95573 or call (530) 

629–2118. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

project area is located in the South Fork 

Watershed entirely within Trinity 

County, within the General Forest 

Management Area and Riparian 

Reserves, in T4N, R6E, section 10, HM. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

There is a need for action on a special 

use permit application submitted by 

Sierra Pacific Industries property to 

allow construction of a road across 

national forest lands to provide access 

to their property. The purpose to 

provide access to Sierra Pacific 

Industries is to comply with the 

provisions of the 1989 Alaskan National 

Interest Lands Conservation Act, section 

1323, and the Forest Service regulation 

for evaluating and granting access to 

private lands within the national forest 

system at 36 CFR 251.110 to 251.114. 

The 1989 Alaskan National Interest 

Lands Conservation Act, section 1323, 

states: 

‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, and subject to such terms and 

provisions of law, and subject to such terms 

and conditions as the Secretary of 

Agriculture may prescribe, the Secretary 

shall provide such access to nonfederally 

owned land within the boundaries of the 

National Forest System as the Secretary 

deems adequate to secure to the owner the 

reasonable use and enjoyment thereof; 

Provided, That such owner comply with 

rules and regulations applicable to ingress 

and egress to or from the National Forest 

System.’’ 

In 36 CFR 251.111 it defines adequate 

access, and in 36 CFR 251.114 it 

describes the criteria, terms, and 

conditions of its granting: ‘‘* * * (2) the 

route is so located and constructed as to 

minimize adverse impacts on soils, fish 

and wildlife, scenic, cultural, threatened 

and endangered species, and other 

values of the Federal Lands; * * *’’ 

There is also a purpose and need to 

comply with Six Rivers Land and 

Resource Management Plan standards 

and guidelines with respect to riparian 

reserves, late successional reserves, and 

heritage and cultural resources. 

Proposed Action 

The Six Rivers National Forest is 

proposing to authorize a special use 

permit to Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) 

to construct, use and maintain 4,811 feet 

of access road, during the dry season, 

across National Forest System lands in 

the W1⁄2 Section 10, T4N, R6E, HM. The 

road is needed for SPI to access their 

property located in the SW1⁄4 of Section 

9, T4N, R6E, HM, in the upper 

Underwood Creek drainage, since it is 

surrounded by Forest Service lands. 

Amend the Land and Resource 

Management Plan (LRMP) 

This proposal includes a site-specific 

forest plan amendment. It amends the 

LRMP standard and guide 9–8 in 

Chapter IV on page 111, which states: 

‘‘Inside roadless areas—No new roads 

will be built in remaining unroaded 

portions of inventoried (RARE II) 

roadless areas that still qualify as 

‘roadless.’ ’’ Therefore this standard and 

guide would not apply to this project. 

Possible Alternatives 

Currently the Six Rivers is 

anticipating analyzing in detail four 

alternatives, the no action, proposed 

action, a helicopter only alternative, and 

a temporary road alternative. 

Responsible Official 

Jeff Walter, Forest Supervisor, 1330 

Bayshore Way, Eureka, CA 95501–3834, 

is the Responsible Official. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Forest Service must decide 

whether it will implement this proposal, 

an alternative design that moves the 

area towards the desired condition, or 

not to implement any project at this 

time. 

Scoping Process 

In the 2nd and 3rd Quarters of 2003, 

the 3rd Quarter of 2005, and the 1st 

quarter of 2006, the Sierra Pacific 

Industries (SPI) Road Project was 

included in the Six Rivers National 

Forest Schedule of Proposed Action, 

which was posted on the Six Rivers 

National Forest’s internet Web site and 

mailed to interested parties. The 

proposal was to build 4,811 feet of road. 

On October 18, 2004 a scoping letter 

was mailed to interested and affected 

tribes, individuals, organizations, and 

Federal, State and local agencies with 

responsibilities for local resource 

management. After evaluating responses 

to the November 2004 scoping period, 

the Forest Service has decided to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) for this project. This 

notice of intent invites additional public 

comment on this proposal and initiates 

the preparation of the environmental 

impact statement. The proposal has not 

been changed, except for the 

amendment to the LRMP, since scoping 

in November of 2004. Comments 

submitted at that time will be used in 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 232 / Monday, December 5, 2005 / Notices 72423 

the environmental analysis process. Due 

to the extensive scoping efforts already 

conducted, no scoping meeting is 

planned. 

The scoping process will include 

identification of potential issues, in 

depth analysis of significant issues, 

development of alternatives to the 

proposed action, and determination of 

potential environmental effects of the 

proposal and alternatives. While public 

participation in this analysis is welcome 

at any time, comments received within 

30 days of the publication of this notice 

will be especially useful in the 

preparation of the draft environmental 

impact statement. The public is 

encouraged to take part in the planning 

process and to visit with Forest Service 

officials at any time during the analysis 

and prior to the decision. 

Preliminary Issues 

The following preliminary issues have 

been identified for this proposal: 

Construction of roads in the Underwood 

Inventoried Roadless Area, impacts to 

water quality from construction 

activities associated with the project, 

potential spreading of noxious weed 

species known to occur in the area 

because of the projects ground 

disturbing activities, and use of 

alternatives to ground based systems. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. Comments submitted 

during the November 2004 scoping 

period will be used in the 

environmental analysis process. Those 

who submitted comments at that time 

do not need to comment again, unless 

they have new comments they would 

like to provide. The public is 

encouraged to take part in the process 

and is encouraged to visit with Forest 

Service officials at any time during the 

analysis and prior to the decision. The 

Forest Service will be seeking 

information, comments, and assistance 

from Federal, State, and local agencies 

and other individuals or organizations 

that may be interested in, or affected by, 

the proposed vegetation management 

activities. 

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 environmental 

impact statement will be forty-five 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 

forty-five 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. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21) 

Dated: November 29, 2005. 

Jeff Walter, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 05–23603 Filed 12–2–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Siskiyou County Resource Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Siskiyou County 

Resource Advisory Committee will meet 

in Yreka, California, December 19, 2005. 

The meeting will include routine 

business, a discussion of larger scale 

projects, and the recommendation for 

implementation of submitted project 

proposals. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

December 19, 2005, from 4 p.m. until 6 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Yreka High School Library, Preece 

Way, Yreka, California. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Talley, RAC Coordinator, Klamath 

National Forest, (530) 841–4423 or 

electronically at rtalley@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting is open to the public. Public 

comment opportunity will be provided 

and individuals will have the 

opportunity to address the Committee at 

that time. 

Dated: November 29, 2005. 

Margaret J. Boland, 

Designated Federal Official. 

[FR Doc. 05–23604 Filed 12–2–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

BROADCASTING BOARD OF 

GOVERNORS 

Sunshine Act; Notice of Meeting 

DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, November 

30, 2005, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. 

PLACE: Cohen Building, Room 3360, 330 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20237. 

Closed Meeting: The members of the 

Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) 

will meet in a special session to review 

and discuss budgetary issues relating to 

U.S. Government-funded non-military 

international broadcasting. This meeting 

is closed because if open it likely would 

either disclose matters that would be 

properly classified to be kept secret in 

the interest of foreign policy under the 

appropriate executive order (5 U.S.C. 

552b.(c)(1)) or would disclose 

information the premature disclosure of 

which would be likely to significantly 

frustrate implementation of a proposed 

agency action. (5 U.S.C. 552b.(c)(9)(B)). 

In addition, part of the discussion will