Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices 65289 

area management recommended in an 

individual petition. 

Type of Respondents: State and 

territorial governors. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 36; if all affected states 

and territories submit petitions. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: Up to 36,000 hours. 

Comment is invited on: (1) Whether 

this collection of information is 

necessary for the stated purposes and 

the proper performance of the functions 

of the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical or 

scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized and included in the 

request for Office of Management and 

Budget approval. 

Dated: November 15, 2007. 

Gloria Manning, 

Associate Deputy Chief, NFS. 

[FR Doc. E7–22668 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Umatilla National Forest, Grant County, 

OR Farley Analysis Area Vegetation 

Management Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture—Forest Service proposes to 

conduct vegetation management 

activities on approximately 17,500 acres 

of upland forest sites in the Farley 

Analysis Area to restore sustainable 

forest conditions in the Desolation 

Creek watershed. The proposed action 

will use a range of mechanical harvest 

and non-harvest thinning and 

prescribed fire activities to alter species 

composition, stand structure, and fire 

regime condition class to re-create 

conditions that are consistent with the 

historic range of variability for forests of 

the Blue Mountains of northeastern 

Oregon, and to capture the commercial 

value of forest raw materials for the 

benefit of local economies. 

The Farley Analysis Area 

encompasses the Desolation Creek 

watershed which covers 69,672 acres of 

diverse mountainous, mostly forested 

landscapes ranging in elevation from 

7,765 ft at its headwaters to 2810 ft at 

its confluence with the North Fork John 

Day River near Dale, Oregon. It includes 

both National Forest and privatelyowned lands; private lands comprise 

about 18 percent of the total area, 

mostly at lower elevations at the 

western end of the watershed. 

Development and implementation of 

these actions will be conducted in 

accordance with the National Forest 

Management Act, National 

Environmental Policy Act, Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations, 

Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, 

Endangered Species Act, and with the 

Umatilla National Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan and 

scientific recommendations of the 

Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem 

Management Project. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

December 12, 2007. The Draft EIS is 

expected to be filed with the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

and be available to the public for review 

by February 2008. The Final EIS is 

scheduled to be completed by April 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

the Responsible Official, Kevin D. 

Martin, Forest Supervisor, Umatilla 

National Forest, 2517 S.W. Hailey 

Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801. Send 

electronic comments to: commentspacificnorthwestumatilla@fs.fed.us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael A. Beckwith, Technical WriterEditor, North Fork John Day Ranger 

District, 401 Main Street, Ukiah, OR 

97880, phone (541) 427–5335. E-mail: 

mabeckwith@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose 

and Need. Since the early 1900s, fire 

has been aggressively excluded from 

forest ecosystems throughout the 

Nation. From the mid to late 1900s, 

timber harvest practices in the interior 

Columbia Basin have emphasized 

removal primarily of mature ponderosa 

pine. The result has been a shift in 

forest conditions toward dense stands of 

Douglas and grand fir containing large 

amounts of dead and decaying wood 

that now are subject to insect 

infestations, disease, and very large 

wildfires, in contrast to the more open 

stands of fire-adapted species (such as 

ponderosa pine) that would be expected 

to occur historically. 

In addition, in 1996 the Bull, Summit 

and Tower wildfires in and near the 

Farley Analysis Area involved mature 

lodgepole pine forests that had 

experienced substantial insect mortality. 

These fires were uncharacteristically 

intense and covered large areas (over 

130,000 acres) because, as a result of 

past fire suppression and timber harvest 

practices, the forests had become more 

dense (more trees per acre) and 

contained a larger amount of dead wood 

than would have existed historically. 

These fires resulted in greater loss of old 

forest structure, wildlife cover and 

habitat, riparian structure and 

vegetation, erosion and detrimental 

effects to soils over very large areas than 

would have been anticipated 

historically. 

The Desolation Watershed Analysis 

(1999) found that almost 60 percent of 

upland-forest sites in the Farley area 

exhibit moderate or high departures 

from the characteristic species 

composition, structure and stand 

density conditions than would have 

existed historically. These conditions 

are outside the range of historic 

variability for forests in the Blue 

Mountains and are not sustainable over 

the long-term, with the end result likely 

to be very large, destructive wildfires. 

Therefore, the purpose and need for the 

Farley Vegetation Management Project 

is to improve the long-term 

sustainability of upland forests by 

reducing stand densities and fuel loads, 

restoring appropriate species 

composition, altering forest structure 

and fire regime condition class, 

regenerating mature lodgepole stands 

that currently exist, and to capture the 

commercial value of raw wood materials 

for the benefit of local economies. 

Proposed Action. The Forest Service 

proposes to conduct mechanical harvest 

and non-harvest thinning, prescribed 

fire, fuels treatment, and reforestation 

activities on approximately 17,460 acres 

in the Farley Analysis Area in 

accordance with the resource 

management objectives and standards 

set forth in the Umatilla National Forest 

Land and Resource Management Plan 

(1990) and the scientific 

recommendations of the Interior 

Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management 

Project (1996). These activities are 

anticipated to yield approximately 

60,000 hundred cubic feet of 

merchantable material. Approximately 

100 miles of open and seasonally open 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
65290 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices 

roads will be required for the proposed 

action, including construction of 

approximately 40 miles of new system 

and temporary roads, and 

approximately 50 miles of 

reconstruction and maintenance of 

existing forest system roads. 

Approximately 2 miles of existing road 

will be closed and/or decommissioned 

at the conclusion of the proposed 

activities. 

The proposed action requires 

amendments to the Forest Plan with 

respect to connectivity among stands 

exhibiting old forest structure, scenic 

values, and total area (at the specific 

stand, subwatershed and watershed 

level) allowed to be in the less than 20 

year old age class. Implementation of 

the proposed actions could begin in late 

2008. 

Possible Alternatives. Alternatives 

will include the proposed action, no 

action, and additional alternatives that 

respond to issues generated during the 

scoping process. The agency will give 

notice of the full environmental analysis 

and decision-making process so 

interested and affected people may 

participate and contribute to the final 

decision. 

Scoping. Correspondence with tribes, 

government agencies, organizations, and 

individuals who have indicated interest 

will be conducted and input will be 

solicited. 

Preliminary Issues. Preliminary issues 

identified include the potential effects 

of the proposed action on long-term 

forest conditions and sustainability, fish 

and wildlife habitat, hydrology and 

water quality, soils and scenic values. 

Comment. Public comments on this 

proposed action are requested to 

identify issues and alternatives to the 

proposed action and to focus the scope 

of the analysis. Comments received in 

response to this solicitation, including 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this 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 

standing to appeal the subsequent 

decisions under 36 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 confidentially. Persons 

requesting such confidentially 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 a 

specified number of days. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review. A draft EIS will 

be filed with the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) and made 

available for public review by January 

2008. The EPA will publish a Notice of 

Availability (NOA) of the draft EIS in 

the Federal Register. The final EIS is 

scheduled to be available April 2008. 

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 impact statements 

must structure their participation in the 

environmental review of the proposal so 

that it is meaningful and alerts the 

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 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. Reviews 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. 

In the final EIS, the Forest Service is 

required to respond to substantive 

comments received during the comment 

period for the draft EIS. The Forest 

Service is the lead agency and the 

responsible official is Craig Dixon, 

District Ranger, North Fork John Day 

Ranger District, Umatilla National 

Forest. The responsible official will 

decide where, and whether or not to 

salvage timber, and remove potential 

hazard trees. The responsible official 

will select the treatment alternative(s) 

for the Farley Vegetation Management, 

as well as potential mitigation and 

monitoring measures that may be 

needed. The decision will be 

documented in a record of decision. The 

decision will be subject to Forest 

Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR 

part 215). 

Dated: November 14, 2007. 

Kevin Martin, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–5754 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of New Fee Site; Federal Lands 

Recreation Enhancement Act, (Title 

VIII, Pub. L. 108–447) 

AGENCY: Coronado National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service, Tucson, Arizona. 

ACTION: Notice of New Fee Site. 

SUMMARY: The Coronado National Forest 

proposes to begin charging a new 

$150.00 per day fee for rental of the 

Rockfellow House located 10 miles west 

of Sunsites, Arizona. Rental of the Cabin 

includes overnight use. Rental of the 

cabin and other facilities within the 

Arizona National Forests has shown that 

the public appreciates and enjoys the 

availability of historic rental facilities. 

Funds from the rentals will be used for 

the continued operation and 

maintenance of the Rockfellow House. 

DATES: Rockfellow House will become 

available for rent July, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Coronado National Forest, 

300 West Congress, Tucson, AZ 85701 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathy Makansi, Archaeologist, 

Coronado National Forest, (520) 760–

2502. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement 

Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–447) directed 

the Secretary of Agriculture to publish 

a six month advance notice in the 

Federal Register whenever new 

recreation fee areas are established. The 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES