Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 62 / Friday, March 31, 1995 / Notices 16601

After a comment period of 90 days, the

Final Environmental Impact Statement

and Forest Plan amendment should be

completed by September, 1996.

The comment period on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement will

extend 90 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 (1973). 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 90

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.

Dated: March 17, 1995.

R.M. ‘‘Jim’’ Nelson,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95–7886 Filed 3–30–95; 8:45 am]

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Environmental Impact Statement

Helicopter Landings in Wilderness,

Tongass National Forest, Alaska

AGENCY: Forst Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to

prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: The original notice of intent

to prepare an environmental impact

statement for helicopter landings in

Wilderness, Tongass National Forest,

Alaska was published in the August 31,

1994 Federal Register (pages 44964–

44965).

The purpose of this revised notice is

to clarify the scope of activities to be

analyzed in the helicopter landings in

wilderness EIS. The EIS will include all

helicopter access for recreational

purposes including tours, sightseeing,

guiding and other commercial

recreation purposes. The environmental

consequences of helicopter landing for

general public access will be addressed.

If helicopter landings are approved

within Tongass wildernesses, allocation

of those landings between commercial

visitor service providers and other

members of the public would be made

in a separate process.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Written comments

concerning the revised proposed action

to approve helicopter landing areas in

Tongass National Forest wilderness

should be received on or before May 1,

1995.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Bill Tremblay, Team Leader USDA

Forest Service, P.O. Box 309, Petersburg,

AK 99833.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions concerning the

environmental impact statement should

be directed to Bill Tremblay, Team

Leader, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box

309, Petersburg, AK 99833, phone: (907)

772–3841.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the project is to provide for

use of helicopters for general public

access where this use was established

prior to designation of Wilderness while

managing Tongass National Forest

wilderness to provide high quality

Wilderness opportunities. In this

context, general public access is for

activities such as hiking, camping,

photography, fishing, skiing,

sightseeing, guiding, and other

Wilderness-oriented forms of recreation.

The Regional Forester, Phil Janik, will

decide whether to allow helicopter

landings for access in areas that were

used prior to Wilderness designation. If

helicopter landings are approved, the

Regional Forester will decide which

areas will be designated and what

restrictions, if any, will be established.

Issuance of the final environmental

impact statement is projected in the

spring of 1996. The Responsible official

for the decision is Phil Janik, Regional

Forester, Alaska Region, P.O. Box

21628, Juneau Alaska, 99802–1628.

Dated: March 22, 1995.

Phil Janik,

Regional Forester.

[FR Doc. 95–7888 Filed 3–30–95; 8:45 am]

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Sequoia National Forest; California

Spotted Owl DEIS

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces an

open house in which the public is

invited to participate in an information

exchange regarding alternatives being

considered in the California Spotted

Owl Draft Environmental Impact

Statement, as they affect the Sequoia

National Forest area.

DATES AND TIME: April 11, from 7:00 p.m.

to 9:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Springville Veterans

Memorial Building, 35944 Highway 190,

Springville, CA 93265.

CONTACT PERSON FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION: Judy Schutza, Hot Springs

Ranger District, Route 4, Box 548,

California Hot Springs, CA 93207, (805)

548–6503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest

Service has released a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

to amend the Pacific Southwest

Regional Guide Sierran Province Forest

Plans with new management direction

for the California Spotted Owl. The

purpose of this meeting is to exchange

information with the public regarding

the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement and the preferred alternative.

The meeting will be informally

structured. A member of the team that

prepared the DEIS will be available to

answer questions and discuss the DEIS.

Visual media depicting the alternatives

and selected environmental

consequences will be displayed.

March 27, 1995.

Linda C. Brett,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95–7907 Filed 3–30–95; 8:45 am]

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