Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 8, 2008 / Notices 58927 

Public Meeting 

We are advising the public that we are 

hosting a public meeting on 

implementation of the amendments to 

the Lacey Act on October 14, 2008, from 

10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The meeting will be 

held in the Jefferson Auditorium, South 

Agriculture Building, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. 

Participants should enter the South 

Agriculture Building through the 7th 

wing entrance of the building located at 

Independence Avenue and 14th Street. 

Valid photo identification is required 

for clearance by building security 

personnel. Please arrive 30 minutes 

prior to the scheduled start of the 

meeting. The purpose of the meeting is 

to provide the public with information 

on the declaration requirements and 

declaration enforcement phase-in plan, 

enforcement of provisions that are 

already in effect, scope, and other 

related issues, as well as to provide the 

public with an opportunity to ask 

questions of the agencies involved in 

the implementation of the declaration 

requirements and enforcement of the 

Act. 

If you require special 

accommodations, such as a sign 

language interpreter, please contact the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Additional meetings are likely to be 

held this winter near key port locations 

in the United States. We will announce 

the locations and dates of those 

meetings in the Federal Register. 

Additional Information 

APHIS will provide the latest 

information regarding the Lacey Act on 

our Web site, http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov. The Web site 

currently contains the Lacey Act, as 

amended; a Microsoft PowerPoint 

presentation covering background and 

context, new requirements, 

commodities and products covered, 

information on prohibitions, and the 

current status of implementation of the 

declaration requirements of the Lacey 

Act; frequently asked questions; and the 

phase-in implementation plan. The Web 

site will be updated as new materials 

become available. Persons interested in 

receiving timely updates on APHIS’ 

Lacey Act efforts should register for our 

stakeholder registry at https:// 

web01.aphis.usda.gov/ 

PPQStakeWeb2.nsf and select ’’Lacey 

Act Declaration’’ as a topic of interest. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of 

October 2008. 

Cindy J. Smith, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–23984 Filed 10–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Dakota Prairie Grasslands; North 

Dakota; Dakota Prairie Grasslands 

Land and Resource Plan Amendment 

and Site Specific Projects for the 

Elkhorn Ranchlands 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is 

to inform the public that the Forest 

Service intends to prepare an 

environmental impact statement for 

amending the Dakota Prairie Grasslands 

Land and Resource Management Plan 

(DPG Plan) pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 

1604(f)(5) and 36 CFR 219.12. This 

includes approving certain site specific 

projects associated with the same lands. 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA), the Forest and Rangeland 

Renewable Resources Planning Act 

(RPA) and the National Forest 

Management Act (NFMA) are among the 

laws that set forth the requirements for 

Forest Service planning. This DPG Plan 

amendment will determine management 

direction including land-use 

determinations, management area 

prescriptions, and standards and 

guidelines. 

The need for the DPG Plan 

amendment results from the recent 

acquisition of 5,200 acres of private 

land, the majority of which lie in a solid 

block east of the Little Missouri River in 

Billings County, North Dakota. Site 

specific project proposals relate to: (1) 

Restoring ecological functions and 

wildlife habitat, (2) improving livestock 

grazing opportunities, (3) enhancing 

heritage and recreation opportunities, 

and 4) promoting conservation 

activities. 

Respondents are encouraged to review 

grassland planning documents and the 

final response to the Scientific Review 

Team Report for more information on 

woody and riparian communities’ 

restoration, prescribed burning, grazing 

management issues, and drought 

management strategies. Documents are 

available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/ 

dakotaprairie/ and http://www.fs.fed.us/ 

ngp. 

The Forest Service will be soliciting 

comments from individuals, state and 

local governments, American Indians, 

federal agencies, and organizations on 

the scope of the analysis specific to this 

DPG Plan amendment and the sitespecific projects proposed. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received within 

45 days of the scoping letter. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected in late May 2009 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected November 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

to: Sherri Schwenke, DPG Plan 

Amendment Interdisciplinary Team 

Leader, Dakota Prairie Grasslands, 240 

W. Century Avenue, Bismarck, North 

Dakota 58503 or by e-mail to: 

comments-northern-dakotaprairie@fs.fed.us. When commenting by 

e-mail, please be sure to list LRMP 

Amendment in the subject line and 

provide a U.S. Postal Service address so 

that we may add you to our mailing list. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sherri Schwenke, DPG Plan 

Amendment Interdisciplinary Team 

Leader, Dakota Prairie Grasslands, 240 

W. Century Avenue, Bismarck, North 

Dakota 58503. 

Background Information 

The USDA Forest Service manages 

over 190 million acres of public land in 

the United States of America. These 

public lands are managed in accordance 

with numerous laws enacted by 

Congress including the Bankhead-Jones 

Farm Tenant Act (BJFTA), the National 

Forest Management Act (NFMA), 16 

U.S.C. 1604 et seq. and the Multiple-Use 

Sustained Yield Act (MUSYA) 16 U.S.C. 

528 et seq. which directs the agency to 

provide for the multiple use and 

sustained yield of the National Forest 

System lands. In addition, Congress has 

instructed the agency to develop land 

and resource management plans for the 

public land it manages (NFMA, 16 

U.S.C. 1604(a)), which includes the 

involvement of the American public in 

the planning process (NFMA, 16 U.S.C. 

1604(d)). Of the public land managed by 

the Forest Service, approximately 4 

million of those acres are National 

Grasslands. The National Grasslands lie 

primarily within the Great Plains states, 

with roughly 1.1 million of those acres 

occurring in North Dakota. The Little 

Missouri National Grassland in western 

North Dakota comprises over 1 million 

of those and is managed under BJFTA, 

NFMA and other authorities of the 

Forest Service. The National Grasslands 

in North Dakota are managed by the 

Forest Service as part of the Dakota 


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58928 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 8, 2008 / Notices 

Prairie Grasslands unit. The Dakota 

Prairie Grasslands (DPG) went through 

the land and resource management 

planning process as part of the Northern 

Great Plains planning process which 

resulted in a signed Record of Decision 

in July, 2002 adopting the Dakota Prairie 

Grasslands Land and Resource 

Management Plan (DPG Plan). 

Furthermore, a livestock grazing specific 

Record of Decision adopting the grazing 

portion of the DPG Plan was signed in 

September, 2006 after an independent 

Scientific Review Team evaluated the 

findings in the DPG Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

The Elkhorn Ranchlands acquisition 

was completed in April of 2007. As this 

acquisition occurred after the Records of 

Decision for the DPG Plan, the Forest 

Service must undertake a plan 

amendment process in order to manage 

the newly acquired lands in accordance 

with law. 

The proposed DPG Plan amendment 

process also recognizes Pub. L. 110–161, 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 

2008, Division F—Department of the 

Interior, Environment, and related 

agencies appropriations act, 2008, Title 

IV, General Provisions, Sec. 424 which 

sets forth provisions for land sales to 

offset the acquired Elkhorn Ranch lands. 

Section 424(g) of the act provides that 

federal land grazing use of the Elkhorn 

Ranch shall be managed through the 

grazing agreement between the Medora 

Grazing Association and the Forest 

Service, and that the animal unit 

months (AUMs) for both federal and 

private lands encompassing the Elkhorn 

Ranch shall become part of the grazing 

agreement held by the Medora Grazing 

Association to be reallocated to its 

members in accordance with their rules 

in effect as of the date of the enactment 

of the act. 

The Forest Service recognizes the 

Medora Grazing Association as the 

permittee for the grazing use as 

determined during the planning process 

for the Elkhorn Ranch lands which 

includes both this amendment to the 

DPG Plan and subsequent allotment 

management plan (AMP) development. 

The current Grazing Agreement with the 

Medora Grazing Association will be the 

instrument used to permit the grazing 

use. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

section provides more information 

regarding the purpose and need for the 

amendment as well as the proposed 

action for the management 

prescriptions, et al. On April 25, 2007, 

the USDA Forest Service completed the 

acquisition of the Elkhorn Ranchlands 

located in the Badlands of western 

North Dakota from the Eberts family. 

The acquired lands are strongly 

associated with the 26th President of the 

United States, Theodore Roosevelt. He 

operated a ranch on the lands in the 

mid-1880s. The acquisition was widely 

supported by over 50 conservation 

groups, The Friends of the Elkhorn, 

public officials, and private citizens. 

As discussed above, with regard to the 

acquisition of the Elkhorn Ranch lands, 

Section 424 of Pub. L. 110–161 sets 

forth provisions for land sales to offset 

the acquired Elkhorn Ranch lands. This 

legislation also provided that ‘‘[t]he 

multiple uses of the acquired Elkhorn 

Ranch shall continue.’’ Pub. L. 110–161, 

Sec. 424(h). The Forest Service’s 

approach to the acquisition includes 

maintaining traditional uses such as 

livestock grazing, hunting, and oil and 

gas activities. Further, consistent with 

section 424(h), the Forest Service is 

committed to its legislatively mandated 

multiple-use mission and has stated that 

it intends to embark on a public 

planning process to bring these lands 

under the management direction of the 

Dakota Prairie Grasslands Land and 

Resource Management Plan (DPG Plan). 

In August 2007, the Forest Service 

initiated a resource assessment, which 

is the first step in determining how the 

agency would include these lands under 

DPG Plan management direction. 

The assessment was conducted by a 

Dakota Prairie Grasslands 

interdisciplinary team (IDT). Open 

houses were held in Dickinson, Medora, 

and Bismarck, North Dakota, during 

September 2007. The results of the 

resource assessment and the public 

input during that process contributed to 

the purpose and need and proposed 

action for the DPG Plan amendment and 

the site-specific project proposals. 

Common themes included: (1) use the 

land for grazing but as a forage reserve 

or ‘‘grassbank’’, restore native vegetation 

on the ranchlands, protect the 

‘‘viewshed’’ from the historic ranch 

home site, limit impacts from 

development, and provide primitive 

recreation opportunities that involve 

limited structural development. The 

complete resource assessment can be 

found on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands 

Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/ 

dakotaprairie/. 

DPG Plan Amendment Proposal 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The Forest Service proposes to amend 

the 2002 DPG Plan to establish 

management direction for the 5,200-acre 

Elkhorn Ranchlands and to adjust the 

management direction assigned to the 

associated national grassland range 

allotments (18,000 acres). More 

specifically the purposes of the 

amendment are as follows: 

• Determine suitability of acquired 

lands for grazing (36 CFR 219.12). 

• Include the associated range 

allotments in the management area 

designation for the Elkhorn Ranchlands. 

• Establish Grassland Plan 

management direction for the Elkhorn 

Ranchlands. 

• Preserve historical values. 

• Conserve ecological values. 

• Restore the land and improve 

watershed health. 

• Restore the viewshed as seen from 

Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch 

site to native plant communities that 

blend into the other undeveloped 

portions of the viewshed. 

Proposed Action 

The Forest Service proposes to amend 

the DPG Plan to establish management 

direction on 5,200 acres of National 

Forest System lands acquired in 2006 

and 2007, and assign compatible 

management direction to the associated 

range allotments (18,000 acres). This 

includes applying the grasslands wide 

direction from Chapter 1 of the DPG 

Plan and allocating the lands to 

appropriate MA designations (DPG Plan, 

Chapter 3). 

Site-Specific Project Proposals 

Purpose and Need for Site-Specific 

Projects 

The site-specific projects related to 

the recently acquired 5200 acres and the 

adjoining 18,000 acres are intended to: 

• Preserve historical values 

• Restore the land and improve 

watershed health 

• Determine what will be done with 

the buildings, center pivot, and other 

facilities on the site 

• Determine the level of recreation 

development and what associated 

facilities would be built on site 

• Restore the historic viewshed 

The need for the projects is based 

upon the condition of the lands as well 

as DPG Plan direction for infrastructure 

and recreation in the badlands setting. 

Site-Specific Projects Proposed Action 

Several projects are to be proposed to 

address the on-the-ground conditions 

and DPG plan direction. 

Responsible Official 

David M. Pieper, Grasslands 

Supervisor, Dakota Prairie Grasslands, 

240 W. Century Avenue, Bismarck, 

North Dakota 58503. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Forest Service will decide what 

the management direction will be for 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 8, 2008 / Notices 58929 

the acquired lands and whether or not 

to adjust the management direction 

assigned to the associated national 

grassland range allotments, as well as 

whether or not to implement sitespecific project proposals for the project 

area. 

Scoping Process 

A scoping letter will be issued 

concurrent with the publication of this 

notice of intent. The specifics of the 

proposed action(s) will be laid out in 

the letter and also will be posted on the 

Dakota Prairie Grasslands Web site for 

review. Comments to scoping should be 

received within 45 days from the date 

on the letter. 

Comment Requested 

The Forest Service will be soliciting 

comments from individuals; Federal, 

State, and local governments; American 

Indians, and organizations on the scope 

of the analysis to be included in the 

draft environmental impact statement 

for the DPG Plan amendment and from 

those that may be interested in or 

affected by the proposed action to: 

• Identify potential issues. 

• Identify issues to be analyzed in 

depth. 

• Eliminate insignificant issues or 

those which have been covered by a 

relevant previous environmental 

analysis. 

• Identify potential environmental 

effects of the proposed action. 

• Identify and explore alternatives to 

the proposed action. 

Comments received will be 

considered in preparation of the draft 

environmental impact statement. A 

range of alternatives will be considered 

after public comments are received and 

analyzed. One of those considered will 

be a ‘‘No Action’’ alternative for the sitespecific projects proposed. 

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 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 (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 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. 

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 (site specific 

decisions) or 217 (LRMP amendment 

decisions). 

Additionally, pursuant to 7 CR 1.27 

(d), any person may request the agency 

to withhold a submission from the 

public record by showing how the FOIA 

(Freedom of Information Act) permits 

such confidentiality. 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 90 days. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21. 

Dated: October 2, 2008. 

David M. Pieper, 

Grasslands Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E8–23812 Filed 10–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

National Urban and Community 

Forestry Advisory Council 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Preannouncement of 2009 

Urban and Community Forestry Grant 

Process. 

SUMMARY: The National Urban and 

Community Foresty Advisory Council, 

(NUCFAC), is charged, by law, to 

provide recommendations to the 

Secretary of Agriculture on urban 

forestry related issues and 

opportunities. Part of the Council’s role 

is to recommend the criteria for the U.S. 

Forest Service’s Urban and Community 

Forestry, (U&CF) Challenge Cost Share 

Grant Program. 

NUCFAC is revising their criteria for 

the U.S. Forest Service’s U&CF 

Challenge Cost Share Grant Program for 

2009. The new U&CF Challenge Cost 

Share Grant Program is designed to 

reflect this change, and implement new 

procedures that reduce the paperwork 

burden on potential grantees. Grants for 

2009 will be solicited in two categories: 

Innovation Grants 

NUCFAC anticipates recommending a 

small number of significant grants 

intended to address, on a national or 

regional level, the highest priority issues 

confronting the UC&F community. 

NUCFAC will seek proposals from 

organizations and partnerships that 

demonstrate the reach, resources and 

expertise needed to deliver meaningful, 

replicable results. As much as $500,000 

would be available in 2009 for one or 

more Innovation Grants. 

NUCFAC is in the process of 

identifying priority issues that might be 

addressed through Innovation Grants in 

2009. Please forward any suggestions to 

Nancy Stremple, nstremple@fs.fed.us by 

close of business, (C.O.B.), October 30, 

2008. 

2009 Best Practices Grants 

Smaller grants up to $50,000 for 

organizations that can implement, 

demonstrate, and disseminate replicable 

approaches to: 

• Recruit advocates for urban forestry; 

• Make best practices/latest science 

in urban forestry accessible to 

practitioners; 


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