[Federal Register: November 4, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 213)]
[Notices]
[Page 67147-67148]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04no02-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Wasatch Powderbird Guides Outfitter and Guide Special Use Permit,
Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Salt Lake Ranger District, Salt Lake
County, UT and Uinta National Forest, Pleasant Grove and Spanish Fork
Ranger Districts, Utah County, UT
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: The Salt Lake Ranger District, of the Wasatch-Cache National
Forest, will prepare an EIS on Wasatch Powderbird Guides request for a
5-year outfitter and guide special use permit for guided helicopter
skiing on National Forest System lands.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
in writing by December 13, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Loren Kroenke, District Ranger,
6944 South 3000 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84121.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Scheid, District Environmental
Coordinator, (801) 733-2689 or at sscheid@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Wasatch Powderbird Guides, a current Special
Use Permit permittee, is proposing to operate a heli-skiing operation
for another five years along the Wasatch Front of the Wasatch-Cache and
Uinta National Forests. This proposal includes elements on both private
and public lands. Elements include the landing of helicopters to drop
off and pick up heli-skiers that are skiing across both private and
public lands. A complete description is available from the Salt Lake
Ranger District.
Preliminary issues were identified from the 1999 permit renewal EIS
and include potential effects on public safety, effects on designated
Wilderness areas, effects on wildlife, including golden eagles and
threatened, endangered and forest sensitive species, economic effects
of Wasatch Powderbird Guides and the local economy, and effects on
other winter recreationalists, including noise and competition for
untracked powder skiing.
Two preliminary alternatives have been identified. The proposed
action alternative is Wasatch Powderbird Guides proposal and includes
replacing the existing Sunday/Monday Tri-Canyon closure with 15-day
annual average cap in the area and other minor modifications designed
to increase operational flexibility and minimize user conflicts. The No
Action Alternative would allow continued use as authorized under the
1999 Record of Decision. Other potential alternatives will address
issues raised during the public scoping process. Detailed descriptions
of the Proposed and No Action Alternatives are available on the
Wasatch-Cache National Forest Web site at www.fs.fed.us/wcnf.
The public is invited to submit comments or suggestions to the
address above. The responsible officials are Tom Tidwell and Pete Karp,
Forest Supervisors of the Wasatch-Cache and Uinta National Forests,
respectively. A Draft EIS is expected to be filed in May of 2003 and
the Final EIS filed in September of 2003.
The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date
the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in
the Federal Register. It is very important that those interested in
this proposed action participate during that time. To be most helpful,
comments on the draft EIS should be as specific as possible and may
address the adequacy of the statement or the merits of the alternatives
discussed (see The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3).
[[Page 67148]]
In addition, Federal court decisions have established that the
reviewers of the draft EIS 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).
Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage
may be waived if not raised until after completion of the final EIS.
City of Angoon v. Hodel, (9th Circuit, 1986), and Wisconsin Heritages,
Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). The reason
for this is to ensure 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 EIS.
Dated: October 29, 2002.
Carol Majeske, for Loren M. Kroenke,
Salt Lake District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 02-27981 Filed 11-1-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M