[Federal Register: March 11, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 11589-11591]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11mr04-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Reissuance of 10-Year Term Grazing Permits and Authorization To
Graze Cattle in the Tushar Mountain Range, Beaver Ranger District,
Fishlake National Forest in Iron and Piute Counties, UT
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of reissuing 10-
year term grazing permits to continue authorizing cattle grazing on
eight grazing allotments (North-Indian Creek, Circleville, South
Beaver, Marysvale, Pine Creek/Sulphurdale, Cottonwood, Ten Mile,
Junction) within the Beaver Ranger District and located on the Tushar
Mountain Range near the city of Beaver in Beaver and Piute Counties,
Utah. The permit reissuance would authorize the continued use of
current grazing systems with presently permitted cattle numbers and
seasons of use.
DATES: Comments in response to this Notice of Intent concerning the
scope of the analysis should be received in writing on or before April
5, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Tushar Mountain Range EIS, Attn:
Dave Grider, Dixie National Forest, 1785 North Wedgewood Lane, Cedar
City, UT 84720. Additional information can be obtained from Dave
Grider, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, by phone: 435-865-3731 or by e-
mail: dgrider@fs.fed.us.
RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: Dayle Flanigan, District Ranger, is the
responsible official for this environmental impact statement. His
address is: U.S. Forest Service, Beaver Ranger District, 575 South
Main, P.O. Box E, Beaver, UT, 84713.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Grider, Interdisciplinary Team
Leader, Dixie National Forest, 1789 N. Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, UT
84720, (435) 865-3731. A Scoping Document has been prepared to provide
project information and request public review and comment. This Scoping
Document can be accessed electronically at http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/fishlake/projects/index.shtml
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These eight allotments comprise 173,000
acres (two-thirds) of the 260,000-acre District on the eastern edge of
the Basin and Range province. Elevations range from 5,200' in Sevier
Valley to over 12,000' on Mount Belknap in the Tushar Range. Vegetation
types range from sagebrush-grass and pinion-juniper in the valley
floors to mountain brush, aspen, mixed conifer, and alpine-forb
communities. Riparian ecosystems occur within many of these
communities. Alpine riparian areas occur on Lake Peak and in the heads
of North Creek. The major river drainage is Beaver River, which flows
into the closed Great Basin. The South Beaver and North-Indian Creek
Allotments include water bodies that are impaired or are tributary to
streams that are impaired, but they do not exceed the State standard
for total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants, so the streams and
lakes on these allotments are not included on the State's 303(d) list
of waters not meeting water quality standards. The Circleville
Allotment includes streams that flow to a segment of the Sevier River
that is water quality limited, but no 303(d) streams are located in the
Circleville Allotment.
Proposed Action: Reissuing 10-year term grazing permits to continue
authorizing cattle grazing, on eight allotments on the Tushar Mountain
Range within the Beaver Ranger District, is proposed. Implementation of
existing Allotment Management Plans (AMPs) would prescribe the manner
and extent to which livestock operations would be conducted and would:
(1) Develop allotment specific objectives which would direct livestock
management to either maintain desired conditions or improve rangelands
to desired conditions, (2) authorize management of livestock and
construction or maintenance of improvements which would result in
meeting objectives, (3) develop action plans to meet resource goals,
objectives, and management requirements for a wide array of rangeland
resources and uses concurrent with livestock grazing, (4) incorporate
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) standards and
guidelines (as amended) for forage utilization and riparian area
management, and (5) develop a monitoring plan that describes a
measurable means of determining whether goals and objectives are being
met. This proposed action does not intend to address livestock capacity
and stocking rates. The number and class of livestock, season of use,
and grazing system required to meet desired conditions is a permit
administration decision, not a NEPA decision. Changes in numbers and
seasons would not be adressed by the proposed action or alternative(s).
The proposal does not intend to change the grazing systems currently in
use. None of the project allotments require new structural range
improvements (fences or water developments) for cattle management. The
proposed action does include provision for maintenance of existing
structural and non-structural range improvements. Vegetation type-
conversions (sagebrush and pinion-juniper to grass/forb types) would be
subject to periodic maintenance on the North-Indian Creek, Marysvale,
[[Page 11590]]
Circleville, Ten Mile, Cottonwood, South Beaver, and Pine Creek/
Sulphurdale Allotments. Maintenance of existing structural range
improvements would include 113 miles of fences, 27 cattle guards, 48
developed springs, 48 stock ponds, 29 miles of pipeline, and 60
watering troughs. Noxious weed infestations would require treatment on
all of the allotments except Ten Mile, Junction, and Cottonwood.
Purpose and Need for Action: The purpose of the proposed action is
to authorize and conduct cattle grazing, on allotments included in this
analysis, according to direction and objectives of the Forest Plan and
in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies. Term
grazing permits and associated AMPs currently authorize cattle grazing
on the Beaver Ranger District. The proposed action is needed to address
significant grazing issues, relate existing conditions to desired
conditions, and to conduct analysis in accordance with Section 504 of
Pub. L. 104-19 (Rescission Bill, Signed 7/27/95) which directed the
Forest Service to complete NEPA analysis on all grazing allotments. The
Forest Plan provides the overall guidance for management activities in
the potentially affected area through its goals, objectives, standards
and guidelines, and management area direction.
Nature of Decision To Be Made: The decision to be made is ``should
10-year term grazing permits be reissued to authorize continued cattle
grazing on the eight allotments within the Tushar Mountain Range on the
Beaver Ranger District.'' If the decision is to reissue term grazing
permits to continue cattle grazing, then management prescriptions,
detailed in AMPs, will be implemented to outline how livestock will be
grazed and to ensure compliance with Forest Plan direction.
Possible Alternatives: The Forest Service will consider a range of
alternatives. One of these will be the ``no grazing'' alternative, in
which no grazing by domestic livestock would be allowed and all
structural range improvements currently in place for control or
management of livestock would be removed. New term grazing permits
would not be issued as current permits expire. In ten years, this area
would not provide any grazing for domestic livestock. Additional
grazing alternatives will be considered in response to issues and other
resource values. The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present,
and projected activities on both private and National Forest lands will
be considered. The EIS will disclose the analysis of site-specific
mitigation measures and their effectiveness.
Scoping Process: Public participation is an important part of the
analysis, commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7),
which began in February 1998. At that time, an Interdisciplinary Team
of Forest Service resource specialists conducted an in-depth analysis
of 36 cattle allotments (including the 8 allotments in this proposed
action) and 6 sheep allotments in a Forest-wide multi-allotment level
environmental assessment. A final decision was made, which was
subsequently appealed, pursuant to 36 CFR 215.17, and Fishlake National
Forest Supervisor Rob Mwroka withdrew the decision in June 2000. Based
on the complexities of the original EA, the Forest Supervisor decided
to complete an environmental analysis that only addressed forage
utilization criteria, and to incorporate new use criteria through an
amendment to the Forest Plan. This EA was completed during 2001 and the
Decision Notice was signed in February 2002 directing incorporation of
the revised criteria into Part 3 of the Term Grazing Permits.
Concurrently, and upon review of the environmental analysis process and
varying public interests, the Forest Supervisor decided that separate
Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), for each group of allotments on
each of the Forest's four mountain ranges and respective ranger
districts, would be prepared to assess the effects of authorizing and
permitting livestock grazing. Public comments received during the
completion of the original multi-allotment Forest-wide EA referenced
above will be incorporated into this EIS analysis process. A disclosure
of the effects of livestock grazing on the following resources and
activities will be provided: riparian areas, endangered and sensitive
plant and wildlife species habitats, soil and water quality within the
allotments, forage competition between elk and livestock, conflicts
with recreational activities, potential spread of noxious weeds, effect
of livestock and their management on cultural resources, and economic
stability of the local and regional agricultural communities. This list
will be verified, expanded, refined, or modified based on public
scoping for this proposal.
Comments Requested: In addition to this scoping, the public may
visit Forest Service officials at any time during the analysis and
prior to the decision. The Forest Service is 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 action. No public meetings are scheduled at
this time. Comments will be used to identify any additional issues that
should be addressed in the environmental impact statement. The analysis
is being conducted in compliance with the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) and is designed to inform the Responsible Official of the
potential environmental consequences of continued livestock grazing on
these eight allotments and to identify any changes in grazing practices
that should be considered. The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public
review by or prior to June of 2004. At that time, the EPA will publish
a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The
comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA's
notice of availability appears in the Federal Register. It is very
important that those interested in management of the eight project
allotments on the Beaver Ranger District participate at that time. To
be most helpful, comments on the Draft EIS should be as site-specific
as possible. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed by September
2004.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement (DEIS)
will be prepared for comment. The comment period on the DEIS will be 45
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
[[Page 11591]]
action participate by the close of the 30-day scoping comment period
(April 1, 2004) 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 on the proposed action, comments 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 1, 2004.
Mary Erickson,
Forest Supervisor, Fishlake National Forest.
[FR Doc. 04-5463 Filed 3-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P