[Federal Register: February 10, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 27)]
[Notices]
[Page 6249-6250]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10fe04-53]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Whitetail-Pipestone Travel Management Project, Beaverhead-
Deerlodge National Forest, Jefferson and Silver Bow Counties, MT
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement to document the analysis and disclose the environmental
impacts of a proposed action to develop a travel and access management
plan for the Whitetail-Pipestone area. The project area is located on
National Forest System lands east of Interstate 15 from Butte to
Boulder, southwest of Highway 69 to Hadley Park road, west and north of
the Hadley Park Road over the Bull Mountain range to the Whitetail
Road, west of the Whitetail Road to Whitehall, and north of Montana
Highway 2 from Whitehall to Butte.
The decision to be made is to define the appropriate road and trail
systems and the type of uses on them.
DATES: Initial comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be
received in writing no later than march 15, 2004.
ADDRESSES: The responsible official is Forest Supervisor Thomas K.
Reilly, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Dillon, Montana. Please
send comments to Eric Tolf, 3 Whitetail Road, Whitehall, MT 59759.
Comments may be electronically submitted to comments-northern-
beaverhead-deerlodge-jefferson@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Tolf, project leader, 3 Whitetail
Road, Whitehall, MT 59759, or phone (406) 287-3223, or by email to
etolf@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this action is to define a
transportation system (roads and trails) to provide a variety of
motorized and non-motorized recreation opportunities. A condition of
this transportation system is that it can be properly maintained.
The project area is located in T. 2 N.-T. 5 N., R 7 W.-R. 4 W. The
scope of this proposal is limited to access and travel management
actions to accomplish the purpose and need.
Public participation is important to this analysis. Part of the
goal of public involvement is to identify additional issues and to
refine the general, tentative issues. A scoping notice describing the
proposal will be mailed to those who request information on these types
of activities on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests. Preliminary
issues identified by the Forest Service include:
(1) Motorized and non-motorized recreation--the existing
transportation system does not provide for a mix of quality
recreational experiences for both motorized and non-motorized users.
(2) Road and trail safety--safety concerns exist along roads
utilized by both full-sized vehicles and off-highway vehicles, and
hazards on low standard roads and trails.
The analysis will consider all reasonably foreseeable activities.
The interdisciplinary team has not yet developed alternatives to the
proposed action. Alternatives will be developed based on the key issues
identified through scoping.
People may visit with Forest Service officials at any time during
the analysis and prior to the decision. Two periods are specifically
designated for comments on the analysis: (1) During the scoping
process, and (2) during the draft EIS period.
During the scoping process, the Forest Service seeks additional
information and comments from individuals organization that may be
interested in or affected by the proposed action, and Federal, State
and local agencies. The Forest Service invites written comments and
suggestions on this action, particularly in terms of identification of
issues and alternative development.
The draft EIS is anticipated to be available for review in May
2004. The final EIS is planned for completion in December 2004.
The Environmental Protection Agency will publish the Notice of
Availability of the draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal
Register. The Forest will also publish a Legal Notice of its
availability in the Montana Standard Newspaper, Butte, Montana, A 45-
day comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will
begin the day following the date of publication of 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
[[Page 6250]]
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 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. 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.
The responsible official will make the decision on this proposal
after considering comments and responses, environmental consequences
discussed in the final EIS, applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
The decision and reasons for the decision will be documented in the
Record of Decision.
Dated: February 3, 2004.
Thomas K. Reilly,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-2775 Filed 2-9-04; 8:45 am]
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