[Federal Register: December 9, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 236)]
[Notices]
[Page 68587-68589]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09de03-42]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Shawnee National Forest, Illinois: Hiker/Equestrian Trails
Designation Project (Phase 1)
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service Shawnee National Forest intends to
prepare an environmental impact statement to disclose the environmental
consequences of designating additional miles of National Forest hiker/
equestrian system trails within four watersheds on the Forest--Lusk
Creek, Upper Bay Creek, Eagle Creek, and Big Grand Pierre Creek--and
restricting equestrian use within these watersheds to the system
trails.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by January 30, 2004. The draft environmental impact statement is
expected to be published in May, 2004 and the final environmental
impact statement is expected in September, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Matt Lechner, NEPA Coordinator,
Attention: Trails Designation, Shawnee National Forest, 50 Highway 145
South, Harrisburg, IL 62946. Send comments electronically to: mailroom_r9_shawnee@fs.fed.us; indicate ``Trail Designation'' on the
subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Pohlman, Recreation Program
Manager, or Richard Blume-Weaver, Planning Staff Officer, at (618) 253-7114, 1-800-MYWOODS, or e-mail tpohlman@fs.fed.us with a copy to rblume-weaver@fs.fed.us.
Maps of the trails proposed for designation are available for
review at the Forest Supervisor's Office, 50 Highway 145 South,
Harrisburg, Illinois; the Vienna-Elizabethtown Ranger District Station,
602 N. 1st St., Vienna, and the Elizabethtown Work Center,
Elizabethtown, Illinois; the Jonesboro-Murphysboro Ranger District
Station, 521 N. Main St., Jonesboro, and the Murphysboro Work Center,
2221 Walnut, Murphysboro, Illinois; the public libraries in Benton,
Carbondale, Golconda, Harrisburg, Jonesboro,
[[Page 68588]]
Marion, Metropolis, Murphysboro, Shawneetown, and West Frankfort; and
the Southern Illinois University Library, Carbondale. Maps and other
information are also available for review on the Shawnee National
Forest's Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/shawnee. Click on ``Trail
Designation Project'' under ``Current Management News.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The Shawnee National Forest's 1992 Amended Land and Resource
Management Plan (Forest Plan) anticipated an increasing demand for
trails on the Forest. In addition to identifying a potential trail-
corridor system, the Forest Plan allowed equestrians the use of then-
existing user-developed trails and the freedom to ride cross-country in
most areas of the Forest. In the years since publication of the Forest
Plan, public demand for trails has grown without any additions to the
Forest's designated trail system. The existing designated trail system
does not adequately meet the need for public access to many scenic
attractions, nor does it provide equestrians a loop-trail experience.
Numerous user-developed trails have been formed outside of the
designated trail system; but agency policy prevents the Forest from
managing these trails with trail-maintenance funds.
The Shawnee National Forest is ready at this time for a decision on
the designation of additional system trails in order to provide
recreational users a longer, well-marked, well-maintained trail system
and to reduce resource damage from non-designated, unmanaged, user-
developed trails. Since the majority of equestrian use occurs in four
neighboring watersheds that contain many popular attractions--about 30
percent of the Forest--the first phase of trail designation is focused
in these watersheds. The Forest Service intends to conduct further
analyses in the remainder of the Forest following implementation of the
decision that results from this environmental impact statement.
Proposed Action
The Shawnee National Forest proposes to: (1) Identify a number of
miles of trail to add to the Forest's designated trail system within
the watersheds of Lusk Creek, Upper Bay Creek, Big Grande Pierre Creek
and Eagle Creek, with the additional miles drawn primarily from
existing user-developed trails reconstructed and relocated as necessary
to avoid resource impacts; (2) construct additional trailheads to
provide access to the trail system; (3) amend the Forest Plan to
restrict equestrian use in these four watersheds to system trails and
roads; and (4) amend as required the trail-density standards in the
Forest Plan.
Possible Alternatives
Possible alternatives for evaluation in the environmental impact
statement include taking no action, designating trails in the four
watersheds within the constraints of the Forest Plan's trail-density
standards, and designating all trail-routes identified during a series
of public workshops on the trails master-planning process.
Responsible Official: Allen Nicholas, Forest Supervisor, Shawnee
National Forest, 50 Highway 145 South, Harrisburg, IL 62946.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The responsible official will decide whether or not to designate
more trails on the Shawnee National Forest, whether or not to construct
additional trailheads, whether or not to amend the Forest Plan to
restrict equestrian use in the four watersheds to designated trails and
roads, and whether or not to amend the trail-density standards
specified in the Forest Plan.
Scoping Process
The Shawnee National Forest proposes to scope for information by
contacting persons and organizations on the Forest's mailing list and
publishing a notice in the newspaper of record. The Forest will accept
comments at the above-stated addresses on the scope of the proposed
action and alternatives until January 30, 2004.
Two informational public open houses will be held to answer
questions regarding the proposed action and to receive scoping
comments. The first will be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 20,
2004 in the Knights of Columbus Hall, 100 Columbus Drive, Marion,
Illinois (next to the church on the west side of Russell Street, three
blocks south of U.S. Highway 13), and the second will be 4 p.m. to 7
p.m. on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 in the Commons Area of the Vienna
High School, 601 N. 1st Street, Vienna, Illinois (across the street
from the Vienna Ranger Station).
Preliminary Issues
The Forest Service has identified from previous public comments
several preliminary issues related to the proposed action: (1)
Designation and construction and/or improvement of additional system
trails may cause increased erosion and soil compaction and adversely
affect water quality; (2) Increasing trail-density standards may
adversely affect wilderness and natural area attributes; (3) Use of
additional trails may exceed the physical carrying-capacity of the
affected watersheds; and (4) Designation of additional system trails
may not provide quality recreational experiences.
Comments Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process that guides the
development of the environmental impact statement. In order to ensure
adequate identification and discussion in the environmental impact
statement of all relevant issues and alternatives, the Forest Service
seeks comments related specifically to the proposed action and
alternatives. We are especially interested in information that might
identify a specific undesired result of implementing the proposed
action. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including
names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of
the public record on this proposed action and will be available for
public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have
the right to appeal subsequent decisions under 36 CFR parts 215 and
217.
Those who comment during the scoping period will be listed to
receive a copy of the draft environmental impact statement. In order to
conserve resources, the Shawnee National Forest encourages all
recipients to view and/or download the draft environmental impact
statement from the Shawnee National Forest Web site or accept a copy of
the document on a CD. If you are unable to utilize the Web site or a
CD, please specify in your comment submittal that you prefer to receive
a paper copy of the draft environmental impact statement.
Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any persons may request
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing
how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that under FOIA
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, should the request be denied, return the
submission and notify the requester that the comments may be
resubmitted with or without name and address within 90 days.
[[Page 68589]]
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 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, that 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 statement 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 1016,1 022 (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 Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in
addressing these points.
Comments received, including the name and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
and will be available for public inspection.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, section 21)
Dated: December 2, 2003.
Huston A. Nicholas,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-30439 Filed 12-8-03; 8:45 am]