Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Alpine County, CA, 32125-32126 [06-4918]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 106 / Friday, June 2, 2006 / Notices withhold your name or address, you must state this request prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. To the extent consistent with applicable law, we will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety. Information received in response to this notice and review will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours (see ADDRESSES). Authority: This document is published under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Dated: May 19, 2006. Wendi Weber, Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Region 3. [FR Doc. E6–8565 Filed 6–1–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, HumboldtToiyabe National Forest, Alpine County, CA jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent of public scoping. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as the lead agency, advises the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Forest Service), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project (Project). The Forest Service is a cooperating agency because activities within designated wilderness on National Forest System lands require Forest Service approval (36 CFR 261.9f, 293.6c). The Service provides this notice to: (1) Describe the proposed action and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an EIS; (3) announce the initiation of a 30-day public scoping VerDate Aug<31>2005 18:05 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 208001 period; and (4) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to be included in the EIS. DATES: A public meeting will be held on: June 19, 2006 from 4 to 7 p.m. Written comments should be received on or before July 3, 2006. ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at Turtle Rock Park Community Center 17300 State Route 89 Markleeville, California 96120. Information, written comments, or questions related to the preparation of the EIS and the NEPA process should be submitted to Robert D. Williams, Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, Nevada 89502; or FAX (775) 861–6301. Comments may be submitted electronically to fw8pctcomments@fws.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Mellison (See ADDRESSES) at (775) 861–6300. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Reasonable Accommodation Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and participate in the public meeting should contact Chad Mellison (See ADDRESSES) at (775) 861–6300 as soon as possible. In order to allow sufficient time to process requests, please call no later than one week before the public meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is available in alternative formats upon request. Authority This action is done in accordance with Recovery implementation section 4(f)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). Background At the time of its original listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Protection Act of 1966, nonnative trout were considered a threat to the Paiute cutthroat trout (PCT; Oncorhynchus clarki seleniris). In 1975, PCT were reclassified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and a 4(d) rule was issued to facilitate management between California Department of Fish and Game and the Service. In order to recover the subspecies, non-native trout need to be removed from their historic habitat and PCT reintroduced as specified in the 2004 Revised PCT Recovery Plan. Without this project, PCT in the Silver King drainage will continue to be at risk from an illegal introduction of nonnative trout and/or stochastic (one time) events such as a large fire or flood. PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 32125 Recovery of the species cannot be achieved without this project and the long-term survival of the species will be in doubt. We propose to eradicate non-native trout with the piscicide rotenone from 14.7 kilometers (9.1 miles) of historic PCT habitat, in Silver King Creek, from Llewellyn Falls downstream to Silver King Canyon as well as the accessible reaches of three small named tributaries: Tamarack Creek, Tamarack Lake Creek, the lower reaches of Coyote Valley Creek downstream of barrier falls, and Tamarack Lake. Environmental Impact Statement The Service has selected Entrix to prepare the EIS. Entrix will prepare the EIS under the supervision of the Service, which will be responsible for the scope and content of the NEPA document. NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires that Federal agencies conduct and environmental analysis of their proposed actions to determine if the actions may significantly affect the human environment. Under NEPA, a reasonable range of alternatives to proposed projects is developed and considered in the Services’ environmental review. Alternatives considered for analysis in an EIS may include: Variations in the scope of proposed activities; variations in the location, amount, and types of conservation; variations in activity duration; or, a combination of these elements. In addition, the EIS will identify potentially significant direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on biological resources, land use, air quality, water quality, water resources, socio-economics, and other environmental issues that could occur with the implementation of the proposed action and alternatives. For all potentially significant impacts, the EIS will identify avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures to reduce these impacts, where feasible, to a level below significance. The EIS will consider the proposed action, no action, and a reasonable range of alternatives. A detailed description of the impacts of the proposed action and each alternative will be included in the EIS. The alternatives to be considered for analysis in the EIS may include: Various fish removal methods; variations in timing; or, a combination of these elements. Request for Comments The primary purpose of the scoping process is for the public to assist the Services in developing the EIS by identifying important issues and E:\FR\FM\02JNN1.SGM 02JNN1 32126 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 106 / Friday, June 2, 2006 / Notices alternatives related to the proposed action. A public meeting will be held on June 19, 2006 as noted in the DATES section above. Written comments from interested parties are welcome to ensure that the full range of issues related to the proposed action are identified. All comments and materials received, including names and addresses, will become part of the administrative record and may be released to the public. Comments and materials received will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. The Service requests that comments be specific. In particular, we request information regarding: Direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementation of the proposed action; other possible alternatives that meet the purpose and need; potential adaptive management and/or monitoring provisions; existing environmental conditions in the project area; other plans or projects that might be relevant to this proposed project; and minimization and mitigation efforts. The environmental review of this project will be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the NEPA of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on the Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500– 1518), other applicable Federal laws and regulations, and applicable policies and procedures of the Services. This notice is being furnished in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 to obtain suggestions and information from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIS. Dated: May 23, 2006. John Engbring, Acting Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento, California. [FR Doc. 06–4918 Filed 6–1–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [ID 111 1610 DP 049D DBG060003] jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES Notice of Availability of Draft Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of VerDate Aug<31>2005 18:05 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 208001 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement (Draft RMP/EIS) for the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA). DATES: To assure that they will be considered, BLM must receive written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media news releases, and/or mailings. ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP/EIS will be posted on the Internet at https:// www.id.blm.gov/planning and will be mailed to those who have indicated that they want a hard copy or a compact disk. You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • E-mail: srbp@contentanalysisgroup.com. • Fax: 801–397–2601. • Mail: Snake River Birds of Prey NCA, C/O Content Analysis Group, P.O. Box 2000, Bountiful, UT 84011–2000. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Sullivan, NCA Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Four Rivers Field Office, 3948 Development Ave., Boise, Idaho 83705, phone—208–384–3300. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NCA encompasses approximately 484,000 acres of public land along 81 miles of the Snake River. The NCA was established on August 4, 1993 by Public Law 103–64 for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of raptor populations and habitats and the natural and environmental resources and values associated with the area. Issues identified through public scoping to be addressed in the planning process include the following: • Vegetation: Substantial losses of native shrub and perennial grass communities have resulted in smaller and less stable small mammal raptor prey populations, which have secondarily impacted raptor populations. • Fuels Management: The landscapescale change from perennial to annual plant communities has altered the natural fire regime, resulting in more frequent fires, and greater potential for damage to private improvements in the wildland urban interface. PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 • Recreation: The burgeoning human population and associated development in the surrounding area have increased recreation-related impacts on soils and vegetation, predominately through offroad vehicle use. In addition, unregulated recreational shooting has caused safety conflicts with military training activities. • National Guard: Military activities need to be conducted in a way that reduces impacts to soils and vegetation, especially shrub communities. Four alternative strategies are described and analyzed, as follows: Alternative A: (No-Action) Serves as a baseline for comparison with the other three alternatives, and proposes no major changes in resource management. Alternative B: Emphasizes a moderate level of raptor and raptor prey habitat restoration and rehabilitation, while accommodating recreation, military, and commodity uses that are compatible with the purposes of the NCA. Alternative C: Places a heavy emphasis on restoration and rehabilitation of all non-shrub areas outside the National Guard’s Orchard Training Area (OTA) to improve raptor and raptor prey habitat. Livestock grazing preference would be eliminated, and recreation and military training would be substantially restricted to support habitat restoration projects. Alternative D: (Preferred Alternative) Places a heavy emphasis on restoration of all non-shrub areas outside the OTA to improve raptor and raptor prey habitat, with moderate restrictions on recreation, military, and commodity uses. Decision Process: Depending on the number and types of comments on the Draft RMP/EIS, the Proposed RMP/Final EIS is expected to be published in late 2006. A Notice of Availability of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS will be published in the Federal Register and through local news media. A notice of an approved Record of Decision will be published in the Federal Register following resolution of any protests or appeals on the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. The official responsible for the decision is the BLM Idaho State Director. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be E:\FR\FM\02JNN1.SGM 02JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32125-32126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-4918]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Paiute 
Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, 
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Alpine County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent of public scoping.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 
U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as the 
lead agency, advises the public that we intend to gather information 
necessary to prepare, in cooperation with the United States Department 
of Agriculture Forest Service (Forest Service), an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on the proposed Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration 
Project (Project). The Forest Service is a cooperating agency because 
activities within designated wilderness on National Forest System lands 
require Forest Service approval (36 CFR 261.9f, 293.6c).
    The Service provides this notice to: (1) Describe the proposed 
action and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State 
agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an 
EIS; (3) announce the initiation of a 30-day public scoping period; and 
(4) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and 
alternatives to be included in the EIS.

DATES: A public meeting will be held on: June 19, 2006 from 4 to 7 p.m. 
Written comments should be received on or before July 3, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at Turtle Rock Park 
Community Center 17300 State Route 89 Markleeville, California 96120. 
Information, written comments, or questions related to the preparation 
of the EIS and the NEPA process should be submitted to Robert D. 
Williams, Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Fish and 
Wildlife Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, Nevada 
89502; or FAX (775) 861-6301. Comments may be submitted electronically 
to fw8pctcomments@fws.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Mellison (See ADDRESSES) at (775) 
861-6300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Reasonable Accommodation

    Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and 
participate in the public meeting should contact Chad Mellison (See 
ADDRESSES) at (775) 861-6300 as soon as possible. In order to allow 
sufficient time to process requests, please call no later than one week 
before the public meeting. Information regarding this proposed action 
is available in alternative formats upon request.

Authority

    This action is done in accordance with Recovery implementation 
section 4(f)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(ESA).

Background

    At the time of its original listing as endangered under the 
Endangered Species Protection Act of 1966, non-native trout were 
considered a threat to the Paiute cutthroat trout (PCT; Oncorhynchus 
clarki seleniris). In 1975, PCT were reclassified as threatened under 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and a 4(d) rule was issued to 
facilitate management between California Department of Fish and Game 
and the Service. In order to recover the subspecies, non-native trout 
need to be removed from their historic habitat and PCT reintroduced as 
specified in the 2004 Revised PCT Recovery Plan. Without this project, 
PCT in the Silver King drainage will continue to be at risk from an 
illegal introduction of non-native trout and/or stochastic (one time) 
events such as a large fire or flood. Recovery of the species cannot be 
achieved without this project and the long-term survival of the species 
will be in doubt.
    We propose to eradicate non-native trout with the piscicide 
rotenone from 14.7 kilometers (9.1 miles) of historic PCT habitat, in 
Silver King Creek, from Llewellyn Falls downstream to Silver King 
Canyon as well as the accessible reaches of three small named 
tributaries: Tamarack Creek, Tamarack Lake Creek, the lower reaches of 
Coyote Valley Creek downstream of barrier falls, and Tamarack Lake.

Environmental Impact Statement

    The Service has selected Entrix to prepare the EIS. Entrix will 
prepare the EIS under the supervision of the Service, which will be 
responsible for the scope and content of the NEPA document.
    NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires that Federal agencies 
conduct and environmental analysis of their proposed actions to 
determine if the actions may significantly affect the human 
environment. Under NEPA, a reasonable range of alternatives to proposed 
projects is developed and considered in the Services' environmental 
review. Alternatives considered for analysis in an EIS may include: 
Variations in the scope of proposed activities; variations in the 
location, amount, and types of conservation; variations in activity 
duration; or, a combination of these elements. In addition, the EIS 
will identify potentially significant direct, indirect, and cumulative 
impacts on biological resources, land use, air quality, water quality, 
water resources, socio-economics, and other environmental issues that 
could occur with the implementation of the proposed action and 
alternatives. For all potentially significant impacts, the EIS will 
identify avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures to reduce 
these impacts, where feasible, to a level below significance.
    The EIS will consider the proposed action, no action, and a 
reasonable range of alternatives. A detailed description of the impacts 
of the proposed action and each alternative will be included in the 
EIS. The alternatives to be considered for analysis in the EIS may 
include: Various fish removal methods; variations in timing; or, a 
combination of these elements.

Request for Comments

    The primary purpose of the scoping process is for the public to 
assist the Services in developing the EIS by identifying important 
issues and

[[Page 32126]]

alternatives related to the proposed action. A public meeting will be 
held on June 19, 2006 as noted in the DATES section above.
    Written comments from interested parties are welcome to ensure that 
the full range of issues related to the proposed action are identified.
    All comments and materials received, including names and addresses, 
will become part of the administrative record and may be released to 
the public.
    Comments and materials received will be available for public 
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
    The Service requests that comments be specific. In particular, we 
request information regarding: Direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts 
of implementation of the proposed action; other possible alternatives 
that meet the purpose and need; potential adaptive management and/or 
monitoring provisions; existing environmental conditions in the project 
area; other plans or projects that might be relevant to this proposed 
project; and minimization and mitigation efforts.
    The environmental review of this project will be conducted in 
accordance with the requirements of the NEPA of 1969 as amended (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on the Environmental Quality Regulations 
(40 CFR parts 1500-1518), other applicable Federal laws and 
regulations, and applicable policies and procedures of the Services. 
This notice is being furnished in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 to 
obtain suggestions and information from other agencies and the public 
on the scope of issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.

    Dated: May 23, 2006.
John Engbring,
Acting Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento, 
California.
[FR Doc. 06-4918 Filed 6-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
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