Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Oregon; Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Travel Management Plan, 24558-24561 [07-2178]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 85 (Thursday, May 3, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24558-24561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2178]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 85 / Thursday, May 3, 2007 / 
Notices

[[Page 24558]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Oregon; Wallowa-Whitman National 
Forest Travel Management Plan

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 to designate a portion of the National Forest roads, trails, 
and areas, open to public motor vehicle use on the Wallowa-Whitman 
National Forest (WWNF), and assign the type of use(s) and season of use 
allowed on each road and trail or portion thereof. Roads, trails and 
areas not selected for designation will be closed to public motor 
vehicles year round (excepting the use of over-snow vehicles). 
Additionally, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest currently has 
1,337,760 acres open to motorized cross country travel. These acres 
will be closed year round to motorized cross country travel, excluding 
over-snow vehicles.

DATES: Written comments concerning the proposed action should be 
received by June 30, 2007.
    Public meeting dates are:

May 15, 2007, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Baker City, Oregon
May 16, 2007, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., LaGrande, Oregon
May 17, 2007, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Enterprise, Oregon

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:

Baker City, Oregon--National Guard Armory, 1740 Campbell Ave
LaGrande, Oregon--National Guard Armory, 401 12th Street
Enterprise, Oregon--Cloverleaf Hall, 668 NW First Street

    Send written comments and suggestions to Wallowa-Whitman National 
Forest, ATTN: Travel Management Planning, 3502 Highway 30, LaGrande, OR 
97850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Stein, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Wallowa Mountains Office, 
88401 Hwy 82, Box A, Enterprise, OR, Phone: (541) 426-5656.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose

    The purpose of this action is to provide a motor vehicle 
transportation system for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest to 
address current and anticipated needs that also offers a variety of 
recreation access opportunities, prohibits motorized use of designated 
routes and areas, balances management considerations (such as public 
safety and maintenance costs) with recreation opportunities and 
commercial uses, reduces impacts to forest resources, recognizes 
reserved or outstanding rights, and reduces conflicts between 
recreational uses.

Need

(1) Meet National Direction

    The need for this action is to meet national direction as published 
in the Federal Register, 36 CFR Parts 212, 251, 261, 295 ``Travel 
Management: Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use'' 
(Federal Register 2005: 70FR68264) (Travel Management Rule). This rule 
requires designation of those roads, trails, and areas that are open to 
motor vehicle use. The rule prohibits the use of motor vehicles off the 
designated system, as well as use of motor vehicles on routes and in 
areas that are not consistent with the designation.

(2) Reduce Adverse Resource Impacts Caused by Road and Trail Usage in 
Order To Maintain and Restore the Health of Ecosystems and Watersheds

    As travel on the forest increases, the impacts on resources become 
more pronounced. The maintenance and restoration of healthy ecosystems 
and watersheds can be compromised by unmanaged motorized use. 
Displacement of big game due to motorized use is thoroughly documented 
in many areas. The public and forest managers have expressed concern 
about the lack of ability to provide for maintenance of roads and 
trails. Roads in disrepair can create conflict with resource protection 
goals. Concern has also been expressed about those roads and trails no 
longer required to address public or agency needs. Off-road motorized 
use has resulted in unauthorized routes which create resource damage. 
Since unauthorized routes cannot be legally maintained, the forest 
cannot invest in providing corrective road and trail structures and 
maintenance methods that could reduce impacts to watersheds.

(3) Specify What Uses Are Allowed on Each Road, Trail and Area

    As directed by the Travel Management Rule, the forest must 
designate the roads, trails and areas open to motorized use and specify 
the type of vehicle and season of use for each.

(4) More Closely Align the Travel and Recreational Opportunities 
Offered to the Public With the Forest's Management Capability

    Unmanaged recreation has been identified by the Chief of the Forest 
Service as one of the top four threats to the future of the National 
Forest System. Code of Federal Regulations 36 CFR 212.55 requires the 
responsible official to consider the need for maintenance and 
administration of roads, trails and areas that would arise if the uses 
under consideration are designated, and the availability of resources 
for that maintenance and administration. Lack of management capability 
and field presence has contributed to some of the problems on the 
forest today. The forest needs to take definite steps to improve our 
field presence, reduce our management costs and focus our resources 
where they are most beneficial.

(5) Amend the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan (Forest Plan) To Close the Forest to Motorized Use 
Except Where Designated Open

    Currently the Forest Plan allows motorized use except where 
restricted in the Forest Travel Management Plan. A non-significant 
amendment is needed to change the current direction to closed to 
motorized use unless designated open.

Proposed Action

    The project area boundary is defined as the area within the 2.3 
million acres

[[Page 24559]]

under the administration of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (WWNF) 
that will be considered for designated motorized routes and areas in 
this project. Of those acres, the following will not be part of this 
proposed action for the reasons provided below:
     Wilderness Areas--590,043 acres--Congressionally mandated 
non-motorized.
     Municipal Watershed (Baker City and LaGrande)--23,889 
acres--Intergovernmental agreements regulating motorized use to protect 
water quality are in place.
     Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in Oregon and 
Idaho--244,139 (excluding wilderness), Bald Angel, Sled Springs, and 
South Fork Burnt River Closure Areas--121,951 acres--Current travel 
analyses and decisions are in place that meet the intent and direction 
of the Travel Management Rule.
    The baseline network of potential designated routes and areas used 
to develop the Proposed Action is a reflection of the travel management 
decisions made over the last 17 years during site-specific project 
planning on the Forest. These site-specific plans have resulted in a 
network of Maintenance Level (ML) 1-5 roads and motorized trails. 
Maintenance levels define the service provided by and maintenance 
required for a specific road and are described as follows:
    1--Basic custodial care (Closed roads).
    2--High Clearance Vehicles--rugged surface, not maintained for 
passenger vehicles.
    3--Passenger Vehicles--surface not smooth, typically slow speed, 
single lane with turnouts and spot surfacing.
    4--Passenger Vehicles--smooth surface, moderate degree of user 
comfort and convenience at moderate speeds. Most roads double lane with 
aggregate.
    5--Passenger Vehicles--smooth surface, dust free, possibly paved, 
high degree of user comfort and convience. Usually double lane.
    The Proposed Action focuses on existing roads and trails. Specific 
elements of the Proposed Action are as follows:
    Roads:
    Motorized use would be permitted on maintenance Level 2-5 
(currently open) roads. In general, ML 2-3 are available for all off 
highway vehicles (ATV's and motorcycles, including street legal) and ML 
2-5 are available for full sized vehicles and street legal motorcycles. 
No use would be permitted on ML 1 (closed) roads whether physically 
closed/barricaded or not. Some ML 1 (closed) roads are scheduled for 
physical closures; however, they have not been implemented on the 
ground due to lack of funds. These roads would not be designated routes 
in the Proposal Action and would be physically closed in the future as 
funds became available. No user created routes are part of the 
designated routes in the Proposed Action.
    A total of 3,570 miles of ML 2-5 roads in the project area would be 
available for motorized use in the Proposed Action. No ML 1 roads would 
be available for motorized use.

Motorized Trails

    Motorized use would be permitted on all officially designated 
motorized trails which are shown as a designated route on the 
designated route map. The existing system has been constructed in a 
resource sensitive manner that provides good riding experiences and 
access for the users. This system has been derived from a series of 
site specific planning endeavors over the last 17 years. No new trail 
construction or non-sanctioned user created trails are a part of the 
designated routes in the Proposed Action.
    A total of approximately 120 miles of motorized trails in the 
project area would be available for motorized use as a part of the 
Proposed Action designated route network. These networks are scattered 
across the WWNF and some tie into established trail networks on other 
National Forests.

Cross Country Motorized Use

    This proposal would close all motorized cross country travel and 
all roads not designated as motorized routes. Off-routes access would 
be permitted for 300 feet on either side of designated motorized routes 
to accommodate access to and from dispersed campsites only. Motorized 
use beyond those limits would be subject to citations and fines by law 
enforcement. No motor vehicle use for big game retrieval off of 
designated routes, trails or areas would be permitted.

Closure Areas

    Year round closure areas within the project area boundary would 
operate under their current closure restrictions as shown in the Code 
of Federal Regulations applicable to the WWNF. Current seasonal closure 
areas within the project area boundary would operate under their 
current closure/designated route requirements for their closure period, 
however, outside of the closure period they would have designated 
routes for motorized use as described on the designated route map in 
the project area.

Designated Route Totals in the Project Area

ML 2--3,340 miles
ML 3--160 miles
ML 4--0 miles
ML 5--72 miles
    Total Designated Motorized routes (Roads) ML 2-5--3,572 miles
    Total Motorized Trails--120 miles
    Total Designated Motorized routes Available to Off-Highway 
Vehicles--3,620 miles

    Designated route maps are posted on the WWNF Web site at: https://www.fs.fed.us/r6/w-w/recreation/ohv/index.shtml, or contact the Travel 
Management Team via e-mail: wwnf_travel_mgmt_plan@fs.fed.us, or 
write to Travel Management Planning at the address given under 
ADDRESSES above.

Forest Plan Amendment

    As a part of the Forest Travel Management Plan project, the 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Plan would be amended to include 
changes to the two sections outlined below.

Section 1: Transportation System Standard

    Current Direction: 21. All-Terrain and Off-Road Vehicles. Permit 
all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use and over-the-snow vehicle use on blocked 
or closed roads unless this use is found to be incompatible with 
resource management objectives. These types of uses are generally felt 
to be an acceptable form of recreation except where site specific 
analysis shows them to be incompatible due to resource management 
problems. This determination will be made through the Forest Travel 
Management Plan.
    Amended Direction: 21. All-Terrain and Off-Road Vehicles. Permit 
all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and off-road vehicle use only on routes 
designated under the Forest Travel Management Plan as depicted on the 
Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). Use will not be permitted on 
routes not designated on the MVUM. Snowmobile use is permitted on 
blocked or closed roads unless this use is found to be incompatible 
with resource management objectives. These types of uses are generally 
felt to be an acceptable form of recreation except where site specific 
analysis shows them to be incompatible due to resource management 
problems. This determination will be made through the Forest Travel 
Management Plan.

[[Page 24560]]

Section 2: Recreation Standard

    Current Direction: 15. Road, Trail, and Area Closures. Road, trail, 
and area closures and off-road vehicle use will be in accordance with 
the Forest Travel Management Plan and 36 CFR 295. This plan will be 
reviewed annually and revised as necessary, considering management 
needs and public desires.
    Amended Direction: 15. Road, Trail, and Areas Open to Motorized 
Use. Roads, trails, and areas open to motorized use will be designated 
as to type of vehicle and season of use on a Motor Vehicle Use Map 
(MVUM), in accordance with 36 CFR Parts 212, 251, 261, and 295. The 
MVUM will be reviewed annually and revised as necessary, balancing 
management considerations, (such as public safety and maintenance 
costs) with recreation opportunities and commercial uses.
    The following uses are not affected by this decision and are 
outside the scope of this project: (1) Over-snow vehicles; (2) 
aircraft; (3) watercraft; (4) non-motorized uses (e.g. hiking, 
equestrian, mountain bikes); (5) search and rescue operations; (6) 
firefighting operations and other emergency incident operations; (7) 
law enforcement operations; (8) permitted uses (e.g. woodcutting, 
livestock herding/fence maintenance); (9) limited administrative 
access; (10) legal ingress and egress to private land; (11) new or non-
national forest roads and trails (user-created), and (12) use of roads 
with legally documented rights of way held by state, county, or other 
public road authority.

Responsible Official

    The forest Supervisor, Steven A. Ellis, will be the responsible 
official for making the decision and providing direction for the 
analysis.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    As directed by the Travel Management Rule, the forest must 
designate the roads, trails and areas open to motorized use on the 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and specify the type of vehicle and 
season of use for each.
    The responsible official will decide whether or not to amend the 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Plan to close the forest to cross 
country travel except in areas designated open. The responsible 
official will also decide whether or not to select the proposed action 
as stated or modified, or to select an alternative to it, any 
mitigation measures needed and any monitoring that may be required.

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent begins the scoping process in the development 
of the environmental impact statement. Public participation is 
especially important at several points during the development of the 
EIS. The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and 
coordination with the Federal, State, and local agencies and tribal 
governments and individuals or organizations who may be interested in 
or affected by the proposed action. The public is asked to provide the 
responsible official with written comments describing their concerns 
about this project. The most useful comments to developing or refining 
the proposed action would be site specific concerns and those that can 
help develop a travel management plan for the Wallowa-Whiteman National 
Forest that meets the Purpose and Need for Action. See ADDRESSES above 
for the mailing address for written comments. Electronic comments can 
be mailed to: wwnf_travel_mgt_plan@fs.fed.us. Electronic comments 
must be submitted as part of the actual e-mail message, or as an 
attachment in Misrosoft word, rich text format or portable document 
format only. E-mails submitted to e-mail addresses other than the one 
listed above or in other formats than those listed or containing 
viruses will be rejected.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    The deaf environmental impact statement is expected to be filed 
with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available to 
the public for review by March 2008. EPA will publish a notice of 
availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment 
period on the draft EIS will extend 45 days from the date the EPA 
notice appears in the Federal Register. At that time, copies of the 
draft EIS will be distributed to interested and affected agencies, 
organizations, and members of the public for their review and comment. 
It is very important that those interested in the management of the 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest participate at that time.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in November 2008. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to substantive 
comments received during the comment period that pertain to the 
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making the decision 
regarding travel management. 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 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. 
Substantive comments are defined as ``comments within the scope of the 
proposed action, specific to the proposed action, and have a direct 
relationship to the proposed action, and include supporting reasons for 
the Responsible Official to consider (36 CFR 215.2). Submission of 
substantive comments is a prerequisite for eligibility to appeal under 
the 36 CFR part 215 regulations.
    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 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.
    Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.


[[Page 24561]]


(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: April 27, 2007.
Steven A. Ellis,
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 07-2178 Filed 5-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M