Bridger-Teton National Forest, Greys River Ranger District, Wyoming. Upper Greys Vegetation Treatment, 58637-58638 [07-5072]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 16, 2007 / Notices
meat products derived from such
animals whose diet, throughout their
lifespan, with the exception of milk (or
milk replacer) consumed prior to
weaning, is solely derived from forage,
which for the purpose of this claim, is
any edible herbaceous plant material
that can be grazed or harvested for
feeding, with the exception of grain.
Forage-based diets can be derived from
grass (annual and perennial), forbs (e.g.,
legumes, Brassica), and browse.
Animals cannot be fed grain or grain
byproducts and must have continuous
access to pasture during the growing
season. Growing season is defined as the
time period extending from the average
date of the last frost in spring to the
average date of the first frost in the fall
in the local area of production. Hay,
haylage, baleage, silage, crop residue
without grain, and other roughage
sources also may be included as
acceptable feed sources. Consumption
of seeds naturally attached to forage is
acceptable. However, crops normally
harvested for grain (including but not
limited to corn, soybean, rice, wheat,
and oats) are only eligible feed if they
are foraged or harvested in the
vegetative state (pre-grain).
Upon request, verification of this
claim will be accomplished through an
audit of the production process. The
producer must be able to verify for AMS
that the grass (forage) marketing claim
standard requirements are being met
through a detailed documented quality
management system.
mmaher on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Claim and Standard
Grass (Forage) Fed—Grass and forage
shall be the feed source consumed for
the lifetime of the ruminant animal,
with the exception of milk consumed
prior to weaning. The diet shall be
derived solely from forage consisting of
grass (annual and perennial), forbs (e.g.,
legumes, Brassica), browse, or cereal
grain crops in the vegetative (pre-grain)
state. Animals cannot be fed grain or
grain byproducts and must have
continuous access to pasture during the
growing season. Hay, haylage, baleage,
silage, crop residue without grain, and
other roughage sources may also be
included as acceptable feed sources.
Routine mineral and vitamin
supplementation may also be included
in the feeding regimen. If incidental
supplementation occurs due to
inadvertent exposure to non-forage
feedstuffs or to ensure the animal’s well
being at all times during adverse
environmental or physical conditions,
the producer must fully document (e.g.,
receipts, ingredients, and tear tags) the
supplementation that occurs including
VerDate Aug<31>2005
04:12 Oct 16, 2007
Jkt 214001
the amount, the frequency, and the
supplements provided.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.
Dated: October 10, 2007.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. E7–20328 Filed 10–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Bridger-Teton National Forest, Greys
River Ranger District, Wyoming. Upper
Greys Vegetation Treatment
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The analysis area of 11,855
acres is located in the Upper Greys
River watershed on the Greys River
Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton
National Forest. It is approximately 20
miles southeast of Afton, Wyoming on
the west slope of the Wyoming Range.
All lands within the 11,855 acre
analysis area are National Forest System
lands, within Lincoln County,
Wyoming. The legal description
includes portions of: T30N, R116W and
T29N, R116W.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received by
November 15, 2007. The draft
environmental impact statement is
expected in February 2008 and the final
environmental impact statement is
expected in April 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to:
District Ranger, Greys River Ranger
District, P.O. Box 339, Afton, Wyoming.
For further information, mail
correspondence to:
mailroom_r4_bridger_teton@fs.fed.us
and on the subject line put only ‘‘Upper
Greys River Vegetation Treatment.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
District Ranger, Greys River Ranger
District, P.O. Box 339, 641 N.
Washington St., Afton, Wyoming 83110,
or phone (307) 886–5310.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose of the proposed action is
to attain desired vegetation conditions
including increased diversity of tree age
and size classes, improve the health and
vigor of some mature timber stands and
reduce the risk of stand replacing fire.
It further reduces soil erosion and
sedimentation from existing sources. A
stand replacing fire is highly likely in
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Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
58637
this area due to dense, mature forests
with an abundance of down dead and
ladder fuels and would be apt to change
the area from mature forest to grasses
and forbs, damage existing seedlings,
saplings and young forest. The loss of
vegetation would also create conditions
conducive to excess soil erosion over
the landscape. The Bridger-Teton
National Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan (LRMP) and the 2004
Greys River Landscape Scale
Assessment (LSA) have both identified
opportunities for vegetation treatments
to help improve resource conditions.
The LSA found that the lodgepole pine
vegetation in the Greys River falls
outside the range of properly
functioning condition and identified an
opportunity to treat over 7,000 acres by
2010.
Alternative 1—Proposed Action
This proposal was developed
primarily to help achieve desired
conditions described in the LSA while
responding to issues from previous
public scoping, changes in resource
demand, and recently identified
resource issues. It is designed to
improve Forest resource conditions as
identified in the LSA.
The proposal is to treat approximately
591 acres and reduce existing sediment
sources within the 11,855 acre analysis
area which lies in the upper Greys River
drainage. The proposed action would
take place from approximately 2008
through 2011 and would include:
1. Commercial harvest of
approximately 591 acres of mixed
conifer timber.
• Approximately 436 acres would be
treated using a clearcutting silvicultural
system.
• Approximately 155 acres would be
treated using a selection silvicultural
system to remove dead and dying trees,
low vigor trees, or small groups of trees
less than 2 acres in size, while retaining
40 to 70% of healthy trees in the stand.
• Approximately 4.5 miles of
temporary road would be constructed
and then closed and rehabilitated after
use. These would be mostly short spurs
to access log landing areas off the main
roads. Approximately 1.5 miles of
existing closed roads would be used for
timber hauling and closed and
rehabilitated after use.
2. Identifying segments of existing
logging roads and trails, including all
culverts and creek crossings, that have
the potential to erode, particularly those
segments that are delivering, or have the
potential to deliver, sediment to stream
channels and other water bodies.
Restore identified areas to Elimination
Class 3 and 4 (as defined in the Forest
E:\FR\FM\16OCN1.SGM
16OCN1
58638
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 16, 2007 / Notices
Plan). Segments of the designated road
system would be reconstructed to
improve drainage, reduce sediments,
ensure fish passage and provide
improved public safety before log
hauling could occur.
3. Treating slash created from timber
harvest by broadcast burn or pile burn.
All treatments are planned within
Desired Future Condition (DFC) area 1B.
The management emphasis for DFC 1B
is scheduled wood fiber production and
use, livestock production, and other
commodity outputs.
Possible Alternatives
Alternative 2—No Action Alternative
This alternative is required under
NEPA regulations and also serves as a
baseline of information for comparison
of other alternatives. Though this
alternative does not respond to the
purpose and need for action, it does
address some issues.
Responsible Official
Jay Dunbar, District Forest Ranger,
Greys River Ranger District, Afton,
Wyoming.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
This decision will be whether or not
to implement specific vegetation
management projects and associated
road improvements, as allowed in the
LRMP and LSA. The decision would
include any mitigation measures needed
in addition to those prescribed in the
LRMP.
mmaher on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Scoping Process
The Forest Service is seeking
information, comments, and assistance
from individuals, organizations, tribal
governments, and federal, state, and
local agencies interested in or affected
by this project. In addition, comments
submitted on the March 9, 2007 scoping
effort will also be considered in
preparation of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement. Public participation
will be solicited by notifying in person
and/or by mail known interested and
affected publics. News releases will be
used to give the public general notice.
Public participation activities would
include requests for written comments.
The first formal opportunity to comment
is to respond to this notice of intent,
which initiates the scoping process (40
CFR 1501.7). Scoping includes: (1)
Identifying potential issues, (2)
narrowing the potential issues and
identifying significant issues of those
that have been covered by prior
environmental review, (3) exploring
alternatives in addition to No Action,
and (4) identifying potential
VerDate Aug<31>2005
04:12 Oct 16, 2007
Jkt 214001
environmental effects of the proposed
action and alternatives.
Preliminary Issues
The Forest Service has identified the
following potential issues. Your input is
especially valuable here. It will help us
determine which of these merit detailed
analysis. It will also help identify
additional issues related to the proposed
action that may not be listed here.
Issue 1—The effects of vegetative
treatment on lynx foraging habitat,
security cover for elk and other habitat,
including Snake River cutthroat trout
habitat.
Issue 2—The effects of vegetative
treatment on forest health, specifically
the high proportion of older age class
conifer stands and declining tree
condition, including high dwarf
mistletoe infection levels in lodgepole
pine.
Issue 3—The effects of vegetative
treatment on fuel loading. High fuel
loadings exist in dead and down
material, as well as from recent
mortality losses, due to mountain pine
beetle and long-term site productivity.
Issue 4—The effects of roads and
harvest activities on water quality.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the
scoping process which guides the
development of the environmental
impact statement.
Early Notice of Importance of Public
Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
The Draft EIS (DEIS) is proposed to be
filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and to be available for
public comment in the winter of 2008.
At that time, the EPA will publish a
notice of availability for the DEIS in the
Federal Register. The comment period
on the DEIS will be 45 days from the
date the EPA 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
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22;
Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section
21.
Dated: October 4, 2007.
Heidi Whitlatch,
Acting District Forest Ranger.
[FR Doc. 07–5072 Filed 10–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
BROADCASTING BOARD OF
GOVERNORS
Meeting
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 17,
2007. 1 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
Place: Office of Cuba Broadcasting,
Conference Room, 4201 NW. 77th Ave.,
Miami, FL 33166.
Closed Meeting: The members of the
Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
will meet in closed session to review
and discuss a number of issues relating
to U.S. Government-funded nonmilitary international broadcasting.
They will address internal procedural,
budgetary, and personnel issues, as well
as sensitive foreign policy issues
relating to potential options in the U.S.
international broadcasting field. This
E:\FR\FM\16OCN1.SGM
16OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58637-58638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5072]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Bridger-Teton National Forest, Greys River Ranger District,
Wyoming. Upper Greys Vegetation Treatment
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The analysis area of 11,855 acres is located in the Upper
Greys River watershed on the Greys River Ranger District of the
Bridger-Teton National Forest. It is approximately 20 miles southeast
of Afton, Wyoming on the west slope of the Wyoming Range. All lands
within the 11,855 acre analysis area are National Forest System lands,
within Lincoln County, Wyoming. The legal description includes portions
of: T30N, R116W and T29N, R116W.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by November 15, 2007. The draft environmental impact statement is
expected in February 2008 and the final environmental impact statement
is expected in April 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: District Ranger, Greys River
Ranger District, P.O. Box 339, Afton, Wyoming. For further information,
mail correspondence to: mailroom_r4_bridger_teton@fs.fed.us and on
the subject line put only ``Upper Greys River Vegetation Treatment.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: District Ranger, Greys River Ranger
District, P.O. Box 339, 641 N. Washington St., Afton, Wyoming 83110, or
phone (307) 886-5310.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose of the proposed action is to attain desired vegetation
conditions including increased diversity of tree age and size classes,
improve the health and vigor of some mature timber stands and reduce
the risk of stand replacing fire. It further reduces soil erosion and
sedimentation from existing sources. A stand replacing fire is highly
likely in this area due to dense, mature forests with an abundance of
down dead and ladder fuels and would be apt to change the area from
mature forest to grasses and forbs, damage existing seedlings, saplings
and young forest. The loss of vegetation would also create conditions
conducive to excess soil erosion over the landscape. The Bridger-Teton
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) and the 2004
Greys River Landscape Scale Assessment (LSA) have both identified
opportunities for vegetation treatments to help improve resource
conditions. The LSA found that the lodgepole pine vegetation in the
Greys River falls outside the range of properly functioning condition
and identified an opportunity to treat over 7,000 acres by 2010.
Alternative 1--Proposed Action
This proposal was developed primarily to help achieve desired
conditions described in the LSA while responding to issues from
previous public scoping, changes in resource demand, and recently
identified resource issues. It is designed to improve Forest resource
conditions as identified in the LSA.
The proposal is to treat approximately 591 acres and reduce
existing sediment sources within the 11,855 acre analysis area which
lies in the upper Greys River drainage. The proposed action would take
place from approximately 2008 through 2011 and would include:
1. Commercial harvest of approximately 591 acres of mixed conifer
timber.
Approximately 436 acres would be treated using a
clearcutting silvicultural system.
Approximately 155 acres would be treated using a selection
silvicultural system to remove dead and dying trees, low vigor trees,
or small groups of trees less than 2 acres in size, while retaining 40
to 70% of healthy trees in the stand.
Approximately 4.5 miles of temporary road would be
constructed and then closed and rehabilitated after use. These would be
mostly short spurs to access log landing areas off the main roads.
Approximately 1.5 miles of existing closed roads would be used for
timber hauling and closed and rehabilitated after use.
2. Identifying segments of existing logging roads and trails,
including all culverts and creek crossings, that have the potential to
erode, particularly those segments that are delivering, or have the
potential to deliver, sediment to stream channels and other water
bodies. Restore identified areas to Elimination Class 3 and 4 (as
defined in the Forest
[[Page 58638]]
Plan). Segments of the designated road system would be reconstructed to
improve drainage, reduce sediments, ensure fish passage and provide
improved public safety before log hauling could occur.
3. Treating slash created from timber harvest by broadcast burn or
pile burn.
All treatments are planned within Desired Future Condition (DFC)
area 1B. The management emphasis for DFC 1B is scheduled wood fiber
production and use, livestock production, and other commodity outputs.
Possible Alternatives
Alternative 2--No Action Alternative
This alternative is required under NEPA regulations and also serves
as a baseline of information for comparison of other alternatives.
Though this alternative does not respond to the purpose and need for
action, it does address some issues.
Responsible Official
Jay Dunbar, District Forest Ranger, Greys River Ranger District,
Afton, Wyoming.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
This decision will be whether or not to implement specific
vegetation management projects and associated road improvements, as
allowed in the LRMP and LSA. The decision would include any mitigation
measures needed in addition to those prescribed in the LRMP.
Scoping Process
The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance
from individuals, organizations, tribal governments, and federal,
state, and local agencies interested in or affected by this project. In
addition, comments submitted on the March 9, 2007 scoping effort will
also be considered in preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement. Public participation will be solicited by notifying in
person and/or by mail known interested and affected publics. News
releases will be used to give the public general notice. Public
participation activities would include requests for written comments.
The first formal opportunity to comment is to respond to this notice of
intent, which initiates the scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7). Scoping
includes: (1) Identifying potential issues, (2) narrowing the potential
issues and identifying significant issues of those that have been
covered by prior environmental review, (3) exploring alternatives in
addition to No Action, and (4) identifying potential environmental
effects of the proposed action and alternatives.
Preliminary Issues
The Forest Service has identified the following potential issues.
Your input is especially valuable here. It will help us determine which
of these merit detailed analysis. It will also help identify additional
issues related to the proposed action that may not be listed here.
Issue 1--The effects of vegetative treatment on lynx foraging
habitat, security cover for elk and other habitat, including Snake
River cutthroat trout habitat.
Issue 2--The effects of vegetative treatment on forest health,
specifically the high proportion of older age class conifer stands and
declining tree condition, including high dwarf mistletoe infection
levels in lodgepole pine.
Issue 3--The effects of vegetative treatment on fuel loading. High
fuel loadings exist in dead and down material, as well as from recent
mortality losses, due to mountain pine beetle and long-term site
productivity.
Issue 4--The effects of roads and harvest activities on water
quality.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
The Draft EIS (DEIS) is proposed to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment in the
winter of 2008. At that time, the EPA will publish a notice of
availability for the DEIS in the Federal Register. The comment period
on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA 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 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.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21.
Dated: October 4, 2007.
Heidi Whitlatch,
Acting District Forest Ranger.
[FR Doc. 07-5072 Filed 10-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
