Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands in Colorado, 72982-72985 [E7-24894]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72982-72985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24894]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands in 
Colorado

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
initiating a public rulemaking process to address the management of 
roadless areas on National Forest System lands within the State of 
Colorado. This rulemaking is the result of a petition submitted by 
Governor Bill Ritter on behalf of the State of Colorado pursuant to 7 
CFR 1.28, reviewed and recommended by the Department's Roadless Area 
Conservation National Advisory Committee, and accepted by the 
Secretary. The State requests specific regulatory protections with 
certain management flexibility for the approximately four million acres 
of affected lands. The Forest Service will prepare an environmental 
impact statement to analyze and disclose potential environmental 
consequences associated with this rulemaking.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by February 25, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent via e-mail to 
COcomments@fsroadless.org. Written comments concerning this notice 
should be addressed to Roadless Area Conservation-Colorado, P.O. Box 
162909, Sacramento, CA 95816-2909, or via facsimile to 916-456-6724.
    All comments, including names and addresses, when provided, are 
placed in the record and are available for public inspection and 
copying. The public may inspect comments received at https://
www.roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Kurtz, Colorado Roadless 
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, 303-275-5083, kkurtz@fs.fed.us.

[[Page 72983]]

    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    As a leader in natural resource conservation, the Forest Service 
provides direction for the management and use of the Nation's forests, 
rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems. Similarly, the State of Colorado is 
committed to intelligent, sustained natural resource use and 
conservation of State and Federal lands within its borders. 
Furthermore, the Forest Service is charged to collaborate cooperatively 
with States and other interested parties regarding the use and 
management of the National Forest System (NFS).
    In May 2005, then-Governor Bill Owens signed Colorado Senate Bill 
05-243, creating a 13-member bipartisan task force to provide official 
recommendations regarding the management of inventoried roadless areas 
in National Forests in the State of Colorado. The task force held nine 
public meetings throughout the State, reviewed over 40,000 public 
comments and conducted a comprehensive review of Colorado's 
approximately four million acres of inventoried roadless areas.
    Colorado's petition was submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture 
for consideration on November 13, 2006, by then-Governor Owens, 
hereinafter referred to as the 2006 Petition, with the provision that 
it be considered under section 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure 
Act and Department regulations at 7 CFR 1.28. On April 11, 2007, 
Governor Ritter submitted the 2006 Petition with modifications, 
hereinafter referred to as the 2007 Petition. Governor Ritter's 
transmittal letter requested that State specific rulemaking be 
undertaken to provide an ``insurance policy for protection of our 
roadless areas.''
    The Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee reviewed 
the Colorado petition on June 13 and 14, 2007, in Washington, DC. The 
Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, 
representing Governor Ritter, discussed the scope and intent of the 
petition during the first day of the meeting. The committee also heard 
comments from other State and Forest Service officials, task force 
members, and members of the public. On August 8, 2007, the committee 
issued a unanimous consensus-based recommendation that the Secretary 
direct the Forest Service, with the State of Colorado as a cooperating 
agency, to proceed with rulemaking.
    On August 24, 2007, the Secretary accepted the 2007 Petition based 
on the Advisory Committee's review and report and directed the Forest 
Service to initiate rulemaking.
    Additional information on how the State of Colorado petition was 
developed can be found in the State's petition at: https://
www.keystone.org/html/roadless_areas_task_force.html.
    Colorado's original 2006 Petition, Governor Ritter's 2007 Petition, 
a summary of the November 29 and 30, 2006, Advisory Committee meeting, 
the recommendation made by the Roadless Area Conservation National 
Advisory Committee to the Secretary, and the Secretary's letter to the 
Governor can be found at the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation 
Web site: https://www.roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of the proposed rule is to review and consider the 
State of Colorado's 2007 Petition for rulemaking, which presents 
direction for the conservation and management of inventoried roadless 
areas within the State of Colorado. The proposed rule integrates local 
management concerns with the national objectives for protecting 
roadless area values and characteristics.
    The Department of Agriculture and the State of Colorado are 
committed to conserving and managing inventoried roadless areas and 
consider these areas an important component of the National Forest 
System (NFS). The Department and the State of Colorado believe that the 
most viable path for lasting conservation of these areas must properly 
integrate local, State, and national perspectives on roadless area 
management. The 2007 Petition took into account State and local 
resource management challenges along with the national interest in 
maintaining roadless characteristics, and provides for management 
flexibility. Currently, the conservation and management of inventoried 
roadless areas is under the direction of the 2001 Roadless Rule, which 
was reinstated when the 2005 State Petitions Rule was invalidated in 
Cal. ex rel. Lockyer v. United States Dep't of Agric., 2006 U.S, Dist. 
LEXIS 72226, 52 (N. D. Cal. 2006). As litigation continues over the 
2001 Roadless Rule, the State of Colorado desires to institute durable 
protections for inventoried roadless areas in the State. Therefore, 
there is a desire to establish a Colorado Roadless Rule to protect and 
manage the approximately four million acres of National Forest System 
inventoried roadless areas in Colorado, while working to accomplish the 
following goals (see 2007 Petition): (1) Conserve roadless area values 
and characteristics; (2) protect human health and safety; (3) reduce 
hazardous fuels; (4) restore essential wildlife habitats; (5) maintain 
existing facilities; and (6) provide reasonable access to public and 
private property or public and privately owned facilities.

Petitioned Action

    The Forest Service, in cooperation with the State of Colorado, is 
initiating a public rulemaking process in response to the 2007 Petition 
presented by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources on behalf of 
Governor Ritter on June 13 and 14, 2007, to the Roadless Area 
Conservation National Advisory Committee.
    The rulemaking, using the 2007 Petition with input from Roadless 
Area Conservation National Advisory Committee, would designate Colorado 
Roadless Areas to protect and manage these areas as described below.
    This new designation, Colorado Roadless Areas, would supersede 
previous roadless inventories conducted under the Roadless Area Review 
Evaluation and the 2001 Roadless Rule. Colorado Roadless Areas would be 
identified using the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule inventoried 
roadless areas as a basis, amended by technical corrections to the 
inventory as well as any revisions to an individual roadless area 
through revised Forest Plans (Arapaho/Roosevelt, Routt, Rio Grande, and 
White River) and ongoing Forest Plan Revision (Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, 
and Gunnison NFs; San Juan NF; Pike/San Isabel NFs; and Manti-La Sal 
NFs). Lands located within ski permit area boundaries and/or adjacent 
to existing ski areas currently allocated to such uses by Forest Plan 
revisions would be removed from roadless designation and managed 
subject to forest plan direction. Maps may be found at https://
www.roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.
    The rulemaking would examine the 2007 Petition's specific proposal 
to prohibit road construction or reconstruction in Colorado Roadless 
Areas unless the responsible official determines the proposal cannot be 
reasonably accomplished without a road, there are no other reasonable 
alternatives, and one of the listed circumstances exists. The 2007 
Petition sought to have the Forest Service, to the extent practicable, 
emphasize the use of temporary roads and where a temporary road is 
specified in the listed

[[Page 72984]]

circumstance, only a temporary road is allowed. Further, the Forest 
Service would prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) whenever 
proposing construction of a permanent road in designated Colorado 
Roadless Areas. No-road and temporary road alternatives would be part 
of such an EIS. Except for Federal Aid Highway projects, these roads 
would be closed to all motorized vehicles not specifically used for the 
purpose of the access. The circumstances for road construction are as 
follows:
    a. To conduct a response action under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or to 
conduct a natural resource restoration action under CERCLA;
    b. Pursuant to reserved or outstanding rights, or by statute or 
treaty;
    c. To provide access to existing or future grazing allotments, 
where roading is consistent with the Forest Plan in question;
    d. For a Federal Aid Highway project;
    e. To allow for construction of, maintenance of, and emergency 
response to utility and water conveyance structures, where roading is 
consistent with the Forest Plan in question.
    f. A temporary road is needed for treatment actions in areas 
identified in a community wildfire protection plan or within areas of 
the wildland-urban interface, as defined by the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA);
    g. A temporary road is needed for public health or safety in cases 
of threat of flood, fire, or other potential catastrophic event that, 
without intervention, would cause loss of life, property, or natural 
resource values;
    h. A temporary road is needed in conjunction with the continuation, 
extension, or renewal of a mineral lease; or
    i. A temporary road is needed to support the leasing of federal 
coal reserves under certain lands in the North Fork Valley on the Grand 
Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.
    Any temporary road would be obliterated and reclaimed and the 
affected landscape restored immediately upon termination of the purpose 
for the road. Roadless areas in which temporary roads are allowed, 
built, and obliterated would not lose their roadless inventory status.
    The 2007 Petition also provided two other circumstances under which 
road re-construction may be allowed in a Colorado Roadless Area: (1) 
When road realignment is needed to prevent irreparable resource damage 
from the original design, use, location, or deterioration of a forest 
road; or (2) when road reconstruction is needed to implement a road 
safety project based on local knowledge of a forest road or accident 
history.
    The 2007 Petition specifically proposes to prohibit the cutting, 
selling or removal of timber from a Colorado Roadless Area unless the 
responsible official determines that the action falls within one of the 
following circumstances:
    a. Is needed for wildlife habitat management and improvement for 
wildlife species, in consultation with Colorado Department of Natural 
Resources and Division of Wildlife, while maintaining or improving 
roadless characteristics as defined in the 2007 Petition;
    b. Is needed to reduce the risk of wildfire effects or large scale 
insect and disease outbreak effects in areas covered by and as provided 
in a community wildfire protection plan, or if a protection plan is not 
present within areas of the wildland urban interface (WUI), as defined 
in the HFRA;
    c. Is incidental to the implementation of a management activity not 
otherwise prohibited by the Rule;
    d. Is needed and appropriate for personal or administrative use; or
    e. Roadless characteristics have been substantially altered in a 
portion of a roadless area due to the construction of a forest road and 
subsequent timber harvest--which occurred after the roadless area was 
designated and prior to the effective date of this rule.
    The 2007 Petition did not seek to impose limitations on reasonable 
access to valid and existing rights and authorizations including 
reasonable access to locatable minerals as allowed under the General 
Mining Law of 1872 and the ability of the Colorado State Land Board to 
develop its mineral interest underlying certain Forest Service surface 
ownership. The Forest Service would emphasize exchange of State mineral 
interests for Federal interests of comparable value.
    The 2007 Petition indicated that it did not seek to affect certain 
other policies or activities including current or future management 
status of existing roads or trails in Colorado Roadless Areas or the 
status of existing grazing allotments. Existing Forest roads within 
Colorado Roadless Areas would continue to be maintained. Current forms 
of mechanized access would continue for permits, contracts, or other 
legal instruments authorizing the occupancy and use of NFS lands that 
were issued prior to the effective date of the Rule.
    The 2007 Petition also stated that the Colorado specific rule would 
provide for the adjustment of Colorado Roadless Area boundaries as 
applicable when forests are amending or revising their Forest Plans.
    Further, the 2007 Petition provided that no new roads would be 
constructed in Colorado Roadless Areas for exploration, development or 
transportation purposes relating to oil and gas leases issued after the 
date of implementation of the Rule.
    The 2007 Petition also contained specific provisions concerning the 
leasing of federal coal reserves under certain lands in the North Fork 
Valley on the Grand Mesa/ Uncompahgre/Gunnison National Forests (GMUG). 
These lands would remain as Colorado Roadless Areas, but would be 
managed in a way that permits roads and other activities associated 
with coal exploration and development. Once coal mining is complete, 
all roads would be reclaimed and restored to natural conditions and all 
activities within the area would be consistent with Roadless 
designation.
    The 2007 Petition did not address inventoried roadless acres in 
national forests and grasslands outside of Colorado. The 2007 Petition 
did not address travel management or wilderness recommendations.

Possible Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Possible alternatives to the promulgation of a rule pursuant to the 
2007 Petition to be considered in the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) include:
     Roadless management direction as set forth in the 2001 
Roadless Rule.
     Roadless management direction as set forth in current Land 
and Resource Management Plans.
    Additional alternatives may arise from public comments or new 
information.

Cooperating Agencies

    The State of Colorado will participate as a cooperating agency in 
the preparation of the DEIS.
    The State has requested that the Department of Natural Resources 
and the Division of Wildlife be provided cooperating agency status 
through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Forest Service to 
assure participation in the evaluation of proposed activities in 
Colorado Roadless Areas associated with Federal coal reserves under 
certain lands in the North Fork Valley on the Grand Mesa/Uncompahgre/
Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) and lands removed

[[Page 72985]]

from the roadless inventory associated with ski areas.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official for the rulemaking is the Secretary, USDA, 
or his designee.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Responsible Official, with concurrence of the State of 
Colorado, will select a management strategy to address the management 
of roadless areas on National Forest System Lands within the State of 
Colorado.

Scoping Process

    As part of its scoping process, the Forest Service solicits public 
comment on the nature and scope of the environmental, social, and 
economic issues related to the rulemaking that should be analyzed in 
depth in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Comments collected 
during promulgation of the 2001 Roadless Rule and the extensive public 
involvement process used by the State and Task Force to craft their 
petition will be heavily relied upon. The nature and scope of the 
analysis for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will focus on the 
land management direction sought in the petition, and the alternatives 
to it.
    Because of the extensive amount of public comment that has already 
been received on the issue of protecting roadless areas in Colorado, no 
public meetings are planned for this 60-day scoping effort. However, 
public meetings will be held after the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement and proposed rule have been released, and the public has had 
a chance to take a careful look at the State site-specific proposed 
rule, alternatives, and effects.

Comment Requested

    Reviewers should provide their comments during the comment period. 
Timely comments will enable the agency to analyze and respond to them 
at one time and to use them in the preparation of the Environmental 
Impact Statement, thus avoiding undue delay in the decision making 
process. The submission of specific and substantive comments usually 
results in more effective use of public input and often results in 
better decisions. As a reminder, reviewers have an obligation to 
``structure their participation in the National Environmental Policy 
Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the 
reviewer's position and contentions.'' Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 552 (1978). Dept. of Transportation v. 
Public Citizen, 541 U.S. 752, 764 (2004).

Estimated Dates

    The draft environmental impact statement is expected May, 2008, and 
the final environmental impact statement is expected December, 2008.

    Dated: December 18, 2007.
Gloria Manning,
Associate Deputy Chief, NFS.
[FR Doc. E7-24894 Filed 12-21-07; 8:45 am]
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