Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming Kemmerer Grazing and Rangeland Vegetation Management Project, 18144-18145 [2010-8104]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 68 (Friday, April 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18144-18145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8104]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming 
Kemmerer Grazing and Rangeland Vegetation Management Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Bridger-Teton National Forest will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement to analyze the effects of continued 
authorization of grazing on 16 sheep allotments on the Kemmerer Ranger 
District in southwest Wyoming. The first Notice of Intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal 
Register on 11/17/2008 (Volume 73, 222, pages 67835-67836) and 
included 15 grazing allotments. This Notice of Intent is revised from 
the original to include the addition of the Porcupine allotment to the 
proposed project area. The project area encompasses 176,828 acres of 
National Forest System lands within Lincoln County of western Wyoming. 
Most of the project area's east boundary is west of Commissary Ridge; 
the west boundary is Salt Creek. The center of the project area lies 
roughly 17 air miles northeast of Cokeville, Wyoming. The allotments 
included in the analysis are: Porcupine, Lower Salt Creek, Buckskin 
Knoll, Lake Alice, Smiths Fork, Aspen Springs, Basin Creek, Devil's 
Hole, Elk Creek, Green Knoll, Indian Creek, Lake Mountain, Pole Creek, 
Sams Allen Creek, South Fontenelle and Spruce Creek Allotments.
    The analysis contained in the EIS will be used by the Responsible 
Official to decide whether or not, and if so, how to authorize 
livestock grazing and manage rangeland vegetation within the project 
area.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis were solicited in 
the 11/17/2008 Notice of Intent. All comments that were received during 
the previous analysis period are being considered in the current 
analysis. The Draft EIS is expected in May of 2010 and the Final EIS is 
expected in September of 2010.

ADDRESSES: District Ranger, Kemmerer Ranger District, Kemmerer Ranger 
District, Bridger-Teton National Forest, 308 U.S. Highway 189 North, 
Kemmerer, WY 83101. Send electronic mail to: comments-intermtn-bridger-teton-kemmerer@fs.fed.us and on the subject line put only ``Kemmerer 
Grazing Allotments.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aimee Cameron, Rangeland Management 
Specialist, Kemmerer Ranger District, 308 U.S. Highway 189 North, 
Kemmerer, WY, 83101 (307-828-5115), amieecameron@fs.fed.us. 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: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this analysis is to determine if continued livestock 
grazing is appropriate within the project area. If livestock grazing is 
re-authorized then the adaptive management strategies under which 
grazing would be managed to maintain or achieve desired conditions and 
meet Forest Plan objectives. Desired conditions are defined by the 
Bridger Teton Land and Resource Management Plan, Forest Service Manual, 
and applicable laws. This effort is undertaken to comply with the 1995 
Rescissions Act (Pub. L. 104-19).

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to continue to authorize livestock grazing 
on 16 allotments within the project area with updated livestock grazing 
and rangeland vegetation management direction. Resource desired 
conditions are identified. Grazing practices addressing frequency of 
grazing and of rest from grazing will be guided by the amount and 
diversity of vegetation given the capability of soils, as well as 
indicators of soil quality such as amount of ground cover, sign of 
active erosion and healing of headcuts. Other Best Management Practices 
addressing the timing, duration, and in specific settings the 
intensity, of use are identified. Adaptive management is part of the 
proposed action. Identified are: criteria to guide management, pre-
determined optional courses of action used to make adaptive changes in 
management over time, and the focused monitoring which provides the 
basis for adjusting management to attain desired resource conditions. 
One last element of rangeland vegetation

[[Page 18145]]

management, non-structural improvements, is included. Allotment 
Management Plans will become part of a re-issued term grazing permit 
and contain the livestock grazing and rangeland vegetation management 
direction identified by the Responsible Official's decision.

Possible Alternatives

    To date the Bridger-Teton National Forest has identified two 
alternatives to the proposed action: (A) No Domestic Livestock Grazing, 
and (B) Continuation Of Current Livestock Management. Alternative A 
would eliminate livestock grazing on the project area over the next 
five years. This alternative will demonstrate the effects of 
eliminating livestock grazing on the environment and more clearly 
illustrate the potential effects of implementing any grazing and 
rangeland vegetation management alternative. Alternative B would 
continue current grazing management practices including annual 
adjustments in authorized livestock numbers and season.

Responsible Official

    The official responsible for this proposed action is the Kemmerer 
District Ranger, Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National 
Forest, 308 U.S. Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY 83101.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made, based on this analysis, is if livestock 
will be allowed to continue to graze on 16 allotments within the 
project area, and if so, under what management direction. The 
management direction would be either through implementation of the 
proposed action or a grazing alternative to the proposed action.

Preliminary Issues

    Preliminary issues associated with the proposed action include:
    (1) The amount and diversity of vegetation in some locations is 
less than the current capability of soils.
    (2) Sediment delivery to drainages supporting fisheries, and 
retention of precipitation on uplands, as evidenced by headcutting/
gullies and sign of active erosion.
    (3) Wildlife values within some aspen stands are minimized by a 
lack of diverse aspen age classes; in some locationss the diversity of 
herbaceous and shrub species in the sunderstory is also diminished.

Scoping Process

    This Notice of Intent continues the scoping process. The first 
formal opportunity to respond to the proposed action was during the 
public scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) which began with the issuance of 
the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS published in the Federal 
Register on 11/17/2008 (Volume 73, 222, pages 67835-67836). A 
scoping letter was mailed to those listed on the Bridger-Teton National 
Forest's general mailing list on 11/18/2008. The mailing list included 
private landowners, term grazing permit holders, special interest 
groups, interested members of the public, and local, State, and Federal 
agencies. The letter decribed the proposed action, the environmental 
analysis, and the scope of the decision to be made. Additionaly, the 
letter solicited public participation in the process, specifically the 
submission of comments, concerns, and recommendations regarding the 
management of grazing allotments within the project area. News releases 
were also made to encourage public comments and input into the project. 
The scoping process is used to assist the forest in identifying 
specific issues to be addressed related to the purpose and need and the 
scope of the decision.
    Although a formal comment period is not being reopened for this 
NOI, comments related to the scope of the anyalysis will be accepted 
any time prior to the final decision being made. All previously 
submitted comments will be used to prepare the Draft EIS. Additional 
news releases will be prepared to give the pulbic general notice 
concerning the progress on this project analysis. Ongoing information 
related to the proposed action and related analysis will be posted on 
the Bridger-Teton National Forest Web site https://www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf. Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: A Draft EIS will be prepared for comment. The 
comment period on the Draft EIS will be for a period of 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, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
a Draft EIS 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 EIS 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 EIS 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 EIS 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.

    Date: April 5, 2010.
Tracy Hollingshead,
District Ranger, Kemmerer Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National 
Forest.
[FR Doc. 2010-8104 Filed 4-8-10; 8:45 am]
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