Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands; Baca, Las Animas, and Otero Counties, Colorado; Morton and Stevens Counties, Kansas; Land Management Plan Revision, 88716-88717 [2024-26049]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices
and TTY) or USDA through the Federal
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Dated: October 16, 2024.
Cikena Reid,
USDA Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024–24411 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands; Baca, Las Animas, and
Otero Counties, Colorado; Morton and
Stevens Counties, Kansas; Land
Management Plan Revision
Forest Service, Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate the
assessment phase of the land
management plan revision for the
Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
AGENCY:
The Forest Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, is initiating
the land management plan (plan)
revision process, pursuant to the 2012
Planning Rule and as directed by the
National Forest Management Act, for the
Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands located in Southeast
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:38 Nov 07, 2024
Jkt 265001
Colorado and Southwest Kansas.
Currently, the Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands receive
management direction from the 1984
Pike and San Isabel National Forests
and Comanche and Cimarron National
Grasslands Land and Resource
Management Plan. Ultimately, this
process will result in a new, separate
plan for the Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands and will guide all
resource management activities on the
grasslands for approximately fifteen
years, while the remaining portion of
the existing 1984 plan for the Pike and
San Isabel National Forests will remain
unchanged. This notice announces the
initiation of the assessment phase,
which is the preliminary stage of the
plan revision process. The assessment
will identify and consider relevant and
readily accessible material about
ecological, social, and economic
conditions and trends in the planning
area, including best available scientific
information. Findings will be
documented in an assessment report.
Trends and conditions identified in the
assessment will help describe the need
to change the plan and inform revision
of the plan.
DATES: In spring 2024, the Forest
Supervisor of the Pike-San Isabel
National Forests and Cimarron and
Comanche National Grasslands and staff
initiated engagement with Tribes
followed by additional outreach to
county, state, and other Federal
agencies. In April 2024, the Forest
Supervisor sent Tribes formal
government-to-government invitations
to consult on the plan. In addition, in
September 2024, the Forest Supervisor
sent Tribes invitations to serve as
cooperating agencies for the plan
revision process. Counties and other
local governments will also be given the
opportunity to serve as cooperating
agencies in the planning process.
Extensive engagement with
stakeholders, Tribes, Federal
government agencies, local
governments, and non-profits groups is
planned throughout the assessment
phase. Interested parties can learn more
about dates and formats of planned
public engagement opportunities to be
held throughout the plan revision
process by visiting the Cimarron and
Comanche National Grasslands Plan
Revision website: https://
www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/
landmanagement/planning/
?cid=FSEPRD1169904.
A draft assessment for public review
and comment is anticipated in summer
2025. The Forest Service will review
and incorporate public comments and
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
additional information from tribal
consultation on the draft assessment
and produce a final assessment and
need to change the plan that will inform
subsequent phases of the plan revision
process. The Forest Service may then
initiate procedures pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) to prepare a revised land
management plan in compliance with
the National Forest System land
management planning rule (36 CFR part
219).
ADDRESSES: Send written questions to:
Pike-San Isabel National Forests and
Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands, Attn: Grassland Plan
Revision, 5575 Cleora Road, Salida, CO
81201. Questions may also be sent
electronically to: sm.fs.CCNGRevision@
usda.gov. All correspondence, including
names and addresses, will be part of the
public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth
Davis, Forest Planner, 719–429–1385,
mary.davis@usda.gov; or Shawna
Graves, Public Affairs Officer, 719–466–
9122, shawna.graves@usda.gov.
Individuals who use
telecommunications devices for the
hearing impaired may call 711 to reach
the Telecommunications Relay Service,
24 hours a day, every day of the year,
including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
National Forest Management Act of
1976 requires that the Forest Service
develop a land management plan for
every national forest and grassland.
Land management plans provide the
strategic direction for management of
forest or grassland resources and are
amendable as conditions change over
time. The Pike and San Isabel National
Forests and Comanche and Cimarron
National Grasslands Land and Resource
Management Plan was adopted in 1984.
The Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands (CCNGs) are currently
included and managed under the 1984
plan. This planning process will result
in a standalone management plan for
the CCNGs. The CCNGs include two
national grasslands (the Cimarron,
108,621 acres, located in Kansas, and
the Comanche, 443,642 acres, located in
Colorado) encompassing a total of
552,263 acres of public land. The
CCNGs largely consist of isolated and
checkerboard parcels with minimal
consolidated and contiguous Federal
land ownership. The three largest
community hubs within the planning
area are La Junta and Springfield,
Colorado, and Elkhart, Kansas.
The planning rule requires that the
Responsible Official complete an
assessment for the development of a
E:\FR\FM\08NON1.SGM
08NON1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices
plan revision (36 CFR 219.6). The
assessment rapidly evaluates existing
information about relevant ecological,
economic, and social conditions, trends,
and sustainability and their relationship
to the land management plan within the
context of the broader landscape (36
CFR 219.5). The assessment must
identify and evaluate existing
information relevant to the plan area for
the following: (1) Terrestrial ecosystems,
aquatic ecosystems, and watersheds; (2)
Air, soil, and water resources and
quality; (3) System drivers, including
dominant ecological processes,
disturbance regimes, and stressors, such
as natural succession, wildland fire,
invasive species, and climate change,
and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems in the plan area to adapt to
change; (4) Baseline assessment of
carbon stocks; (5) Threatened,
endangered, proposed, and candidate
species, and potential species of
conservation concern present in the
plan area; (6) Social, cultural, and
economic conditions; (7) Benefits
people obtain from the national forest
system planning area (ecosystem
services); (8) Multiple uses and their
contributions to local, regional, and
national economies; (9) Recreation
settings, opportunities and access, and
scenic character; (10); Renewable and
nonrenewable energy and mineral
resources; (11) Infrastructure, such as
recreational facilities and transportation
and utility corridors; (12) Areas of tribal
importance; (13) Cultural and historic
resources and uses; (14) Land status and
ownership and access patterns; and (15)
Existing designated areas located in the
plan area including wilderness and wild
and scenic rivers and potential need and
opportunity for additional designated
areas.
During this assessment phase, the
Forest Service invites other government
agencies, Tribes, non-governmental
parties, and the public to share
information about social, economic, and
environmental conditions of the CCNGs
and the broader landscape. Existing
information about conditions on the
CCNGs, supplemented with information
gathered through public engagement,
from cooperating agencies, and Tribal
consultation, will be integrated into the
assessment. The Forest Service will host
public outreach forums to share
progress and gather additional
information. Information on upcoming
engagement opportunities will be
posted on the Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands Plan Revision
website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/
psicc/landmanagement/planning/
?cid=FSEPRD1169904.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:38 Nov 07, 2024
Jkt 265001
Based on knowledge of the planning
area, the following will likely be topics
of interest and will be discussed in the
assessment and subsequent plan
development phases: areas of tribal
importance; at-risk species and species
of conservation concern; livestock
grazing; oil and gas development;
watersheds and ecological integrity;
fragmentation; land ownership patterns;
habitat connectivity; paleontological
resources; fire management; and
renewable energy. The wilderness
evaluation and the identification of
eligible wild and scenic rivers are also
potential topics of interest. Separate
evaluations of both will be released
concurrently with the assessment and
will be included in the plan
development phases.
The 1984 Pike and San Isabel
National Forests and Comanche and
Cimarron National Grasslands Land and
Resource Management Plan will remain
in effect for the Cimarron and
Comanche National Grasslands until the
plan revision process is complete and a
record of decision is signed.
Responsible Official: The responsible
official for the revision of the land
management plan for the Cimarron and
Commanche National Grasslands is
Ryan Nehl, Forest Supervisor, Pike-San
Isabel National Forests and Cimarron
and Comanche National Grasslands.
Keith Lannom,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest
System.
[FR Doc. 2024–26049 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Adoption of Categorical Exclusions
Under Section 109 of the National
Environmental Policy Act
Forest Service, Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION: Notice of adoption of multiple
categorical exclusions.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, is adopting
multiple categorical exclusions (CEs)
from the Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and
Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to
section 109 of the National
Environmental Policy Act for future
application to Forest Service decisions
concerning land management activities
that are similar in nature. This notice
describes the categories and
consultation between the agencies.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
88717
The CE adoptions take effect on
November 8, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrea Pahlevanpour, Assistant
Director, Forest Service, Ecosystem
Management Coordination, by phone at
771–216–0229 or via email to
andrea.pahlevanpour@usda.gov.
Individuals who use
telecommunications devices for the
hearing impaired may call 711 to reach
the Telecommunications Relay Service,
24 hours a day, every day of the year,
including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:
I. National Environmental Policy Act
and Categorical Exclusions
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), as
amended, requires all Federal agencies
to consider the environmental impact of
their proposed actions before deciding
whether and how to proceed (42 U.S.C.
4321, 4332). The aims of NEPA are to
ensure that agencies consider the
potential environmental effects of their
proposed actions in their decisionmaking processes and inform and
involve the public in that process (42
U.S.C. 4332). NEPA created the Council
on Environmental Quality, which
promulgated NEPA implementing
regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500 through
1508 (Council on Environmental
Quality regulations).
To comply with NEPA, agencies
determine the appropriate level of
review for a proposed action. Where
required, these levels of review may be
documented in an environmental
impact statement (EIS), an
environmental assessment (EA), or by
reliance on a CE (40 CFR 1501.3). If a
proposed action is likely to have
significant environmental effects, the
agency will prepare an EIS and
document its decision in a record of
decision (40 CFR 1502, 1505.2). If the
proposed action is not likely to have
significant environmental effects or
where the level of significance is
unknown, the agency will prepare an
EA, which involves a more concise
analysis and process than an EIS (40
CFR 1501.5). Following preparation of
an EA, the agency may reach a finding
of no significant impact if the analysis
shows that the action will have no
significant effects (40 CFR 1501.6). If,
following preparation of an EA, the
agency finds that the proposed action
will have significant effects, it will
prepare an EIS before issuing any
decision to authorize the action (40 CFR
1501.6(a)(3)).
Under NEPA and the Council on
Environmental Quality’s implementing
E:\FR\FM\08NON1.SGM
08NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 217 (Friday, November 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88716-88717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26049]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands; Baca, Las Animas, and
Otero Counties, Colorado; Morton and Stevens Counties, Kansas; Land
Management Plan Revision
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate the assessment phase of the land
management plan revision for the Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is
initiating the land management plan (plan) revision process, pursuant
to the 2012 Planning Rule and as directed by the National Forest
Management Act, for the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
located in Southeast Colorado and Southwest Kansas. Currently, the
Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands receive management direction
from the 1984 Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Comanche and
Cimarron National Grasslands Land and Resource Management Plan.
Ultimately, this process will result in a new, separate plan for the
Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands and will guide all resource
management activities on the grasslands for approximately fifteen
years, while the remaining portion of the existing 1984 plan for the
Pike and San Isabel National Forests will remain unchanged. This notice
announces the initiation of the assessment phase, which is the
preliminary stage of the plan revision process. The assessment will
identify and consider relevant and readily accessible material about
ecological, social, and economic conditions and trends in the planning
area, including best available scientific information. Findings will be
documented in an assessment report. Trends and conditions identified in
the assessment will help describe the need to change the plan and
inform revision of the plan.
DATES: In spring 2024, the Forest Supervisor of the Pike-San Isabel
National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands and
staff initiated engagement with Tribes followed by additional outreach
to county, state, and other Federal agencies. In April 2024, the Forest
Supervisor sent Tribes formal government-to-government invitations to
consult on the plan. In addition, in September 2024, the Forest
Supervisor sent Tribes invitations to serve as cooperating agencies for
the plan revision process. Counties and other local governments will
also be given the opportunity to serve as cooperating agencies in the
planning process. Extensive engagement with stakeholders, Tribes,
Federal government agencies, local governments, and non-profits groups
is planned throughout the assessment phase. Interested parties can
learn more about dates and formats of planned public engagement
opportunities to be held throughout the plan revision process by
visiting the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands Plan Revision
website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/landmanagement/planning/?cid=FSEPRD1169904.
A draft assessment for public review and comment is anticipated in
summer 2025. The Forest Service will review and incorporate public
comments and additional information from tribal consultation on the
draft assessment and produce a final assessment and need to change the
plan that will inform subsequent phases of the plan revision process.
The Forest Service may then initiate procedures pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to prepare a revised land
management plan in compliance with the National Forest System land
management planning rule (36 CFR part 219).
ADDRESSES: Send written questions to: Pike-San Isabel National Forests
and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, Attn: Grassland Plan
Revision, 5575 Cleora Road, Salida, CO 81201. Questions may also be
sent electronically to: [email protected]. All
correspondence, including names and addresses, will be part of the
public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Davis, Forest Planner, 719-429-
1385, [email protected]; or Shawna Graves, Public Affairs Officer,
719-466-9122, [email protected]. Individuals who use
telecommunications devices for the hearing impaired may call 711 to
reach the Telecommunications Relay Service, 24 hours a day, every day
of the year, including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Forest Management Act of 1976
requires that the Forest Service develop a land management plan for
every national forest and grassland. Land management plans provide the
strategic direction for management of forest or grassland resources and
are amendable as conditions change over time. The Pike and San Isabel
National Forests and Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands Land and
Resource Management Plan was adopted in 1984. The Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands (CCNGs) are currently included and managed under
the 1984 plan. This planning process will result in a standalone
management plan for the CCNGs. The CCNGs include two national
grasslands (the Cimarron, 108,621 acres, located in Kansas, and the
Comanche, 443,642 acres, located in Colorado) encompassing a total of
552,263 acres of public land. The CCNGs largely consist of isolated and
checkerboard parcels with minimal consolidated and contiguous Federal
land ownership. The three largest community hubs within the planning
area are La Junta and Springfield, Colorado, and Elkhart, Kansas.
The planning rule requires that the Responsible Official complete
an assessment for the development of a
[[Page 88717]]
plan revision (36 CFR 219.6). The assessment rapidly evaluates existing
information about relevant ecological, economic, and social conditions,
trends, and sustainability and their relationship to the land
management plan within the context of the broader landscape (36 CFR
219.5). The assessment must identify and evaluate existing information
relevant to the plan area for the following: (1) Terrestrial
ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, and watersheds; (2) Air, soil, and
water resources and quality; (3) System drivers, including dominant
ecological processes, disturbance regimes, and stressors, such as
natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate
change, and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the
plan area to adapt to change; (4) Baseline assessment of carbon stocks;
(5) Threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species, and
potential species of conservation concern present in the plan area; (6)
Social, cultural, and economic conditions; (7) Benefits people obtain
from the national forest system planning area (ecosystem services); (8)
Multiple uses and their contributions to local, regional, and national
economies; (9) Recreation settings, opportunities and access, and
scenic character; (10); Renewable and nonrenewable energy and mineral
resources; (11) Infrastructure, such as recreational facilities and
transportation and utility corridors; (12) Areas of tribal importance;
(13) Cultural and historic resources and uses; (14) Land status and
ownership and access patterns; and (15) Existing designated areas
located in the plan area including wilderness and wild and scenic
rivers and potential need and opportunity for additional designated
areas.
During this assessment phase, the Forest Service invites other
government agencies, Tribes, non-governmental parties, and the public
to share information about social, economic, and environmental
conditions of the CCNGs and the broader landscape. Existing information
about conditions on the CCNGs, supplemented with information gathered
through public engagement, from cooperating agencies, and Tribal
consultation, will be integrated into the assessment. The Forest
Service will host public outreach forums to share progress and gather
additional information. Information on upcoming engagement
opportunities will be posted on the Cimarron and Comanche National
Grasslands Plan Revision website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/landmanagement/planning/?cid=FSEPRD1169904.
Based on knowledge of the planning area, the following will likely
be topics of interest and will be discussed in the assessment and
subsequent plan development phases: areas of tribal importance; at-risk
species and species of conservation concern; livestock grazing; oil and
gas development; watersheds and ecological integrity; fragmentation;
land ownership patterns; habitat connectivity; paleontological
resources; fire management; and renewable energy. The wilderness
evaluation and the identification of eligible wild and scenic rivers
are also potential topics of interest. Separate evaluations of both
will be released concurrently with the assessment and will be included
in the plan development phases.
The 1984 Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Comanche and
Cimarron National Grasslands Land and Resource Management Plan will
remain in effect for the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
until the plan revision process is complete and a record of decision is
signed.
Responsible Official: The responsible official for the revision of
the land management plan for the Cimarron and Commanche National
Grasslands is Ryan Nehl, Forest Supervisor, Pike-San Isabel National
Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands.
Keith Lannom,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2024-26049 Filed 11-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
