[Federal Register: July 12, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 134)]
[Notices]               
[Page 46165-46166]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12jy02-26]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

 
Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, SD, Prairie 
Project Area Proposal and Analysis

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement on a proposal to implement multiple resource management 
actions within the Prairie Project Area as directed by the Black Hills 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The Prairie Project 
Area covers about 29,000 acres of National Forest System land and about 
6,300 acres of interspersed private land within the lower Rapid Creek 
watershed directly west of Rapid City, South Dakota. Proposed actions 
include: Promoting natural fuel breaks (via vegetation treatment) to 
reduce potential for large-scale intense wildfire; Reduction of fuels 
that currently exist and fuel created by vegetation treatment within 
the wildland-urban interface; Wildlife habitat improvement to protect 
critical big game winter range and habitat for a variety of plant and 
animal species; Supporting the preceding actions using Vegetation 
treatments on an estimated 8,000 acres to reduce the density of pine 
trees and restore hardwoods; Providing a mix of motorized and non-
motorized use opportunities.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by August 19, 2002. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected to be available for public review by November 2002 and the 
final environmental impact statement is expected to be completed by 
March 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Robert J. Thompson, District 
Ranger, Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, 803 Soo 
San Drive, Rapid City, South Dakota 57702. Telephone Number: (605) 343-
1567. e-mail: mailroom_r2_blackhills@fs.fed.us. With ``Prairie'' as 
subject.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phill Grumstrup, Project coordinator, 
Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, at above address, 
phone (605) 343-1567.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The actions proposed are in direct response 
to management direction provided by the Black Hills National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest

[[Page 46166]]

Plan). The site specific actions are designed based on Forest Plan 
Standards and Guidelines to promote existing resource conditions in the 
Prairie Project Area toward meeting Forest Plan Goals and Objectives. 
The project area lies along the east side of the Black Hills National 
Forest and directly west of Rapid City, South Dakota. Anticipated 
issues include: fire and fuels hazard in the wildland-urban interface; 
support and opposition to vegetation treatment such as timber harvest; 
impacts of vegetation treatment and multiple forest uses on wildlife 
habitat; conflicting motorized and non-motorized use and travel 
management issues; maintaining and improving developed and dispersed 
recreation opportunities.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of and need for the actions proposed in the Prairie 
Project is to: Reduce the potential for large-scale intense wildfire, 
reduce fuel loads and assure access for fire protection; Protect big 
game winter range and provide habitat for a variety of plant and animal 
species; and provide for a variety of recreation opportunities 
including motorized and non-motorized uses while moving toward or 
meeting related Forest Plan Goals and Objectives, consistent with 
Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines.

Proposed Action

    Proposed actions include the following:
     Reduce the potential for large-scale, intense wildfire by 
developing and maintaining natural fuel breaks. This action includes 
thinning the forest, removing conifers from hardwood stands such as 
aspen, bur oak and birch and by expanding and/or creating meadows.
     Reduce the amount of fuel that currently exists and fuel 
created by vegetation treatment activities. Treatment could include 
lopping, chipping, crushing, piling and burning; construction of up to 
30 miles of constructed fuel breaks adjacent to private property, 
particularly those properties with houses and subdivisions; and 
prescribed burning of up to 4,000 acres to reduce fuels and benefit 
wildlife habitat.
     Manage big game winter range by providing opening for 
forage and protecting game animals during the critical winter period 
over a large portion of the area by expanding area closures to off-road 
motorized use seasonally or year-round.
     Support the preceding actions by treating up to 8,000 
acres of vegetation to reduce the density of pine trees. This may be 
done by using commercial timber harvest to thin out commercial size 
trees and using other methods to thin small, non-commercial size trees. 
Thinning trees will reduce the potential for spreading crown fires by 
providing fuel breaks, lessening the risk from insects and disease, 
improving stand growth and vigor, and providing wood-fiber products for 
the local economy.
     Provide a mix of motorized and non-motorized opportunities 
in the area by designating some areas for off-road ATV/4-wheeler use 
and other areas for non-motorized uses such as hiking, mountain biking 
and walk-in hunting.

Responsible Official

    John C. Twiss, Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest, 
Highway 385 North RR 2, Box 200, Custer, SD 57730.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether or not to implement the proposed 
action or alternatives at this time.

Scoping Process

    Comments and input regarding the proposal will be requested via 
direct mailing from the public, other groups and agencies during the 
30-day (plus) public comment period in July and August 2002. Also, 
response to the draft EIS will be sought from the interested public in 
November-December 2002.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. It is our desire 
to involve interested parties and especially adjacent landowners in 
identifying the issues related to proposed activities. Comments will 
assist the planning team identify key issues and opportunities used to 
develop project alternatives and mitigation measures.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 
will be for 45 days (beginning around November 1, 2002) 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 
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, 
533 (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.

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

    Dated: July 8, 2002.
John C. Twiss,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-17506 Filed 7-11-02; 8:45 am]
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