Grazing Permit Reissuance, Sheep Grazing on the Ash Mountain and Iron Mountain Allotments, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Gallatin National Forest, Park County, MT

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Grazing Permit Reissuance, Sheep Grazing on the Ash Mountain and

Iron Mountain Allotments, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Gallatin

National Forest, Park County, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of reissuing a

10-year term grazing permit to continue authorizing sheep grazing in

the Ash Mountain and Iron Mountain Allotments, located in the

Hellroaring Creek and Buffalo Creek drainages in the southwest corner

of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Gallatin National Forest,

Gardiner Ranger District, Park County, Montana. The permit reissuance

would authorize the continued use of a three-unit rest-rotation grazing

system for grazing 1200 ewe/lamb pairs for a 60-day grazing season.

Also, the proposed action includes incorporation grizzly bear and

riparian habitat protection standards into the new grazing permit,

where they had only been implemented via the Annual Operating Plan in

the past. The purpose of the proposed action is (1) to continue

achieving Gallatin National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan

(Forest Plan) objectives for domestic livestock production on the Ash

Mountain and Iron Mountain Allotments, and in a manner that protects

other resources including vegetation, wildlife, and riparian habitat.

The Forest Plan provides overall guidance for land management

activities, including livestock grazing, within the area. This EIS will

tier to the Gallatin Forest Plan Final EIS (September, 1987).

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before

July 6, 1998.

[[Page 27556]]

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed

management activities or a request to be placed on the project mailing

list to John R. Logan, District Ranger, Gardiner Ranger District,

Gallatin National Forest, P.O. Box 5, Gardiner, Montana, 59030.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Hoppe, EIS Team Leader, Gardiner

Ranger District, Gallatin National Forest, Phone (406) 848-7375.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Reissuance of a 10-year term grazing permit

is proposed on the Ash Mountain and Iron Mountain Allotments. These

allotments would be combined and managed as one allotment called the

Ash/Iron Mountain Allotment. It would consist of approximately 74,000

acres, of which about 14,000 acres are classified as suitable for

livestock grazing. The proposed action includes continuing the use of a

three-unit rest-rotation grazing system for 2400 sheep months (1200

ewe/lamb pairs would be grazed July 15 through September 15 each year).

This system allows the sheep to graze one unit (pasture) one summer

every three years. The other two units would not be grazed two out of

the three years. Also, the proposed action includes incorporating

grizzly bear and riparian habitat protection standards into the new

grazing permit, where they had only been implemented via the Annual

Operating Plan in the past.

The Gallatin National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan

(Forest Plan) provides the overall guidance for management activities

in the potentially affected area through its goals, objectives,

standards and guidelines, and management area direction. The purposes

of the proposed action are to: (1) continue achieving Gallatin Forest

Plan objectives for domestic livestock production on the Ash Mountain

and Iron Mountain Allotments, (2) continue providing flexibility in the

grazing schedule and better protect vegetation and wildlife habitat by

continuing the three-unit rest-rotation system for 2400 sheep months of

grazing, and (3) provide stronger administrative control over permitted

grazing activities to better assure protection of riparian areas and

grizzly bears and to bring the permit into compliance with the Forest

Plan. The decision to be made is ``should sheep grazing be allowed to

continue in the Ash Mountain and Iron Mountain Allotments, and under

what conditions.''

The project area consists of approximately 74,000 acres of National

Forest land located in T7S, R10-12E; T8S, R10-12E; and T9S, R10-11E,

P.M. MT. This area is located entirely within the Absaroka-Beartooth

Wilderness.

The area of the proposed continuation of grazing would occur within

Management Areas 4 and 7. Grazing would occur only on suitable grazing

land. Below is a brief description of the applicable management area

direction.

Management Area 4--This area includes the Gallatin National Forest

portions of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and Lee Metcalf

Wilderness. Occupied grizzly bear habitat is present in much of the

area. Livestock grazing is allowed within this management area so long

as it is conducted in accordance with wilderness values and grizzly

bear standards and guidelines.

Management Area 7--These are riparian zones or areas where

vegetation is present that requires either free or unbounded water or

soil moistures in excess of what is normally found in the area. Lands

within this management area are suitable for livestock grazing as long

as soil, water, vegetation, fish, and dependent wildlife species are

protected.

The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of

these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in which none of the

proposed activities would be implemented. Additional grazing

alternatives will be considered in response to issues and other

resource values.

The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative

environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present, and projected

activities on both private and National Forest lands will be

considered. The EIS will disclose the analysis of site-specific

mitigation measures and their effectiveness.

Public participation is an important part of the analysis,

commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7), which

began in October, 1997. In addition to this scoping, the public may

visit Forest Service officials at any time during the analysis and

prior to the decision. The Forest Service is seeking information,

comments, and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and

other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected

by the proposed action. No public meeting are scheduled at this time.

Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in

preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to:

1. Identify potential issues.

2. Identify issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Eliminate insignificant issues or those which have been covered

by a relevant previous environmental analysis, such as the Gallatin

Forest Plan EIS.

4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.

5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action

and alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and cumulative effects).

6. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

Some public comments have already been received in conjunction with

earlier scoping efforts on this project. The following principle issues

have been identified so far:

1. Livestock grazing may affect sensitive plants.

2. Livestock grazing may adversely increase competition for forage

between big game and domestic livestock.

3. Domestic sheep may affect the population of bighorn sheep by

transmitting diseases.

4. Livestock grazing may cause conflicts with grizzly bears and

indirectly increase bear mortalities.

Other issues commonly associated with livestock grazing include:

effects on water quality, riparian habitat, and soils. This list will

be verified, expanded, or modified based on public scoping for this

proposal.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in July of

1998. At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of

the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft

EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA's notice of availability

appears in the Federal Register. It is very important that those

interested in management of the Ash Mountain and Iron Mountain

Allotments participate at that time. To be most helpful, comments on

the Draft EIS should be as site-specific as possible. The Final EIS is

scheduled to be completed by October, 1998.

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

[[Page 27557]]

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 scoping 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 developing issues and alternatives. To assist the Forest

Service in identifying and considering issues on the proposed action,

comments should be as specific as possible. 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.

John R. Logan, District Ranger, is the responsible official for

this environmental impact statement. His address is U.S. Forest

Service, Gardiner Ranger District, P.O. Box 5, Gardiner, MT 59030.

Dated: May 4, 1998.

David P. Garber,

Forest Supervisor, Gallatin National Forest.

[FR Doc. 98-13285 Filed 5-18-98; 8:45 am]

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