Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, States of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, Northern,

Intermountain, and Pacific Northwest Regions

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ID918-1610-00-UCRB]

Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, States of

Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada

AGENCIES: Forest Service, USDA; Bureau of Land Management, USDI.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period for draft environmental

impact statements (EISs).

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SUMMARY: On June 12, 1997, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land

Management published a notice of availability of two draft EISs in the

Federal Register (62 FR 320786). That notice stated that a 120-day

comment period was provided for the Eastside Draft EIS and for the

Upper Columbia River Basin Draft EIS. On September 5, 1997, a second

notice (62 FR 46941) extended the comment period to February 6, 1998.

On January 23, 1998, a third notice (6 FR 3533) extended the comment

period to April 6, 1998. This notice is to inform interested parties

that the comment period has been extended again to provide additional

time for public review of, and comment on, an economic and social

report prepared in response to a requirement of the Department of the

Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998.

DATES: Comments on the two draft EISs and on the economic and social

report must now be submitted or postmarked no later than May 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the economic and social report were mailed the

second week of March to everyone on the mailing list for the Eastside

and Upper Columbia River Basin Draft EISs. Interested parties not on

the mailing list can obtain a copy from ICBEMP, 112 E. Poplar Street,

Walla Walla, WA 99362 or by calling (509) 522-4030 or from ICBEMP, 304

N. 8th Street, Room 250, Boise ID 83702 or by calling (208) 334-1770,

ext. 120. The economic and social report will also be available via the

internet (http://www.icbemp.gov).

Comments on the Eastside draft EIS, including the economic and

social report, should be submitted in writing to ICBEMP, 112 East

Poplar Street, P.O. Box 2076, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Comments on the

Upper Columbia River Basin draft EIS, including the economic and social

report, should be submitted in writing to ICBEMP, 304 N. 8th Street,

Room 250, Boise, ID 83702. If your comments are in regard to both draft

EISs, they may be sent to either office. Comments may also be made

electronically by accessing the Project home page (http://

www.icbemp.gov), where a comment form is available. If you have already

submitted your comments, you may now submit more comments on the draft

EIS, including your comments regarding the economic and social report.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

EIS Team Leader Jeff Walter, 304 N. 8th Street, Room 250, Boise, ID

83702, telephone (208) 334-1770 or EIS Deputy Team Leader Cathy

Humphrey, 112 East Poplar Street, P.O. Box 2076, Walla Walla, WA 99362,

telephone (509) 522-4030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In Section 323 of the Department of the

Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998 Pub. L. 105-

83), the United States Congress directed the following: ``Using all

research information available from the area encompassed by the

Project, the Secretaries [of Agriculture and the Interior], to the

extent practicable, shall analyze the economic and social conditions,

and culture and customs, of the communities at the sub-basin level

within the Project area and the impacts the alternatives in the draft

EISs will have on those communities. This analysis shall be published

on a schedule that will allow a reasonable period of time for public

comment thereon prior to the close of the comment periods on the draft

EIS. The analysis, together with the response * * * to the public

comment, shall be incorporated in the final EISs and * * * subsequent

decisions related thereto.''

The required analysis has been prepared. It is a report on the

existing economic and social conditions at the community level within

the Interior

[[Page 13620]]

Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project area and, to the extent

practicable, an analysis of the effects of the alternatives described

in the draft EISs upon communities. This report has been distributed to

the public, providing approximately eights weeks for review and comment

before the comment period closes May 6, 1998.

Dated: March 12, 1998.

J. David Brunner,

Acting State Director Bureau of Land Management.

Dated: March 12, 1998.

Robert W. Williams,

Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service.

[FR Doc. 98-7270 Filed 3-19-98; 8:45 am]

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