Monitor/Hot Creek Forest Plan Amendment EIS; Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest; Nye, Eureka and Lander Counties, NV

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Monitor/Hot Creek Forest Plan Amendment EIS; Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forest; Nye, Eureka and Lander Counties, NV

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS) to consider amending the Toiyabe

National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The

amendment will be comprehensive, covering a wide variety of issues

needed to update the Forest Plan for the Monitor and Hot Creek Mountain

Ranges.

DECISION TO BE MADE: The Forest Service will decide whether or not to

amend the Forest Plan for the Monitor and Hot Creek Mountain Ranges of

the Austin and Tonopah Ranger Districts. The amendment will consider

improving the management direction of portions of the Forest Plan and

affirm continuation of other aspects of the Forest Plan's management

direction for the next 10-15 years. No irreversible or irretrievable

commitment of resources (site specific actions) will be taken as a

result of this decision.

DATES: The public is asked to provide any information they believe the

Forest Service should consider and to submit any issues regarding

alternatives or potential impacts by October 15, 1999. The agency

expects to file the draft EIS with the Environmental Protection Agency

and make it available for public comment in January, 2000. The agency

expects to file the final EIS in October 2000.

MEETINGS: The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will hold several public

meetings to discuss the proposed Forest Plan amendment. Comments from

the public, other agencies and tribal councils are welcomed. Dates,

locations and topics to be discussed for these meetings are: July 8,

1999, 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Tonopah Convention Center, Tonopah, NV,

Topic: Access, Roadless Areas and Transportation Systems; August 19,

1999, 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Eureka Opera House, Eureka, NV, Topic:

Livestock Grazing, Wild Horses and Wildlife; September 9, 1999, 6:00 to

9:00 pm at the Austin Community Hall, Austin, NV, Topic: Recreation

Opportunities and Scenic Values; September 30, 1999 6:00 to 9:00 pm at

the Hadley Community Center, Hadley, NV, Topic: Mining and Associated

Activities; and October 21, 1999, 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Hadley

Community Center, Hadley, NV, Topic: Community Well Being. Additional

meetings to be held in Reno and Las Vegas will be scheduled for

October, 1999.

COMMENTS: Written comments on the information presented here should be

submitted to the Central Nevada Planning Team, Attn. Dave McMorran,

USDA Forest Service, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, P.O. Box 539,

Ely NV 89301. Comments should be received by October 15, 1999.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: For additional information contract Dave

McMorran, Ecosystem Planner, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, P.O. Box

539, Ely, NV 89301, (775) 289-3031.

RESPONSIBLE OFFICAL: The Regional Forester for the Intermountain Region

located at 324 25th Street, Odgen, Utah 84401 is the responsible

official for the action.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed amendment will address

management of National Forest System lands in the Monitor and Hot Creek

Mountain Ranges, which includes portions of Nye, Eureka and Lander

Counties, Nevada. This area is part of the Austin and Tonopah Ranger

Districts.

The substantive changes that will be addressed in the amendment of

the Forest Plan are described in the regulations implementing the

National Forest Management Act (NFMA). The amendment process begins

with monitoring and evaluation of Forest Plan implementation (36 CFR

219.12(k)). It includes public involvement in monitoring and

identification of opportunities for improvements to improve management.

This NOI signals the development of an EIS for the amendment of the

Forest Plan. Based upon monitoring and evaluation results and the

information obtained in the Analysis of the Management Situation (AMS),

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is proposing to make several

improvements to the long-term management direction for the Monitor and

Hot Creek Mountain Ranges. The public is invited to comment on the

preliminary alternatives which have been identified.

Proposed Action

The proposed action is to amend the Toiyabe Land and Resource

Management Plan to improve management direction. The purpose of the

proposed action is to provide long term management direction for the

Monitor and Hot Creek Mountain Ranges. The proposed action is needed

because existing guidance is more than a decade old. That guidance does

not reflect the substantial additions to the National Forest System in

the area, the rapidly growing and diversifying population, or the

advances in science that have occurred over the last decade. Four

alternatives have been prepared to address the topics outlined below. A

preferred alternative will be selected during the preparation of the

draft EIS based on public comments from this scoping process and the

analysis of environmental impacts of the alternatives.

Amendment Topics

Based on the analysis of the existing direction, monitoring and

evaluation of resource conditions, and public comments, the following

topics have been identified as having a need for change in management

direction: Heritage Resources, American Indian Religious and Cultural

Use, Watershed Protection, Species and Ecosystem Viability, Wilderness

Management, Roadless Areas, Access, Transportation Systems, Recreation,

Visual Resources, Forest Products Management, Livestock Grazing, Wild

Horses, Wildlife, and Mining.

Publc Comments on the Draft EIS

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be

available for public review and comment in January, 2000. The comment

period on the draft environmental impact statement will be

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at least 90 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency

publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.

Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names

and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the

public record on this proposed action and will be available for public

inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and

considered. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may

request the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by

showing how the Freedom of Information (FOIA) permits such

confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be

aware that, under the FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very

limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest

Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding

the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the

agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the

comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address.

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. 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).

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 important that those interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the comment period so that substantive

comments are made available to the Forest Service 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 specific and refer to specific

pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also address the

adequacy of the draft statement or the merits of the alternatives

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.

Dated: July 1, 1999.

Monica Schwalbach,

Acting Forest Supervisor, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

[FR Doc. 99-18010 Filed 7-16-99; 8:45 am]

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