Notice of Availability of the Draft Off-Highway Vehicle Environmental Impact Statement and Plan Amendment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Bureau of Land Management

Forest Service

[MT-060-08-1220-00, 1617P]

Notice of Availability of the Draft Off-Highway Vehicle

Environmental Impact Statement and Plan Amendment

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior and Forest Service,

Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS)

have prepared a Draft Off-Highway Vehicle Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) and Plan Amendment. The Draft EIS/Plan Amendment

describes the analysis completed on the proposed management changes in

off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on public lands administered by the BLM

and FS, Northern Region, in Montana, North Dakota, and portions of

South Dakota. Five alternatives, including a No Action Alternative,

were developed to meet the purpose and need of the project and respond

to significant issues. The purpose and need are to address the impacts

of OHV travel on open areas that are currently available to motorized

cross-country travel. The No Action Alternative would maintain current

management. Areas currently open yearlong or seasonally to cross-

country travel would remain open. Alternatives 1 and 2 would restrict

motorized cross-country travel yearlong. Alternative 3 would restrict

motorized cross-country travel yearlong in North Dakota, most of

Montana, and portions of South Dakota. Alternative 4 would limit

motorized cross-country travel seasonally.

DATES: The comment period on the Draft EIS/Plan Amendment will end 90

days from the date the Environmental Agency publishes the notice of

availability in the Federal Register. The expected end of the comment

period is February 3, 2000. Open houses on the Draft EIS/Plan Amendment

will be held in communities in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota

during the review period. The locations for the open houses are listed

below but also look for an article in your local paper because

locations, dates and/or time may change.

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Date Location Time (p.m.) Place

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November 15........................... Lemmon, SD............... 2:00-6:00 To be determined.

November 16........................... Buffalo, SD.............. 2:00-6:00 Harding County Jury/Court

Room.

November 16........................... Hamilton, MT............. 4:00-8:00 To be determined.

November 16........................... Libby, MT................ 4:00-9:00 Libby City Hall, Ponderosa

Room.

November 17........................... Pierre, SD............... 2:00-6:00 RAMKOTA.

November 17........................... Kalispell, MT............ 5:00-8:00 Outlaw Inn.

November 17........................... Trout Creek, MT.......... 1:00-4:00 U.S. Forest Service.

November 18........................... Belle Fourche, SD........ 2:00-6:00 BLM Office.

November 18........................... Eureka, MT............... 6:00-9:00 Lincoln Co. Electric.

November 18........................... Lewistown, MT............ 4:00-7:00 BLM Office, Airport Road.

November 19........................... Ekalaka, MT.............. 2:00-6:00 Carter Country Jury/Court

Room.

November 22........................... Great Falls, MT.......... 4:00-7:00 BLM/FS Office, 1101 15th

Street North.

November 22........................... Bozeman, MT.............. 4:00-8:00 Gallatin Co Courthouse, 311

West Main.

November 29........................... Bowman, ND............... 4:00-8:00 To be determined.

November 30........................... Dickinson, ND............ 4:00-8:00 BLM Office, 2933 Third Avenue

West.

November 30........................... Billings, MT............. 4:00-8:00 BLM Office, 5001 Southgate

Drive.

November 30........................... Miles City, MT........... 5:00-7:00 BLM Office, 111 Garryowen

Road.

December 1............................ Bismarck, ND............. 4:00-8:00 U.S. Forest Service, 240 West

Century.

December 1............................ Red Lodge, MT............ 4:00-8:00 U.S. Forest Service.

December 1............................ Colstrip, MT............. 5:00-7:00 Bicentennial Library, 415

Willow Avenue.

December 2............................ Watford City, ND......... 4:00-8:00 To be determined.

December 2............................ Lincoln, MT.............. 4:00-8:00 Lincoln Community Hall.

December 2............................ Glendive, MT............. 5:00-7:00 Glendive Medical Center,

Carney Conference Room #2.

December 3............................ Rapid City, SD........... 3:00-7:00 West River Research & Ag.

Crt., 1905 Plaza Blvd.

December 6............................ Townsend, MT............. 4:00-8:00 Townsend Library.

December 7............................ Missoula, MT............. 4:00-8:00 Boone and Crocket Club.

December 7............................ Malta, MT................ 4:00-7:00 BLM Office.

December 7............................ Havre, MT................ 4:00-7:00 BLM Office.

December 7............................ Broadus, MT.............. 5:00-7:00 Powder River County

Courthouse, Election Rm.

December 8............................ Helena, MT............... 4:00-8:00 U.S. Forest Service, 2880

Skyway Drive.

December 8............................ Glasgow, MT.............. 4:00-7:00 BLM Office.

December 9............................ Dillon, MT............... 4:00-8:00 U.S. Forest Service, 420

Barrett Street.

[[Page 57121]]

December 9............................ Butte, MT................ 4:00-8:00 BLM Office, 106 North

Parkmont.

December 14........................... Browning, MT............. 3:30-7:00 Tribal Offices.

December 15........................... Choteau, MT.............. 2:00-7:00 Stage Stop Inn.

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ADDRESSES: Address all comments to OHV Plan Amendment, Lewistown Field

Office, P.O. Box 1160, Lewistown, MT 59457-1160.

Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will

be available for public review at the above Lewistown address during

regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If

you wish to withhold your name or street address from public review or

from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state

this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such

requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions

from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying

themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or

businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Majerus, 406-538-1924 or Dick

Kramer, 406-329-1008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Draft EIS/Plan Amendment discloses the

potential environmental consequences of managing cross-country off-

highway vehicle (OHV) use on public lands administered by the BLM and

FS, Northern Region, in Montana, North Dakota, and portions of South

Dakota (excluding the Black Hills National Forest, Buffalo Gap

Grasslands and the Fort Pierre Grasslands). The agencies recognize that

many recreation users do not differentiate between BLM and FS lands.

The agencies feel it is better customer service to have consistent

policies across agency boundaries; therefore, the plan amendment will

be a joint BLM and FS proposal. The BLM and FS are joint lead agencies

responsible for preparation of the EIS/plan amendment.

The increased popularity and widespread use of OHVs on public lands

in the 1960s and early 1970s prompted the development of a unified

federal policy for such use. Executive Order 11644 was issued in 1972

and Executive Order 11989 was issued in 1977. They provided direction

for federal agencies to establish policies and provide for procedures

to control and direct the use of OHVs on public lands so as to (1)

protect the resources of those lands, (2) promote the safety of all

users of those lands, and (3) minimize conflicts among the various uses

on those lands. The BLM and FS have developed regulations in response

to the Executive Orders (43 CFR 8342 and 36 CFR 219 and 295). Under

those regulations, OHV use can be restricted or prohibited to minimize

(1) damage to the soil, watershed, vegetation, or other resources of

the public lands; (2) harm to wildlife or wildlife habitats; and (3)

conflict between the use of OHVs and other types of recreation.

The BLM and FS recognize in their respective resource management

plans and forest plans, policy, and manual direction, that off-highway

vehicle use is a valid recreational activity when properly managed.

Managing this use along with other recreation uses and the need to

protect resource values has become increasingly more difficult with

increasing public demands and decreasing budgets.

The purpose of this EIS/plan amendment is to address the impacts of

wheeled (motorcycles, four-wheel drive vehicles, sport utility

vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, etc.) off-highway vehicle travel on

open areas that are currently available to motorized cross-country

travel. It will amend forest plan and resource management plan OHV area

designations to preserve future options for site-specific travel

planning. This would provide timely interim direction that would

prevent further resource damage, user conflicts, and related problems,

including new user-created roads, associated with motorized cross-

country travel until subsequent site-specific travel planning is

complete. Site-specific travel planning, or activity planning, will

address OHV use on specific roads and trails. This amendment would not

change the current limited/restricted yearlong or closed designations,

or designated intensive off-road vehicle use areas.

About 16 million acres of public land are currently available to

motorized cross-country travel in the analysis area, either yearlong or

seasonally, which has the potential to: spread noxious weeds, cause

erosion, damage cultural sites, create user conflicts, and disrupt

wildlife and damage wildlife habitat.

Problems do not occur equally throughout the analysis area.

Motorized cross-country travel is generally limited by current

technology to areas that are less steep and have more open vegetative

communities. Random use in open areas has created trail networks

throughout the analysis area. Some of this use has occurred in riparian

areas and on highly erodible slopes.

Monitoring of OHV travel at FS and BLM offices indicates that

problems exist where unrestricted motorized cross-country travel is

allowed. Many units have completed or begun site-specific travel

planning. Most notable efforts are the Elkhorn Mountains near Helena,

Montana, and the Whitetail-Pipestone area near Butte, Montana.

Members of the public and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife

and Parks Commission have shared their concerns about unrestricted OHV

travel on public lands. The four BLM Resource Advisory Councils

(citizen groups that represent a balance of commodity, conservation,

and other public interests) in Montana, North Dakota, and portions of

South Dakota, expressed serious concerns about allowing continued,

unrestricted, motorized cross-country travel on public lands.

The BLM and FS are concerned that continuing unrestricted use could

potentially increase these problems. Areas that are open yearlong or

seasonally to motorized cross-country travel in current forest plans

and resource management plans will require a plan amendment to address

these issues. This proposal to manage the cross-country aspect of

motorized vehicle use is part of our responsibility as public land

managers to balance human use with the need to protect natural

resources.

Authority: Sec. 202, Pub. L. 94-579, 90 Stat. 2747 (43 U.S.C.

1712), Sec. 6, Pub. L. 94-588, 90 Stat. 2949 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

Dated: October 15, 1999.

Thomas P. Lonnie,

Acting State Director, Bureau of Land Management.

Dale N. Bosworth,

Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service.

[FR Doc. 99-27629 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]

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