Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, South
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47755 Notices Federal Register Vol. 75, No. 152 Monday, August 9, 2010 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER vegetation treatment activities. and approximately 10 miles west of contains documents other than rules or Treatment could include lopping, Rapid City, SD. Anticipated issues proposed rules that are applicable to the chipping, crushing, piling and burning, include: reducing MPB infestation and public. Notices of hearings and investigations, and creating fuel breaks along roads and risk; protecting local communities, committee meetings, agency decisions and adjacent to private property, particularly private and public lands, infrastructure rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency those properties with houses and and access from severe wildfire; statements of organization and functions are subdivisions. Prescribed broadcast and associated fire and fuels hazard examples of documents appearing in this pile burning of up to 5,037 acres is also reduction needs in the wildland-urban section. planned to disrupt the continuity of interface; support or opposition to forest surface and canopy fuels, and to thinning using commercial timber increase the quantity and quality of harvest; impacts of vegetation treatment DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE forage for big game and other wildlife and multiple forest uses on wildlife resources. habitat. The range of alternatives Forest Service • Remove conifers from hardwood analyzed in the EIS is expected to be stands such as aspen and birch, and consistent with Sec. 104 of HFRA. Black Hills National Forest, Mystic restore meadows on approximately Purpose and Need for Action Ranger District, South Dakota, Pactola 1,562 acres to provide habitat diversity Project Area and additional wildfire protection by The purpose of the Pactola Project is to: AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. enhancing natural fuel breaks. • • Move toward achieving desired ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Use of existing road templates with less than two miles of new construction. land and resource conditions, as Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). provided by the Forest Plan. DATES: Comments concerning the scope • Reduce the threat to ecosystem SUMMARY: The Forest Service will of the analysis would be most useful if components including forest resources, prepare an environmental impact received by 30 days following the date from the existing insect and disease statement on a proposal to use multiple of this notice. The draft environmental (mountain pine beetle) epidemic. vegetation treatments focused on impact statement is expected to be • Restore resource conditions to a reducing the threat to ecosystem available for public review by November healthy, resilient fire-adapted components including forest resources 2010 and the final environmental ecosystem. from an existing insect and disease impact statement is expected to be • Help protect local communities and epidemic (mountain pine beetle), completed by March 2011. resources from catastrophic wildfire. creating a landscape condition more ADDRESSES: Send written comments to This project is focused on adapted to fire and that reduces Robert J. Thompson, District Ranger, implementing management actions that potential for high severity wildfire near Black Hills National Forest, Mystic move toward achieving: • at-risk communities and in the Ranger District, Pactola Project Area, Desired conditions and objectives wildland-urban interface. The proposal 8221 South Highway 16, Rapid City, embodied in Goals 2, 3, 7, and 10 of the is being planned for the 26,017 acre Forest Plan (as amended). South Dakota 57702. Telephone • Pactola Project Area that includes about Number: (605) 343–1567. E-mail: Goals and objectives applicable to 24,863 acres of National Forest System Forest Plan Management Area (MA) comments-rocky-mountain-black-hills- ∼ land and about 1,154 acres of [email protected] with ‘‘Pactola’’ as the 2.2—Research Natural Areas ( 548 interspersed private land. The project subject. Electronic comments must be acres); MA 3.7—Late Successional area lies west of Pactola Lake and Forest Landscape (∼1,268 acres); MA 5.1 readable in Word, Rich Text or PDF ∼ approximately 10 miles west of Rapid formats. Resource Production Emphasis ( 5,755 City, SD. This project will be conducted acres); MA 5.3A; MA 5.4—Big Game as an authorized project under Section FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If Winter Range Emphasis (∼12,201 acres); 102 of the Healthy Forests Restoration you have any questions or need and MA 8.2 Developed Recreation Act of 2003 (HFRA). Actions proposed additional information, please contact Complexes (∼5,071 acres), that lie for the Pactola Project Area include the Katie Van Alstyne, Team Leader or within Pactola Project Area, described following: Robert J. Thompson, District Ranger, at in Chapter III of the Forest Plan (Phase • Thin and harvest approximately the Mystic Ranger District office in II Amendment). 8,566 acres of pine stands using a Rapid City at (605) 343–1567. • Goals of the Healthy Forest variety of methods to treat mountain SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 (HR pine beetle (MPB) infested stands, actions proposed are in direct response 1904) and other National level reduce the overall density of pine trees to management direction provided by initiatives and policy that provide and create a mosaic of structural stages the Black Hills National Forest Land procedural tools to hasten processes across the landscape. Both commercial and Resource Management Plan (Forest focused on reducing insects or disease harvest and non-commercial thinning Plan). The site specific actions are on public and adjacent private lands, will be used to reduce the stand density, designed, based on Forest Plan and reducing the probability and and associated fuel hazard conditions Standards and Guidelines, to move occurrence of severe wildfire in the fire and susceptibility to mountain pine existing resource conditions in the adapted ecosystems, especially near at beetle infestations. Pactola Project Area toward meeting risk communities and in the wildland- • Reduce the amount of fuels that Forest Plan Goals and Objectives. The urban interface. Moreover, it is currently exists and that created by project area lies west of Pactola Lake appropriate that proposed actions be VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:01 Aug 06, 2010 Jkt 220001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\09AUN1.SGM 09AUN1 sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES 47756 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 152 / Monday, August 9, 2010 / Notices designed in consideration of the fuels interested public beginning in the statement. Reviewers may wish to hazard reduction management November 2010. refer to the Council on Environmental recommendations and guidelines Quality Regulations for implementing Comment Requested provided by the Pennington County the procedural provisions of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan of This notice of intent provides National Environmental Policy Act at 40 2007. information that the agency will prepare CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. an environmental impact statement in Proposed Action Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; response to public comment and Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section Proposed actions include the feedback during the August 2010, 21. following: scoping period. Comments received will Dated: July 27, 2010. • Thin and harvest approximately assist the planning team to develop the 8,556 acres of pine stands using a mailing list for the draft EIS and help Craig Bobzien, variety of methods to treat MPB infested identify key issues and opportunities Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest. stands, reduce the overall density of used to refine the proposal or possible [FR Doc. 2010–19532 Filed 8–6–10; 8:45 am] pine trees and create a mosaic of alternative and mitigation measures. BILLING CODE 3410–11–P structural stages across the landscape. Comments on the DEIS will be Both commercial and non-commercial requested during the 45 day comment sized trees would be removed utilizing period following the Notice of DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Availability, expected to be published multiple contracts including Rural Utilities Service stewardship, timber sale, and service in the Federal Register in November contracts. 2010 (See discussion below). Announcement of Grant Application • Disrupt the continuity of surface Early Notice of Importance of Public Deadlines and Funding Levels for the and canopy fuels to help reduce the Participation in Subsequent Assistance to High Energy Cost Rural potential for large-scale, intense wildfire Environmental Review Communities spread. Treatment could include thinning, lopping, chipping, crushing, The Forest Service believes, at this AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. piling, and burning; restoring natural early stage, it is important to give ACTION: Notice of funding availability fuel breaks by removing conifers that reviewers notice of several court rulings (NOFA). have encroached upon meadows and related to public participation in the SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service hardwood stands on approximately environmental review process. First, (RUS), an agency of the United States 1,562 acres; creating fuel breaks along reviewers of draft environmental impact Department of Agriculture (USDA), roads and adjacent to private property— statements must structure their announces the availability of $15.5 particularly those properties with participation in the environmental million