[Federal Register: January 27, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 17)]
[Notices]
[Page 4340-4342]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ja10-38]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Plan Revision for the Coronado National Forest, Cochise, Graham,
Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz Counties, AZ; and Hidalgo County, NM
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to revise the forest plan.
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SUMMARY: As directed by the National Forest Management Act, the USDA
Forest Service is preparing the Coronado National Forest revised land
management plan (Forest Plan) and will also prepare an environmental
impact statement (EIS) for this revised Forest Plan. This notice
briefly describes the nature of the decision to be made, the proposed
action and need for change, and information concerning public
participation. It also provides estimated dates for filing the EIS and
the names and addresses of the responsible agency official and the
individuals who can provide additional information. Finally, this
notice briefly describes the applicable planning rule and how work done
on the plan revision under the 2008 planning rule will be used or
modified for completing this plan revision.
The revised Forest Plan will supersede the current Forest Plan
previously approved by the Regional Forester on August 4, 1986. The
current Forest Plan has been modified through eleven amendments and
three change notices since its approval. Amendments included:
Establishing new management areas, adding and modifying management
direction for fire, caves, cultural resources, roads, and trails, and
adding direction for the Mexican spotted owl, the northern goshawk, and
old growth. This current amended Forest Plan will remain in effect
until the revised Forest Plan takes effect.
DATES: Comments concerning the need for change provided in this notice
will be most useful in the development of the draft revised Forest Plan
and draft environmental impact statement if received by February 19,
2010. The agency expects to release a draft revised Forest Plan and
draft environmental impact statement for formal comment by fall, 2010
and a final revised Plan and final environmental impact statement by
fall, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Coronado National Forest, Forest
Plan Revision Team, 300 W. Congress, Tucson, Arizona 85701. Comments
may also be sent via e-mail to: coronado-plan@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Ruyle, Forest Planner,
Coronado National Forest, 300 W. Congress, Tucson, AZ 85701, (520) 388-
8351, coronado-plan@fs.fed.us. Information on this revision is also
available at Coronado National Forest revision Web site, http://
www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/plan-revision/index.shtmi. Individuals who
use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8
p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Name and Address of the Responsible Official
Corbin Newman, Regional Forester, Southwestern Region, 333
Broadway, SE., Albuquerque, NM 87102.
[[Page 4341]]
Nature of the Decision To Be Made
The Coronado National Forest (Forest) is preparing an ETS to revise
the current Forest Plan. The EIS process is meant to inform the
Regional Forester so that he can decide which alternative best meets
the need to achieve quality land and resource management under a
sustainable multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs
of people while protecting the Forests' resources, as required by the
National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and the Multiple Use Sustained
Yield Act (MUYSA).
The revised Forest Plan will describe the strategic intent of
managing the Forest into the next 10 to 15 years, and will address the
need for change described below. The revised Forest Plan will provide
management direction in the form of goals (desired conditions),
objectives, suitability determinations, standards, guidelines, and a
monitoring plan. It may also make new special area recommendations for
wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, research natural areas, and other
special areas.
For clarification of the decisions to be made in a Forest Plan, it
is useful to identify of the types of decisions that will not be made
within it. Authorizations of project level activities are not decisions
that are made in the Forest Plan. Project level activities are approved
through subsequent project specific decisionmaking.
Need for Change and Proposed Action
The needs for change and proposed actions are organized into five
revision topics: 1. Ecosystem Restoration, 2. Safety and Information,
3. Public Access and Travel Patterns, 4. Preservation of Open Space,
and 5. Collaboration and Partnerships. For each of the revision topics,
there are proposals for the revised Forest Plan to make changes in plan
components, as described below:
Revision Topic 1. Ecosystem Restoration
Need for Change
Current Forest Plan direction recognizes and supports the need for
species diversity, ecosystem sustainability, and restoration of desired
ecosystem characteristics. However, rates and effectiveness of
treatments will need to increase if vegetation communities and species
diversity are to be sustained. Management direction is needed that
integrates restoration of degraded ecosystems, wildlife habitat
conservation, fire ecology, hazardous fuels reduction, and current
ecological threats, including invasive species and climate change.
Proposed Action
Develop goal (desired condition) statements that provide
adequate guidance for sustaining and restoring ecosystems using new
scientific knowledge and updated language.
Provide direction to guide future vegetation management
activities, including burning and mechanical treatments, to move
towards or maintain desired conditions.
Include appropriate standards and guidelines to provide
direction to ensure species diversity and viability across the planning
area.
Integrate plan components, where possible, to reflect the
interconnectedness between physical and biological resources.
Include objectives and guidelines that reflect systematic
observation and analysis of treatment results, and adaptation of
treatment methods based on those results.
Address the emerging issue of climate change by
incorporating adaptive management strategies and describing ecological
conditions that are resilient to change.
Develop Forest Plan components for sustaining aquatic
habitats that are at risk.
Facilitate the understanding of management needs for each
mountain range by developing place-based geographic area Forest Plan
components.
Reevaluate and update the list of Management Indicator
Species (MIS). MIS are species whose population changes are believed to
indicate the effects of management activities.
Revision Topic 2. Safety and Information
Need for Change
The social environment surrounding the Forest has changed
significantly since the 1986 Forest Plan was completed. Although the
current Forest Plan anticipates negative impacts associated with
regional population growth and increased urbanization, it does not
identify strategies for sustaining forest resources and experiences
affected by these pressures. Impacts from illegal activity associated
with the international border region are not addressed at all. Improved
management direction is needed that leads to increased public awareness
about the impacts of recreational activities, and of the hazards
associated with the border region.
Proposed Action
Develop Land Use Zones based on the suitability of various
recreational uses to guide management that will sustain the Forest
resources and experiences in the face of changes in population,
behavior, and increased development.
Develop place-based geographic area plan components to
guide management to address the unique challenges in the international
border region.
Revision Topic 3. Public Access and Travel Patterns
Need for Change
Rapid growth of populations in Arizona and New Mexico has led to a
much greater demand for public access to National Forest System lands.
The need for additional permanent legal access to the Forest is
identified as an issue in the current Forest Plan. Although progress
has been made toward the goal of increasing the number of permanent
legal access points, the issue has become more complicated. Updated
management direction is needed that emphasizes a coordinated,
collaborative approach to establishing adequate and appropriate
permanent legal access for public and administrative use.
Proposed Action
Update goals (desired conditions) and objectives to
emphasize and prioritize the establishment of permanent legal access
for public and administrative use.
Revision Topic 4. Preservation of Open Space
Need for Change
Preservation of open space is a particularly important land use
issue given both the public's desire to maintain the ``rural
character'' of southern Arizona and New Mexico lands and the need to
accommodate rapidly growing populations and municipalities. This issue
is not addressed in the current Forest Plan. Management direction is
needed that addresses the sustainability of undeveloped landscapes
within the Forest boundary and emphasizes coordination with adjacent
landowners to protect open space.
Proposed Action
Develop desired condition statements that reflect the role
of Forest management in preserving open space.
Develop guidelines, based on the Scenery Management
System, to protect scenic natural landscapes.
Develop plan components that are reflective of county and
community land use planning efforts.
[[Page 4342]]
Revision Topic 5. Collaboration and Partnerships
Need for Change
In recent years the Forest Service has placed increasing priority
on the social relationships between National Forest personnel and
members of surrounding communities. The current Forest Plan does not
reflect this priority. Management direction is needed that recognizes
the importance of collaboration and partnerships as tools for achieving
both Forest Plan and community goals.
Proposed Action
Develop desired conditions that reflect outcomes defined
through collaborative processes.
Integrate management direction for traditional uses and
cultural resources throughout the revised Forest Plan. Reference:
Comprehensive Evaluation Report (http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/plan-
revision/plan-revision-documents.shtml)
Public Involvement
Public involvement with the Plan revision process began in spring
of 2005, when focus groups were conducted in locations across
southeastern Arizona to quantify attitudes, values and beliefs toward
Coronado NF lands. In April of 2006, Regional Forester hosted a
question and answer session for the public in Tucson to initiate the
plan revision process for the National Forests in Arizona. Then, in
June 2006, six public workshops were held in communities around the
Forest with the purpose of establishing relationships and determining
the needs for changing the current Forest Plan. These were followed by
workshops in September 2006, with the purpose of prioritizing the
previously identified needs for change. In September and October 2007,
seven workshops, again geographically distributed, were held to begin
developing ``Desired Condition Statements'' based on the previously
identified priority needs for change. Most recently, in November 2008,
seven open house events were held in geographic locations across the
Forest with the purpose of presenting initial draft Forest Plan
products to the public, including draft Desired Condition Statements
and draft Land Use Zone maps. Future public meetings are anticipated to
provide a discussion forum for the draft revised Plan as it is
developed. Future formal public comment opportunities will occur when a
draft revised Plan is available for review (anticipated to be in the
spring of 2010), and when a proposed Plan and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement are available for review (anticipated to be in the
fall of 2010).
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such a way that they are useful to the Agency's preparation of
the revised plan and the EIS. Therefore, comments on the proposed
action and need for change described in this notice will be most
valuable if received by February 19, 2010, and they should clearly
articulate the reviewers' concerns. The submission of timely and
specific comments can affect a reviewer's ability to participate in
subsequent administrative or judicial review. At this time, we
anticipate using the 2000 planning rule pre-decisional objection
process (36 CFR 219.32) for administrative review. Comments received in
response to this solicitation, including the names and addresses of
those who comment will be part of the public record. Comments submitted
anonymously will be accepted and considered.
Applicable Planning Rule
Preparation of the revised plan was underway when the 2008 National
Forest System land management planning rule was enjoined on June 30,
2009, by the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California (Citizens for Better Forestry v. United States Department of
Agriculture, 632 F. Supp. 2d 968 (N.D. Cal. June 30, 2009)). On
December 18, 2009, the Department reinstated the previous planning
rule, commonly known as the 2000 planning rule in the Federal Register
(Federal Register, Volume 74, No. 242, Friday, December 18, 2009, pages
67059 through 67075). The transition provisions of the reinstated rule
(36 CFR 219.35 and appendices A and B) allow use of the provisions of
the National Forest System land and resource management planning rule
in effect prior to the effective date of the 2000 rule (November 9,
2000), commonly known as the 1982 planning rule, to amend or revise
Forest Plans. The Coronado National Forest has elected to use the
provisions of the 1982 planning rule, including the requirement to
prepare an EIS, to complete its plan revision.
The Coronado National Forest commenced activities preparing for
revising the Plan in the spring of 2005. Plan revision was formally
initiated under the 2008 planning rule on June 22, 2009, with
publication of a Notice of Initiation to Revise the Coronado National
Forest's Land and Resource Management Plan (74 FR 29467, June 22,
2009). Although the 2008 planning rule is no longer in effect,
information gathered prior to the court's injunction is useful for
completing the plan revision using the provisions of the 1982 planning
rule. The Coronado National Forest has concluded that the following
material developed during the plan revision process to date is
appropriate for continued use in the revision process:
The inventory and evaluation of potential wilderness areas
that were previously underway, are consistent with appropriate
provisions of the 1982 planning rule, and will be brought forward into
this plan revision process.
The Comprehensive Evaluation Report (CER) that was
published in April of 2009 after substantial public collaboration forms
the basis for need to change the existing Forest Plan and the proposed
action for the plan revision.
The CER Supplementary document, which augmented the CER
with additional information to conform with the Analysis of Management
Situation need for change provisions of the 1982 planning rule.
The Ecological Sustainability Report that was completed in
February 2009 and will continue to be used as a reference in the
planning process as appropriate to those items in conformance with the
2000 planning rule transition language and 1982 planning rule
provisions. This is scientific information and is not affected by the
change of planning rule. This information will be updated with any new
available information.
The Social and Economic Sustainability Report that was
completed in November 2008 is not affected by the change in planning
rule and will continue to be used as a reference in the planning
process. This information will be updated with any new available
information.
All of these background documents, and more, can be found at http:/
/www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/plan-revision/plan-revision-documents.shtml.
These documents are not affected by the change of planning rule. As
necessary or appropriate, the above listed material will be further
adjusted as part of the planning process using the provisions of the
1982 planning rule.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1600-1614; 36 CFR 219.35 (74 FR 67073-67074))
Dated: January 11, 2010.
Jeanine Derby,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2010-1162 Filed 1-26-10; 8:45 am]
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