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Middle Fork John Day Range Planning on the Blue Mountain and Prairie City Ranger Districts; Malheur National Forest; Grant Count, OR

 [Federal Register: August 19, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 160)]
[Notices]
[Page 53773]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19au02-27]

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Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
appearing in this section.

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[[Page 53773]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

 
Middle Fork John Day Range Planning on the Blue Mountain and 
Prairie City Ranger Districts; Malheur National Forest; Grant Count, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: On February 25, 1999, the USDA Forest Service published a 
Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register (64 FR 9305) to prepare 
an environmental impact statement (EIS) to update range management 
planning on 8 livestock grazing allotments which will result in the 
development of new Allotment Management Plans (AMPs). The Forest 
Service is revising the name of the analysis, the proposed action, the 
dates the EIS is expected to be available for public review and 
comment, and the release of the final EIS.
    The revised NOI changes the name of this project to reflect an 
official change in Ranger District names. The new project name replaces 
Long Creek/Bear Valley Ranger District with Blue Mountain Ranger 
District. The revised proposed action includes constructing or 
reconstructing 12 additional water developments and 31 additional miles 
of fence across the project area. It also added repairing an irrigation 
ditch and relocating unit fences in Camp Creek allotment. The revised 
proposed action would adjust three allotments in the following ways--
the number of units in the Lower Middle Fork allotment would be 
increased from five to seven units; the Austin allotment would be 
incorporated into the Upper Middle Fork Allotment and used as a 
holding/gathering pasture (rather than eliminated and fences removed); 
in addition, 80 acres of the Austin Allotment within the Middle Fork 
John Day River riparian zone would be excluded from livestock grazing 
(to reduce potential effects to aquatic species). The revised proposed 
action no longer involves eradication of noxious weeds. This activity 
will be analyzed in a Region 6 EIS and has been analyzed in a Malheur 
National Forest Environmental Assessment. Additionally, 5,m000 acres of 
prescribed burning to improve forage production and some fence and 
cattleguard construction has already been completed and will no longer 
be included in the revised proposed action.
    Management actions are planned to be implemented beginning in the 
year 2004. The revised date of filing the draft EIS is January 2003, 
and the revised date of filing the final EIS is June 2003.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this revised analysis should be 
received in writing by September 16, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Forest Supervisor, Malheur 
National Forest, 431 Patterson Bridge Road, PO Box 909, John Day, 
Oregon 97845.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Scheutz, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Malheur National Forest, 431 Patterson Bridge Road, PO Box 909, 
John Day, Oregon 97845, phone: (541) 575-3000, or TTD: (541) 575-3089.

    Dated: August 12, 2002.
Robert W. Williams,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-20946 Filed 8-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M

 
 

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