Gila National Forest; Revision of the Land Management Plan for the Gila National Forest

AGENCY:

Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION:

Notice of opportunity to object to the revised Land Management Plan and the Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern for the Gila National Forest.

SUMMARY:

The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is revising the Gila National Forest's Land Management Plan (Plan). The Forest Service has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for its revised Plan and a draft Record of Decision (ROD). This notice is to inform the public that the Gila National Forest is initiating a 60-day period where individuals or entities with specific concerns about the Gila National Forest's revised Plan and the associated FEIS may file objections for Forest Service review prior to the approval of the revised Plan. This is also an opportunity to object to the Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern for the Gila National Forest.

DATES:

The Gila National Forest's revised Plan, FEIS, draft ROD, species of conservation concern list, and other supporting information will be available for review at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/gila/?project=51887. The publication date of the legal notice in the Gila National Forest's newspaper of record, Silver City Daily Press, initiates the 60-day objection period and is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection (36 CFR 219.52(c)(5)). An electronic scan of the legal notice with the publication date will be posted at the link above.

ADDRESSES:

Copies of the Gila National Forest's revised Plan, FEIS, draft ROD, and Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern for the Gila National Forest can be obtained online at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/gila/?project=51887, or at the following office: Gila National Forest Supervisor's Office, 3005 E Camino del Bosque, Silver City, NM 88061, Phone: (575) 388-8201.

Objections must be submitted to the Objection Reviewing Officer by one of the following methods:

• Electronic submissions via the project web page at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=51887 are preferred. Electronic submissions (including all attachments) must be submitted in a format (word (.doc or .docx), rich text format (.rtf), text (.txt), portable document format (.pdf), and/or hypertext markup language (.html)) that is readable and searchable with optical character recognition software.
• Via regular mail, carrier, or hand delivery to the following address: USDA-Forest Service Southwest Region, ATTN: Objection Reviewing Officer, 333 Broadway Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The office hours for submitting a hand-delivered objection are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jenny Rasmussen, Natural Resource Planner, at (575) 388-8483 or SM.FS.gilaplan@usda.gov.

Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The decision to approve the revised Plan for the Gila National Forest and the Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern for the Gila National Forest will be subject to the objection process identified in 36 CFR part 219 subpart B (219.50 to 219.62). Per 36 CFR 219.53 only individuals and entities who have submitted substantive formal comments related to a plan revision during the opportunities for public comment that are attributable to the objector may file an objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment.

How To File an Objection

Objectors must be submitted to the Reviewing Officer at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Please be explicit as to whether the objection is to the “Gila National Forest Plan Revision” or the `Regional Forester's list of Species of Conservation Concern for the Gila National Forest”. An objection must include the following (36 CFR 219.54(c)):

(1) The objector's name and address along with a telephone number or email address if available. In cases where no identifiable name is attached to an objection, the Forest Service will attempt to verify the identity of the objector to confirm objection eligibility;

(2) Signature or other verification of authorship upon request (a scanned signature for electronic mail may be filed with the objection);

(3) Identification of the lead objector when multiple names are listed on an objection. The Forest Service will communicate to all parties to an objection through the lead objector. Verification of the identity of the lead objector must also be provided if requested;

(4) The name of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision being objected to, and the name and title of the responsible official;

(5) A statement of the issues and/or parts of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision to which the objection applies;

(6) A concise statement explaining the objection and suggesting how the draft plan decision may be improved. If the objector believes that the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is inconsistent with law, regulation, or policy, an explanation should be included;

(7) A statement that demonstrates the link between the objector's prior substantive formal comments and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment; and

(8) All documents referenced in the objection (a bibliography is not sufficient), except the following need not be provided:

a. All or any part of a Federal law or regulation,

b. Forest Service Directive System documents and land management plans or other published Forest Service documents,

c. Documents referenced by the Forest Service in the planning documentation related to the proposal subject to objection, and

d. Formal comments previously provided to the Forest Service by the objector during the proposed plan, plan amendment, or plan revision comment period.

It is the responsibility of the objector to ensure that the Reviewing Officer receives the objection in a timely manner. The regulations generally prohibit extending the length of the objection filing period (36 CFR 219.56(d)). However, when the time period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday, the time is extended to the end of the next Federal working day (11:59 p.m. for objections filed by electronic means such as email) (36 CFR 219.56).

Responsible Official

The responsible official who will approve the Record of Decision and the revised Plan for the Gila National Forest is Forest Supervisor Camille Howes, Gila National Forest Supervisor's Office, 3005 E Camino del Bosque, Silver City, NM 88061, Phone: (575) 388-8201. The responsible official for the list of species of conservation concern is Michiko Martin, Regional Forester, USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, 333 Broadway Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102.

The Regional Forester is the reviewing officer for the revised Plan since the Forest Supervisor is the responsible official (36 CFR 219.56(e)). Objection review of the Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern will be subject to a separate objection process from the objection review of the Forest Plan. The Chief of the Forest Service is the reviewing officer for species of conservation concern identification since the Regional Forester is the responsible official (36 CFR 219.56(e)(2)).

This authority may be delegated to an individual Deputy Chief or Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, consistent with delegations of authority provided in the Forest Service Manual at sections 1235.4 and 1235.5.