HomeMy WebLinkAbout20041323.tiff United States Forest Pawnee 660"O"Street
Department of WELD gY National Greeley,CO 80526-2098
Agriculture Grassland (970)353-5004
lag APR. 33 Ali 9: t#3
File Code: 1950
RECER/ED Date: April 29, 2004
Dear Interested Party:
I would like your input concerning Allotment Management Plan development and subsequent
modification of the Pawnee Cooperative Grazing Association Grazing Agreement on the east
side of the Pawnee National Grassland via an Environmental Assessment. This purpose of this
Assessment is to determine whether or not to continue to authorize livestock grazing on the east
side of the Pawnee National Grassland (Pawnee Unit). The proposed action will provide
environmental analysis for updated management alternatives regarding grazing approximately
3800-4000 head of cattle on 42 summer and 44 winter, on-off, and isolated direct allotments
currently administered by the Pawnee Cooperative Grazing Association and the United States
Forest Service (USFS). This analysis area includes approximately 91,000 acres in a highly
dispersed or"checkerboard" land setting. (Please see map at the end of this document.)
The National Grassland undertook a similar effort in 2002 for the West Side unit. The East Side
assessment will be tiered to this document and comments previously received and incorporated
from the public during the West Side analysis that included USFS involvement with the
Colorado Department of Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service,private landowners,grazing
permittees, research affiliates and the Central Plains and Long Term Ecological Research
Stations will be included during the development of management alternatives.We also plan to
conduct a cost/benefit analysis for the alternatives.
Following a decision document, updated standards and mitigation measures would be added to
the Grazing Agreement and the Allotment Management Plans to meet the requirements of the
1997 Arapaho/Roosevelt/Pawnee Forest Plan including the National Forests Management Act,
Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and National Historic Preservation Act, National
Environmental Policy Act, and the Recision Act of 1995. The Recision act stipulated that the
Forest Service complete an environmental analysis on all of its grazing allotments within 15
years to evaluate the environmental effects of livestock grazing.
The affected area of this planning effort also includes 14 allotments not included under the
Grazing Agreement with the Pawnee Cooperative Grazing Association. The average size of
these allotments is 160 acres. These small parcels are generally incorporated as part of a larger
allotment that is predominantly in private ownership. The Direct Grazing Permits on these
allotments will also be modified, if necessary, to reflect any changes set forth by the Allotment
Management Plans.
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An interdisciplinary team of resource specialists will conduct an analysis of the proposed action
under the guidance of the National Environmental Policy Act. Briefly stated, this team, with
involvement from the public, will identify issues that are significant to the proposed action,
develop alternatives to the proposed action, and analyze the effects of each alternative in an
Environmental Assessment. *Please note: Although mountain plover and black-tailed prairie
dogs were addressed in depth in the Crow Valley Environmental Assessment via many public
meetings,response to public comments, a Biological Assessment and a Biological Evaluation,
this document is not a Plover Management Plan Assessment or a Prairie Dog Management Plan
Assessment. Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive and Rare species will be evaluated with respect
to their interaction with the proposed action and the management alternatives.
Comments with specific issues and concerns related to the proposed action will be the most
helpful. If you have questions,please call Maggie Marston at(970)-353-5004. Thank you for
your interest in grazing management on your National Grasslands. Your input is welcome and
necessary to be certain this effort includes the issues and environmental alternatives that will
allow the USFS to effectively steward the Pawnee Unit. Hard-copy replies are the preferred
method of response.
Please send your comments or your desire to be included in the official 30-day comment period
by May 24, 2004 to:
Pawnee National Grassland
660 O Street
Greeley,CO 80631
Attn. Maggie Marston
Comments received in response to the future solicitation during the official 30-day comment
period, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the
public record for this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments
submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous
comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Part 215.
Additionally,pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the agency to withhold a
submission from the public record by showing how the Freedom of Information Act(FOIA)
permits such confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that,under
the FOIA,confidentiality may be granted in only very limited circumstances, such as to protect
trade secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the
request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the agency will return the submission
and notify the requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and
address.
STEVEN R. CURREY
District Ranger
PAWNEE NATIONAL GRASSLAND
EAST SIDE CATTLE GRAZING ALLOTMENTS
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