Notice2023-10638
Notice of Intent To Publish for Public Comment Proposed Permanent Hunting Order in the Wall Ranger District of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 19, 2023
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
The Forest Service (Forest Service or Agency), United States Department of Agriculture, is giving notice of its intent to publish for public comment a proposed permanent order prohibiting prairie dog hunting on 106,568.5 acres of the Wall Ranger District in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. At the end of the advance notice period, the Forest Service will seek public comments, as specified in this notice, on the proposed permanent hunting order.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32178-32179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10638]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Intent To Publish for Public Comment Proposed Permanent
Hunting Order in the Wall Ranger District of the Buffalo Gap National
Grassland
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (Forest Service or Agency), United States
Department of Agriculture, is giving notice of its intent to publish
for public comment a proposed permanent order prohibiting prairie dog
hunting on 106,568.5 acres of the Wall Ranger District in the Buffalo
Gap National Grassland. At the end of the advance notice period, the
Forest Service will seek public comments, as specified in this notice,
on the proposed permanent hunting order.
DATES: Advance notice of the opportunity to provide public comment on
the proposed permanent hunting order is being provided until May 26,
2023. Beginning on May 26, 2023, the Forest Service will accept
comments on the proposed permanent hunting order for 60 days. The
notice of opportunity for public comment will be posted on the Nebraska
National Forests and Grasslands (NNFG) web page at <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices">www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices</a>.
ADDRESSES: The proposed permanent hunting order, the justification for
the proposed permanent order, and map are posted on the Forest
Service's Regulations and Policies web page at <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies">www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Johndreau, Recreation Program
Manager, 308-432-0330 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2c46594045490246434442485e494d596c595f484d024b435a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f49e81989d91da9e9b9c9a9086919581b481879095da939b82">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf and hard of hearing may call the
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the
year, including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Advance Notice and Public Comment Procedures
Section 4103 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management,
and Recreation Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-9, title IV, (Sportsmen's
Access and Related Access)), hereinafter ``the Dingell Act,'' requires
the Forest Service to provide advance notice and opportunity for public
comment before temporarily or permanently closing any National Forest
System lands to hunting, fishing, or recreational
[[Page 32179]]
shooting. Section 4103 applies to the proposed permanent order
prohibiting prairie dog hunting on 106,568.5 acres of the Wall Ranger
District in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. This notice meets the
requirement in section 4103 to publish a notice of intent in the
Federal Register in advance of the public comment period.
Following the notice of intent, section 4103(b)(2) of the Dingell
Act requires an opportunity for public comment on proposed temporary or
permanent hunting, fishing, or recreational shooting orders. Because
the proposed order would permanently prohibit prairie dog hunting on
106,568.5 acres of Wall Ranger District in the Buffalo Gap National
Grassland, the public comment period must be at least 60 days.
Beginning on May 26, 2023, the Forest Service will accept public
comments on the proposed permanent order for 60 days. The notice of
opportunity for public comment will be posted on the NNFG's web page at
<a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices">www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices</a>.
Section 4103(b)(2) of the Dingell Act requires the Forest Service
to respond to public comments received on the proposed permanent order
before issuing a final permanent order, including an explanation of how
any significant issues raised by the comments were resolved and, if
applicable, how resolution of those issues affected the proposed
permanent order or the justification for the proposed permanent order.
The final permanent order, the justification for the final permanent
order, and the response to comments on the proposed permanent order
will be posted on the NNFG's web page at <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices">www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nebraska/alerts-notices</a>.
Background and Need
The proposed permanent order would implement a requirement in the
Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands (NNFG) 2001 Revised Land and
Resource Management Plan (LRMP), as amended in 2005 and 2008, to
prohibit prairie dog hunting on 106,568.5 acres of Management Area 3.63
in the Wall Ranger District of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The
effects of this prohibition were analyzed in the environmental impact
statements for the 2001 LRMP and its subsequent amendments. The purpose
of the LRMP direction and the proposed permanent order is to maintain
quality ferret habitat with a sufficient food source (prairie dogs),
prevent incidental take of the endangered black-footed ferret, and
protect the safety of the Agency's personnel and contractors as they
study and manage the ferrets.
The proposed permanent order, the justification for the proposed
permanent order, and map are posted on the Forest Service's Regulations
and Policies web page at <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies">www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies</a>.
Dated: April 7, 2023.
Jacqueline Emanuel,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2023-10638 Filed 5-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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