Notice of Availability of the Bog Creek Road Project Final Records of Decision

Robert Janson
Department of Homeland Security
Jeanne Higgins
Department of Agriculture
7 February 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7320-7321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02466]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Notice of Availability of the Bog Creek Road Project Final 
Records of Decision

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland

[[Page 7321]]

Security and U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Records of Decision concerning 
the repair and maintenance of Bog Creek Road and closure of certain 
roads within the Blue-Grass Bear Management Unit to comply with the 
Land Management Plan for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (Forest 
Plan) for Motorized Access Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-
Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones in the Selkirk Mountains in Boundary 
County, Idaho.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Forest 
Service (Forest Service) Idaho Panhandle National Forests announce the 
availability of the Bog Creek Road Project Final Records of Decision 
(ROD). The CBP ROD addresses the decision to approve the funding for 
and implement the repair and maintenance of Bog Creek Road. The Forest 
Service ROD addresses the decisions to: Approve CBP's repair and 
maintenance of Bog Creek Road for administrative use; and, implement 
actions to establish grizzly bear core area habitat within the Blue-
Grass Bear Management Unit and to meet the objectives of the Land 
Management Plan for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (Forest Plan) 
for Motorized Access Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak 
Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the CBP ROD and Forest Service ROD are 
available at https://www.cbp.gov/document/environmental-assessments/bog-creek-road-project-environmental-impact-statement and https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=41296.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Zidron, Real Estate and 
Environmental Branch Chief, CBP, Border Patrol and Air and Marine 
Program Management Office, by telephone at 949-643-6392, or email at 
joseph.zidron@cbp.dhs.gov or Kim Pierson, Deputy Forest Supervisor, 
Forest Service, IPNF, by telephone at 208-765-7220, or email at 
kim.pierson@usda.gov. Persons who require assistance accessing 
information should contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 
Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD) or contact USDA through 
the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and 
the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) Idaho Panhandle National 
Forests have decided to implement a road repair, maintenance, and 
motorized closure project in the Continental Mountain area of the Idaho 
Panhandle National Forests within the Bonners Ferry and Priest Lake 
Ranger Districts (the Bog Creek Road Project).\1\ The Bog Creek Road 
Project has two objectives: (1) To provide improved east-west access 
for administrative use to this section of the U.S.-Canada border across 
the Selkirk Mountains, and (2) to meet grizzly bear motorized access 
standards within the Blue-Grass Bear Management Unit (BMU) of the 
Selkirk Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone in order to comply with the Land 
Management Plan for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (Forest Plan) 
for Motorized Access Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak 
Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones.
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    \1\ These decisions are being made pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the 
President's Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
Implementing the NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), DHS Directive 023-
01, Revision 01, and Instruction 023-01-001-01, Revision 01, and CBP 
and Forest Service NEPA guidelines.
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    A Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bog Creek Road 
Project was issued on February 15, 2019. The Final EIS identified and 
assessed potential impacts upon the environment of: Repairing and 
maintaining an approximately 5.6-mile section of the existing Bog Creek 
Road, which is located in the Selkirk Mountains in Boundary County, 
Idaho, within approximately two miles of the Canadian border, on land 
within the Blue-Grass BMU that is managed by the Forest Service; and to 
manage roads within the Blue-Grass BMU to reduce total road density and 
provide core habitat in order to comply with the Land Management Plan 
for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (Forest Plan) for Motorized 
Access Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear 
Recovery Zones.

Forest Service Pre-Decisional Administrative Review (``Objection'') 
Process

    This project is subject to 36 CFR part 218, subparts A and B of the 
Forest Service's Project-level Pre-decisional Administrative Review 
Process. Pursuant to these regulations, those who provided timely and 
specific written comments regarding the proposed project during a 
comment period were eligible to file an objection to the Final EIS and 
the Forest Service's Draft ROD with the Forest Service. On February 15, 
2019, the Forest Service published a legal notice in the newspaper of 
record, the Coeur d'Alene Press, announcing the commencement of the 
objection filing period and providing instructions for filing 
objections. The objection filing period began on February 15, 2019, and 
ended on April 2, 2019.
    Ten valid objections were received during the objection filing 
period. The Forest Service responsible official and objection review 
officer met with objectors between May 28, 2019 and June 4, 2019. On 
June 14, 2019, the Forest Service objection review officer issued 
written responses to persons who filed objections. The objections 
raised multiple issues and these were discussed and addressed during 
the administrative review process. Ultimately, the objection review 
officer found the Bog Creek Road Project to be in compliance with all 
applicable laws and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests Plan.

The Final Records of Decisions

    The Final RODs, summarized below, were developed through 
collaboration among CBP, the Forest Service, stakeholders, and the 
public. They meet the goals and objectives established for the project 
and other resource needs.
    The CBP ROD addresses the decision to approve the funding for and 
implement the repair and maintenance of Bog Creek Road. The Forest 
Service Final ROD consists of three components: (1) Road repair and 
maintenance of Bog Creek Road and change in motorized use designation; 
(2) change in motorized use designation for Blue Joe Creek Road and 
roads along the eastern approach to Bog Creek Road to accommodate some 
seasonal public access and to provide for private landowner and 
livestock grazing permittee access; and (3) motorized closure of 
selected seasonally restricted Forest Service roads. Detailed 
descriptions of the elements of the final decisions can be found in the 
Final CBP ROD and the Final Forest Service ROD. Information about how 
to review these decisions is set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.

    Dated: February 4, 2020.
Robert Janson,
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Facilities and Asset 
Management, Office of Enterprise Services, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection.
Jeanne Higgins,
Forest Supervisor, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, U.S. Forest 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-02466 Filed 2-6-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-14-P