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LEGAL NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT

USDA Forest Service

Idaho City Ranger District, Boise National Forest

Heart of Gold #2 Mining Project, Plan of Operations

The Idaho City Ranger District of the Boise National Forest is initiating an objection period on a proposal to continue and slightly expand an existing placer mining operation in Boise County, Idaho, called the Heart of Gold #2 Mining Project. The Responsible Official for this decision is Joshua Newman, Idaho City District Ranger.

The need for action is established by the responsibility of the U.S. Forest Service under the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended, and the agency’s locatable mineral regulations (Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 228 (36 CFR 228) Subpart A). In accordance with 36 CFR 228.5, the Forest Service must analyze and provide a timely response to the submittal of a Plan of Operations. The proposed action would be a continuation and slight expansion of previous operations. Operations would continue with the same equipment and facilities on 5 acres over a period of 5 years. Proposed activities would occur in the same location as the previous project (a Categorical Exclusion), the Heart of Gold Mining Exploration Project, for which a signed decision was published in August of 2017. For this current project, the Forest Service has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) and draft Finding of No Significant Impacts (FONSI).

For more detailed information on the proposed actions, the EA/FONSI is available electronically on the project webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/boise/projects/68870 (scroll down to “Project Documents” and click on the “Public Involvement” subfolder).

Objection Eligibility

Because this project would implement a land management plan and is not authorized under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, this project is subject to the objection regulations found at 36 CFR 218, subparts A and B. Only individuals or entities who have previously submitted timely, specific written comments (as specified in 36 CFR 218.2) about this proposed action within the comment period established by the Responsible Official (October 31, 2025, to November 30, 2025) will be eligible to file an objection. Other eligibility requirements (36 CFR 218.25(a)(3)) include the commenter’s name, postal address, title of the proposed action, and signature or other verification of identity upon request and identification of the individual or entity who authored the comment(s).

How to Object and Timeframe

Pursuant to 36 CFR 218.26, objections on this proposed action will be accepted for 45 days beginning on the first day after the date of publication of this notice in the Idaho Statesman, the newspaper of record. The publication date of the legal notice in the newspaper of record is the exclusive means for calculating the time to submit objections on a proposed project or activity. The time period for the opportunity to object on a proposed project shall not be extended. It is the responsibility of all individuals and organizations to ensure that their objections are received in a timely manner. A timely submission will be determined as outlined in 36 CFR 218.26.

Written objections will only be accepted through the project web form, hand delivery, postal mail, facsimile, and email. The link to the webform is found above.  To submit an objection using the web form, scroll down to “Get Connected” and click on “Comment/Object on Project”.

Objections may be delivered through postal delivery or hand delivery to: Idaho City Ranger District, 3833 Highway 21, PO Box 129, Idaho City, ID 83631. Be sure to include “ATTN: Heart of Gold #2 Objection” on the envelope. Objections also may be faxed to 208-392-6684.

Electronic objections must be submitted in a format such as an email message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to comments-intermtn-boise@usda.gov. In cases where no identifiable name is attached to an objection, the comment will not be accepted or considered; a verification of identity will be required for objection eligibility. If using an electronic message, a scanned signature is one way to provide verification.

Objections received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who object, will be considered part of the public record for this project. They will be available for public inspection and will be released in their entirety if requested pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.