Castle Valley Project #63424

The project will analyze authorizing livestock grazing on 663 acres in Castle Valley consistent with the Dixie National Forest Land and Resources Management Plan (LRMP) and subsequent land management designations made in 2020.

USDA Forest Service

Dixie National Forest

Iron County, Utah

Legal Notice of Opportunity to Object

Castle Valley Project

The Cedar City Ranger District (District) of the Dixie National Forest has completed the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) and the Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (DN/FONSI) for the Castle Valley Project. The selected alternative in the draft DN would authorize the proposed action, which entails incorporating the 663 acres acquired in the Castle Valley land acquisition into the Castle Valley Pasture of the Warren Bunker Castle Valley (WBCV) Sheep Allotment. The District is not proposing changes to permitted livestock numbers, or duration of use, with the incorporation of the land purchase acres. Grazing within the Castle Valley Pasture and the WBCV Allotment would continue to follow the terms of the current grazing permit, annual operating instructions, and the Dixie LRMP. To protect and maintain wildlife, wetland, and riparian resources identified in the Land Purchase Agreement for the land acquisition, the District proposes all annual use and utilization indicators will be considered “at time of use” measurements for compliance and the stubble height standard for riparian areas and wet meadows will be six inches regardless of species on the land acquisition acres.

The Responsible Official is Veronica Magnuson, District Ranger and the Objection Reviewing Officer is Kevin Wright, Forest Supervisor. The Final EA and Draft DN/FONSI are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/dixie/?project=63424. For additional information, contact Michael Golden, NEPA Planner, michael.golden@usda.gov.

This action is subject to the predecisional administrative review process outlined in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 218, Subparts A and B. A final decision will not be made until after the requirements of 36 CFR 218.12, 45-day objection period, have been met.

Eligibility to File Objections

Objections can be accepted only from individuals and entities who have submitted timely, specific written comments regarding a proposed project or activity subject to these regulations during any designated opportunity for public comment, per the regulations at 36 CFR 218.5(a). Additional eligibilities are established in 36 CFR 218.5(b) through (f). Issues raised in objections must be based on previously submitted timely, specific, written comments regarding the proposed project unless based on new information arising after designated opportunities for comment. A connection to previous comments must be demonstrated in the objection.

Individual members of organizations must have submitted their own comments to meet the requirements of eligibility as an individual. Objections received on behalf of an organization are considered as those of the organization only. If an objection is submitted on behalf of a number of individuals or organizations, each individual or organization listed must meet the eligibility requirement of having previously submitted comments on the project (36 CFR 218.5). Names and addresses of objectors will become part of the public record.

Contents of an Objection

Incorporation of documents by reference in the objection is permitted only as provided for at 36 CFR 218.8(b). Minimum content requirements of an objection as identified in 36 CFR 218.8(d) include:

• Objector’s name and address with a telephone number if available; with signature or other verification of authorship supplied upon request.
• Identification of the lead objector when multiple names are listed, along with verification upon request.
• Name of project, name and title of the responsible official, national forest/ranger district where project is located.
• Sufficient narrative description of those aspects of the proposed project objected to, specific issues related to the project, how environmental law, regulation, or policy would be violated, and suggested remedies which would resolve the objection; and
• A statement demonstrating the connection between prior specific written comments on this project and the content of the objection unless the objection issue arose after the designated opportunities for comment.

Filing an Objection

Objections must be postmarked (if sent via postal mail), faxed, or submitted electronically via the project webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/dixie/?project=63424 within 45 days following publication of this legal notice. Mailed objections should be sent to Objection Reviewing Officer, Castle Valley Project, USFS Intermountain Regional Office, 324 25^th Street, Ogden, UT  84401. Objections may be faxed to 801-625-5365. Electronic objections must be submitted in a format such as Portable Document Format (pdf), plain text (.txt), or Word (.doc or .docx) and electronic file names must be less than 85 characters long (including spaces). Hand delivery of written objections can be made during normal working hours to the Intermountain Regional Office, Hansen Federal Building, Room 4003, 324 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401. It is the responsibility of objectors to ensure their objection is received in a timely manner (36 CFR 218.9).

The publication date in the The Spectrum, newspaper of record, is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection to this project. Those wishing to object to the draft DN/FONSI should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source.

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