[Federal Register: November 25, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 227)]
[Notices]
[Page 70575-70576]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25no02-29]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
Clarification of Language in the 1994 Record of Decision for the
Northwest Forest Plan; National Forests and Bureau of Land Management
Districts Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl; Western Oregon
and Washington, and Northwestern California
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplement to a final
environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
(collectively the Agencies) will prepare and consider a supplemental
environmental impact statement (SEIS) on a proposal to amend the Record
of Decision for the Northwest Forest Plan, which was signed on April
13, 1994. Specifically, this proposed action will make the Aquatic
Conservation Strategy (ACS) in the Record of Decision consistent with
the original intent of the report prepared by the Forest Ecosystem
Management Assessment Team, entitled ``Forest Ecosystem Management: An
Ecological, Economic, and Social Assessment Report of the Forest
Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT Report).'' The proposed
action would amend land and resource management plans for National
Forests and BLM Districts within the range of the northern spotted owl
(generally western Oregon and Washington, and northwestern California).
The Forest Service and BLM will be joint lead agencies for this
proposal. The two Agencies will consult as appropriate with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries), pursuant to the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). Other Federal agencies may also be involved,
including the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest
Research Stations, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Geological Survey
Biological Resources Division, EPA Research Laboratory, and Tribal,
local, and state governments. Although the two Agencies have no plans
to hold public scoping meetings regarding this proposed action, public
comments are invited.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
in writing by December 26, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments concerning this proposal to: Comments,
SEIS for Aquatic Conservation Strategy, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon
97208. Copies of the Record of Decision and Attachment A to the Record
of Decision can be obtained electronically at http://www.reo.gov/
library/reports/newsandga.pdf. Hard copies can be obtained from the
Office of Strategic Planning; P.O. Box 3623, Portland, Oregon 97208.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joyce Casey, SEIS Team Leader, P.O.
Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97208.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Agencies propose to amend the Aquatic
Conservation Strategy (ACS) in Attachment A of the Record of Decision,
entitled, ``Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for
Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the
Range of the Northern Spotted Owl.'' The ACS was designed to operate
over multiple spatial scales, with a focus on the broader scales
(watershed and landscape). In recent litigation involving claims under
the Endangered Species Act, the Ninth Circuit interpreted the ACS
provisions of the Northwest Forest Plan.
In Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations v. National
Marine Fisheries Service, 265 F.3d 1028 (9th Cir. 2001) the Ninth
Circuit interpreted the ACS provisions as requiring that each project
be consistent with the overall ACS at the site-specific scale, rather
than simply satisfying the Standards and Guidelines set forth in the
Northwest Forest Plan's Record of Decision Attachment A, sections C and
D. This interpretation is not what was intended by the Agencies, and
makes it nearly impossible to implement any management actions that
could have any effect on riparian areas.
The proposed action would replace portions of text in the Record of
Decision at pages i, A-6, B-10, and C-1 of Attachment A with text that
clearly reflects the Agencies' original intent. The SEIS will disclose
the anticipated effects of the proposed action, as well as of the
interpretation as stated in the Ninth Circuit's decision. The SEIS will
also consider relevant new science since 1994 and Northwest Forest Plan
implementation monitoring results.
Adoption of the proposed action would affect National Forest System
(NFS) lands and public lands administered by the BLM within the range
of the northern spotted owl, generally in western Oregon and
Washington, and in northwestern California.
The Record of Decision for this SEIS will amend, for the Forest
Service, the following National Forest Land and Resource Management
Plans: Gifford Pinchot, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Olympic, Wenatchee and
Okanogan National Forests in Washington; Deschutes, Mt. Hood, Rogue
River, Siuslaw, Siskiyou, Umpqua, Willamette, and Winema National
Forests in Oregon; and Six Rivers, Klamath, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc,
and Shasta-Trinity National Forests in California. The responsible
official for NFS lands will be the Secretary of Agriculture.
The Record of Decision for this SEIS will amend, for the Bureau of
Land Management, the following Resource Management Plans: Salem,
Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, and Coos Bay Districts in Oregon; the
Klamath Falls Resource Area of the Lakeview District, also in Oregon;
the Arcata, Redding, and Ukiah field offices in California, and also
the King Range National Conservation Area Management Plan in the Arcata
Resource Area in California. This decision would not apply to the
Headwaters area in California, for which a separate management plan is
being written. The responsible official for public lands administered
by BLM will be the Secretary of the Interior.
Preliminary issues expected to be addressed in the SEIS include:
ensuring that the proposed minor changes in
[[Page 70576]]
language do not slow the momentum of the Agencies' substantial
investment in watershed restoration and aquatic habitat improvement;
and whether the proposed action meets all applicable laws and
regulations including the Oregon and California Lands Act, the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act, the National Forest Management Act, and
the Endangered Species Act, and those statutes' implementing
regulations.
Although scoping is not required for supplements to environmental
impact statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4)), the Agencies are inviting
scoping comments at this time. Comments are sought (1) to help the
Agencies identify issues to be addressed in the SEIS; (2) to identify
significant issues related to the proposed action; refine the proposed
action; (3) to identify reasonable alternatives to the proposed action;
and (4) to identify interested and affected persons. For comments to be
most useful in this analysis, they should be submitted in writing by
the date identified above. To assist the Agencies in identifying and
considering issues and concerns on the proposed action, comments should
be as specific as possible.
The Agencies have no plans to conduct public scoping meetings.
However, a scoping letter will be prepared and circulated to affected
Federal, State, and local agencies, affected tribes, and individuals
and organizations previously expressing an interest in the ACS.
The draft SEIS is expected to be filed with the EPA in February
2003 and will be available for public review. The comment period on the
draft SEIS will be 90 days from the date the EPA publishes the notice
of availability in the Federal Register. It is helpful if comments
refer to specific pages or chapters of the draft document. Comments may
also address the adequacy of the draft SEIS or the merits of the
alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may
wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
The Agencies believe, at this early stage, it is important to give
reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
the draft SEIS must structure their participation in the environmental
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to
the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). Also, environmental objections
that could be raised at the draft SEIS stage, but that are not raised
until after completion of the final SEIS, may be waived or dismissed by
the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir.
1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338
(E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important
that those interested in this proposed action participate by the close
of the 90-day comment period so that substantive comments and
objections are made available to the Agencies at a time when the
Agencies can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the
final SEIS.
It is expected that the final SEIS will be filed with the EPA
approximately July 2003. The Agencies anticipate there will be a Record
of Decision signed in August 2003.
Dated: November 20, 2002.
David P. Tenny,
Deputy Under Secretary, Natural Resource and Environment.
[FR Doc. 02-29951 Filed 11-21-02; 10:33 am]
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