[Federal Register: December 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 241)]
[Notices]
[Page 69984-69985]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16de03-24]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
18 Fire Recovery Project, Deschutes National Forest, Deschutes
County, OR
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) on a proposed action to salvage dead and severely
damaged trees, and plant trees and other vegetation to assist in the
restoration of the area burned in the 18 Fire on the Bend/Fort Rock
Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest. The 18 Fire, located
about 3.5 miles southeast of Bend, Oregon, burned approximately 3,810
acres, outside of the range of the northern spotted owl, entirely on
National Forest System lands. The alternatives will include the
proposed action, no action, and additional alternatives that respond to
issues generated during the scoping process. The agency will give
notice of the full environmental analysis and decision making process
so interested and affected people may participate and contribute to the
final decision.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by January 16, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Walter C. Schloer, Jr., District
Ranger, Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE. Third Street, Suite
262A, Bend, Oregon 97701.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Macfarlane, Environmental
Coordinator, 1230 NE. Third Street, Suite 262A, Bend, Oregon 97701. Phone: 541-383-4769. E-mail: mmacfarlane@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose and Need. An estimated 76 percent of
the fire occurred within the Deer Habitat Management Area of the
Deschutes National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan). The remaining portion of the fire burned within the General
Forest (23 percent)
[[Page 69985]]
and Scenic Views (1 percent) Management Areas. An estimated 2,500 acres
burned at a moderate to high intensity with tree mortality of between
75 and 100 percent.
Timber salvage is needed to recover economic value and to provide
funds to offset the costs of reforestation and restoration is an
important emphasis of these management areas. Adjacent seed sources are
no longer available in many areas, particularly within the interior
areas of the fire. Based on shrub response within adjacent wildfires,
interior areas with high tree mortality would require reforestation by
planting ponderosa pine. Planting would establish a ponderosa pine
forest that is desirable for long-term objectives such as hiding cover
for big game and restoration of habitat for forest dependent species.
Lowering fuel loadings to a level that reduces the likelihood of a high
severity fire in regenerated stands would promote the long-term
survival and growth of new conifers. A fire in heavy surface fuels
could increase the duration of elevated temperatures during a fire
event to levels capable of altering soil properties and affecting site
productivity.
Proposed Action This action includes timber salvage and fuels
reduction on approximately 2,030 acres. Fuels reduction would consist
of whole tree removal. Salvage is only proposed in areas that
experienced more than 75 percent mortality. An estimated 4 miles of
temporary roads would be needed to remove the salvaged material.
Ponderosa pine would be planted on 2,400 acres, including 2,030 acres
of salvaged land.
Scoping. Public participation will be sought at several points
during the analysis, including listing of this project in the winter
2003 and subsequent issues of the Central Oregon Schedule of Projects
and on the Deschutes National Forest website. Agencies, organizations,
tribes, and individuals who have indicated their interest would be
contacted.
Issues and Alternatives. Preliminary issues identified include the
potential effect of the proposed action on: soil productivity, snag and
down wood habitat, and noxious weeds. A No Action alternative will be
analyzed in the EIS. Other alternatives would result from the scoping
process and refined issues.
Comment. Public comments about this proposal are requested in order
to assist in identifying issues, determine how to best manage the
resources, and to focus the analysis. Comments received to this notice,
including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered
part of the public record on this proposed action and will be available
for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted
and considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not
have standing to appeal the subsequent decisions under 36 CFR parts 215
and 217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may
request the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by
showing how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such
confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be
aware that, under FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very
limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest
Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding
the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within a
specified number of days.
A draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and available for public review by April 2004. The comment period
on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date EPA publishes the Notice
of Availability in the Federal Register. The final EIS is scheduled to
be available July 2004.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court ruling related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
a draft EIS 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, 553 (1978)). Also, environmental
objections that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not
raised until after completion of the final EIS 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 45-day comment period so that
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to
them in the final EIS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also
address the adequacy of the draft EIS 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 on the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to
substantive comments received during the comment period for the draft
EIS. The Forest Service is the lead agency and the responsible official
is the Forest Supervisor, Deschutes National Forest. The responsible
official will decide where, and whether or not to salvage timber,
reduce fuels, and reforest the area. The responsible official will also
decide how to mitigate impacts of these actions and will determine when
and how monitoring of effects will take place. The 18 Fire Recovery
Project decision and the reasons for the decision will be documented in
the record of decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service
Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).
Dated: December 5, 2003.
Kevin Martin,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-30953 Filed 12-15-03; 8:45 am]
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