[Federal Register: April 4, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 66)]
[Notices]
[Page 18493-18494]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04ap08-23]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Bend/Ft. Rock Ranger District; Deschutes National Forest; Oregon;
Dead Log Vegetation Management Project EIS
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 address forest health and
hazardous fuels concerns within the 16,000-acre planning area known as
the Deadlog Vegetation Project. The planning area is located about 36
miles southeast of Bend, Oregon; it is located in Township 22S, Range
15E, and Township 23S, Ranges 14E and 15E. The alternatives will
include the proposed action, no action, and additional alternatives
that respond to issues generated through 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 30 days following the date that this notice appears in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Phil Cruz, District Ranger, Bend/
Ft. Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3rd St., Suite A-262, Bend, OR 97701.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Macfarlane, Environmental
Planner, Bend/Ft. Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3rd St., Suite A-262,
Bend, Oregon, 97701, phone (541) 383-4044. E-mail
mmacfarlane@fs.fed.us.
Responsible Official. The responsible official will be John Allen,
Forest Supervisor, Deschutes National Forest, P.O. Box 1645 Hwy 20
East, Bend, OR 97701.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need. Many forest stands in the project area are
sustaining a higher density of understory trees than they would have
historically and are susceptible to bark beetle mortality. Large
diameter trees are unable to compete with the younger, more vigorous
trees for available resources. Also, understory trees and brush
combined with a high degree of buildup of natural fuels on the forest
floor are contributing to the risk of uncharacteristically severe fire
behavior, should a wildfire start in the planning area. The purpose of
the project is to:
Manage stands of late old structure ponderosa pine to
promote sustainability over the long term;
In dense stands dominated by ponderosa pine, return stands
toward historic conditions addressing tree species composition,
stocking levels and resistance to insects, disease and fire mortality;
Reduce surface fuels throughout the planning area to
levels that will not sustain stand replacement fires; manage lodgepole
pine stands to reduce the acres susceptible to bark beetle mortality;
And reduce potential for the spread of ponderosa pine
dwarf mistletoe.
Proposed Action. The proposed actions are intended to sustain,
enhance, and protect long-term productivity and resiliency of the
forest ecosystem, and maintain and enhance wildlife habitat. Proposed
actions include selection harvest, commercial thinning, small tree
thinning and ladder
[[Page 18494]]
fuels reduction, activity fuels treatments, and mowing and prescribed
underburning to treat natural fuels.
Issues. The following is a list of concerns or issues related to
the proposed action that the interdisciplinary team has identified.
Other issues may arise from public input. Where issues cannot be
resolved through project design or mitigation, they may be the basis
for developing alternatives to the Proposed Action.
Deer Hiding Cover: In some parts of the Deadlog planning
area, deer hiding cover is currently below Forest Plan standards. A
Forest Plan Amendment will be necessary if proposed treatments reduce
the level cover further.
Open Road Density: The amount of roads in the planning
area exceeds the target road density identified in the Forest Plan for
deer summer range. Roads may be identified for closure or
decommissioning.
Heritage Resources: There are prehistoric and historic
heritage resources within the planning area, that could be affected by
either wildfire or the proposed active management of the fuels.
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 decision 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 October 2008. The EPA will
publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft ETS in the Federal
Register. The final ETS is scheduled to be available January 2009.
The comment period on the draft ETS will be 45 days from the date
the EPA publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, 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
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 ETS stage but that are not
raised until after completion of the final ETS may be waived or
dismissed by the courts [City of Angoon 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 ETS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft ETS 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 ElS of 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.
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 thin stands, and
apply natural fuels treatments. 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 Deadlog Vegetation 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 (35 CFR Part 215).
Rolando Mendez,
Bend/Ft. Rock Deputy District Ranger.
[FR Doc. E8-6899 Filed 4-3-08; 8:45 am]
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