[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38768-38770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16325]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Ashley National Forest, UT, High Uintas Wilderness--Colorado
River Cutthroat Trout Habitat Enhancement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Ashley National Forest in cooperation with Utah Division
of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) proposes to restore genetically pure
Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT; Onchorhynchus clarki pleuriticus)
populations to suitable habitats within the High Uintas Wilderness.
Implementation of this proposal would require the use of rotenone (a
fish toxicant) to remove competing and hybridizing nonnative fish
species from selected streams and lakes within the High Uintas
Wilderness on the Roosevelt/Duchesne Ranger District. Nonnative fish
species to be removed are primarily brook trout (Salvelinus
fontinalis), Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Onchorhynchus clarki
bouvieri) and hybridized cutthroat trout. Removal of nonnative fish is
necessary to enhance habitat and restore genetically pure CRCT
populations to suitable habitats within the High Uintas Wilderness.
Headwater subdrainages and basins proposed to be treated and
monitored over a period of ten or more years include selected lakes and
associated stream segments in the Garfield Basin and Swasey Hole in the
Yellowstone River drainage, Fish Creek (a tributary to Moon Lake),
Ottoson Basin and Oweep Creek in the Lake Fork River drainage, and Fall
Creek in the Rock Creek drainage.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by August 5, 2010. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
February 2011 and the final environmental impact statement is expected
June 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ron Brunson, Roosevelt/Duchesne
Ranger District, P.O. Box 981, Duchesne, Utah 84021. Comments may also
be sent via e-mail to [email protected], or via facsimile to (435)
781-5215.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such a way that they are useful to the Agency's preparation of
the EIS. Therefore, comments should be provided prior to the close of
the comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer's
concerns and contentions.
[[Page 38769]]
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be
accepted and considered, however.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Brunson at (435) 781-5202 or e-
mail [email protected].
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The High Uintas Wilderness contains historic range and some of the
most remote and pristine habitat suitable for CRCT. However, nonnative
trout species threaten the continued existence of CRCT populations
within these headwater basins. Lakes and streams within headwater
basins were stategically selected based on essential habitat
characteristics. These characteristics primarily include the presence
of good spawning habitat which allows the persistance of self-
sustaining trout populations and the ability of the selected area to
resist re-invasion of nonnative trout species from reaches downstream
through the presence of migration barriers.
CRCT are currently cooperatively managed as a conservation species
among the states of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) and the Ute Tribe Fish and Game Department. The CRCT is
designated as a species of special concern by Colorado and Wyoming, and
a Tier I specie in Utah (those species that are either federally listed
or for which a conservation agreement has been implemented). The CRCT
is classified as a sensitive species by Regions 2 and 4 of the USFS and
by the BLM in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
Expanding populations of nonnative brook trout, remnant populations
of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and cutthroat trout hybrids continue to
threaten populations of native CRCT within the High Uintas Wilderness
on the Ashley National Forest. Brook trout continue to displace CRCT
within suitable habitat and Yellowstone cutthroat trout and their
hybrids threaten genetically pure populations of CRCT with
hybridization.
The underlying need for action is to remove competing brook trout
and preserve the integrity of genetically pure populations of native
CRCT. This would be accomplished by treating lakes and streams within
selected drainage basins with the piscicide rotenone to remove the
threat of competition and hybridization of nonnative trout. Following
treatment of selected waters, CRCT would be reintroduced through
stocking of fingerlings obtained from the well developed South Slope
brood population maintained in Sheep Creek Lake.
The purpose statement includes goals to be achieved while meeting
the need for the project. These goals are used to evaluate alternatives
proposed to meet the need. The Forest Service will use the following
purposes to select among the alternatives:
The Forest Service is a partner and signatory to the
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Conservation Agreement and Strategy.
This action would help the Forest Service demonstrate support and
commitment to Colorado River cutthroat trout conservation efforts.
Enhances administrative efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Avoids and minimizes adverse environmental impacts.
Provides the potential to achieve the following biological
objectives:
[cir] Preserve genetic integrity and enhance habitat for pure CRCT
populations in the High Uintas Wilderness.
[cir] Eliminate from headwater lakes and their outflow streams, in
a timely manner, hybrid cutthroat trout and brook trout that threaten
genetic integrity and out compete CRCT.
Proposed Action
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in cooperation with the
Ashley National Forest propose to implement a long-term strategy to
treat selected lakes and streams within the High Uintas Wilderness with
piscicide (rotenone) to remove competing and hybridizing nonnative
trout species. The proposed project area encompasses three drainages
within the High Uintas Wilderness, including the Yellowstone River,
Lake Fork River and Rock Creek drainages. Within these drainages,
strategically selected lakes and streams would be treated.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources--Cooperating Agency.
Responsible Official
Regional Forester--Intermountain Region (R4)
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decisions to be made include the approval of proposed
activities within the High Uintas Wilderness, the use of piscicides
(fish toxicants) within designated wilderness on National Forest System
Lands, seasonal and long-term timing of the action and method of
transport for materials, equipment, and personnel to treatment areas.
Because the majority of lakes and streams occur within wilderness,
methodologies and activities selected for implementation must conform
to special land use restrictions as much as possible. Based on the
environmental analyses presented in this document, the U.S. Forest
Service (FS) will decide whether to approve the use of fish toxins
within wilderness and whether to approve the short-term use of
aircraft, outboard motors, pumps, and mixers in the wilderness area.
Preliminary Issues
Impacts to quality of fisheries and angling opportunities
may be caused by the proposed action. What is the extent and duration
of such impacts?
Will the proposed action affect aquatic-dependent
organisms such as plankton, insects, and amphibians? Will threatened,
endangered, and sensitive species be impacted?
How will dead fish impact lake habitat and wildlife?
Will the use of fish toxins impact water quality in the
watershed, including drinking water for humans and animals?
Is the use of fish toxins appropriate in the management of
wilderness areas?
Should the use of aircraft, outboard motors, or any other
motorized/mechanized equipment in wilderness be authorized under the
administrative exemption clause to expedite the process?
What economic impacts will be sustained by commercial
outfitters? What will be the short- and long-term effects to the local
tourism industry?
Permits or Licenses Required
The proposed use of rotenone takes place on National Forest System
(NFS) lands on the Duchesne Ranger District of the Ashley National
Forest. Forest Service directives require that use of pesticides on NFS
lands be approved by the Forest Service and that a Pesticide Use
Proposal be submitted to and approved by the Forest Service.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. In addition, a
public
[[Page 38770]]
notice requesting scoping comments was published in the newspaper of
record (Salt Lake Tribune) on May 3, 2010. On April 27, 2010, the
Ashley National Forest mailed a scoping letter and a project area map
to affected landowners, tribes, concerned citizens, special interest
groups, local governments, and any other interested parties to comment
on the scope of the proposed action. This information is also available
on our Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/ashley/projects/.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of
the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions.
Dated: June 21, 2010.
Kevin B. Elliott,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2010-16325 Filed 7-2-10; 8:45 am]
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