[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 44981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18615]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLOR932000-L16100000-DF0000-LXSS062H0000; HAG 10-0177]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on Bureau of Land
Management Lands in Oregon
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Vegetation
Treatments Using Herbicides on Bureau of Land Management lands in
Oregon and by this notice is announcing its availability. The EIS
proposes to increase the number of herbicides currently in use on BLM-
managed lands in Oregon and increase the number of objectives for which
they can be used.
DATES: The BLM anticipates signing a Record of Decision within 30 to 90
days of publication of the Final EIS. There will be a 30-day appeal
period following issuance of the Record of Decision (ROD) before the
decision can take effect. The availability of the ROD will be announced
via a subsequent Federal Register notice. Information about the appeal
period will be included in the ROD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Todd
Thompson, EIS Project Manager, telephone (503) 808-6326; address Bureau
of Land Management--OR932, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97208; e-
mail [email protected].
Copies of the Vegetation Treatments Final EIS are available at the
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/vegtreatmentseis/.
Copies have been sent to libraries and BLM district offices throughout
Oregon. Copies have also been sent to affected Federal, State, tribal,
and local government agencies, to persons who have asked to be on the
project mailing list, and to everyone who submitted comments on the
Draft EIS. Requests to receive printed or Compact Disk copies of the
Final EIS should be sent to one of the addresses listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft EIS for Vegetation Treatments
Using Herbicides on BLM Lands in Oregon was released for public comment
in October 2009. Approximately 1,050 comments were received on the
Draft EIS and the ideas presented in these comments were used to
improve the analysis presented in the Final EIS. The Proposed Action,
Alternative 4, would allow for the use of 16 herbicides east of the
Cascades and 13 herbicides west of the Cascades to control noxious and
invasive weeds; treat vegetation along roads, rights-of-way, and BLM
improvements; and conduct certain habitat improvement projects. The
Oregon BLM currently utilizes four herbicides and uses them only for
the treatment of noxious weeds.
In 1984, the BLM was prohibited from using herbicides in Oregon by
a U.S. District Court injunction issued in Northwest Coalition for
Alternatives to Pesticides, et al. v. Block, et al., (Civ. No. 82-6273-
E). Following completion of an EIS examining the use of four herbicides
for the treatment of noxious weeds only, the injunction was modified by
the court in November 1987, (Civ. No. 82-6272-BU). For the subsequent
23 years, the BLM in Oregon has limited its herbicide use to the four
herbicides analyzed and limited the use of those four herbicides to the
control and eradication of Federal, State, or county listed noxious
weeds. In that time, new herbicides have become available that can be
used in smaller doses, are more target-specific, and are lower risk to
people and other non-target organisms. In 2007, the BLM Washington
Office Rangeland Resources Division completed the Vegetation Treatments
Using Herbicides on BLM Lands in 17 Western States Programmatic EIS and
related ROD (Programmatic EIS), making 18 herbicides available for a
full range of vegetation treatments in 17 western states, including
Oregon. Oregon cannot fully implement that decision, however, until and
unless the 1984 District Court injunction is lifted. The Final EIS
being released today, Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on BLM
Lands in Oregon, tiers to the Programmatic EIS, incorporates standard
operating procedures for the use of herbicides, provides additional
detailed analysis regarding the potential for human and environmental
risks generated in support of the Programmatic EIS and addresses the
concerns raised in the 1984 District Court injunction.
This Final EIS addresses all 15.7 million acres of BLM lands in
Oregon and all 18 herbicides approved for use by the 2007 ROD for the
Programmatic EIS, which are being used in the other 16 western states.
The Final EIS analyzes a ``no action'' and three action alternatives
which were shaped in part by the comments received during 12 public
scoping meetings held throughout Oregon in July 2008. A ``no
herbicides'' reference analysis is also included. The alternatives
address eight ``Purposes'' or issues also identified during scoping.
The Final EIS analysis indicates that by using standard operating
procedures identified in applicable BLM manuals and policy direction,
along with Programmatic EIS-adopted mitigation measures, human and
environmental risk from the use of herbicides is both minimized and
reduced from current levels. The proposed action would also slow the
spread of noxious weeds on BLM lands by about 50 percent and result in
an estimated 2.2 million fewer infested acres in 15 years than under
current program capabilities. The Final EIS and forthcoming ROD do not
authorize any specific herbicide treatment projects. Site-specific
projects will be subject to additional NEPA analysis.
Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the
National Marine Fisheries Service is being conducted to ensure
continued applicability of informal consultation and the Biological
Opinion issued on the Programmatic EIS by those two agencies
respectively.
The responsible official for the EIS is the BLM Oregon and
Washington State Director.
Edward W. Shepard,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 2010-18615 Filed 7-29-10; 8:45 am]
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