[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65241-65243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32398]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Moose Subwatershed Timber Sales, Willamette National Forest, Linn
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 proposal to harvest and regenerate timber, and to
construct and reconstruct roads in the Moose
[[Page 65242]]
Subwatershed. The legal description of the planning area is: T.13 S.,
R.3 E., Sections 11-15, 22-27; T.13 S., R.4 E., Sections 7, 17-19. The
Forest Service proposal will be in compliance with the 1990 Willamette
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan as amended by the
1994 Northwest Forest Plan, which provides the overall guidance for
management of this area. This proposal is tentatively planned for
fiscal years 1998-2000.
The Willamette National Forest invites written comments and
suggestions on the scope of the analysis in addition to those comments
already received as a result of local public participation activities.
The agency will also give notice of the full environmental analysis and
decision-making process so that interested and affected people are made
aware as to how they may participate and contribute to the final
decision.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope and implementation of the analysis
should be received in writing by January 15, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the
management of this area to Darrel Kenops, Forest Supervisor, Willamette
National Forest, P.O. Box 10607 Eugene, Oregon 97386.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the proposed
action and EIS to Donna Short, Integrated Resource Management Assistant
or Suzanne Schindler, Project Coordinator, Sweet Home Ranger District,
phone 541-367-5168.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Moose Subwatershed is completely within
the Central Cascades Adaptive Management Area (CCAMA) designated in the
Northwest Forest Plan (ROD, C21-22). The purpose of AMAs is to
encourage the development and testing of technical and social
approaches to achieving desired ecological, economic, and other social
objectives. AMAs are expected to produce timber as part of their
program of activities consistent with their specific direction.
Management objectives for the Moose Lake Block in the CCAMA are
described in the ROD, the South Santiam Watershed Analysis (SSWA), and
the CCAMA Strategic Guide.
The purpose of this project is to harvest timber in a manner that
implements the management objectives, specifically:
Utilize landscape design processes to understand long
term, historic patterns of landscape change created by natural
disturbance processes, land management practices and vegetation
succession (CCAMA Strategic Guide p. 39).
Develop approaches for integrating forest and stream
management objectives and the implications of natural disturbance
regimes. (CCAMA Strategic Guide p. 35, ROD D12-13).
Manage young and mature stands to accelerate development
of late successional conditions (Strategic Guide p. 35, ROD D12-13).
The Forest Service has a need to provide alternative timber harvest
to the Mr. Rogers Timber Sale on the Siuslaw National Forest pursuant
to Section 2001(k)(3) of the Rescission Act (Pub. L. 104-19) and the
September 17, 1996 settlement agreement in Northwest Resources Council
v. Glickman and Babbit. Under the Act and the agreement, such
alternative timber volume must be ``an equal volume of timber, of like
kind and value, which shall be subject to the terms of the original
contract'' (or as otherwise acceptable to the purchaser). Designation
of alternative timber volume must also be done in consultation and
agreement with the purchaser.
The proposal includes harvesting timber by thinning and
regeneration methods and constructing road under the Moose Subwatershed
Timber Sale. This analysis will evaluate a range of alternatives
addressing the Forest Service proposal to harvest approximately 13.0
million board feet of timber from approximately 600 to 1600 acres and
anticipate 0.5 miles of road construction.
The Moose Subwatershed is comprised of 13,562 acres, including
4,630 acres of private land. Of the 8,932 acres of Forest Service
ownership 1,252 has regenerated. For the most part the remaining 7,680
acres is in second growth and late-successional/old-growth type of
vegetative structure. Management areas that provide for timber harvest
are Scenic (11a) and General Forest. No harvest allocations in this
subwatershed are the Cougar Rock Special Interest Area, 100 acre Late-
Successional Reserves, Bald Eagle Management Area, and the Moose Lake
Dispersed Recreation Area.
The project area includes a portion of the Moose Lake RARE I area,
which was considered but not selected for wilderness designation and is
the reason for initiating this EIS.
Preliminary issues identified are roadless area quality, and water
quality and anadramous fish habitat.
Initial scoping began in May, 1997. Preliminary analysis is
currently being conducted. The Forest Service will be seeking
additional information, comments and assistance from Federal, State and
local agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be
interested or affected by the proposed project. Additional input will
be used to help identify key issues and develop alternatives. This
input will be used in preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process
includes:
Identification of potential issues;
Identification of issues to be analyzed in depth;
Elimination of insignificant issues or those which have
been covered by a relevant previous environmental process;
Exploration of additional alternatives based on the issues
identified during the scoping process; and
Identification of potential environmental effects of the
proposed action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative
effects and connected actions).
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by March
1998. The comment period on the draft EIS will be January 26, 1998.
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, a reviewer 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
objectives 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
[[Page 65243]]
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 final EIS is scheduled to be completed in April 1998. In the
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments and
responses received during the comment period that pertain to the
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making the decision
regarding this proposal. Darrel L. Kenops, Forest Supervisor, is the
responsible official and as responsible official, he will document the
Moose Subwatershed Timber Sales decision and rationale in the Record of
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal
Regulations (36 CFR part 215).
Dated: December 2, 1997.
Darrel L. Kenops,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 97-32398 Filed 12-10-97; 8:45 am]
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