[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 25 (Friday, February 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6149-6150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2975]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Young'n Timber Sales, Willamette National Forest, Lane 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 harvest and regenerate timber,
and thin young stands created by past regeneration harvest. This EIS
was triggered during an environmental analysis (EA) which discovered a
potential for significant impacts as defined under NEPA 1508.27. The
proposed action also calls for the construction, reconstruction,
decommissioning of roads, restoration of degraded stream channels,
improvement of big game forage, and other habitat restoration projects
within the Middle Fork drainage of the Willamette River watershed. The
planning area is bisected by the Middle Fork of the Willamette River.
The west side of the planning area is bounded by Forest Road 5850,
Forest Road 2125 forms the south boundary, and Snow Creek forms the
north boundary. On the east side of the planning area, Warner Mountain,
Logger Butte, and Joe's Prairie border the east and north side of the
planning area, and the Young's Rock Trail borders the southern end of
the planning area. The area is approximately 57 air miles southeast of
the City of Eugene and 12 air miles south of the City of Oakridge. 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. These proposals are tentatively planned for
implementation in fiscal years 1999-2001.
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 March 1, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the
management of this area to Rick Scott, District Ranger, Rigdon Ranger
District, Willamette National Forest, P.O. Box 1410, Oakridge, Oregon
97463.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions about the proposed action and the scope of analysis to
Kristie Miller, Planning Resource Management Assistant or John Agar,
Project Coordinator, Rigdon Ranger District, phone 541-782-2283.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Young'n Planning area is entirely within
the Middle Fork of the Willamette River watershed. A Watershed Analysis
was completed for the Middle Fork of the Willamette River in August,
1995, titled; the Middle Fork Willamette River Downstream Tributaries
Watershed Analysis Report.
The purpose of this project is to harvest timber in a manner that
implements the Forest Plan management objectives and Watershed Analysis
recommendations.
The proposal includes harvesting timber in four to five separate
timber sales, over the next three years. Up to four sales would involve
regeneration harvest and one sale would involve commercial thinning.
Both thinning and regeneration harvest timber sale proposals would
involve road construction, reconstruction, and decommissioning. This
analysis will evaluate a range of alternatives addressing the Forest
Service proposals to harvest approximately 20.5 million board feet;
approximately 1.1 million board feet would be generated from thinning
some 218 acres of young managed stands created by past clearcut
harvest, and approximately 19.4 million board feet would be generated
by regeneration harvest on approximately 580 acres. All the above
proposed harvest would require a total of 2.7 miles of temporary road
construction and 40 miles of road reconstruction.
[[Page 6150]]
The Young'n planning area comprises about 38,000 acres; of this
total, 4,122 (11%) acres are private land. Of the 33,878 acres of
Forest Service land, about 15,313 acres (45%) have been previously
harvested and regenerated. Of the remaining acres, approximately 1,850
(5.4%) acres is in a mature stand condition, ranging in ages from 70 to
170 years, and 16,700 acres is in an old-growth stand condition, stand
ages exceeding 200 years. The planning area contains about 1,536 acres
(4%) of non-forested vegetation types and rock outcrops. Management
areas that provide for programmed timber harvest are Scenic (11a, 11c,
11d) and General Forest (14a). Other land allocations in this planning
area are Late-Successional Reserves (16A, 16B), Riparian Reserves
(15A), Wild and Scenic River Corridor, and the Moon Point Special
Interest Area (5A).
The project area does not include any inventoried roadless area.
Preliminary issues identified in this analysis are potential
impacts to habitat of plant and animal communities, landscape
connectivity and wildlife dispersal corridors, watershed restoration
opportunities, cumulative watershed effects, scenic quality along the
Middle Fork of the Willamette River, forest growth and yield, and
economics.
Scoping was initiated again in April of 1996. Alternatives were
developed and preliminary analysis was completed during the summer and
fall of 1997. The developed alternatives consisted of: (A) optimization
of growth and yield while meeting Forest Plan Standard and Guidelines
Thresholds, (B) conservation of habitat while exceeding current Forest
Plan Standard and Guidelines (C) blend alternative; optimization of
growth and yield and conserve the most functional habitats while
meeting Forest Plan Standard and Guidelines (D) No Action. Alternative
A would treat 902 acres and generate 24.5 MMBF of timber volume,
Alternative B would treat 709 acres and generate 18.1 MMBF of timber
volume, Alternative C would treat 790 acres and generate 20.5 MMBF of
timber volume, and Alternative D No Action would defer harvest in this
planning area. All action alternatives were developed to avoid forest
fragmentation and system road construction. Results of the above
actions, documented in an environmental analysis, indicated a potential
for significant effects to the human environment, hence the need for
documentation with an Environmental Impact Statement.
The Forest Service will be seeking additional information, comments
and assistance from Federal, State, local agencies, tribes, and other
individuals or organizations who may be interested or affected by the
proposed project. Additional input will be used to help verify the
existing analysis and determine if additional issues and alternatives
should be developed. This input will be used in preparation of the
draft EIS.
The scoping process will include the following:
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 for a 45 day period,
following the date the EPA publishes the notice of availability in the
Federal Register.
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 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 June, 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. Rick Scott, District Ranger, is the
responsible official and as responsible official, he will document the
Young'n Timber Sales and connected actions and rational in a Record of
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal
Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).
Dated: January 28, 1998.
Rick Scott,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 98-2975 Filed 2-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
