[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40813-40814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19233]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Chalk Creek Timber Sales, Willamette National Forest, Lane
County, Oregon
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 Action to harvest and regenerate timber
and thin young stands created by past regeneration harvest. The
proposal also calls for the construction, reconstruction, and
decommissioning of roads within the Chalk Creek, McKinley Creek, and
Hamner Creek drainages of the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the
Willamette River watershed. The planning area is bounded by the North
Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River on the east, Alpine
River to the west and north (the watershed boundary between the North
Fork and the Fall Creek watershed) and an unnamed ridge to the south
which separates Hamner Creek and High Creek. The area is approximately
40 air miles east of the City of Eugene and 12 air miles northeast 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 year 2001 and 2002.
The Willamette National Forest invites written comments and suggestions
on the scope of the analysis. 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 September 1, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the
management of this area to Rick Scott, District Ranger, Middle Fork
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 Tim Bailey, Project Coordinator, Middle Fork
Ranger District, phone 541-782-2283.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Chalk Creek Planning area is entirely
within the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River
watershed, which is designated as a Tier 2 Key watershed by the
Northwest Forest Plan (ROD, C-7). Tier 2 Key watersheds contain
important sources of high quality water. A Watershed Analysis was
completed for the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River
in September, 1995.
The purpose of this project is to harvest timber in a manner that
implements the management objectives, and to implement various resource
restoration activities to meet Key Watershed objectives.
The proposed actions include harvesting timber in one to several
commercial thinning timber sales over the next five years, and one
regeneration harvest timber sale to be sold in the year 2001. Both
thinning and regeneration timber sale proposals involve temporary road
construction, system road reconstruction, and system road
decommissioning. This analysis will evaluate alternative ways of
addressing the Forest Service proposal to harvest approximately 15
million board feet. Approximately 3 million board feet would be from
thinning about 600 acres of young stands created by past clearcut
harvest. Approximately 12 million board feet would from regeneration
harvest on about 200 acres. All the above proposed harvest would
require some temporary road construction and reconstruction of existing
system roads.
The Chalk Creek planning area comprises about 9,500 acres, all of
which is National Forest System lands. Of the 9,500 acres about 4,200
acres (44%) have been previously harvested and regenerated. Of the
remaining acres, approximately 1,450 acres (15%) is in a late-
successional stand condition [ranging in ages from 80 to 170 years],
and 3,500 acres (37%) is in an old-growth stand condition [stand ages
exceeding 200 years]. The planning area contains about 200 acres (2%)
of non-forest vegetation types. Management areas that provide for
programmed timber harvest are Scenic (11c) and General Forest (14a).
Other land allocations in this planning area are Late-Successional
Reserves, Riparian Reserves, Wild and Scenic River Corridor, Special
Wildlife Habitats, and one Old-Growth Grove.
Preliminary issues identified for this analysis include water and
stream quality, habitat fragmentation, economic benefit, reduction of
habitat considered critical for the northern spotted owl, and road
management.
The Forest Service will be seeking 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. This information will be used to determine the issues
significant to the development and analysis of alternatives, to
determine the appropriate range of alternative ways of implementing the
proposed action, and to guide the analysis of effects. This input will
be used in preparation of the draft EIS.
[[Page 40814]]
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 alternative ways to implement the proposed
actions based on the issues identified during the scoping process; and
Determination of 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
December 1, 1999. the comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days
from 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 November, 2000. 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
chalk Creek Timber Sales project decision and rationale in a record of
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal
Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).
Dated: July 12, 1999.
Rick Scott,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 99-19233 Filed 7-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
