[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 1994)]
[Notices]
[Pages 999-1000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 93-355]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 7, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Oregon Creek Ecosystem Management Project, Tahoe National Forest,
Yuba and Sierra Counties, CA
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for proposed timber
harvest, plantation thinning, fuels reduction, and wildlife habitat
improvement projects for areas in the Oregon Creek Watershed and an
area in part of the North Yuba watershed in accordance with the
requirements of 36 CFR 219.19. The project areas are located within
portions of T.18N., R.8, 9, & 10E., T.19N., R.9 & 10E., MDB&M.
The agency invites comments and suggestions on the scope of the
analysis. In addition, the agency gives notice of the full
environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur on
the proposal so that interested and affected people are aware of how
they may participate and contribute to the final decision.
DATES: Comments should be made in writing and received by February 22,
1994.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the project should be directed
to Jean Masquelier, District Ranger, Downieville Ranger District, North
Yuba Ranger Station, 15924 Hwy 49, Camptonville, CA 95922.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Willour, Resource Officer, Downieville Ranger District,
Camptonville, CA 95922, telephone (916) 478-6253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Oregon Creek Analysis Area is about
25,000 acres in size. It incorporates the land in the Oregon Creek
Watershed and is located two miles southwest of Comptonville and east
to the junction of Pliocene and Henness Pass roads. The area is
dominated by vast, uniform ponderosa pine plantations and brush fields
that were a result of the 17,000-acre Mountain House Fire of 1959.
This project was chosen by the Forest Service's Regional Office
(Region 5) to be conducted as an Ecosystem Management Project. It was
selected due to the opportunities and challenges that this area has for
multiple resource management. There exists an opportunity to increase
the diversity within the many young pine plantations; this would
improve wildlife habitat and derive needed wood fiber. Watershed
problems, fire hazards within a mixed land ownership landscape, range
problems, and wildlife habitat conditions represent some of the
challenges and opportunities for improvements that will be looked at
during this analysis.
In preparing the environmental impact statement, the Forest Service
will identify and analyze a range of alternatives for treatment of the
dense stands of young trees that address the issues developed for these
sites. One of the alternatives will be no treatment. Other alternatives
will consider differing levels of plantation thinning, timber harvest,
new road construction and reconstruction, fuel hazard reduction, and
wildlife habitat improvement projects. An ecological approach will be
used to achieve multiple-use management of the Oregon Creek area. It
also means that the needs of people and environmental values will be
blended in a such way that the Oregon Creek area would represent a
diverse, healthy, productive, and sustainable ecosystem.
Public participation will be important during the analysis,
especially during the review of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement. The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and
assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by
the proposed action. This input will be used in preparation of the
draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The scoping process
includes:
1. Identifying potential issues.
2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.
3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been
covered by a relevant previous environmental analysis.
4. Exploring additional alternatives.
5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed
action and alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and cumulative effects
and connected actions).
6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.
The following list of issues has been identified through initial
scoping:
(1) To what extent will future options for the management of
California spotted owls be maintained?
(2) To what extent can the potential for large catastrophic
wildfires, like the 17,000-acre Mountain House Fire of 1959, be reduced
within the project area?
(3) To what extent can the forest health be improved in the Oregon
Creek project area? In addition, what level of timber commodities could
result from forest health improvement projects and other timber
management proposals?
(4) To what extent will long-term transportation management
objectives be met for the area?
(5) To what extent will the views from North Yuba River, Middle
Yuba River, Oregon Creek, and Highway 49 be affected? What visual
character will result from the proposed activities, and to what extent
will these activities affect views from private land within the study
area?
(6) To what extent will the outstandingly remarkable historical
values that made Oregon Creek eligible as a Wild and Scenic River and
classified as a recreation river be affected by the proposed activities
with the study area?
(7) To what extent will water quality in the Oregon Creek and the
Humbug Creek watersheds be affected by the proposed activities?
(8) To what extent will air quality in the Oregon Creek and North
Yuba River drainages, and in the towns of Camptonville, Forest City,
Pike, and Alleghany, be affected by proposed activities?
(9) To what extent will long-term productivity be affected by
proposed activities?
Comments from other Federal, State, and local agencies,
organizations, and individuals who may be interested in, or affected by
the decision, are encouraged to identify other significant issues.
Public participation has been previously solicited through mailing
letters to mining claim owners, private land owners, and special use
permittees within the Downieville Ranger District boundaries; posting
information in local towns; and mailing letters to local timber
industries, politicians, school boards, country supervisors, and
environmental groups. Written comments that have already been received
will still be considered when analyzing alternatives and impacts.
Continued participation will be emphasized through individual contacts.
No public meetings are scheduled.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by
approximately the middle of March, 1994. 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, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
draft environmental impact statements 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 the
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 objections 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 helpful if comments refer to specific
pages or chapters 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 expected to be available by the middle of June,
1994. The responsible official, who is the Tahoe National Forest
Supervisor, will document the decision and reasons for the decision in
the Record of Decision.
Dated: December 20, 1993.
Judie L. Tartaglia,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 93-355 Filed 1-6-93; 8:45 am]
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