[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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