[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9143-9144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-5354]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service


Cavanah Analysis Area Multi-Resource Management Projects, Placer 
County, CA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; 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, fuelbreak construction, wildlife habitat 
improvement projects, and upgrading of the Robinson Flat (#43) road 
within the North Fork Middle Fork American River watershed in 
accordance with the requirements of 36 CFR 219.19. The project area is 
located within portions of T.14N., R.12E., Section 1; T 14N., R.13E. 
Sections 5, 6, 7, 8; T.15N., R.12E., Sections 24, 25, 36; and T.15N., 
R.13E., Sections 15-22 and 27-33, MDB&M.
    If upgrading of the #43 road is part of the selected alternative in 
the EIS project, a site specific Forest Plan amendment will be part of 
the Record of Decision.
    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 April 8, 
1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the project should be directed 
to Rich Johnson, District Ranger, Foresthill Ranger District, 22830 
Foresthill Road, Foresthill CA 95631.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Bradford, Environmental Coordinator, Foresthill Ranger District, 
Foresthill, CA 95631, telephone (916) 478-6254.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cavanah Analysis Area is located in the 
North Fork Middle Fork American River watershed. It lies south of 
Screwauger Canyon, west of the top of Mosquito Ridge, east of the #44 
road and Little Grisley Creek and north of the Greek Store site. This 
area is part of the larger Cavanah Ecosystem Management Area.
    The proposed fuelbreak (Defensible Fuel Profile Zone or DFPZ) would 
be parallel to the Mosquito Ridge (#96) road from the Greek Store area 
north to Little Bald Mountain. This proposal would create a fuelbreak 
with widely spaced trees and a low shrub understory. The creation of 
the DFPZ will change the appearance of the existing vegetation. Current 
visual quality objective for the foreground viewing area on the 
Mosquito Ridge (#96) road is Retention. This means that management 
activities are not evident to the casual forest user. A visual 
management zone in the immediate foreground of the Mosquito Ridge road 
(within the DFPZ) would be established to meet this objective. By 
establishing this zone this proposal meets current standards and 
guidelines for visual quality objectives for Management Area #99 
(Mosquito) in the Tahoe National Forest Land and Resource Management 
Plan (LRMP).
    The proposed improvement of the Robinson Flat (#43) road is 
designed to make the section of the road west of Little Bald Mountain 
drivable by passenger cars, which would improve the motorized 
recreational experience in the Robinson Flat and Mosquito Ridge areas. 
The proposal will need Management Practice L2 (Multi-Resource Road 
Access Development) available in the Management Area (#91--Sunflower) 
in order to accomplish this project. In the current Tahoe LRMP, this 
management practice is not available in this Management Area. If this 
proposal is part of the

[[Page 9144]]

selected alternative, the Forest LRMP will be amended to include L2 as 
a management practice available in Management Area #91.
    In preparing the environmental impact statement, the Forest Service 
will identify and analyze a range of alternatives that address the 
issues developed for this area. One of the alternatives will be no 
treatment. Other alternatives will consider differing levels of timber 
harvest; different techniques for fuels reduction; differing amounts of 
plantation thinning; different types of wildlife habitat improvement; 
and whether to upgrade the #43 road. It also means that the needs of 
people and environmental values will be considered in such a way that 
this area will 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).
    The following list of issues has been identified through initial 
scoping:
    (1) To what extent will harvesting and creation of the DFPZ affect 
water quality?
    (2) What affect will the creation of the DFPZ have on the potential 
for large catastrophic wildfires within the project area?
    (3) To what extent can forest health be improved within the project 
area? In addition, what level of timber commodities could result from 
forest health improvement projects?
    (4) To what extent will the view form the Mosquito Ridge (#96) road 
be affected? What will the visual character be resulting from the 
proposed activities?
    (5) What affect will the proposed activities have on long-term soil 
productivity?
    (6) To what extent will air quality in the Sacramento Valley be 
affected by proposed activities?
    (7) What affect will including harvest of < 10'' diameter trees 
have on the potential to sell harvested trees in a commercial timber 
sale?
    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 will be solicited through mailing letters to 
potentially interested or affected mining claim owners, private land 
owners, and special use permittees on the Foresthill Ranger District; 
posting information in local towns; and mailing letters to local timber 
industries, politicians, school boards, county supervisors, and 
environmental groups. Continued participation will be emphasized 
through individual contacts. Public meetings used as a method of public 
involvement during preparation and review of the draft environmental 
impact statement will be announced in newspapers of general circulation 
in the geographic area of such meetings well in advance of scheduled 
dates.
    The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency 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 meaningful 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 EIS. 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 draft EIS is expected to be available for public review by the 
end of April, 1996. The final EIS is expected to be available by the 
end of June, 1996.
    The responsible official is John H. Skinner, Forest Supervisor, 
Tahoe National Forest, PO Box 6003, Nevada City, CA 95959.

    Dated: February 28, 1996.
John H. Skinner,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-5354 Filed 3-6-96; 8:45 am]
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