[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 251 (Monday, December 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68704-68705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33192]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 251 / Monday, December 30, 1996 / 
Notices  

[[Page 68704]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Beaver Creek Salvage Timber Sale and Other Restoration Projects, 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Union 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) for a set of proposals to implement a salvage timber 
sale and several other related restoration and rehabilitation projects 
within the Beaver Creek Project Area. The EIS will tier to the 1990 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) for the Wallowa-Whitman 
National Forest, which provides the overall management direction for 
the area. The Forest Service proposed action will be consistent with 
the Forest Plan.
    The proposed projects are primarily located with the Beaver Creek 
Municipal Watershed in the Beaver Creek, West Fork Beaver Creek, and 
Beatty Creek drainages on the La Grande Ranger District, approximately 
15 air miles south and west of La Grade, Oregon. The project area 
consists of 16,000 acres. The following activities are proposed: (1) 
Salvage of dead and down trees to reduce fuel loadings, harvest of 
other trees to improve stand health and vigor; (2) development of 
associated road systems; (3) construction of a reduced fuel corridor 
system; (4) exchange of a low quality stand of allocated old growth for 
another stand of high quality old growth; (5) completion of structure 
protection measures; (6) implementation of bank and instream water 
quality restoration practices in areas of known damage; and (7) re-
intoduction of fire in a portions of the project area to reduce fuel 
loadings and enhance a ponderosa pine site.
    The projects would be implemented from Fiscal Year 1998 into the 
year 2000. The agency invites written comments and suggestions on the 
scope of this project. In addition, the agency gives notice of this 
analysis so that interested and affected people are aware of how they 
may participate and contribute to the planning process and final 
decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by January 31, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written concerns and comments to Robert P. Rainville, 
District Ranger, La Grande Ranger District, 3502 Highway 30, La Grande, 
Oregon 97850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions about the proposed action and EIS to Cindy Whitlock, 
Project Coordinator, 3502 Highway 30, La Grande, Oregon 97850, phone 
(541) 962-8501.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Forest Service proposal 
is to maintain, protect and enhance water quality within the project 
area through creation of a fuel reduction corridor network (18 miles of 
fuel reduction corridors), reduction of fuel loadings through salvage 
of the insect killed existing dead timber (5.0 million board feet 
(MMBF) from 892 acres), proactive management of other high priority 
stands to improve stand growth and vigor to meet long term desired 
ecosystem and management goals (1.0 MMBF from 299 acres), 
implementation of riparian restoration activities (5 miles of project 
area streams), and improvement of the old growth network within the 
area by replacing allocation of poor quality stands with ones of higher 
quality. The proposed action will be consistent with the Forest Plan, 
which provides goals, objectives, standards and guidelines of the 
various activities and land allocations on the forest.
    The Forest Plan allocates the project area into four management 
areas (MAs): (MA1) Timber Production Emphasis, less than 1% (12 acres); 
(MA3A) Wildlife/Timber, 86% (14,000 acres-Big game summer range); MA3) 
wildlife/Timber, 2% (309 acres); (MA15) Old Growth Preservation, 9% 
(1,400 acres). Private lands (320 acres) and also included within the 
project area boundary (2% of the area). Although excluded from Forest 
Service activities, project access and the condition of private lands 
will be considered during alternative development and when analyzing 
potential cumulative effects.
    The Key issues identified to date include:
    1. Wildlife Habitat--(short-term and long-term considerations, big 
game and non-game habitat needs, road construction and densities, and 
old growth effectiveness/availability).
    2. Stand Health--(tree mortality, reduced tree stocking levels, 
progression to the desired future condition)
    3. Water Quality/Riparian Health, Fisheries--(water quality, 
quantity, flow, temperature, and timing, and riparian vegetation 
condition).
    4. Economics
    5. Roadless Area Character
    A range of project alternatives will be considered, including a no-
action alternative. Based on the issues gathered through scoping, the 
action alternatives will vary in (1) the amount and location of acres 
considered for treatment, (2) the amount of road constructed for 
access, (3) the silvicultural and post-harvest treatments prescribed, 
(4) the number, type, and location of rehabilitation projects, and (5) 
the amount of time needed to move the area toward its Desired Future 
Condition.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis, beginning with the scoping process (40 CFR 
1501.7). 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 in or affected by 
the proposed project. This input will be used in preparation of the 
draft EIS. Continued scoping and public participation efforts will be 
used by the interdisciplinary team to identify new issues, determine 
alternatives in response to the issues, and determine the level of 
analysis needed to disclose potential biological, physical, economic, 
and social impacts associated with this project. The scoping process 
includes:
    1. Identification of potential issues.
    2. Identification of issues to be analyzed in depth.
    3. Elimination of insignificant issues or those which have been 
covered by a relevant previous environmental process.

[[Page 68705]]

    4. Exploration of additional alternatives based on the issues 
identified during the scoping process.
    5. 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 
August,1997. The EPA will publish a notice of availability of the draft 
EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the draft EIS will 
be 45 days from the date the EPA notice appears in the Federal 
Register. At that time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to 
interested and affected agencies, organizations, and members of the 
public for their review and comment. It is important that those 
interested in the management of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest 
participate at that time.
    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, reviewers of 
a draft EI must structure their participation in the environmental 
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts the 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 
objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it 
can meaningfully consider and respond to them in the final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed actions, 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 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 for completion by January, 1998. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to substantive 
comments received during the comment period for the draft EIS. Robert 
M. Richmond, Forest Supervisor of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, 
is the responsible official. He will decide which, if any, of the 
proposed project alternatives will be implemented. His decision and 
reason for the decisions will be documented in the Record of Decision. 
That decision will be subject to Forest Service appeal regulations (36 
CFR Part 217).

    Dated: December 19, 1996.
R.M. Richmond,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-33192 Filed 12-27-96; 8:45 am]
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