[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65241-65243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32398]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Moose Subwatershed Timber Sales, Willamette National Forest, Linn 
County, OR

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 to harvest and regenerate timber, and to 
construct and reconstruct roads in the Moose

[[Page 65242]]

Subwatershed. The legal description of the planning area is: T.13 S., 
R.3 E., Sections 11-15, 22-27; T.13 S., R.4 E., Sections 7, 17-19. 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. This proposal is tentatively planned for 
fiscal years 1998-2000.
    The Willamette National Forest invites written comments and 
suggestions on the scope of the analysis in addition to those comments 
already received as a result of local public participation activities. 
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 January 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the 
management of this area to Darrel Kenops, Forest Supervisor, Willamette 
National Forest, P.O. Box 10607 Eugene, Oregon 97386.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the proposed 
action and EIS to Donna Short, Integrated Resource Management Assistant 
or Suzanne Schindler, Project Coordinator, Sweet Home Ranger District, 
phone 541-367-5168.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Moose Subwatershed is completely within 
the Central Cascades Adaptive Management Area (CCAMA) designated in the 
Northwest Forest Plan (ROD, C21-22). The purpose of AMAs is to 
encourage the development and testing of technical and social 
approaches to achieving desired ecological, economic, and other social 
objectives. AMAs are expected to produce timber as part of their 
program of activities consistent with their specific direction.
    Management objectives for the Moose Lake Block in the CCAMA are 
described in the ROD, the South Santiam Watershed Analysis (SSWA), and 
the CCAMA Strategic Guide.
    The purpose of this project is to harvest timber in a manner that 
implements the management objectives, specifically:
     Utilize landscape design processes to understand long 
term, historic patterns of landscape change created by natural 
disturbance processes, land management practices and vegetation 
succession (CCAMA Strategic Guide p. 39).
     Develop approaches for integrating forest and stream 
management objectives and the implications of natural disturbance 
regimes. (CCAMA Strategic Guide p. 35, ROD D12-13).
     Manage young and mature stands to accelerate development 
of late successional conditions (Strategic Guide p. 35, ROD D12-13).
    The Forest Service has a need to provide alternative timber harvest 
to the Mr. Rogers Timber Sale on the Siuslaw National Forest pursuant 
to Section 2001(k)(3) of the Rescission Act (Pub. L. 104-19) and the 
September 17, 1996 settlement agreement in Northwest Resources Council 
v. Glickman and Babbit. Under the Act and the agreement, such 
alternative timber volume must be ``an equal volume of timber, of like 
kind and value, which shall be subject to the terms of the original 
contract'' (or as otherwise acceptable to the purchaser). Designation 
of alternative timber volume must also be done in consultation and 
agreement with the purchaser.
    The proposal includes harvesting timber by thinning and 
regeneration methods and constructing road under the Moose Subwatershed 
Timber Sale. This analysis will evaluate a range of alternatives 
addressing the Forest Service proposal to harvest approximately 13.0 
million board feet of timber from approximately 600 to 1600 acres and 
anticipate 0.5 miles of road construction.
    The Moose Subwatershed is comprised of 13,562 acres, including 
4,630 acres of private land. Of the 8,932 acres of Forest Service 
ownership 1,252 has regenerated. For the most part the remaining 7,680 
acres is in second growth and late-successional/old-growth type of 
vegetative structure. Management areas that provide for timber harvest 
are Scenic (11a) and General Forest. No harvest allocations in this 
subwatershed are the Cougar Rock Special Interest Area, 100 acre Late-
Successional Reserves, Bald Eagle Management Area, and the Moose Lake 
Dispersed Recreation Area.
    The project area includes a portion of the Moose Lake RARE I area, 
which was considered but not selected for wilderness designation and is 
the reason for initiating this EIS.
    Preliminary issues identified are roadless area quality, and water 
quality and anadramous fish habitat.
    Initial scoping began in May, 1997. Preliminary analysis is 
currently being conducted. The Forest Service will be seeking 
additional information, comments and assistance from Federal, State and 
local agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be 
interested or affected by the proposed project. Additional input will 
be used to help identify key issues and develop alternatives. This 
input will be used in preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process 
includes:
     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 additional alternatives based on the issues 
identified during the scoping process; and
     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 March 
1998. The comment period on the draft EIS will be January 26, 1998.
    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

[[Page 65243]]

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 April 1998. 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. Darrel L. Kenops, Forest Supervisor, is the 
responsible official and as responsible official, he will document the 
Moose Subwatershed Timber Sales decision and rationale in the Record of 
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal 
Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

    Dated: December 2, 1997.
Darrel L. Kenops,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 97-32398 Filed 12-10-97; 8:45 am]
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