[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 25 (Friday, February 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6149-6150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2975]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Young'n Timber Sales, Willamette National Forest, Lane 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 Proposed Action to harvest and regenerate timber, 
and thin young stands created by past regeneration harvest. This EIS 
was triggered during an environmental analysis (EA) which discovered a 
potential for significant impacts as defined under NEPA 1508.27. The 
proposed action also calls for the construction, reconstruction, 
decommissioning of roads, restoration of degraded stream channels, 
improvement of big game forage, and other habitat restoration projects 
within the Middle Fork drainage of the Willamette River watershed. The 
planning area is bisected by the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. 
The west side of the planning area is bounded by Forest Road 5850, 
Forest Road 2125 forms the south boundary, and Snow Creek forms the 
north boundary. On the east side of the planning area, Warner Mountain, 
Logger Butte, and Joe's Prairie border the east and north side of the 
planning area, and the Young's Rock Trail borders the southern end of 
the planning area. The area is approximately 57 air miles southeast of 
the City of Eugene and 12 air miles south of the City of Oakridge. 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. These proposals are tentatively planned for 
implementation in fiscal years 1999-2001.
    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 March 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the 
management of this area to Rick Scott, District Ranger, Rigdon Ranger 
District, Willamette National Forest, P.O. Box 1410, Oakridge, Oregon 
97463.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions about the proposed action and the scope of analysis to 
Kristie Miller, Planning Resource Management Assistant or John Agar, 
Project Coordinator, Rigdon Ranger District, phone 541-782-2283.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Young'n Planning area is entirely within 
the Middle Fork of the Willamette River watershed. A Watershed Analysis 
was completed for the Middle Fork of the Willamette River in August, 
1995, titled; the Middle Fork Willamette River Downstream Tributaries 
Watershed Analysis Report.
    The purpose of this project is to harvest timber in a manner that 
implements the Forest Plan management objectives and Watershed Analysis 
recommendations.
    The proposal includes harvesting timber in four to five separate 
timber sales, over the next three years. Up to four sales would involve 
regeneration harvest and one sale would involve commercial thinning. 
Both thinning and regeneration harvest timber sale proposals would 
involve road construction, reconstruction, and decommissioning. This 
analysis will evaluate a range of alternatives addressing the Forest 
Service proposals to harvest approximately 20.5 million board feet; 
approximately 1.1 million board feet would be generated from thinning 
some 218 acres of young managed stands created by past clearcut 
harvest, and approximately 19.4 million board feet would be generated 
by regeneration harvest on approximately 580 acres. All the above 
proposed harvest would require a total of 2.7 miles of temporary road 
construction and 40 miles of road reconstruction.

[[Page 6150]]

    The Young'n planning area comprises about 38,000 acres; of this 
total, 4,122 (11%) acres are private land. Of the 33,878 acres of 
Forest Service land, about 15,313 acres (45%) have been previously 
harvested and regenerated. Of the remaining acres, approximately 1,850 
(5.4%) acres is in a mature stand condition, ranging in ages from 70 to 
170 years, and 16,700 acres is in an old-growth stand condition, stand 
ages exceeding 200 years. The planning area contains about 1,536 acres 
(4%) of non-forested vegetation types and rock outcrops. Management 
areas that provide for programmed timber harvest are Scenic (11a, 11c, 
11d) and General Forest (14a). Other land allocations in this planning 
area are Late-Successional Reserves (16A, 16B), Riparian Reserves 
(15A), Wild and Scenic River Corridor, and the Moon Point Special 
Interest Area (5A).
    The project area does not include any inventoried roadless area.
    Preliminary issues identified in this analysis are potential 
impacts to habitat of plant and animal communities, landscape 
connectivity and wildlife dispersal corridors, watershed restoration 
opportunities, cumulative watershed effects, scenic quality along the 
Middle Fork of the Willamette River, forest growth and yield, and 
economics.
    Scoping was initiated again in April of 1996. Alternatives were 
developed and preliminary analysis was completed during the summer and 
fall of 1997. The developed alternatives consisted of: (A) optimization 
of growth and yield while meeting Forest Plan Standard and Guidelines 
Thresholds, (B) conservation of habitat while exceeding current Forest 
Plan Standard and Guidelines (C) blend alternative; optimization of 
growth and yield and conserve the most functional habitats while 
meeting Forest Plan Standard and Guidelines (D) No Action. Alternative 
A would treat 902 acres and generate 24.5 MMBF of timber volume, 
Alternative B would treat 709 acres and generate 18.1 MMBF of timber 
volume, Alternative C would treat 790 acres and generate 20.5 MMBF of 
timber volume, and Alternative D No Action would defer harvest in this 
planning area. All action alternatives were developed to avoid forest 
fragmentation and system road construction. Results of the above 
actions, documented in an environmental analysis, indicated a potential 
for significant effects to the human environment, hence the need for 
documentation with an Environmental Impact Statement.
    The Forest Service will be seeking additional information, comments 
and assistance from Federal, State, local agencies, tribes, and other 
individuals or organizations who may be interested or affected by the 
proposed project. Additional input will be used to help verify the 
existing analysis and determine if additional issues and alternatives 
should be developed. This input will be used in preparation of the 
draft EIS.
    The scoping process will include the following:
     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 for a 45 day period, 
following the date the EPA publishes the notice of availability in the 
Federal Register.
    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 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 June, 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. Rick Scott, District Ranger, is the 
responsible official and as responsible official, he will document the 
Young'n Timber Sales and connected actions and rational in a Record of 
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal 
Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).

    Dated: January 28, 1998.
Rick Scott,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 98-2975 Filed 2-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M