[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 147 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40874-40876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20227]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 147 / Friday, July 31, 1998 /
Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Salvage Harvest Due to 1998 Storm Damage, Daniel Boone National
Forest, McCeary and Pulaski Counties, KY
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) to disclose the environmental effect of removing trees
damaged by a severe snowstorm that occurred in February 1998, and
severe wind storms that occurred in April and May 1998. The areas under
consideration for this proposal include approximately 3400 acres on the
Stearns and Somerest Ranger Districts within the Daniel Boone National
Forest. Pine trees that will be removed include trees that are downed;
trees that have 50% or more of the live crown missing or damaged;
uprooted trees; or leaning and root sprung trees. Hardwood trees that
will be removed include trees that are downed, uprooted, leaning and
root sprung. Other damaged standing trees may be removed for public
safety or logging access.
The proposed method of removal is to use salvage timber sales which
may include the use of helicopter, cable yarding, and ground skidding
methods. Skidding methods may use motorized equipment or animals.
Connected actions include construction of temporary roads,
maintenance of existing roads, and erosion control measures to minimize
soil movement.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this analysis should be
received by August 31, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Michael B. Kluempke, Daniel Boone
National Forest, 761 South Laurel Road, London, KY 40744.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myra Williamson, Silviculturist,
Stearns Ranger District, Daniel Boone National Forest, P.O. Box 429, US
Highway 27 North, Whitley City, KY 42653, or by calling (606) 376-5323.
RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: The Forest Supervisor for the Daniel Boone
National Forest, located at 1700 Bypass Road, Winchester, KY 40391, is
the Responsible Official for this action.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Need for the Proposal
On February 3, 1998, a snow storm dropped approximately two feet of
heavy, wet snow across the southern half of the Forest. On April 16,
1998, a tornado, along with strong straight-line winds, hit the Stearns
Ranger District. On May 31, 1998, a windstorm hit both the Stearns and
Somerest Ranger Districts.
The February snowstorm impacted a significant portion of the
191,000 acres of National Forest System lands on the Stearns and
Somerest Districts. Most impact occurred within the ridgetop forest
stands. The most heavily impacted stands were composed primarily of
Virginia pine, most of which suffered broken stems, were uprooted or
were severely bent over. Hardwoods and shortleaf pine trees were
generally uprooted, or suffered some crown damage.
When the April and May windstorms swept through the western and
southern parts of the Somerset and Stearns Districts they damaged
approximately 3,000 acres of hardwood and hardwood-pine forest. Some of
these areas were also affected by the snowstorm. Within the the damaged
areas, most of the larger diameter trees were uprooted, while others
were twisted, snapped, lifted (resulting in root damage), or bent. In
the western part of the Stearns District these windstorms have left
entire hillsides where all or most of the trees have been leveled.
The storm damage has resulted in a substantial increase in fuel
loading over the entire area. This is due to the large amount of
foliage, twigs, limbs and stems of damaged and fallen trees greatly
increasing the fuels available for wildfire.
The extent of the fire hazards created by additional fuel loading
is dependent on the dispersion and the arrangement of fuels. Heavy fuel
accumulations may occur adjacent to what would normally be an effective
location for control lines. The height of fuels could create a ladder
for fire to enter into the crowns of trees and increase the rate of
spread.
This vertical and horizontal arrangement of fuels needs to be
disrupted. The increased fuel loading, when dry, would increase
wildfire intensity and is a severe impediment of fireline construction
and control of fires.
Because the National Forest land ownership pattern in the areas
affected by the storm events is highly variable, conditions on one
ownership tend to also have indirect effects upon conditions of other
ownership. The excessive fuel loads currently in the forest increases
the potential for severe wildfires to spread to private lands.
A large portion of the project area is within the tentative Habitat
Management Area for the Red-cockaded woodpecker. In order to recover
this species, as well as other rare fire-associated plants and animals,
active management is needed to create and maintain pine and pine-
hardwood forest types. The current condition of many of these proposed
treatment areas inhibits the use of prescribed fire and stand
regeneration activities that are necessary to create and maintain
habitat for these species.
Many of the proposed treatment areas have been heavily used in the
past by the general public for various recreational activities such as
hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and bird watching. The high number of
down trees criss-crossed on the forest floor present serious obstacles
to foot travel, and trees left hanging or leaning pose safety risks to
users of the general forest.
B. Purpose
The purpose of this action is to allow for the timely removal of
damaged trees within heavily storm-damaged areas of the Daniel Boone
National Forest to meet the following general objectives:
1. Reduce current fuel loads and modify their arrangement where
they present a wildfire hazard to the life and property on adjacent
private land.
2. Reduce current fuel loads and modify their arrangement to
minimize damage to Forest resources that may result from a catastrophic
wildfire.
3. To restore the ability to manage these areas towards the
objectives outlined in the Forest Land and
[[Page 40875]]
Resource Management Plan (FLRMP) for Management Areas 7 and 9.
4. To provide for the safety of forest users and employees within
the project area.
The Daniel Boone National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan
(FLRMP) provides overall guidance for management activities in the
affected area where the storm damage has occurred. Approximately 100
acres are located in Management Area 9. The remaining acres are located
in Management Area 7. Forest wide management goals include (FLRMP IV-
1,2):
1. Protect and enhance habitat for all threatened and endangered
species and strive towards increasing population levels to facilitate
removal from T&E status.
2. Manage the Forest in a manner that is sensitive to economic
feasibility.
3. Provide a diversity of plant and animal communities.
4. Protect, maintain and/or improve soil productivity and water
quality.
5. Provide the habitat requirements of the management indicator
species.
The general management direction for Management Area 7 (FLRMP IV-
119) includes the following requirements:
1. Otimize growing potential for yellow and white pine, and upland
and cove hardwoods;
2. Provide a moderate to high degree of wildlife habitat diversity;
and
3. Provide a broad range of undeveloped recreation opportunities.
The general management direction for Management Area 9 is to
protect and maintain the scenic quality of the area while providing
dispersed recreation opportunities and enhance wildlife (FLRMP IV-135).
Salvage timber sales are proposed to meet these objectives in the
most timely and efficient manner. The use of salvage timber sales will
allow the objectives to be accomplished in a short time frame. Because
the recoverable economic value of forest products from storm damaged
trees will decrease significantly over time as a result of
deterioration, it is imperative that the material be removed in the
most efficient and timely manner possible.
C. Proposed Scoping Process
Public participation is an important part of the analysis. The
scoping period associated with this Notice of Intent will be thirty
(30) days in length, beginning the day after publication of this
notice. In addition to this scoping, the public may visit Forest
Service officials at any time during the analysis and prior to the
decision.
The Daniel Boone National Forest 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. Comments submitted during the scoping process
should be in writing. They should be specific to the action being
proposed and should describe as clearly and completely as possible any
issues the commentor has with the proposal. 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 nonsignificant 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.
D. Preliminary Issues Identified to Date Include
1. Removal of damaged trees and associated activities may affect
threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species and
associated habitat.
2. Ground disturbing activities associated with the proposed action
may cause soil movement and increase stream sedimentation which may
affect soil productivity and water quality.
3. The proposed action may impact the scenic quality adjacent to
Rock Creek, a State Wild River, Marsh Creek, a proposed Federal Wild
and/or Recreational River, and within Natural Arch Scenic Area.
E. Possible Alternatives Identified to Date Include
1. No Action: This alternative will serve as a baseline for
comparison of alternatives. This alternative will be fully developed
and analyzed.
2. Proposed Action: As described above, this alternative will
remove trees damaged in three storms. The proposed method of removal is
to use salvage timber sales which may include the use of helicopters,
cable yarding, ground skidding methods, or animals.
F. Estimated Data for DEIS and FEIS
The DEIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency and to be available for public comment by November 1998. At that
time, the Environmental Protection Agency will publish a notice of
availability of the DEIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on
the DEIS 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
DEIS 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 objectives that
could be raised at the DEIS stage but that are not raised until after
the completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) may
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.
2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritage, Inc. v. Harris,
490 F. Supp. 1334 (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 them and respond to
them in the FEIS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the DEIS should be as
specific as possible. It is also helpful if the comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also
address the adequacy of the DEIS 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 provision of the National Environmental Policy Act at 40
CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
After the comment period ends on the DEIS, the comments will be
analyzed, considered, and responded to by the Forest Service in
preparing the FEIS. The FEIS is scheduled to be completed in January
1999. The responsible official will consider the comments, responses,
environmental consequences discussed in the FEIS, and applicable laws,
regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this proposed
action. The responsible official will document the decision and reasons
for the decision in the Record of Decision. That
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decision will be subject to appeal in accordance with 36 CFR part 215.
Benjamin T. Worthington,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-20227 Filed 7-30-98; 8:45 am]
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