[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5019-5020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2377]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Duck-Sheriff Project, Allegheny National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, 
notice is hereby given that the Forest Service, Allegheny National 
Forest (ANF), will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to 
disclose the environmental consequences of the proposed Duck-Sheriff 
project.
    The purpose of this project is to move the ANF from the existing 
condition towards the desired future condition (DFC) as detailed in the 
Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest 
Plan). The Forest Plan allocates land to management where wood 
production is one of the featured objectives (Management Area [MA] 
3.0). Equally important, the Forest Plan allocates land to management 
that emphasizes wildlife and recreation (MA 6.1). The Duck-Sheriff 
project contains both of these management areas.
    In order to move toward the DFC, the acres in early successional 
age class (0-20 year age) need to increase; healthy forested stands 
capable of producing high quality, high value sawtimber need to be 
maintained; and understories dominated by fern, grass or undesirable 
vegetation need to develop desirable seedlings. Project proposals 
include timber harvesting as a means for making desired changes to 
forest vegetation and satisfying the demonstrated public need for wood 
products. Management actions necessary to meet the purpose and need 
include: 1,364 acres of regeneration harvest to ensure future forests; 
herbicide, fertilizer, fencing, mechanical site preparation, and/or 
planting to ensure seedling establishment and growth in understories. 
An additional 1,842 acres of intermediate harvests are planned to 
reduce the competition for light and nutrients, thereby improving the 
health, vigor, and growth of residual trees and to restore the 
understory within mature forests. Activities associated with these 
silvicultural practices include 3 miles of new road construction, 28 
miles of road restoration, 9 miles of road betterment, and 7 acres of 
stone pit development to provide an adequate long-term transportation 
system.
    Additional areas need to be designated for management of late 
successional values, riparian areas need protection and enhancement, 
sections of the North Country Trail need improvement, water borne 
recreation needs enhancement, wildlife habitat needs improvement, and 
interpretation of wildland heritage needs to be increased. Project 
proposals (management actions) were designed to address these needs.
    During project analysis issues will be identified that focus on the 
management of the area. Alternatives will be developed to show various 
ways to address the issues. This process is driven by comments received 
from the public, other agencies, and internal Forest Service concerns. 
To assist in commenting, a scoping letter providing more detailed 
information on the project proposal has been prepared and is available 
to interested parties.
    After analysis, the responsible official will select an alternative 
that maximizes net public benefits for the Duck-Sheriff Project area.

DATES: Comments, suggestions, and recommendations for achieving the 
purpose and need for the Duck-Sheriff Project are now being accepted. 
The public comment period will be for 30 days from the date this notice 
is published in the Federal Register. Comments and suggestions should 
be submitted in writing and postmarked by March 4, 1999 to ensure 
timely consideration.

CONTACT PERSONS & ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions 
concerning the proposed action to: ``Duck-Sheriff Project'', attention 
Sue Wingate--ID Team Leader, Bradford Ranger District, HC1 Box 88, 
Bradford, PA 16701. For further information, contact Sue Wingate @ 
(814) 362-4613. The responsible official for this project is John R. 
Schultz, District Ranger,

[[Page 5020]]

Bradford Ranger District, HC1 Box 88, Bradford, PA 16701.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The analysis of the Duck-Sheriff project is 
conducted under the guidance of the National Environmental Policy Act 
and the Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. 
Preliminary issues were developed based on past public involvement on 
other projects, known concerns of other agencies, interdisciplinary 
team identification of Forest Service concerns, and identified 
opportunities in the project area. The following issues will be carried 
forward in the project analysis. They will be modified as additional 
issues are identified during scoping: (1) Road management and new 
access; (2) deer densities and investments to restore desireable 
understory vegetation; (3) vegetation treatments along the North 
Country Trail; (4) uneven-aged timber management; and (5) old-growth 
forest and contiguous canopy.
    Preliminary alternatives were developed to display management 
opportunities in response to the known issues. Management actions 
within the alternatives respond to the issues in different ways by 
varying the size and intensity of the treatments and projects proposed. 
The amount of even and uneven-aged management, wildlife, recreation 
development, road management, watershed rehabilitation and other 
activities differ within the alternatives. The combinations of proposed 
activities are likely to be adjusted after all comments are reviewed.
    Comments considered beyond the scope of this project which will not 
be evaluated. This includes whether or not commercial timber harvest 
should occur on National Forest System lands; the validity of the 
science of silviculture and forest management; and whether or not to 
allow the use of herbicides on the Allegheny National Forest on a 
programmatic level.

Commenting

    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the 
public record on this proposed action and will be available for public 
inspection. In a recent legal opinion, the Forest Service's Office of 
General Council (OGC) has determined that names and addresses of people 
who respond to a Forest Service solicitation are not protected by the 
Privacy Act and can be released to the public. The Forest Service 
routinely gives notice of and requests comments on proposed land and 
resource management actions accompanied by environmental documents, as 
well as on proposed rules and policies. Comments received in response 
to such solicitations, including names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record and will be 
available for such inspection, upon request. Any person may request the 
agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing how 
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality. The 
opinion states that such confidentiality may be granted in only very 
limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency and to be available for public review by May 15, 
1999. At that time the Environmental Protection Agency will publish a 
notice of availability of the document in the Federal Register. A 
public 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 them and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement 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 
environmental impact statement 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.
    After the comment period ends on the Draft EIS, the comments will 
be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the final 
environmental impact statement. The Final EIS is scheduled to be 
completed by September 15, 1999. The decision will be subject to appeal 
under 36 CFR 215.

    Dated: January 27, 1999.
John R. Schultz,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 99-2377 Filed 2-1-99; 8:45 am]
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