[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34769-34770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16474]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


TwoBee Landscape Management Project, Willamette National Forest, 
Lane and Linn Counties, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) on a proposal to thin and regenerate forest stands, 
construct and reconstruct roads, decommission and obliterate roads, 
restore and maintain ecosystem function, and use prescribed fire within 
the Two Bee project area in the Upper McKenzie River drainage. The 
project area is about 60 miles east of Springfield/Eugene, and is in 
portions of the Hackleman, Smith, and Browder Creek drainages. The 
purpose and need for action is to provide timber products from this 
area as part of the Willamette National Forest annual harvest and to 
maintain and restore ecosystem function. Harvest and regeneration would 
provide both short-term and long-term benefits to society in the form 
of wood fiber and economic opportunity. The project is proposed for 
fiscal years 2001 and 2002. The Willamette National Forest invites 
written comment on this proposal and the scope of analysis. The agency 
will give notice of the full environmental analysis and decision making 
process for the proposal so interested and affected people may 
participate and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by August 30, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to John Allen, District Ranger, 
McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie Bridge, OR 97413.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Norm Michaels, TwoBee project leader, 
McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie Bridge, OR 97413, phone (541) 822-
3381.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA, Forest Service Proposed Action is 
to reintroduce natural fire through the prescribed burning of 
understory layers in selected stands. Trees will be harvested through 
commercial thinning, selection harvest, and regeneration harvest on an 
estimated 1,000 acres, removing about 20 million board feet of timber. 
There will be permanent roads constructed and temporary roads 
constructed to access treatment units. There will also be roads 
repaired and decommissioned or obliterated. This proposed action will 
continue to develop opportunities for post/pole/chip/firewood products 
from small-sized trees; and develop habitat improvement projects for a 
variety of wildlife, fish, and sensitive plant species.
    These activities will be consistent with the 1990 Final EIS for the 
Willamette National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan and the 
Willamette Land and Resource Management Plan as amended by the 1994 
Record of Decision for management of habitat for late-successional and 
old-growth forest related species within the range of the Northern 
Spotted Owl. This project will be guided by the recommendations in the 
Upper McKenzie Watershed Analysis.
    The decision-to-be-made will include whether and/or how much 
harvest should occur, whether and/or which activities should be 
accomplished to maintain or improve the ecosystem function such as 
prescribed burning of natural fuels, whether and/or how much road 
decommissioning, repair, obliteration, or construction should occur, 
and whether and/or which activities would be appropriate for 
improvement of habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants.
    The project area includes all or portions of T13S, R6E, Sec 25; 
T13S, R7E, Sec 29, 30, 31, 32; T14S, R6E, Sec 12, 13, 23, 24, 25-28, 
34-36; T14S, R7E, Sec 5-8, 17-20, 29-31; T15S, R6E, Sec 1, 2, 11, 12; 
T14S, R7E, Sec 6.
    Preliminary issues have been identified: landscape level pattern 
and vegetative diversity; stand health and vigor; water quality; 
proposed endangered; threatened or sensitive species; heritage 
resources; big game habitat; and recreational activities.
    Alternatives to be considered will include the no action 
alternative, plus action alternatives that will be developed in 
response to key issues. The action alternatives will include various 
levels of timber harvest, prescribed fire, road work, and other 
activities which may be identified.
    Initial scoping will begin in June 1999. The public is invited to 
offer suggestions and comments in writing. Comments received in 
response to this notice, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available to public inspection. Comments submitted 
anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit 
anonymous comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent 
decision under 36 CFR part 215. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 
1.27(d); 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 may be granted in only limited 
circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service 
will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the 
request for confidentiality, and where the request is

[[Page 34770]]

denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the requester 
that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address 
within a specified number of days.
    The draft EIS expected to be completed in April 2000. The comment 
period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date of the 
Environmental Protection Agency 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, reviewers 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 
objections 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 November 2000. 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 the TwoBee Landscape Management Project.
    The Forest Service is the lead agency. John Allen, District Ranger, 
is the Responsible Official. As the Responsible Official, he will 
decide whether to implement the project. The Responsible Official will 
document the decision and reasons for the decision in the Record of 
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal 
Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

    Dated: June 16, 1999.
John Allen,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 99-16474 Filed 6-28-99; 8:45 am]
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