[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 92 (Friday, May 11, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24095-24097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11866]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


County Line--Fourmile Project, McKean And Warren Counties, PA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger 
District will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to 
disclose the environmental consequences of the proposed County Line--
Fourmile Project, and alternatives to the proposal.
    The County Line--Fourmile Project area is located just north and 
northeast of Sheffield, Pennsylvania within Mead and Sheffield 
Townships in Warren County and Hamilton Township in McKean County. The 
total project area is approximately 12,515 acres, with 70% National 
Forest System lands and 30% private land.
    The Forest Service is proposing to move from the existing condition 
of the County Line--Fourmile project area towards the Desired Future 
Condition, as detailed in the Allegheny National Forest Land and 
Resource Management Plan. Vegetation management, wildlife habitat 
improvements and transportation activities are proposed to respond to 
the following resource management needs: (1) To restore native 
vegetation to improve plant and wildlife habitat diversity, and move 
toward the desired age class distributions of forested stands, (2) To 
foster sustainable forest management through harvest and reforestation 
projects in stands needing treatment, (3) To provide high quality 
hardwoods and contribute to the economic vitality of local communities, 
(4) To improve wildlife cover and forage conditions and the 
distribution of non-

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forest wildlife habitats, (5) To improve the distribution of non-forest 
habitats to meet the needs of wildlife species that prefer or require 
herbaceous openings, and (6) To provide an adequate transportation 
system to facilitate the activities proposed while protecting watershed 
values.
    Proposed activities to meet the Desired Future Condition are: (1) 
Initiation of regeneration harvest through a shelterwood/removal cut 
sequence (604 acres); (2) Completion of removal cuts on stands already 
treated with a shelterwood (527 acres); (3) Intermediate harvest 
including thinning and conifer release (199 acres); (4) Reforestation 
treatments including herbicide application (1080 acres), site 
preparation (967 acres), fertilization (644 acres), and fencing (139 
acres); (5) Wildlife habitat improvement including conifer/mast 
underplanting (219 acres), planting shrubs and mast in openings (49 
acres), opening construction/maintenance and seeding (141 acres), 
savannah construction (6 acres), apple tree pruning and releasing 
shrubs (48 acres), and vernal pool construction (9 pools); (6) 
Transportation activities on roads to be used for the proposed timber 
sale including road construction (0.6 miles), road reconstruction (2.6 
miles), road maintenance (22.6 miles), limestone surfacing (5.7 miles), 
and stone pit expansion and construction (8 acres); and (7) Resource 
protection activities including closing the end of Forest Road 139.3 
(0.9 miles).

DATES: Comments identifying issues concerning the effects of the 
proposal should be postmarked on or before June 4, 2001 to receive 
timely consideration in the draft EIS. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section for public meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Chris Ryan, Team Leader, USDA 
Forest Service, 3801 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308. Send 
electronic comments to: [email protected]. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for additional information about electronic filing 
and public meeting addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Ryan, Team Leader, at 661-391-
6107 or Jim Apgar, Bradford Ranger District, at 814-362-4613.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information presented in this notice is 
included to help the reviewer determine if they are interested in or 
potentially affected by the proposed land management activities. The 
information presented in this notice is summarized. Those who wish to 
provide comments, or are otherwise interested in the project, are 
encouraged to obtain additional information from the contact identified 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Preliminary Issues

    Three preliminary issues have been identified:
    1. Road Management--The Forest Service will complete a Roads 
Analysis, which will assess the benefits, problems and risks of the 
current road system within the project area and identify management 
opportunities. This analysis may identify road issues related to the 
proposal.
    2. Even-Aged/Uneven-Aged Management--The Forest Plan specifies the 
primary silvicultural system to be used in each management area. Even-
aged management is the system identified for most of the Project Area. 
Uneven-aged management is an option considered for inclusions such as 
riparian areas, wet soils, or visually sensitive areas.
    The interdisciplinary team will develop and analyze at least one 
alternative emphasizing uneven-aged management.
    3. Class A Trout Fishery--The Project Area includes Fourmile Run, 
which is a Class A trout fishery. Maintenance of fisheries values and 
water quality will be important considerations for management 
activities in the vicinity.

Public Involvement and Public Meetings

    An Open House will be held to provide information on the Roads 
Analysis for this project and for other projects proposed on the 
Bradford Ranger District. This meeting will be held at the Bradford 
Ranger District Office on May 14, 2001, from 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
    Comments may be sent by electronic mail to 
[email protected]. Please reference the County Line--Fourmile 
Project on the subject line. Also, include your name and mailing 
address with your comments so documents pertaining to this project may 
be mailed to you.
    Additional information concerning the proposal can be accessed on 
the internet in the ``Projects'' section of the Allegheny National 
Forest website, located at www.fs.fed.us/r9/allegheny.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency and available for public review by September 2001. 
The 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.
    Comments received, including names and addresses of those who 
comment, will become part of the public record and may be subject to 
public disclosure. Any person may request the Agency to withhold a 
submission from the public record by showing how the Freedom of 
Information Act permits such confidentiality.
    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 objection that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement state but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 
stage may be waived or dismissed by the courts (City of Angoon v. 
Hodel, 803 F.2nd 1016, 1022 [9th Cir. 1986] and Wisconsin Heritages, 
Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 [E.D. Wis. 1980]).
    Because of the above 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 are made available to 
the Forest Service at a time when they can be meaningfully considered 
and responded to in the final environmental impact statement. Comments 
on the draft environmental impact statement should be as specific as 
possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages, 
sections, 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 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 received 
will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the 
final EIS.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in March 2002. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the comments 
received (40 CFR 1503.4). The responsible official will consider the 
comments, responses, environmental consequences discussed in the 
environmental impact statement,

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and applicable laws, regulations and policies in making a decision 
regarding this proposal. The responsible official will document the 
decision and reasons for the decision in a Record of Decision. That 
decision will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR part 215.
    The responsible official is John R. Schultz, District Ranger, 
Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, HC 1, Box 88, 
Bradford, PA 16701.

    Dated: April 24, 2001.
Dale Dunshie,
Acting Forest Supervisor,
[FR Doc. 01-11866 Filed 5-10-01; 8:45 am]
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