[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 12 (Thursday, January 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2399-2400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1217]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Greendale Project, Green Mountain National Forest, Manchester 
Ranger District, Town of Weston, Windsor County, Vermont

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Greendale Project (Project Area) is located on the Green 
Mountain National Forest (GMNF) in the Town of Weston on lands north of 
the Landgrove-Weston Road and west of Route 155, and affects National 
Forest Service System Lands adjacent to the Trout Club Rd., Moses Pond 
Rd., Jenny Coolidge Rd., and the Greendale Rd. The Project Area covers 
approximately 5,404 acres and includes portions of Forest Plan 
designated Management Areas 2.1A, 3.1, 4.1, and 6.2A encompassing 
Compartments 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 45. The 1986 Green Mountain 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) 
determined that these lands are administratively available for 
recreation, wildlife, fisheries and vegetation management to meet a 
range of resource management objectives.
    The Proposed Action would treat approximately 895 acres through 
evenage and unevenage tree harvest using three or more commercial 
timber sales; harvesting approximately 4 million board feet of timber.
    Evenage management would include 26 acres of overstory removal, 267 
acres of thinning, 62 acres of clear-cutting scattered throughout the 
project area, and 154 acres of delayed shelter-wood harvest. Unevenage 
management would consist of 282 acres of individual and 104 acres of 
group tree selection harvest. The objective is to promote both aspen 
and softwood tree regeneration, maintain and restore the diversity of 
tree species & age classes, promote forest health, improve winter deer 
habitat, and maintain a diversity of wildlife habitats within the 
Project Area. The project would also restore and maintain approximately 
32 acres of historic apple orchards and improve stream and fish habitat 
on approximately 1.5 miles of Jenny Coolidge Brook. There would be no 
new road construction or reconstruction of existing roads.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be 
received by February 20, 2002 to ensure timely consideration. The 
Forest Service will also conduct one or more public scoping meetings 
regarding this vegetation management proposal. The public will be 
notified as to the date, time and location of these meeting as they are 
scheduled.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to: Dennis Roy, District 
Ranger, Manchester Ranger District, 2538 Depot Street, Manchester 
Center, Vermont 05255.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Toth, project leader either by 
writing to him at the Manchester Ranger District, 2538 Depot Street, 
Manchester Center, Vermont 05255 or by telephone at (802) 362-2307 Ext: 
212 if you have questions about the project and the preparation of the 
EIS or if you would like to be on the mailing list for this project.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project Area is located within the Town 
Of Weston, Windsor County, Vermont. It encompasses approximately 5,404 
acres of National Forest System Lands on the GMNF. The 1986 Forest Plan 
determined these public lands to be administratively available for 
recreation, wildlife and fisheries habitat improvement and vegetation 
management provided: (1) The proposed

[[Page 2400]]

activities are consistent with the management prescription for each 
Management Area (MA), and (2) that site-specific restrictions, in the 
form of standards and guidelines, are implemented to protect the 
Project Area's natural and cultural resource values. MAs found in the 
Project Area are:
    Management Area 2.1 (38% of the Project Area)--Uneven age 
management is the preferred forest management method to maintain 
continuous forest cover and both roaded natural and dispersed 
recreation opportunities.
    Management Area 3.1 (16% of the Project Area)--Even age management 
is the preferred forest management method to maintain a mosaic of 
vegetative conditions in a roaded, intensively managed but natural 
appearing environment.
    Management Area 4.1 (13% of the Project Area)--Both evenage and 
uneven age management would be used to provide long-term suitable, 
stable deer winter habitat with a mix of forest age.
    Management Area 6.2a (32% of the Project Area)--Even age 
management, using extended rotation lengths, is the preferred 
silvicultural method to maintain a physical setting that provides 
opportunities for solitude and a feeling of closeness to nature.
    General standards and guidelines found in the Forest Plan as well 
as site-specific measures resulting from the EIS analysis would be 
applied to protection Forest resources including, but not limited to: 
Open water, wetlands, streams and riparian areas; wet, steep, and 
shallow soils; designated trails; developed recreational areas; and 
habitat for endangered, threatened, and sensitive plant and animals.
    Public participation has been, and will be, an integral component 
of the study process, and will be especially important at several 
points during the analysis. The first is during the scoping process. 
The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments and assistance 
from federal, state county and local agencies, individuals and 
organizations that may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
activities. Initial public scoping was held on April 6, 1998, and an 
open house was held during the same month. Preliminary issues 
identified for analysis in the EIS include the potential effects by, or 
on: (1) Recreational use of the Project Area, (2) the solitude and a 
feeling of closeness to nature in MA 6.2a, (3) wildlife and wildlife 
habitat, (4) deer habitat management, (5) project size and intensity of 
vegetation management, (6) economics, (7) opportunities for ecosystem 
restoration, (8) the spiritual setting of the Weston Priory, (9) fish 
and aquatic habitat and (10) threatened, endangered and sensitive 
species; including the federally-listed Indiana bat.
    We expect these preliminary issues to be carried through this 
analysis. Additional scoping will be completed to coincide with this 
notice, giving the public an opportunity to identify any new issues or 
concerns.
    Based on the results of scoping and the resource conditions within 
the Project Area, alternatives (including a no-action alternative) will 
be developed for the Draft EIS.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for review in June, 2002. At 
that time, EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS 
in the Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 
days from the date EPA's Notice of Availability appears in the Federal 
Register. The final EIS is anticipated in October, 2002.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to notify reviewers of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
the 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 environmental impact stage, but 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 publics interested in 
this proposed action participate by the close of the 45 day comment 
period on the draft EIS, so that substantive comments and objections 
are made available to the Forest Service at a time when the agency can 
meaningfully consider 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 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.
    Interested parties 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.
    Lead and Cooperating Agencies: The USDA Forest Service, Green 
Mountain National Forest is the lead agency for preparation of this 
document.
    Responsible Official: Dennis P. Roy, District Ranger, Manchester 
Ranger District is the responsible Forest Service official. In making 
the decisions, the responsible official will consider the comments; 
responses; disclosure of environmental consequences; and applicable 
laws, regulations and policies. The responsible officials will state 
the rationale for the chosen alternative in the Records of Decision.

    Dated: January 7, 2002.
Paul K. Brewster,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-1217 Filed 1-16-02; 8:45 am]
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