[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 47 (Monday, March 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10886-10888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5773]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Red Star Restoration; Tahoe National Forest, Placer County, CA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Star Fire burned 16,600 acres in August and September 
2001, on the Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests. Of the total fire, 
approximately 9,478 acres of National Forest System (NFS) land burned 
on the Foresthill Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest. The 
USDA, Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest will prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to reduce the fuel 
loading by removing fire-killed trees on approximately 7,700 acres on 
the Foresthill Ranger District as a result of the Star Fire. The 
Eldorado National Forest is preparing a separate environmental impact 
statement for

[[Page 10887]]

NFS land burned on the Eldorado titled Star Fire Restoration (February 
2001). Both EISs will address cumulative effects of the projects.
    The purpose of the project is to manage predicted surface fuel 
accumulations resulting from fire-killed trees and vegetation to move 
the conditions towards natural fire regimes more rapidly, re-establish 
forest vegetation to restore old forest characteristics and wildlife 
habitat, restore riparian and upslope areas and improve current 
conditions, initiate restoration of the scenery and recreation 
experience, operate and manage the road system necessary to provide 
access, and capture the value of fire-killed trees in order to obtain 
revenue for restoration activities. These actions are required to 
reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire effects and to establish 
forest vegetation to restore the old forest dependent wildlife 
habitats.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope and implementation of this 
proposal should be received by April 8, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Karen Jones, Red Star Restoration 
Project Leader, Tahoe National Forest, 22830 Foresthill Rd, Foresthill, 
CA 95631 or e-mail to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and comments about this EIS 
should be directed to Karen Jones, at the above address, or call her at 
530-367-2224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Approximately 4,363 acres of the 9,478 acres 
that burned on the Star Fire within the Tahoe National Forest are 
within the Duncan Canyon Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA). The goal of 
this project is to maintain the existing un-roaded character within the 
Duncan Canyon IRA and reduce fire-killed fuel accumulations utilizing 
helicopter-yarding systems.
    The Tahoe National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1990) 
and the Sierra Nevada Framework Plan Amendment (2001) identifies the 
desired land allocations for this area as Inventoried Roadless Area 
(4,363 acres), California spotted owl Protected Activity Centers (PACs) 
(1,120 acres), Northern goshawk PACs (730 acres), Old Forest Emphasis 
Areas (7,618 acres), Home Range Core Areas (2,145 acres), Defense Zone 
(316 acres), Threat Zone (1,985 acres), and General Forest (224 acres). 
Many of the acres overlap due to shared allocations. Each allocation 
has a set of standards and guidelines that determine how management 
would proceed within the allocation. The proposed action is designed to 
be consistent with the 1990 Tahoe National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan as amended by the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment 
Record of Decision.
    The Interdisciplinary Team has defined fire-killed trees as trees 
that have dead (black or brown) crowns. This approach was used to 
ensure that only dead, fire-killed trees would be considered for 
removal. Approximately 3,700 acres of trees are dead. Stands that meet 
the stand replacement criteria are areas with greater than 75% 
mortality based on stand basal area and considered in the proposed 
action. Based on field inventories conducted in the fall of 2001, stand 
replacement is predicted to occur during the next 1-3 years on an 
additional 4,000 acres. These acres would be monitored and no burned 
trees would be removed until the stand meets the stand replacement 
criteria and the fire-killed definition (dead-crown criteria) mentioned 
above.
    The proposed action is to:
    1. Cut and remove dead materials greater than one-inch diameter at 
breast height (dbh) that is excess to the desired condition for fuels 
reduction, wildlife retention, and other resource needs. Remove 
commercial material and ground-based equipment on approximately 382 
acres; with skyline yarding systems on approximately 305 acres; and by 
helicopter yarding systems on approximately 2,417 acres. Approximately 
1,033 acres of those proposed for helicopter yarding lie within the 
Duncan Canyon IRA. An additional 1,060 acres of mechanical fuel 
treatment (piling, hand felling and piling, crushing, mastication) of 
smaller diameter material is proposed.
    2. Reforest conifer stand with greater than 75 percent mortality by 
planting approximately 3,369 acres of conifer seedlings.
    3. Provide soil cover by lopping and scattering limbs and tops of 
fire-killed trees that are removed.
    4. Exclude the removal of fire-killed trees from within 50 feet of 
the apparent high water mark of perennial streams and within 25 feet of 
seasonally flowing streams. Outside of these limits, but within the 
Riparian Conservation Area (RCA) boundaries, remove fire-killed trees 
by helicopter yarding.
    5. Cut and remove imminent hazard trees along approximately 11 to 
13 miles of the Western States and Tevis Cup Trails.
    6. Perform maintenance and repairs on 44 (about 52 miles) of NFS 
roads. Decommission approximately 11 miles of 22 National Forest System 
roads after fire restoration work. Three of the roads (for 
approximately 1.2 miles) are within the Duncan Canyon IRA.
    The decision to be made is whether to implement fuel reduction 
treatments to restore desirable characteristics of the ecosystem 
composition and structure (Old Forest characteristics) as proposed or 
to take no action. Alternatives to this proposal would be developed 
based on significant issues identified during the scoping process for 
the environmental impact statement. Alternatives being considered at 
this time include: (1) No Action and (2) the Proposed Action.
    Public participation is important during the analysis. The Forest 
Service will be seeking information, comments, and assistance from the 
Federal, State, and local agencies and other individuals or 
organizations that may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
action. To facilitate public participation, information about the 
proposed action is being mailed to all who have expressed interest in 
the proposed action based on publication in the Tahoe National Forest 
Quarterly Schedule of Proposed Actions and by notifying the public 
during the scoping period by publishing a notice in the Auburn Journal, 
Auburn, CA and The Union, Grass Valley, CA.
    Comments submitted during the scoping process should be in writing, 
and should be specific to the proposed action. The comments should 
describe as clearly and completely as possible any issues the commenter 
has with the proposal. The scoping process includes:
    (a) Identifying potential issues;
    (b) Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth;
    (c) Eliminating non-significant issues or those previously covered 
by a relevant previous environmental analysis;
    (d) Exploring additional alternatives;
    (e) Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed 
action and alternatives.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by April 
2002. 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 the EPA notice appears in the Federal Register. At that 
time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to interested and 
affected agencies, organizations, and members of the public for their 
review and comment. It is very important that those interested in the 
management of the Tahoe National Forest participate at that time.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice at

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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, 803f, 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 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 proposed action 
should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer 
to specific pages or chapters of the proposed action. Comments may also 
address the adequacy of the proposed action 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 would be completed in July 2002. In the final EIS, 
the Forest Service is required to respond to substantive comments 
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 
this proposal.
    Steven T. Eubanks, Forest Supervisor, Tahoe National Forest is the 
responsible official. As the responsible official he 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: March 5, 2002.
Steven T. Eubanks,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-5773 Filed 3-8-02; 8:45 am]
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