[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41688-41690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-15471]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Arapaho National Recreation Area Forest Health Project EIS--
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland

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 on a proposal to take pre-suppression measures on a mountain 
pine beetle infestation of stands of lodgepole pine, and to address 
overall forest health issues in high-risk areas, within the Arapaho 
National Recreation Area (ANRA), and adjacent to Rocky Mountain 
National Park, in Grand County, Colorado (Township 2N & 3N, Range 75W & 
76W). The purpose of the proposal is to moderate the mountain pine 
beetle infestation, to reduce fuels buildup, to foster a healthy, 
diverse forest through vegetation management, and to preserve the 
outstanding scenic values of the area. If implemented, the Forest 
Service will improve the overall forest health and condition of the 
ANRA through forest management activities in the following key areas: 
(1) Developed recreation sites, (2) Main scenic corridors and 
viewsheds, (3) Adjacent to private property to complement treatment 
efforts on private lands, and (4) Other areas adjacent to or within the 
ANRA in which the condition of forested areas is declining.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
on or before July 19, 2002. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 
public meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to James S. Bedwell, Forest 
Supervisor, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National 
Grassland, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80524. Electronic 
mail may be sent to [email protected]. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section for additional information about electronic filing and public 
meeting addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Caissie, EIS Team Leader, (970) 
494-2715.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service proposes to treat 
vegetation within and adjacent to the Arapaho National Recreation Area 
(ANRA) to suppress a mountain pine beetle infestation, reduce fuels 
buildup, and improve the overall forest health of the area. The ANRA is 
a congressionally designated area on the Sulphur Ranger District of the 
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland 
managed primarily or recreation and public enjoyment. Over 1.5 million 
people visit the ANRA annually. The area is characterized by 5 major 
reservoirs surrounded by forested, mountainous terrain and includes 
twenty-two heavily used developed recreation sites. Much of the ANRA is 
adjacent to Rocky Mountain Naitonal Park or the Indian Peaks 
Wilderness. A portion of the ANRA is the Indian Peaks Adjacent Area B 
Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA), and, although no permanent roads are 
proposed to be constructed within the IRA some of the vegetation 
treatments are proposed for the IRA.
    The forested land base within the ANRA is dominated by lodgepole 
pine. A key component of managing the ANRA is retention of mature 
forest vegetation for scenic and aesthetic values. Over the last 
several years Grand County has sustained heavy lodgepole pine mortality 
in mature forested areas due to an epidemic mountain pine beetle 
population. One of the epicenters of the epidemic is the ANEA and 
adjacent private lands. Mortality within lodgepole pine stands is 
likely to continue if pre-suppression activities do not take place. The 
resulting loss of forest cover will adversely affect public recreation 
and enjoyment within the ANRA. Additionally, both standing and down 
dead trees contribute to fuel accumulation and increase the potential 
for wildfire.
    Many private landowners have expressed concern about the beetle 
infestation. In efforts to suppress the beetle infestation some of 
these landowners have treated lodgepole stands on their properties, 
through logging activities, and have requested that the Forest Service 
treat adjacent NFS lands to suppress the insect population and reduce 
the fuels hazard.
    The beetle infestation is widespread in the ANRA, leading to poor 
health and condition of forested areas. There is a need to address 
overall health issues in high-risk areas of the ANRA. The purpose of 
this project is to foster a healthy, diverse forest through vegetation 
management, and for critical resource restoration and protection. The 
results and benefit of such management would:
     Reduce lodgepole pine susceptibility to insect attack.
     Maintain insect populations at endemic levels, rather than 
epidemic levels.
     Conserve and perpetuate forest vegetation.
     Reduce the heavy accumulation of forest fuels.
     Complement treatment efforts on adjacent private lands.
     Improve overall health, scenic quality, and condition of 
forested areas.
     Reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire in high value 
recreation areas and high population density areas.

Decisions To Be Made

    The Forest Service has several decisions to make: Whether to treat 
the vegetation within the ANRA to suppress the mountain pine beetle and 
reduce the potential fuels buildup; where within the ANRA to do the 
treatments; and what treatments would best meet the purpose and 
accomplish the goals of the project.
    The Forest Service proposes to improve overall forest health and 
condition through forest management activities in the following key 
areas in and around the ANRA:
     Developed recreation sites.

[[Page 41689]]

     Main scenic corridors and viewsheds.
     Adjacent to private property to complement treatment 
efforts on private lands.
     Other areas adjacent to or within the ANRA in which the 
condition of forested areas is declining. In some cases temporary 
right-of-way easements through private lands will be acquired to reach 
National Forest System lands.
    Treatments would be designed to complement recreation, wildlife and 
scenic resource values, and would help meet objectives to suppress 
insect and disease outbreaks and reduce woody fuel accumulation. 
Proposed treatment methods may include:
     Applying approval insecticides to protect healthy trees 
from insect infestation within developed recreation sites.
     Cutting and removing infested trees, and thinning 
susceptible stands of lodgepole pine to reduce the ability of beetles 
to spread, using traditional, ground based logging methods.
     Cutting and removing dead trees, possibly in patch cuts, 
to reduce heavy fuel accumulations.
     On-site burning of logging-generated slash to reduce fuels 
and/or to stimulate aspen regeneration where feasible.
     Establishing other native tree species in select areas, 
such as developed campgrounds, to private long-term resilience to 
beetle infestations and other insects and diseases.
     Improve both scenic and vegetative diversity by managing 
for a variety of native tree species.

Responsible Official

    Rick D. Cables, Regional Forester, USFS, Region 2--Rock Mountain 
Region, PO Box 25127, Lakewood, CO 80225; 740 Simms Street, Golden, CO 
80401 is the Responsible Official for making the decision. He will 
documents his decisions and rationale in a Record of Decision.

Preliminary Issues

    Five preliminary issues have been identified:
    1. Forest Health: The mountain pine beetle population has increased 
within and adjacent to the ANRA, both on National Forest System lands 
and on lands under other ownership. There is a possibility that most of 
the larger, mature lodgepole pine trees within or adjacent to the ANRA 
will be killed by the mountain pine beetle within the next few years if 
suppression efforts are not taken. Efforts made to reduce the 
susceptibility to lodgepole pine trees to mountain pine beetle attack 
should not ignore other forest health issues, but should also consider: 
(1) Conserving forest vegetation, (2) increasing age diversity, and (3) 
increasing species diversity.
    2. Fuels/fire hazard: There is a possibility that if action is not 
taken to reduce the current forest fuels accumulation, and to reduce 
the rate of fuel accumulations that may result with a mountain pine 
beetle infestation, that the fire hazard will increase to an 
unacceptable level. Private property owners feel they cannot create a 
defensible space around their property without treatment on adjacent 
NFS lands.
    3. The Indian Peaks Adjacent Area B Roadless Area: There is concern 
that the construction of temporary roads to access timber, as well as 
the cutting and removal of trees, would compromise the character of the 
roadless area.
    4. Intermix: The portion of the ANRA affected by the mountain pine 
beetle outbreak is an area of extensive intermixed land ownerships. 
Access to NFS lands may only be possible across non-federal lands where 
the Forest Service has no legal access. The beetle infestation crosses 
ownership boundaries, and treatments may have to cross boundaries to be 
effective.
    5. The Analysis Area is adjacent or close to Rocky Mountain 
National Park (RNMP), the Indian Peaks Wilderness, the Never Summer 
Wilderness and the Bowen Gulch Protection Area: There is concern that 
efforts made to suppress the mountain pine beetle infestation within 
the analysis area may detrimentally affect the characteristics that 
were recognized when Congress set these areas aside, such as adverse 
effects on the scenery of the ANRA, which serves as foreground to RMNP.

Public Involvement, Rationale, and Public Meetings

    The public is encouraged to take part in the process and is 
encouraged to visit with Forest Service officials at any time during 
the analysis and prior to the decision. The Forest Service will be 
seeking information, comments and assistance from Federal, State and 
local agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be 
interested in, or affected by, the proposed action.
    While public participation in this analysis is welcome at any time, 
comments received within 30 days of the publication of this notice will 
be especially useful in the preparation of the Draft EIS. Public 
meetings associated with the project will be held to gain a better 
understanding of public issues and concerns. These meetings will be 
held in Grand Lake, Colorado on June 27, 2002 from 6-8 p.m. at the 
Grand Lake Town Hall; and at the Shadow Mountain Work Center 3 miles 
south of Grand Lake on July 13 from 10-3 p.m. (field trip/site visit).
    Information from the meetings will be used in preparation of the 
draft and final EIS. The scoping process will include identifying: 
Potential issues, significant issues to be analyzed in depth, 
alternatives to the proposed action, and potential environmental 
effects of the proposal and alternatives.

Electronic Access and Filing Addresses

    Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to 
[email protected]. Please reference the ANRA Forest Health 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.

Estimated Dates for Filing

    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by 
November 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 the EPA publishes the Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. It is very important that those 
interested in the management of this area participate at that time.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by March 2003. 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 a decision 
regarding the proposal.

The Reviewers Obligation To Comment

    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice at this early stage processes required due to 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, 533 (1978).) Also, environmental 
objections that could be raised at the draft environmental impact 
statement may be waived or dismissed by the courts. (Wisconsin 
Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490

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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.

James S. Bedwell,
Forest Supervisor, Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee 
National Grassland.
[FR Doc. 02-15471 Filed 6-18-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-BT-M