[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55773-55775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22164]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Hoosier National Forest, Indiana; German Ridge Restoration 
Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service, Hoosier National Forest intends to 
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to disclose the 
environmental consequences of a vegetation restoration project. In the 
EIS the USDA Forest Service will address the potential environmental 
impacts of replacing pine plantations in the German Ridge area of Perry 
County, Indiana with native hardwood communities. See the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for the purpose and need of the action.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
on or before September 30, 2002. The draft environmental impact 
statement is expected February 2003, and the final environmental impact 
statement is expected August 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ron Ellis, NEPA Coordinator; 
Hoosier National Forest; 811 Constitution Avenue; Bedford IN 47421. 
Send electronic comments to: [email protected]. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for information on how to send 
electronic comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Ron Ellis, NEPA Coordinator, Hoosier 
National Forest, USDA Forest Service; telephone: 812-275-5987. See 
address above under ADDRESSES. Copies of documents may be requested at 
the same address. Another means of obtaining information is to visit 
the Forest Web page at www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier--click on ``Forest 
Projects,'' then ``Scoping Packages,'' and then ``German Ridge 
Restoration.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose and need for the project is to:
     Fulfill the goals and objectives of the Forest Plan 
involving the restoration of native communities (Forest Plan, pp. 2-2, 
2-6, and 2-32).
     Replace pine plantations with native hardwood communities 
that include a strong component of oaks, hickories, and other fire-
adapted plants.
     Restore several fire-dependent plant species associated 
with the barrens that are Regional Forester sensitive species or forest 
species of concern.

Proposed Action

    To move the vegetation toward the desired condition shown in the 
Hoosier National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, the Hoosier 
National Forest would during the next six or seven years: (1) Use 
prescribed burning on 2,180 acres, (2) harvest using ``clearcut with 
reserves'' on 498 acres, (3) clearcut 80 acres, and (4) thin 101 acres. 
The total treatment area is 2,180 acres. Hardwood trees, which account 
for 20 to 50 percent of the trees in the pine stands, would be left in 
the harvest areas.

[[Page 55774]]

Possible Alternatives

    Possible alternatives include no action, an alternative that would 
increase the visual buffer along the German Ridge multiple use trail 
and leave a no-cut buffer between cutting units, an alternative that 
would generally remove as much pine as possible from around rare plant 
communities, and an alternative that would burn only the pine stands 
and not the adjacent hardwoods.

Responsible Official

    Kenneth G. Day, Forest Supervisor; Hoosier National Forest; 811 
Constitution Avenue; Bedford, Indiana 47421.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether or not to actively convert any 
or all of the 2,180 acres of pine plantations to hardwood communities 
by harvesting and prescribed burning.

Scoping Process

    The Hoosier National Forest proposes to scope for information by 
contacting persons and organizations on the Hoosier's mailing list and 
publishing a notice in the local newspaper. No scoping meetings are 
planned at this time. The present solicitation is for comments on this 
Notice of Intent and scoping materials available elsewhere, such as on 
the Forest webpage.

Preliminary Issues

    Preliminary or potential issues have been identified from previous 
public comments.
    (1) Timber harvesting and burning may decrease land productivity 
through increased erosion and soil compaction and also adversely affect 
water quality.
    (2) Commercial logging of pine around the barrens may damage rare 
plants and fragile soils and increase populations of exotic plants.
    (3) Harvesting the pine, including the larger allowable size of 
openings in the Wheatly Branch Barrens and Harding Flats Special Areas, 
may result in adverse visual impacts, but leaving the high risk pine 
along the trails may cause safety concerns. On the other hand, removing 
the high risk pine might increase the growth of underbrush, resulting 
in increased costs for trail maintenance.
    (4) Leaving the diseased pines may increase the spread of disease 
to other pine stands in the area, and insects and disease may destroy 
the useable products in the area if the pine is not harvested soon.
    (5) Harvesting and burning may increase fragmentation of habitat 
for forest interior species, create additional clearing edge, and 
decrease habitat for species such as the pine warbler.
    (6) Air quality may be degraded by burning and harvesting.

Electronic Access and Filing Addresses

    Information is available electronically on the Forest Web page: 
www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier--click on ``Forest Projects,'' then ``Scoping 
Packages,'' and then ``German Ridge Restoration.'' Send electronic 
comments to: [email protected]. When submitting electronic 
comments, please reference the German Ridge Restoration Project on the 
subject line. In addition, include your name and mailing address.

Comments Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping proces which guides the 
development of the environmental impact statement. Comments in response 
to this solicitation for information should focus on (1) the proposal 
for vegetative restoration, (2) possible alternatives for addressing 
issues associated with the proposal, and (3) any possible impacts 
associated with the proposal based on an individual's civil rights 
(race, color, national origin, age, religion, gender, disability, 
political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status). We 
are especially interested in information that might identify a specific 
undesired result of implementing the proposed action. Comments received 
in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of 
those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on this 
proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments 
submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those 
who submit anonymous comments will not have standing to appeal the 
subsequent decisions under 36 CFR parts 215 or 217.
    Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any persons may request 
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing 
how the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) permits such confidentiality. 
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that under FOIA 
confidentiality may be granted in only very 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, should the 
request be denied, return the submission and notify the requester that 
the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 
90 days.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 
will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    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 objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that 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 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.

    (Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)


[[Page 55775]]


    Dated: August 26, 2002.
Kenneth G. Day,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-22164 Filed 8-29-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P