[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 203 (Monday, October 21, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64601-64602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26779]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


National Forests and Bureau of Land Management Districts Within 
the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl; Western Oregon and Washington, 
and Northwestern California; Removal of Survey and Manage Mitigation 
Measure Standards and Guidelines

AGENCIES: Forest Service, USDA; Bureau of Land Management, USDI. OR935 
6334 PG NWFP GP3-0002.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplement to a final 
environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
(Collectively the Agencies) will prepare a supplemental environmental 
impact statement (SEIS) to meet the requirements of a Settlement 
Agreement pursuant to a lawsuit by Douglas Timber Operators against 
Forest Service and BLM. The proposed action, generally, is to change 
the Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for Late-
Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of 
the Northern Spotted Owl (Northwest Forest Plan), currently included in 
planning documents of the Forest Service and BLM. Specifically, the 
Agencies propose to remove the Survey and Manage mitigation measure 
standards and guidelines. Habitat needs of the affected rare or little-
known species would rely on other elements of the Northwest Forest Plan 
and the existing Forest Service Sensitive Species and the BLM Special 
Status Species programs, as needed and appropriate. The proposed action 
would amend land and resource management plans for National Forests and 
BLM Districts within the range of the northern spotted owl (generally 
western Oregon and Washington, and northwestern California). This 
action will be addressed in a supplement to a final environmental 
impact statement because the affected species and their management were 
specifically addressed in the Agency's SEIS for Amendments to the 
Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer and other Mitigation Measures 
Standards and Guidelines, issued in November, 2000, and because the 
species and their habitat were also addressed in the SEIS for the 
Northwest Forest Plan, issued in February, 1994.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by November 20, 2002. No public scoping meetings are 
planned.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments concerning this proposal to: Comments, 
SEIS for Survey and Manage, PO Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard C. Prather, SEIS Team Leader, 
PO Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This SEIS will evaluate removing the Survey 
and Manage mitigation measure standards and guidelines. The SEIS may 
also consider the affected species for inclusion in the existing Forest 
Service Sensitive Species program and the BLM Special Status Species 
program as appropriate. This action would eliminate an overlapping 
program, increase efficiency and reduce costs.
    Adoption of the proposed action would affect National Forest System 
(NFS) lands and public lands administered by the BLM within the range 
fo the northern spotted owl, generally in western Oregon and 
Washington, and in northwestern California. The Record of Decision for 
this SEIS will amend:
    For the Forest Service, the National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plans for Gifford Pinchot, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Olympic, 
Wenatchee, and Okanogan National Forests in Washington; Deschutes, Mt. 
Hood, Rogue River, Siuslaw, Siskiyou, Umpqua, Willamette, and Winema 
National Forests in Oregon; and Six Rivers, Klamath, Lassen, Mendocino, 
Modoc, and Shasta-Trinity National Forests in California.
    For the Bureau of Land Management, Resource Management Plans for 
Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, and Coos Bay Districts in Oregon; the 
Klamath Falls Resource Area of the Lakeview District, also in Oregon; 
and the Arcata, Redding, and Ukiah field offices in California. Also 
the King Range National Conservation Area Management Plan in the Arcata 
Resource Area in California. This decision would not apply to the 
Headwaters area also in California for which a separate management plan 
is being written.
    Preliminary issues expected to be addressed in the SEIS include: 
the cost of implementing the Survey and Manage program, its effect on 
other Agency programs and priorities, and whether the proposed action 
meets all applicable laws and regulations including the Oregon and 
California Lands Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the 
National Forest Management Act, and the Endangered Species Act, and 
those statute's implementing regulations.
    Although scoping is not required for supplements to environmental 
impact statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4)), the Agencies are inviting 
scoping comments at this time. Comments are sought that will help the 
Agencies identify issues to be addressed in the SEIS, identify 
significant issues related to the proposed action, refine the proposed 
action, identify alternatives to the proposed action, and identify 
interested and affected persons. For comments to be most useful in this 
analysis, they should be submitted in writing by the date identified 
above. The Agencies have no plans to conduct public scoping meetings.
    A scoping notice will be prepared and circulated to affected 
Federal, State, and local agencies, affected tribes, and individuals 
and organizations previously expressing an interest in the Survey and 
Manage standards and guidelines. The scoping notice, along with 
background information, will also be posted on the Internet: http://or.blm.gov/surveyandmanagee.
    The Forest Service and BLM will be joint lead agencies for this 
analysis. Because of potential indirect effects to threatened or 
endangered species, the two agencies will consult with the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, none of the species covered 
by the Survey and Manage standards and guidelines is listed under ESA 
as threatened or endangered. Other Federal agencies including the 
Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Stations, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, EPA Research 
Laboratory, and Tribal, local, and state governments will also be 
involved.
    The responsible officials for National Forest System lands will be 
the Regional Forester, Pacific Northwest Region, PO Box 3623, Portland, 
OR 97208 and the Regional Forester, Pacific Southwest Region, 1323 Club 
Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592. The responsible official for public lands 
administered by the BLM will be the State Director for Oregon and 
Washington, PO Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208 and the State Director for 
California, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-1834, Sacramento, CA 95825.
    The draft SEIS is expected to be filed with the EPA in January 2003 
and will be available for public review. The comment period on the 
draft SEIS will be 90 days from the date the EPA

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publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service and BLM believe, 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 EISs 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 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, 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 90-day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest 
Service and BLM at a time when the agencies can meaningfully consider 
them and respond to them in the final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service and BLM in identifying and considering 
issues and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft SEIS 
should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer 
to specific pages or chapters of the draft document. Comments may also 
address the adequacy of the draft SEIS 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.
    It is expected that the final SEIS will be filed with the EPA 
approximately June 2003. The Agencies anticipate there will be a Record 
of Decision signed in July 2003 by the four responsible officials 
listed above.

Richard Sowa,
Acting Regional Forester, USFS R6.
Elaine Marquis-Brong,
State Director, BLM Oregon & Washington.
    Dated: October 4, 2002.
Mike Pool,
State Director, California, USDI Bureau of Land Management.
Kent P. Connaughton,
Deputy Regional Forester, USFS Region 5.
[FR Doc. 02-26779 Filed 10-17-02; 11:07am]
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