[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6709-6710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3172]


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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

[OR-930-1610-PB-LITI; HAG03-0050]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement To Amend Land and Resource Management Plans in Southwest 
Oregon for Management of Port-Orford-Cedar

AGENCIES: Bureau of Land Management, USDI and Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent and initiation of public scoping.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service are 
initiating work on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) 
to consider management alternatives for Port-Orford-Cedar in the Oregon 
portion of its natural range in southwestern Oregon and northwestern 
California. The SEIS is a joint effort by the Oregon/Washington BLM and 
the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service, with BLM as the 
lead agency. The Pacific Southwest Region of the Forest Service is a 
cooperator. Specific administrative units include the Coos Bay, 
Medford, and Roseburg District of the BLM and the Siskiyou, Six Rivers, 
Klamath, and Shasta-Trinity National Forests. Additional cooperators 
may be identified through the scoping process. The SEIS will respond to 
analysis deficiencies identified in March, 2002 by the United States 
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit relating to a District Court 
decision in Kern vs. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 284 F.3d 1062 (9th 
Cir. 2002). This decision concluded that analysis of cumulative effects 
of the current management guidelines were inadequate for the Sandy-
Remote Environmental Assessment because it did not extend to the entire 
range of Port-Orford-Cedar. The SEIS will develop alternative 
management strategies for the Oregon portion of the species range and 
analyze effects of those strategies throughout the entire natural range 
of the species.
    The SEIS will amend the land management plan for the Siskiyou 
National Forest and the resource management plans for the Coos Bay, 
Medford, and Roseburg Districts of the Bureau of Land Management. The 
BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the 
management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and 
national needs and concerns. The SEIS will fulfill the needs and 
obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM and Forest 
Service management policies.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Public scoping 
will be used to identify interested and affected individuals and 
groups, and to identify issues associated with the management of Port-
Orford-Cedar. Briefing materials are available on line at http://www.or.blm.gov/planning/Port-Orford-Cedar_SEIS/. Comments concerning 
the scope of the analysis should be received 30 days from publication 
of this notice in the Federal Register. No formal public scoping 
meetings are scheduled, but may be scheduled if there is sufficient 
interest. Public scoping meetings will be announced in local newspapers 
and at http://www.or.blm.gov/planning/Port-Orford-Cedar_SEIS/ at least 
15 days prior to the event. Early participation is encouraged and will 
help determine the future management of Port-Orfort-Cedar on public 
lands in California and Oregon. In addition to the ongoing public 
participation process, formal opportunities for public participation 
will be provided through comment on the alternatives and upon 
publication of the BLM draft RMP/EIS.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Port-Orford-Cedar EIS 
Team, PO Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. Comments may be submitted 
electronically to the following e-mail address: [email protected]. 
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the Oregon State Office, BLM reading 
room, 333 SW., 1st Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, and may be published as 
part of the EIS. If you wish to withhold your name or address from 
public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written 
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. 
All submissions from organizations or businesses, submitted on official 
letterheads, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organization or businesses, will be 
made available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Denton, Bureau of Land Management, 
Port-Orford-Cedar EIS Team, PO Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A root disease, Phytophthora lateralis, 
currently infects Port-Orford-Cedar. Research shows the rate of spread 
of the root disease is linked, at least in part, to transport of spore-
infected soil by human and other vectors. Water-borne spores then 
readily spread the disease down slope and down stream. The 
participating agencies 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 
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, 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 agencies at a time when it can 
meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final EIS.
    Current BLM management direction requires all management activities 
within the range of Port-Orford-Cedar conform to guidelines described 
in the Port-Orford Cedar Management Policies.

[[Page 6710]]

These Policies are designed to mitigate damage caused by Phytophthora 
lateralis.
    Current Forest Service management direction requires all management 
activities within the range of Port-Orford-Cedar conform to guidelines 
described in the Siskiyou Forest Plan in Oregon and the Six Rivers, 
Klamath, and Shasta-Trinity Forest Plans in California.
    The responsible official for the Forest Service is the Pacific 
Northwest Regional Forester.
    The responsible official for the Bureau of Land Management is the 
Oregon/Washington State Director.

Charles Wassinger,
Acting State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
Richard W. Sowa,
Acting Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 03-3172 Filed 2-7-03; 8:45 am]
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