[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13253-13254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6503]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Biscuit Fire Recovery Project, Rogue River and Siskiyou National 
Forests, Curry and Josephine Counties, Oregon

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, USDA, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) on proposed activities in areas burned in the summer of 
2002 by the Biscuit Fire. The Biscuit Fire affected almost 500,000 
acres burning in the steep canyons of the Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains. 
It destroyed four homes, burned millions of trees, and altered habitat 
for various plant, wildlife, and fish species, including Threatened, 
Endangered, and Sensitive species. The fire damaged roads, trails, 
recreation signs and other structures. The implementation of this 
proposal is scheduled for fiscal years 2004 through 2009. The proposed 
action would be in compliance with the 1989 Siskiyou National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan, as amended by the Northwest Forest 
Plan, which provides the overall guidance for management of this area. 
The Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests invites written comments 
and suggestions on the scope of the analysis. The agency will give 
notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-making process 
so interested and affected people may be able to participate and 
contribute in the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by April 18, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send E-Mail comments to [email protected] or written 
comments to Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests, PO Box 520, 
Medford Oregon, 97501, Attn: Biscuit Fire Recovery Project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and EIS can be directed to: Tom Link, Biscuit Fire Recovery Project 
Leader, Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests, phone: (541) 471-
6500, E-Mail to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    There is a need to recover merchantable timber before it's value is 
lost to deterioration.
    There is a need to restore vegetation that has been killed or 
altered by the Biscuit Fire. Approximately 225,000 acres have lost a 
significant conifer tree component, including almost 80,000 acres of 
Northern Spotted Owl habitat. Revegetation is needed to accelerate 
restoration of conditions that existed prior to fire exclusion. The 
objective is to restore lost habitat and provide for future timber 
production.
    There is a need to protect the remaining late successional habitat, 
used by Threatened or Endangered (T&E) species, from further loss from 
fire and insects. The objective is to reduce the risk of future 
catastrophic fire that can destroy this habitat. There may also be a 
need to reduce the risk of insect infestation that can skill remaining 
healthy trees.
    There is a need to protect forest users, adjacent private property 
values, and communities. The objective is to reduce the risk of 
catastrophic fire and insect infestations from developing on National 
Forest System lands and moving onto adjacent lands.
    This project will also include a number of learning opportunities 
that can be integrated within the proposed action. Some post fire 
management actions are controversial and there is uncertainity about 
how well some activities will achieve objectives.
    Proposed Action. The following proposed actions are designed to 
provide commercial wood products, restore and protect late successional 
forest and meadow habitat, restore and maintain water quality, and 
reforest conifer stands. Actions are also designed to reduce risk to 
communities and private lands, and learn more about the recovery of 
post fire environments and the effects of post fire activities 
(including salvage logging).
    The salvage of commercial wood products from Matrix lands is 
planned on approximately 7,000 acres with an estimated potential 
recovery of 90 mmbf. These areas will be consistent with the standards 
and guidelines of the Siskiyou Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) 
as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan.
    The protection of late successional habitat and communities is 
proposed by reducing fuels on about 16,000 acres (many of these acres 
are within Late Successional Reserves). Treatments could include 
cutting, yarding, piling, or burning existing hazardous fuels adjacent 
to remaining late successional habitat patches (about 4,000 acres). A 
portion of these treatments will result in shaded fuelbreaks 
(approximately 12,000 acres) as described by Agee et al. (1999; The Use 
of Shaded Fuel Breaks in Landscape Fire Management; Forest Ecology and 
Management; 127 (2000) 55-66).
    Meadow habitat treatments are proposed on about 1,000 acres. This 
may include removing dead trees to better maintain the meadows over 
time. Some historic meadows that were overgrown by trees, had those 
trees killed by the fire. The removal of excessive amounts of dead wood 
can help maintain meadow grass and forb species over time.
    Reforestation of conifer stands is proposed on approximately 30,000 
acres. These areas are expected to need varying levels of site 
preparation. Site preparation will include reducing competing 
vegetation by manual methods or reducing dead fuels by cutting, moving, 
or burning.
    This proposal will analyze the probability of bark beetle outbreaks 
and, if indicated, consider the salvage of bug-infested green trees.
    Improvement or closing of roads may be proposed to reduce the risk 
to water quality. Treatments could include improved drainage, erosion 
control designs, or decommissioning of roads that are sediment risks 
and not needed for management purposes.
    There is an opportunity to design recovery actions to learn about 
the effectiveness of various methods for recovering post fire 
environments. These proposals can include differing reforestation 
techniques, fuels treatments, or salvage harvesting methods, as well 
as, comparing natural recovery processes to more active methods. These 
proposals may be incorporated into project alternatives.
    The proposed action considers treatments (not including salvage 
logging) of 2,000 acres in Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA's). The goal 
of treatments is to reduce ladder fuels and concentrations of hazardous 
fuels around key areas of remaining habitat for T&E species and to 
improve fuelbreaks adjacent to communities. These treatments could 
reduce the likelihood of uncharacteristic wildfire effects (Federal 
Register/Vol. 66, No. 9, January 12, 2001). This activity will be 
consistent with the Interim Directive 1920-2001-1, which limits 
activities in IRA's. Implementation of this directive is under the 
authority of the Forest Supervisor.
    A portion of the proposed action may analyze and recommend 
activities on federal lands under the administration

[[Page 13254]]

of the Bureau of Land Management in the Silver Creek and Deer Creek 
drainages. These areas were burned within the Biscuit Fire.
    Scoping Process. Public participation will be sought at several 
points during the analysis, including listing of this project in the 
Spring 2003 and subsequent issues of the Siskiyou National Forest's 
quarterly publication ``Schedule of Proposed Activities,'' and letters 
to agencies, organizations, tribes, and individuals who have previously 
indicated their interest in such activities. Information about the 
project can be found at http://www.biscuitfire.com.
    The scoping process will include: identifying potential issues, 
identifying major issues to be analyzed in depth, eliminating non-
significant issues or those previously covered by a relevant 
environmental analysis, considering additional alternatives which will 
be derived from issues recognized during scoping activities, and 
identifying potential environmental effects of this proposed action and 
alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects and 
connected actions).
    Comments. Some of the preliminary issues that have been identified 
include the effects of the proposed action on: landscape pattern and 
habitat diversity; fire hazard associated with the change in fuels; 
water quality; threatened, endangered or sensitive species; salvage 
logging; reforestation and activities in Inventoried Roadless Areas.
    Public comments about this proposal are requested in order to 
assist in properly scoping issues, determining how to best manage the 
resources, and fully analyzing environmental effects. Comments received 
to this notice, 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 
decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 and 217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 
CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the agency to withhold a submission 
from the public record by showing how the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) 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 where the 
request is denied; the agency will return the submission and notify the 
requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and 
address within a specified number of days.
    A draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and available for public review by July 2003. The EPA will 
publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft EIS in the Federal 
Register. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the 
date the NOA appears in the Federal Register. The final EIS is expected 
in November 2003.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to given 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 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. Comments received, including 
the names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part 
of the public record on this proposal and will be available for public 
inspection.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be available November 2003. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to substantive 
comments received during the comment period for the draft EIS. The 
Forest Service is the lead agency and the Responsible Official is the 
Forest Supervisor, Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests. The 
responsible official will decide whether or not, and where, to savage 
harvest timber, construct fuel-breaks, plant trees and other 
vegetation, prevent or mitigate pest outbreaks, repair facilities, 
stabilize soils, and mitigate safety hazards. The responsible official 
will also decide how to mitigate impacts of these actions and will 
determine when and how much monitoring of effects will take place.
    The Responsible Official will document the Biscuit Fire Recovery 
Project 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 12, 2003.
Scott D. Conroy,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-6503 Filed 3-18-03; 8:45 am]
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