[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 54 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13666-13667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6686]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Ash Creek Fire Salvage, Umpqua National Forest, Douglas County, 
OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the Ash Creek Fire Salvage within the Ash/Zinc sub-
watershed on the Tiller Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest. 
During 2002, the Boulder Creek fire burned about 4,130 acres of the 
sub-watershed. About 35,430 mature of late seral trees were killed or 
are dying. These trees represent a substantial economic value to nearby 
communities and ecological value to species that depend on large wood. 
The sub-watershed is about 120 miles south and east of Roseburg, and 
120 miles north and east of Medford, Oregon. Proposed activities 
include the harvest of dead and dying trees through a commercial timber 
sale on about 350 acres in the matrix land allocation, and the planting 
of the harvested areas with a mixture of conifers, hardwoods, and 
shrubs. This proposal complies with the 1990 Umpqua National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), as amended. The 
Wildfire Effects Evaluation Project (2003) disclosed the effects of the 
Boulder Fire on the Ash/Zinc sub-watershed. Forest Service plans to 
implement salvage portion of proposal by the fall of 2004 and post-sale 
activities, such as planting harvested areas, in the winter of 2005. 
The Forest Service gives notice of the full environmental analysis and 
decision making process that will occur on the proposal so that 
interested and affected people may become aware of how they can 
participate in the process and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the proposal should be received 
in writing by April 25, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to James A. Caplan, Forest Supervisor, 
Umpqua National Forest, PO Box 1008, Roseburg, Oregon 97470.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the proposed 
action or EIS to Alan Baurmann, Timber Management Assistant, Tiller 
Ranger District, 27812 Tiller Trail Hwy., Tiller Oregon 97484; e-mail: 
[email protected]; Phone: 541-825-3201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Ash Creek Fire Salvage planning area 
comprises about 14,197 acres of which about 156 acres (11 percent) are 
private lands. About 1,480 acres of plantations were burned in the fire 
and will need to be re-established. There are no planned activities 
within the inventoried roadless area or the Rogue-Umpqua Divide 
Wilderness. The Planning Area includes all or portions of in sections 
27-29 and 32-34, T. 28S, R. 2W; sections 3-8, 17 and 18 T. 29S, R. 2W; 
and section 13, T. 29S, R. 1W, Willamette Meridian, Douglas County, 
Oregon.
    Purpose and Need for Action. There is a need to salvage 
merchantable dead and dying trees for the purpose of recovering 
salvageable volume from fire damaged trees and begin essential 
reforestation efforts. There is a need to maintain the ecological value 
for species that depend on large wood on the forest floor or standing 
as snags. The trees are

[[Page 13667]]

within the Ash Creek Planning Area and will be removed in a manner 
consistent with the Forest Plan.
    Proposed Action. The proposed action is to harvest about 350 acres 
of mature and late seral dead and dying trees, spread throughout 23 
separate timber stands comprising about 1,366 acres that were killed in 
the Boulder Fire. Of these dead trees, about 2 to 6 trees per acre will 
be left as coarse down wood and snags. No new roads or temporary roads 
are being planned. The proposed harvest is in the matrix land 
allocation of the Ash/Zinc sub-watershed. Upon completion of harvest 
activities, the area will be planted with a mixture of conifers: 
Douglas-fir; sugar pine; white pine; incense-cedar; Pacific yew; and 
native hardwoods and shrubs.
    This analysis will consider a range of alternatives that will 
address the purpose and need for the proposed project. The no-action 
alternative will be part of this range so that effects associated with 
not implementing any of the proposed activities can be evaluated. 
Preliminary issues identified include effects on: habitat of species 
associated with late-successional and old growth forests; aquatic 
habitats; and hydrologic processes.
    Scoping Process. The Umpqua National Forest is seeking public input 
on this proposed action. A comment sheet will be posted to the Forest 
website and mailed with the scoping letter. The proposed action will be 
published in the Umpqua National Forest Quarterly Schedule of Proposed 
Actions and posted on the Forest Web site on the Internet: 
www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/planning/planning1.html.
    The Forest Service will be seeking additional information, 
comments, and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies, 
tribal governments, and other individuals or organizations who may be 
interested or affected by the proposed project. Public meetings and 
field trips are scheduled. Dates and locations for these activities 
will be announced. The scoping process will include identifying: 
issues; alternatives to the proposed action; and potential 
environmental effects (that is, direct, indirect and, cumulative 
effects) of the proposed action and alternatives.
    Comment Requested. Comments received in response to this notice and 
through scoping, include 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 part 215. 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.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review 
May 2003. 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. The final EIS is scheduled to be available September 2003.
    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 
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 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 EIS 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 EIS 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.
    In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to 
substantive 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 Ash Creek Fire Salvage. The Responsible 
Official is James A. Caplan, Forest Supervisor, Umpqua National Forest. 
The Responsible Official will document the decision and rationale for 
the Ash Creek Fire Salvage decision in the Record of Decision. The 
decision will be subject to review under Forest Service Appeal 
Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

    Dated: March 11, 2003.
James A. Caplan,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-6686 Filed 3-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M