[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 56 (Monday, March 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14176-14178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6901]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Monument Fire Recovery Project, Malheur National Forest, Grant 
County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) on a proposal to assist the recovery of the area burned 
in 2002 by the Monument Fire. The EIS will include proposals to harvest 
fire-killed and fire-damaged trees, implement reforestation, and 
implement projects to alleviate the potential for future damage to 
riparian and aquatic resources. The 8,600-acre project area is located 
on the Prairie City Ranger District and is centered approximately 23 
miles southeast of Prairie City, Oregon, within the Little Malheur and 
North Fork Malheur Watersheds. The agency 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 analysis must be received 
by April 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ryan Falk, Acting District Ranger, 
Prairie City Ranger District, PO Box 337, Prairie City, Oregon 97869.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Larson, Monument Fire Recovery 
Project Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Prairie City Ranger District, 
telephone (541) 820-3311, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In July and August of 2002, the Monument 
Fire burned approximately 24,525 acres, of which 20,186 occur on the 
Malheur National Forest. The remainder of the fire includes 
approximately 3,711 acres of land administered by the Wallowa-Whitman 
National Forest, and 628 acres of private land. The 8,600-acre decision 
area for the Monument Fire Recovery Projects includes those portions of 
the Monument Fire that occurred within the Little Malheur and North 
Fork Malheur Watersheds on the Malheur National Forest.
    Proposed Action. Approximately 4,800 acres of timber harvest is 
proposed: 3,500 acres of salvage only, 700 acres of salvage plus 
removal/thinning of some live trees to improve

[[Page 14177]]

stand resiliency, and 600 acres of salvage in Riparian Conservation 
Habitat Areas (RHCAs) primarily to reduce standing fuel. Salvage 
harvest would include removal of trees killed or having high 
probability of dying as a result of the fire. These areas would be 
harvested using ground-based and helicopter logging techniques. 
Approximately 87 percent of the harvest area would be salvaged by 
helicopter. Following site preparation, approximately 4,200 acres would 
be planted with conifer seedlings. Due to snag density deficiencies, a 
Forest Plan amendment may be necessary for the implementation of the 
salvage proposals. The site-specific snag densities, based on local 
landscape and ecological conditions, may fall below the levels 
identified in the Forest Plan. In the fire area, appropriate stands 
(acres) will be designated to replace Dedicated Old Growth burned or no 
longer in suitable old-growth condition. Road activities associated 
with salvage and restoration include: approximately 0.4 miles of 
temporary road construction; approximately 17.3 miles of road 
decommissioning; 2.2 miles of skid trail restoration; and 7.0 miles of 
gated closures. The Little Malheur trailhead would be relocated 
approximately 2 miles below its present location.
    Purpose and Need Action. The identified reasons why we propose and 
need this action now are: reduce levels of dead standing and down fuels 
that contribute to high severity fires within the natural return cycle 
for low-intensity/frequent-fire regime areas; capture the economic 
value of those trees that are surplus to other resource needs; improve 
timber stand resiliency to insects, disease, wildfire, and other 
disturbances; restore ecologically structural and compositional 
characteristics of upland vegetation; replace Dedicated Old Growth and 
Replacement Old Growth areas that burned and are no longer in suitable 
old-growth condition; re-vegetate fire-damaged riparian areas that have 
lost shade, bank stability, and the ability to filter overland erosion; 
and minimize the effects of runoff and precipitation that become 
concentrated flow when intercepted by road surfaces.
    Possible Alternatives. A full reasonable range of alternatives will 
be considered, including a ``no-action'' alternative in which none of 
the activities proposed above would be implemented. Based on the 
preliminary issues gathered through scoping, the action alternatives 
could differ in: (1) The silvicultural and post-harvest treatments 
prescribed, (2) the amount and location of harvest, and (3) the amount 
and location of fuels reduction activity. Other alternatives to the 
proposed action could include: An alternative which does not require 
the construction of additional temporary roads and does not consider 
salvage removal from RHCAs; an alternative which emphasizes removal of 
dead timber in the size classes most likely to re-burn; and an 
alternative which considers various regeneration strategies, such as 
planting at relatively low stocking levels. Alternative development 
will be based, in part, on currently available science on snag and 
coarse woody debris-dependent species habitat. This could result in a 
proposal of a site-specific Forest Plan amendment to update standards 
and guidelines for these species.
    Scoping Process. 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 
based on themes 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). Public participation will be 
sought at several points during the analysis process. The public will 
be kept informed of the EIS process through the quarterly publication 
of the ``Malheur National Forest's Schedule of Proposed Actions'' and 
letters to agencies, organizations, and individuals who have previously 
indicated their interest in such activities.
    Issues. Preliminary issues identified include: Maintenance of soil 
and water quality; retention of snags; connectivity of wildlife habitat 
and big game cover; protection of fish habitat; deterioration of 
sawtimber; reduction of fuels; advancement of project economic 
viability; and maintenance of community stability.
    Comments. Public comments about this proposal are requested in 
order to assist in scoping issues properly, determining how to best 
manage the resources, and analyzing environmental effects fully. 
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. 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. 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.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), and made available for public review by June 
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 
the 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 the 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 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 objectives are made available to the Forest Service at a time when 
it can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final EIS.
    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

[[Page 14178]]

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.
    The Forest Service is the lead agency. The Responsible Official is 
the Forest Supervisor, Malheur National Forest. The Responsible 
Official will decide which, if any, of the proposed projects will be 
implemented. The Responsible Official may also decide on site-specific 
Forest Plan amendments regarding standards and guidelines for snag and 
coarse woody debris, as well as big game habitat, if warranted by the 
analysis of those components in light of recent science. The 
Responsible Official will document the Monument 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 14, 2003.
Roger Williams,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-6901 Filed 3-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M