[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 80 (Friday, April 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20367-20368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10241]



[[Page 20367]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Diamond Lake Restoration Project, Umpqua National Forest, Douglas 
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) for improvement of water quality and the recreational 
fishery at Diamond Lake in the Umpqua National Forest. Eradication or 
control of the existing tui chub (Gila bicolor) population, an 
introduced minnow species, is considered essential for accomplishing 
restoration objectives. Proposed actions include: canal reconstruction, 
lake draw down, mechanical fish removal and utilization, a September 
rotenone (fish toxicant) treatment, fish carcass removal and 
utilization, water management during lake refilling, monitoring, fish 
restocking, educational activities, and contingency measures for 
controlling tui chub if they are reintroduced to Diamond Lake in the 
future. The planning area is located approximately 61 miles east of 
Roseburg, Oregon and 11 miles north of Crater Lake. The project is 
expected to be implemented in 2004 through 2006. 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 should be received 
in writing, by May 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning this 
proposal to James A. Caplan, Forest Supervisor, Umpqua National Forest, 
2900 NW Stewart Parkway, Roseburg, Oregon 97470.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Direct questions about the proposed action or 
EIS to Sherri L. Chambers, ID Team Leader, North Umpqua Ranger 
District, 18782 North Umpqua Highway, Glide, Oregon 97443, or (541) 
496-3532.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The area being analyzed in the Diamond Lake 
Restoration Project EIS encompasses Diamond Lake proper, Lake Creek, 
Lemolo Lake, and the North Umpqua River. The project area is Diamond 
Lake proper, an approximately 3,031 acre lake located on National 
Forest System land on the Diamond Lake Ranger District. The project 
area is bounded to the North by the North Umpqua River, to the South by 
Crater Lake, to the East by Mt. Thielsen, and to the West by Mt. 
Bailey. The project area includes all or portions of sections 30 
through 32, T27S, R6E; sections 25 and 36, T27S, R5E; sections 4 
through 9 and sections 16 through 21, T28S, R51/2E; and sections 1 and 
12, T28S, R5E Willamette Meridian, Douglas County, Oregon.
    Purpose and Need for Action. The proposed action is based on the 
need for improvement of Diamond Lake's water quality and recreational 
fishery. Diamond Lake is included in the Oregon Department of 
Environmental Quality's (ODEQ) 303(d) list of water quality limited 
water bodies for the parameters of pH and algae. In the summers of 2001 
and 2002, Diamond Lake experienced severe blooms of the blue-green 
``algae'' Anabaena flos-aquae. This type of algae produces a neuro-
toxin that in high concentrations is harmful to humans and other 
animals. To protect public health and safety, the Umpqua National 
Forest in cooperation with the Douglas County Health Department closed 
Diamond Lake to some public uses (wading, swimming, water skiing, and 
boating) during portions of both summers. Changes in lake ecology 
associated with overpopulation of the lake by tui chub are believed to 
be the primary factors influencing the development of toxic algae 
blooms at Diamond Lake.
    For several decades, Diamond Lake has supported a large and popular 
recreational trout fishery of some importance to the local and regional 
economy. In recent years, the recreational fishery at Diamond Lake has 
declined dramatically from a high annual average harvest rate of about 
270,000 trout during the 1963-1978 time period to a 1999 low annual 
harvest rate of 5,000 trout. Failure of the formerly successful 
recreational fishery is attributed largely to changes in lake ecology 
caused by overpopulation of the lake by tui chub.
    Proposed Action. The proposed action is to eradicate tui chub from 
Diamond Lake as an essential step in improving water quality and the 
recreational fishery. Proposed activities are described below in the 
order in which they would be implemented.
    --A blocked and debris-filled existing earthen canal that connects 
Diamond Lake to Lake Creek would be reconstructed to facilitate a lake 
draw down. The portion of the canal within Diamond Lake would be 
dredged to its original depth using a floating suction dredge. Dredge 
spoils would be used to expand an existing wetland. From the lakeshore 
to the canal outlet, the canal would be excavated to its original 
configuration and fitted with a new head-gate structure to control 
water flow. If necessary, new bridges or culverts would be constructed 
over the canal to maintain access to the bike trail and summer cabins 
using Forest Service Road 4795.
    --Diamond Lake's water level would be lowered by eight feet from 
its normal summer level, by using both the reconstructed canal and Lake 
Creek for water transport. The lake draw down would begin on or around 
September 15 in the year prior to a chemical treatment. A gravity-
driven draw down would occur at a discharge rate approximating a 
bankfull flow in Lake Creek.
    --Several methods would be used to remove and utilize fish biomass 
from Diamond Lake prior to chemical treatment including: liberalizing 
catch limits on fishing at the lake; harvest of fish by individual 
crews using traps, nets and seines; and harvest of fish through 
commercial fishing operations. Harvested fish carcasses would be 
converted to an organic fish emulsion product on site (lake shore) or 
trucked to an off-site plant for utilization as fertilizer.
    --The powdered formulation of the fish toxicant rotenone would be 
applied to Diamond Lake in September. This would happen when water 
temperature and chemistry reached conditions considered optimal for 
achieving a complete fish kill. Rotenone would be administered 
according to label instructions at the necessary amounts based on water 
volume, temperature, and chemistry in Diamond Lake at the time of 
application. Sections of Silent Creek and Lake Creek would also be 
treated with liquid rotenone.
    --A commercial fishing or professional fish mortality recovery and 
recycling operation would be employed to collect fish carcasses 
following a chemical treatment of the lake. Fish carcasses would be 
converted to an organic fish emulsion product on site or trucked to an 
off-site plant for utilization as fertilizer.
    --An active water management strategy would be implemented to limit 
the length of time that Lake Creek is reduced to no or very low flows. 
When water in Diamond Lake becomes suitable for release (about 
November), canal headgates would be opened to allow approximately 10 
cubic feet per second (cfs) of water to flow into Lake Creek and 
through the North Umpqua River system.

[[Page 20368]]

    --A variety of monitoring activities would be used to verify 
assumptions, evaluate project success, and formulate appropriate lake 
management strategies including: stream flows and water quality in Lake 
Creek; water quality in Diamond and Lemolo Lakes and the North Umpqua 
River; tui chub presence; and phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic 
invertebrate and trout populations.
    --Diamond Lake would be restocked with fish using an ecologically 
appropriate stocking strategy. The Oregon Department of Fish and 
Wildlife would manage the lake for hatchery production under the basic 
yield alternative of Oregon's Trout Plan. However, ecological indices 
of lake health, existing data and knowledge, annual fish monitoring 
data and guidance provided in ODEQ's pending Total Maximum Daily Load 
(TMDL) publication would be used to determine appropriate numeric goals 
for annual fish stocking and harvest post-project.
    --A number of educational activities would be considered to reduce 
the likelihood of tui chub reintroduction into Diamond Lake including: 
``angler stamps'', interpretive signs and brochures, and boat 
inspections.
    --Because it is recognized that tui chub may be illegally 
reintroduced, several actions designed to control tui chub populations 
would be implemented including: An extensive monitoring program to 
facilitate early detection of tui chub presence in the lake; stocking 
with predacious fish species following rotenone treatment and 
increasing the numbers of predacious fish if tui chub are detected; and 
using mechanical treatments such as netting and electro-shocking to 
limit tui chub population growth.
    Alternatives. The alternatives to be considered include the No 
Action Alternative, the Proposed Action, and alternatives to the 
proposed action.
    Issues. Preliminary issues, as identified to date by the Forest and 
by scoping, include the following: Potential effects of rotenone on 
non-target species in and around Diamond Lake; Potential effects of 
rotenone on non-target species in the North Umpqua River if treated 
water escaped Diamond Lake through Lake Creek or groundwater; potential 
effects of a lake draw down on the physical integrity of Lake Creek and 
on water quality in Lake Creek, Lemolo Lake, and the North Umpqua 
River; potential effects of added nutrients from decomposed fish on 
water quality in Lake Creek, Lemolo Lake, and the North Umpqua River; 
the ecologic and economic expense of the proposed action, if history 
repeated itself and another chemical treatment were needed to eliminate 
tui chub in the next several decades; the ability and effectiveness of 
the proposed action to improve water quality in Diamond Lake; and the 
concern that legislative action would be used to establish fish 
stocking goals if the proposed ecologically based fish stocking 
strategy failed to provide an adequate recreational fishery.
    Scoping Process. The scoping effort is intended to identify issues, 
which may lead to the development of alternatives to the proposed 
action. One of the purposes of this notice of intent is to solicit 
input from the public as part of the overall scoping effort. In 
addition to this notice, the public will be notified of the EIS through 
the Umpqua National Forest's April 2003 Schedule of Proposed Actions.
    Public Comments. Comments received in response to this notice and 
through scoping, 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 the 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.
    Public comments are appreciated throughout the analysis process. 
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and be available for public review by February 2004. 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 in May 2004.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice of this early stage of public participation and 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 have been raised 
at the draft stage may be waived or dismissed by the court if not 
raised until after completion of the final EIS. 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 substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest 
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider 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 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 of 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.)
    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 proposal. The Responsible Official is Forest 
Supervisor of the Umpqua National Forest. The Responsible Official will 
document the Diamond Lake Restoration Project decision and rationale 
for the decision in a Record of Decision. The decision will be subject 
to review under Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).

    Dated: April 18, 2003.
James A. Caplan,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-10241 Filed 4-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M