[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 114 (Friday, June 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 35425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15119]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Availability of the Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for Management of Port-Orford-Cedar in Southwest Oregon

AGENCIES: USDI, Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the draft supplemental environmental 
impact statement (SEIS) for management of Port-Orford-cedar in 
Southwest Oregon.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
(the Agencies) have prepared a Draft SEIS to supplement the analyses 
contained in the Final EIS for the Resource Management Plans for the 
Coos Bay, Medford, and Roseburg BLM Districts (1995) and the Land and 
Resource Management Plan for the Siskiyou National Forest (1988). These 
areas are located in southwest Oregon. The Draft SEIS is now available 
for public review.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft SEIS will be accepted for 90 days 
following the date that Environmental Protection Agency publishes their 
Notice of Availability of the Draft SEIS in the Federal Register. The 
Agencies ask that those submitting comments on the Draft SEIS make them 
as specific as possible, with reference to page numbers and chapters of 
the document, and meaningful so as to alert the agencies to the 
reviewer's position and contention.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. You may mail your comments to Port-Orford-cedar 
SEIS Team, PO Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. You may also comment via e-
mail to [email protected]. Comments received in response to this 
solicitation, including names and home addresses, will be considered 
part of the public record on this proposal and are available for public 
review during regular business hours. Comments, including names and 
home addresses, may be published as part of the Final SEIS. Requests to 
receive copies of the Draft SEIS should be sent to the address listed 
above. Alternately, the Draft SEIS is available on the Internet at 
http://www.or.blm.gov/planning/Port-Orford-cedar_SEIS/. Copies are 
also available for inspection at Forest Service and BLM offices in 
southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. Individual respondents 
may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or 
street 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 and businesses, and 
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials 
of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection 
in their entirety. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and 
considered. Anonymous comments do not create standing or a record of 
participation. All submissions from organizations and business, and 
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials 
of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection 
in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Denton, SEIS Team Leader, P.O. Box 
2965, Portland, Oregon 97208, telephone (503) 326-2368.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The tree species Port-Orford-cedar is killed 
by an exotic root disease (Phytophthora lateralis) that is linked, at 
least in part, to transport of spore-infested soil by human and other 
vectors. Water-borne spores then readily spread the disease down slope 
and down stream.
    Five alternatives are considered in detail in the Draft SEIS. 
Alternative 1, no action, continues the current direction of 
implementing available disease-management practices based on site-
specific analysis. Alternative 2 specifically describes available 
control practices and adds a risk key to clarify the environmental 
conditions that require implementation of additional site-specific 
practices. Alternative 3 includes all elements of Alternative 2, and 
adds additional protections for 32 currently uninfested 6th-field 
watersheds. Alternative 4 removes existing disease management 
practices, but accelerates the resistant breeding program to provide 
resistant stock for all areas within 10 years. Alternative 5 also 
removes existing disease management practices, and stops development of 
resistant seed for remaining undeveloped breeding zones. The preferred 
alternative is Alternative 2. A decision to select one of the action 
alternatives would amend the management direction in the three BLM and 
one FS land and resource management plans and BLM resource management 
plans in the planning area.
    The SEIS addresses deficiencies identified in a February 12, 2003 
U.S. District Court decision, which held the Resource Management Plan 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Coos Bay District and a related 
project Environmental Assessment did not adequately analyze the 
cumulative effects of management activities on the health of Port-
Orford-cedar outside the project area.
    The analysis considers the entire natural range of Port-Orford-
cedar, but only land and resource management plans within the Oregon 
portion of the range are proposed for amendment at this time.
    The responsible official for lands administered by the Forest 
Service will be the Regional Forester, Region 6. The responsible 
official for public lands administered by the BLM will be the State 
Director, Oregon/Washington State Office.
    No public hearings or meetings are planned.

Charles E. Wassinger,
Associate State Director, Oregon/Washington, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 03-15119 Filed 6-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P