[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37451-37452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15849]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 121 / Tuesday, June 24, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 37451]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Acker 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 Acker Fire Salvage within the Buckeye and 
Skillet/Emerson Facial 6th Field sub-watersheds on the Tiller Ranger 
District of the Umpqua National Forest. During 2002, the Acker Creek 
fire created about 1,600 acres of canopy mortality in both the Buckeye 
and Skillet/Emerson Facial 6th Field sub-watersheds. Of this total, 
about 600 acres of mature or 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 native conifers, hardwoods, 
shrubs and forbs. 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 
Acker Fire on the Buckeye and Skillet/Emerson Facial 6th Field sub-
watersheds. 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 July 25, 2003.

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Acker Fire Salvage planning area 
comprises about 14,200 acres of which about 300 acres (2 percent) are 
private lands. About 1,400 acres of plantations were burned in the 
Matrix portion of the fire complex 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 sections 1, 11-16, and 22-24, T. 29S, R. 1E; and sections 
6, 7, 18 or 19, T. 29S, R. 2E, 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 base 
for species that depend on large wood on the forest floor or standing 
as snags. The trees are within the Acker 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 serial dead and dying trees, spread throughout 15 
separate timber stands, from a total of 1600 acres (plantations and 
older forest) that had canopy mortality in the Acker Fire. Of these 
dead trees, about 2 to 6 trees per acre will be left as coarse down 
wood and snags.
    No new roads are being planned. Additionally, riparian reserves 
will not be included in salvage plans nor will green trees be cut 
except for safety purposes. The proposed harvest is in the matrix lands 
allocation of the Buckeye and Skillet/Emerson Facial 6th Field sub-
watersheds. Upon completion of harvest activities, the area will be 
planted with a mixture of conifers and hardwoods including: Douglas-
fir; Ponderosa pine, sugar and white pine; western red cedar and 
incense-cedar; willow and red alter; Pacific yew; and other native 
trees, 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: soil productivity, 
fuels reduction, water quality, diameter harvest limits and invasive 
weeds.
    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 were requested with the mailing of the scoping letter. The 
proposed action will be published in the Umpqua National Forest 
Quarterly Schedule of Proposed Actions and posted on the Forest website 
on the Internet: http://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

[[Page 37452]]

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 
September 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 December 
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 of 
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 Acker 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 
Acker 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: June 10, 2003.
James A. Caplan,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-15849 Filed 6-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M