[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38007-38008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16179]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bear Hodges Vegetation Project; Wasatch-Cache National Forest, 
Cache and Rich Counties, UT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Supervisor of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest 
gives notice of the agency's intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement on a proposal to harvest mature dense, large diameter spruce 
stands through individual tree removal, small group selection, and 
shelterwood with reserves. Much of this proposal takes place in Utah 
State University's T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest. This is northern 
Utah's Wasatch Mountains about 10 miles south of the Utah-Idaho borders 
and about 7 miles west of Bear Lake. The project area is in the upper 
reaches of the Little Bear and West Hodges drainages. The proposal 
addresses lands located primarily in the drainages located in Township 
13 North, Range 4 East, Salt Lake Meridian, in Sections 15, 21, and 22 
of the T.W. Daniels Forest and in two other sections of the national 
forest (27 and 28) immediately to the south of the land under permit to 
the Daniels Forest.
    The proposed action was developed to move the vegetation toward 
desired future condition by regenerating young spruce. The proposal is 
to treat approximately 700-800 acres. Access to the area will require 
some new specified and temporary road construction.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
in writing by July 21, 2003. A draft environmental impact statement is 
expected to be published in September 2003, with public comment on the 
draft material requested for a period of 45 days, and completion of a 
final environmental impact statement is expected in February, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Wasatch-Cache National Forest, 
Federal building, 125 S. State St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84138, Attn: 
Bear Hodges II.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Scott, Environmental Coordinator, 
(801) 625-5404.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    The spruce-fir in the analysis area are dense, large diameter, 
mature to old age and lacking in regeneration and young trees. With 
this structural pattern in place the spruce-fir stands become 
increasingly susceptible to epidemic levels of insects and disease. 
There is a need to restore the health of these ecosystems and move them 
towards the desired conditions of biodiversity and viability expressed 
in the revised Forest Plan (2003). The purpose of the project is to 
restore these systems to regimes more closely resembling natural 
patterns of disturbance. A secondary purpose to this project is to work 
collaboratively with Utah State University and their experimental 
forest to conduct research on silvicultural treatments.

Proposed Action

    The proposal is to thin nearly 600 acres of the forest to reduce 
the susceptibility to spruce bark beetle mortality. Thinning could 
increase the risk of trees being blown down in extremely dense clumps 
of forest. In these situations adjustments to the thinning method would 
be made to compensate and decrease blow down risks.
    About 100 small openings will be created across the project area to 
establish spruce regeneration. Openings will not exceed \1/4\ acre in 
size, and will be planted with containerized spruce after harvest. A 
majority of these openings will be within the thinning units, and the 
remainder will be in the research units. Existing small openings will 
be used whenever possible.
    Clumps of wildlife trees will be retained in all units except the 
research units. Clumps will consist of 4-6 trees of all species and 
size classes and will be distributed throughout the area.
    On about 150 acres several small cutting units will test different 
spruce silvicultural strategies, including single-tree selection, small 
group selection, and shelterwood with reserves. There would be the same 
number of test harvest units for each of the three strategies.
    Access to the units will require approximately 2 miles of new 
specified road construction, which will be stabilized, gated and 
managed as closed to public use traffic following the sale. In addition 
to specified road construction, an additional 1.5 miles of temporary 
road will be needed, which will be restored to original contour, seeded 
and covered with slash or rocks when the project is completed.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official is Thomas L. Tidwell, Forest Supervisor, 
Wasatch-Cache National Forest, 8236 Federal Building, 125 South State 
Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84138.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether to implement the proposed 
activities listed above.

Scoping Process

    The Forest Service invites comments and suggestions on the scope of 
the analysis to be included in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS). In addition, the Forest Service gives notice that it is 
beginning a full environmental analysis and decision-making process for 
this proposal so that interested or affected people may know how they 
can participate in the environmental analysis and contribute to the 
final decision. This notice of intent initiates the scoping process 
which guides the development of the environmental impact statement. The 
Forest Service welcomes any public comments on the proposal.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 
will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency's 
notice of availability appears in the Federal Register. It is very 
important that those interested in this proposed action participate at 
that time. To be the

[[Page 38008]]

most helpful, comments on the draft environmental impact statement 
should be as specific as possible and may address the adequacy of the 
statement or the merits of the alternatives discussed.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 objection 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 
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 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.) 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.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: June 16, 2003.
Faye L. Krueger,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-16179 Filed 6-25-03; 8:45 am]
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