[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48935-48936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19255]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-090-5900, HAG03-0062]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Upper Siuslaw River Late-Successional Reserve 
Restoration Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the Upper Siuslaw River Late-Successional Reserve 
(LSR) Restoration Plan.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, a DEIS has been prepared by the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), Eugene District, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service as a cooperating agency, for the Upper Siuslaw River Late-
Successional Reserve (LSR) Restoration Plan. The DEIS was prepared to 
analyze the impacts of a long-term management approach and specific 
actions needed to achieve the LSR goals and Aquatic Conservation 
Strategy objectives set out in the Northwest Forest Plan. The Upper 
Siuslaw LSR Restoration Plan will address management of approximately 
25,000 acres of BLM-managed lands within LSR 267 in the upper portion 
of the Siuslaw River fifth-field watershed.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS must be postmarked or otherwise 
delivered by 4:15 p.m., 60 days following the date the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes the NOA and filing of the DEIS in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the document should be addressed to: 
Rick Colvin, P.O. Box 10226, Eugene, OR, 97440; or e-mail to: 
[email protected] Attn: Rick Colvin. Written comments may also be 
hand-delivered to the Eugene District Office, 2890 Chad Drive, Eugene, 
OR. Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the Eugene District office during 
regular hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except 
holidays, and may be published as part of the environmental analysis or 
other related documents. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or 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 or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organization 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.
    Copies of the DEIS will be mailed to individuals, agencies, or 
companies who previously requested copies. A limited number of copies 
of the document will be available at the Eugene District Office. The 
DEIS is also available online from the Eugene District Internet Web 
site at http://www.edo.or.blm.gov. All public meetings will be 
announced through the local news media, newsletters, and the Eugene 
District Internet Web site (http://www.edo.or.blm.gov) at least 15 days 
prior to the event.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Colvin at (541) 683-6600 or 1-
888-442-3061.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS addresses alternatives for forest 
and aquatic restoration within a Late-Successional Reserve in the Coast 
Range Mountains west of Eugene, Oregon. The purpose of the action is to 
protect and enhance late-successional and old-growth forest ecosystems; 
foster the development of late-successional forest structure and 
composition in

[[Page 48936]]

plantations and young forests; and reconnect streams and reconnect 
stream channel to their riparian areas and upslope areas.
    The DEIS analyzes in detail the following six alternatives:

Alternative A--no active management (No Action);
Alternative B--restoration limited to forest plantations and road 
management with no commercial timber harvest;
Alternative C--continuation of the current management approach;
Alternative D--restoration focused on recovery of threatened and 
endangered species;
Alternative E--restoration that would reduce forest stand densities as 
quickly as possible; and
Alternative F--restoration based on multi-entry and multi-trajectory 
thinning.

    All alternatives analyzed in the DEIS would be in conformance with 
the 1995 Eugene District Resource Management Plan (RMP) and would not 
require any amendment or revision of the RMP. The Preferred Alternative 
is Alternative D.
    The DEIS analyzes the following issues:

--How would thinning affect development of late-successional forest 
habitat characteristics?
--What are the effects of restoration activities on the northern 
spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and coho salmon habitat?
--What level of risk to existing late-successional forest would result 
from restoration activities?
--How would actions meet the objectives of the Aquatic Conservation 
Strategy?
--How much new road construction would be needed to implement 
restoration actions?
--How would road decommissioning and road management actions alter 
public access to BLM lands?
--How would restoration actions affect the presence and spread of 
noxious weeds?
--What would be the economic effects of restoration activities?
--What would the restoration program cost?

Steven Calish,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 03-19255 Filed 8-14-03; 8:45 am]
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