[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8176-8177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3581]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Invasive Plant Treatment Project--Olympic, Gifford Pinchot, and 
Mt. Hood National Forests and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic 
Area; Oregon and Washington

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) to document and disclose the potential environmental 
effects of proposed invasive plant treatment activities. This project 
evaluates site specific treatment applications on the Olympic, Gifford 
Pinchot, and Mt. Hood National Forests, and on the Columbia River Gorge 
National Scenic Area. This action implements a variety of treatment 
methods, including manual, mechanical, chemical and biological control.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this analysis should be 
received no later than April 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Invasive Plant Team, USDA Forest 
Service, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR 97208-3623.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eugene Skrine, Team Leader, Invasive 
Plant EIS Project, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR 
97208-3623 or by calling (503) 808-2685.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Need for the Proposal

    In recent years invasive plant populations have significantly 
increased on the Olympic, Gifford Pinchot, and Mt. Hood National 
Forests, and on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Forest 
inventories indicate that there are approximately 1000 invasive plant 
sites. These sites occupy about 16,000 acres of National Forest land, 
approximately 4,000 acres on the Olympic, 3,500 acres on the Gifford 
Pinchot, 1,000 acres on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, 
and 7,500 acres on the Mount Hood. Invasive plants continue to expand 
every year, and have the potential to increase at rates of up to 8-12 
percent per year.
    Invasive plants are compromising our ability to manage the National 
Forests for a healthy native ecosystem. Invasive plants create a host 
of environmental and other effects, most of which are harmful to native 
ecosystem processes, including: displacement of native plants; 
reduction in functionality of habitat and forage for wildlife and 
livestock; loss of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species; 
increased soil erosion and reduced water quality; alteration of 
physical and biological properties of soil, including reduced soil 
productivity; changes to the intensity and frequency of fires; high 
cost (dollars spent) of controlling invasive plants; and loss of 
recreational opportunities.

Proposed Action

    The USDA Forest Service, Olympic, Gifford Pinchot, and Mt. Hood 
National Forests, and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area 
propose to treat areas infested with invasive plants. We estimate the 
cumulative treatment area to be about 16,000 acres, including 
approximately 7,000 acres by manual treatment, 1,500 acres by 
mechanical treatment, and 7,500 acres by chemical treatment.
    The proposed treatments will be conducted in compliance with Forest 
Plan direction to enhance our ability to protect native ecosystems from 
invasive, non-native plants. Some of the treated areas are likely to be 
small in size, while others are somewhat extensive. Treatment methods 
will employ manual, mechanical and chemical methods. The selection of 
individual treatment methods is based on information such as the 
biology of particular invasive plant species, site location, and size 
of the infestation. The development of long-term site goals and 
treatment of infested areas will be linked to revegetation and 
monitoring.

Proposed Scoping

    Public participation is an important part of this analysis. The 
Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance from 
Federal, State and local agencies, tribes, and other individuals or 
organizations who may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
action. Comments submitted during the scoping process should be in 
writing. They should be specific to the action being proposed and 
should describe as clearly and completely as possible any issues the 
commenter has with the proposal. This input will be used in preparation 
of the draft EIS.
    To facilitate public participation additional scoping opportunities 
will include: a scoping letter, public meetings (dates and locations 
yet to be determined), newsletters, and a Web site with address (http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/invasiveplant-eis/multiforest-sitespecific-information.htm).

Preliminary Issues Identified to Date

    Preliminary issues associated with the Proposed Action include:
     Human Health--Implementation of treatment 
methods (particularly herbicides) designed to manage invasive plants 
may pose risks to the health and safety of workers and the public.
     Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species--
The treatment of invasive plants can affect Threatened, Endangered, and 
Sensitive Species.
     Aquatics--The treatment of invasive plants, 
particularly with herbicides, can affect aquatic ecosystems, including 
water quality and watershed health.
     Tribes and Treaty Rights--The treatment of 
invasive plants has potential to affect plants considered culturally 
important to American Indian Tribes.
     Recreation--The treatment of invasive plants can 
affect recreation on the Forests.
     Wildlife--The treatment of invasive plants has 
potential to affect wildlife.

Preliminary Alternatives

    The No Action alternative will serve as a baseline for comparison 
of alternatives. This alternative will offer no treatment of affected 
sites. It will be fully developed and analyzed. Additional alternatives 
may be developed around the proposed action to address key issues 
identified in the scoping and public involvement process.

Estimated Dates for Draft and Final EIS

    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment by 
September 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 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 
the 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.

[[Page 8177]]

v. NRDC. 435 U.S. 519. 553 [1978]). Also, environmental objectives that 
could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not raised until 
after the 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 Heritage, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334 [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 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 the 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 alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provision of the National Environmental Policy Act (40 
CFR 1503.3) in addressing these points.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, 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 may not have 
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 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 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.
    Comments on the draft EIS will be analyzed, considered, and 
responded to by the Forest Service in preparing the final EIS. The 
final EIS is scheduled to be completed in February 2005. There will be 
four responsible officials for this multiforest EIS. Dale Hom, Forest 
Supervisor of the Olympic National Forest, Claire Lavendel, Forest 
Supervisor of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Gary Larsen, Forest 
Supervisor of the Mt. Hood National Forest, and Dan Harkenrider, Area 
Manager of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area will share the 
duties of responsible official for this project. They will consider 
comments, responses, environmental consequences discussed in the final 
EIS, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making the 
decision and rationale for the decision in the Record of Decision. It 
will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

    Dated: February 12, 2004.
Jim Golden,
Deputy Regional Forester, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 04-3581 Filed 2-20-04; 8:45 am]
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