[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 70 (Monday, April 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19151-19153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8195]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICVULTURE

Forest Service


Big Butte Springs Timber Sales, Rogue River-Siskiyou National 
Forest, Jackson County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is to 
analyze and disclose the environmental impacts of a site-specific 
proposal to implement vegetation density management treatments, plant 
trees, construct, reconstruct, and decommission roads, implement 
connected wildlife project, and conduct prescribed burns. The 
activities are proposed in the Big Butte Springs Watershed located on 
National Forest System Lands administered by the Rogue River-Siskiyou 
National Forest, Butte Falls Ranger District, Jackson County, Oregon. 
The proposed action will tier to and be designed under the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Rogue River National Forest Land 
and Resource Management Plan (1990), as amended by the Record of 
Decision for the Northwest Forest Plan (1994), which provides guidance 
for land management activities. The Forest Service will give notice of 
the full environmental analysis and decision making process so that 
interested and affected people are made aware as to how they may 
participate and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Issues and comments concerning the scope, implementation, and 
analysis of the Proposed Action must be received by May 15, 2004. The 
Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and be available for review by July 2004. The comment 
period for the Draft EIS will be 45 days from the date that the EPA 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register. The Final 
EIS is scheduled for completion by November 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments regarding the Proposed Action to 
Joel King, District Ranger, Prospect Ranger District, 47201 Hwy 62, 
Prospect, Oregon 97536.

[[Page 19152]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the Proposed 
Action and EIS to Don Boucher, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Prospect 
Ranger District, 47201 Highway 62, Prospect, Oregon 97536, phone: (541) 
560-3400, fax: (541) 560-3444, e-mail: comments_pacificnorthwest_rogueriver_buttefalls_prospect@fs.fed.us.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Big Butte Timber Sales project will take 
place within the upper portion of the Big Butte Springs Watershed. This 
sub-watershed is also referred to as the Medford Watershed because it 
supplies domestic water to the city of Medford, Oregon and surrounding 
communities. Only National Forest System Lands would be treated. The 
legal description of the area being considered is: T 35 S, R 3 E, 
sections 13, 22-36; T 35 S, R 4 E, sections 7-34; T 36 S, R 3 E, 
sections 1-17, 21-28, 35 & 36; T 36 S, R 4 E, sections 3-8, 16-21, & 
27-33; Willamette Meridian, Jackson County, Oregon.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Service is proposing to implement activities that 
include, in part, multiple timber sales involving approximately 8,800 
acres of harvest units. Silvicultural prescriptions include: density 
management of overstocked stands of trees in existing plantations 
(approximately 4,300 acres); small group selection or even-aged 
management of existing shelterwood stands of trees (approximately 1,900 
acres); individual tree removal to treat insect and/or disease infected 
trees (approximately 2,100 acres); and density management of small 
diameter (6 to 9 inches) trees for forest health and stand development 
(approximately 500 acres). Other projects include road decommissioning 
(approximately 13 miles), prescribed fire for wildlife habitat 
improvement and wildlife improvement projects. Minor amounts of new 
road construction or reconstruction may be necessary to access harvest 
units. These activities are proposed on Matrix lands associated with 
the Northwest Forest Plan. Incidental treatments, not including timber 
harvest, are proposed within Riparian Reserves. The Big Butte Springs 
Watershed is not a Tier 1 Key Watershed. No activities are planned 
within any inventoried roadless areas.

Purpose and Need

    The purpose and need for the proposed action is to plan timber 
sales and associated road and vegetation management activities to 
implement management direction from the Rogue River National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan and the Northwest Forest Plan and to 
manage for ecosystem objectives. Specific needs of the proposed actions 
are to: (1) Improve forest health by managing high risk insect and 
disease areas to encourage more resilient forest vegetation conditions; 
(2) manage stand densities, species composition, and stand structure in 
overstocked sapling, pole, and mature stands; (3) manage, maintain, or 
restore current soil and water quality conditions degraded as a result 
of past management activities within the Big Butte Springs Municipal 
Watershed; (4) manage, maintain, and/or restore current big game winter 
range conditions; (5) manage, maintain, and/or restore snag and coarse 
down wood material conditions in areas that are deficient; and (6) 
provide a sustainable yield of commercial timber and other commodities, 
in concert with land management allocation and direction.
    The Forest Service will also consider issues with the proposed 
action, and develop additional alternatives to the proposed action that 
respond to significant issues.
    Public participation will be important during the analysis. 
Reviewers may refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 
for implementing the procedural provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1501.7. The Agency will be seeking 
written issues with the proposed action from Federal, State, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribes, and other individuals who may be 
interested in or affected by the proposed action. This input will be 
used to develop additional alternatives.

Public Participation in Subsequent Environmental Review

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process under NEPA, 
which will guide the development of the draft EIS.
    Comments received in response to this notice, 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, whose who submit anonymous comments will 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 
requester 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.
    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, a reviewer of 
a Draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental 
review process of the proposal so that it is specific, meaningful, and 
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont 
Yankee Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519.533 (1978). Also, 
environmental objections that cold 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 Heritages, Inc. v. 
Harris, 409 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 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 to the Draft EIS should 
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to 
specific pages or chapters of the Draft EIS. Comments may also address 
the inadequacy of the Draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the EIS. 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.
    After the 45 day comment period ends on the Draft EIS, comments 
will be considered and analyzed by the Agency in preparing the Final 
EIS. In the Final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the 
comments and responses received during the comment period that pertain 
to the environmental consequences discussed in the Draft EIS and 
applicable laws, regulations, and

[[Page 19153]]

policies considered in making the decision regarding the proposal.
    The Forest Service Responsible Official is Scott D. Conroy, Rogue 
River-Siskiyou National Forest Supervisor. The Responsible Official 
will consider the Final EIS, applicable laws, regulations, policies, 
and analysis files in making a decision. The Responsible Official will 
document the decision and rationale in the Record of Decision. The 
decision will be subject to appeal by the general public under 
regulation 36 CFR part 215.

    Dated: April 5, 2004.
V. Grilley,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-8195 Filed 4-9-04; 8:45 am]
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