[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45670-45671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17367]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


B&B Fire Recovery Project, Deschutes National Forest, Jefferson 
and Deschutes Counties, Oregon

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) on a proposed action to salvage dead and severely 
damaged trees, reduce post-harvest/smaller diameter fuels and plant 
trees on salvage units, and close or obliterate roads to assist in the 
restoration of the area burned in the Link and B&B Complex Fires on the 
Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest. The 
wildfires, located about 12 miles northwest of Sisters, Oregon, burned 
approximately 95,600 acres across mixed ownership. The B&B Fire 
Recovery Project covers approximately 42, 143 acres of the total fire 
area of which 97% is on National Forest System Lands. The alternatives 
will include the proposed action, no action, and additional 
alternatives that respond to issues generated during the scoping 
process. The agency will give notice of the full environmental analysis 
and decision making process so interested and affected people may 
participate and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by August 20, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to District Ranger, c/o Tom Mafera, 
Sisters Ranger District, P.O. Box 249, Sisters, Oregon 97759.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Mafera, Environmental Coordinator, 
P.O. Box 249, Sisters, Oregon 97759, phone 541-549-7744. E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Purpose and Need. The purpose and need of the B&B Fire Recovery 
Project includes: (1) The harvest of dead and dying timber before it 
loses its economic value; (2) reduction of harvest slash and small 
trees within salvage units to establish fuel conditions that will 
reduce the potential for future uncharacteristic fire and restore fire 
as an ecosystem component; (3) reforestation of historically prevalent 
or common species (where seed sources are lacking) within salvage units 
to aid in the quicker development of desired large tree structure; (4) 
provide for public, administrative, and operational safety by removing 
hazard trees or fuels along open roads and areas of concentrated use; 
and (5) the reduction of open road densities, particularly within 
riparian reserves, to help protect and improve watershed conditions, 
fisheries, and wildlife habitat.
    Proposed Action. This action includes the commercial salvage of 
dead trees within the Metolius Late Successional Reserve (LSR), and 
dead and dying trees in other land allocations, for a total of 
approximately 10,000 to 14,000 acres. Salvage logging will be conducted 
with a variety of logging techniques including ground-based, skyline, 
and helicopter yarding systems. No new permanent roads will be 
constructed. Fuels reduction and reforestation are also propose for the 
units where commercial salvage is proposed. Hazard trees with 
commercial value will also be salvaged along open roads within the 
project area. Timber harvest residues and non-merchantable material 
would be treated by a variety of methods including lopping and 
scattering, burning in place, piling and burning, or yarding tops to 
landings for burning. Timber would be offered for sale in the summer of 
2005. Areas treated would be located outside of Riparian Reserves with 
the exception of areas where hazard trees need to be fallen or removed 
to address public safety. Dead trees (snags) and down wood would be 
left to meet wildlife objectives for the short and long term. 
Approximately 80 miles of roads would be either closed or 
decommissioned.
    Scoping. Public participation will be sought at several points 
during the analysis, including listing of this project in the summer 
2004 and subsequent issues of the Central Oregon Schedule of Projects 
and on the Deschutes National Forest Web site. Also, correspondence 
with agencies, organizations, tribes, and individuals who have 
indicated their interest would be conducted.
    Issues. Preliminary issues identified include the potential effect 
of the proposed action on: Soil productivity; water quality and fish 
habitat; late successional reserves and late and old structure stands; 
snags and down wood habitat; future fuel loading in relation to the 
reintroduction of fire or future wildfire intensity, disturbance to 
cultural resources, the potential for noxious weed expansion, and the 
safety and use of the area by the public and land managers. A no action 
alternative will be analyzed in the EIS. Other alternatives would 
result from the scoping process and refined issues.
    Comment: Public comments about this proposal are requested in order 
to

[[Page 45671]]

assist in identifying issues, determine how to best manage the 
resources, and to focus the analysis. Comments received 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, those who submit anonymous comments will not 
have standing to appeal the subsequent decisions under 36 CFR parts 215 
and 217. 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.
    A draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and made available for public review by February 2005. The EPA 
will publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft EIS in the 
Federal Register. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days 
from the date EPA publishes the notice of availability in the Federal 
Register. The final EIS is scheduled to be available June 2005.
    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 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 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 at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to 
substantive comments received during the comment period for the draft 
EIS. The Forest Service is the lead agency and the responsible official 
is the Forest Supervisor, Deschutes National Forest. The responsible 
official will decide where, and whether or not to salvage timber, 
reduce fuels, and reforest the area. The responsible official will also 
decide how to mitigate impacts of these actions and will determine when 
and how monitoring of effects will take place. The B&B Fire Recovery 
decision and the reasons for the decision will be documented in the 
record of decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service 
Appeal Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

    Dated: July 26, 2004.
Michael C. Johnson,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-17367 Filed 7-29-04; 8:45 am]
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