[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50159-50160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18582]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Juncrock Timber Sale, Mt. Hood National Forest, Wasco County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a revised environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that The USDA Forest Service, will 
prepare a revised environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Juncrock 
Timber Sale on the Barlow Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National 
Forest. The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS for the Juncrock 
Timber Sale was published in the Federal Register (68 FR 53730) on 
September 12, 2003 and notice of the final EIS (69 FR 22025) was 
published on April 23, 2004. The Record of Decision of this project was 
administratively appealed to the Regional Forester per 36 CFR 215. 
After considering issues raised in the appeal the Forest Service 
decided on July 7, 2004 to withdraw the decision in order to conduct 
further analysis. This analysis will be included in the revised (EIS). 
The proposed action is unchanged from that published in the Federal 
Register on June 27, 2002 (67 FR 43274-43276). It is scheduled for 
implementation in fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The agency will give 
notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-making process 
so interested and affected people may be able to participate and 
contribute in the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed action and scope of the 
analysis should be postmarked by September 30, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments concerning the proposed action to 
Becky Nelson, NEPA Coordinator, 780 N.E. Court Street, Dufur, Oregon 
(phone: 541-467-2291). Comments may also be sent by FAX (541-467-2271). 
Include your name and mailing address so documents pertaining to this 
project may be mailed to you.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and Revised EIS should be directed to Becky Nelson (Address and phone 
number listed above), or to Mike Redmond, Environmental Coordination, 
16400 Champion Way, Sandy, Oregon, 97055-7248 (phone: 503-668-1776).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action would promote forest 
health and provide commercial wood fiber by removing trees that are 
dead, or affected by insects, disease, overstocking, or defects on 
approximately 550 acres. This treatment would help reach the goals of 
creating multi-storied, disease resistant, stands in this area and 
providing a predictable sale quantity of wood fiber to local/regional 
economies as envisioned in the Northwest Forest Plan.
     Existing roads would be extended approximately 0.5 miles where 
access is needed and 4 roads would be reconstructed for a total of 
approximately 1 mile. Approximately 21 miles of road are proposed for 
closure and two road segments would be decommissioned for about 1 mile.
     The planning area is located about 38 miles south of Hood River, 
Oregon in portions of Sections 1, 12, & 13, of T.5 S., R.9 E., and 
portions of Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, & 18, of T.5 S., R. 
10 E., Williamette Meridian, Wasco County, Oregon. The planning are 
does not include any wilderness, RARE II inventoried roadless, or other 
unroaded areas. It is outside the White River Wild and Scenic River 
corridor as identified in the ``White River Wild and Scenic River 
Plan''. The planning area is immediately adjacent to the White River 
late successional reserve (LSR) and the planning area is identified as 
a Key Watershed in the Northwest Forest Plan. The Juncrock. Timber Sale 
is included in the C-1, Timber Emphasis allocation, and the B-2, Scenic 
Viewshed allocation, of the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan.
    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, 533 (1978). Also, environmental objections 
that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but 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 revised EIS 
should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer 
to specific pages or chapters of the draft revised EIS. Comments may 
also address the adequacy of the draft revised 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.
    The draft revised EIS is planned to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public

[[Page 50160]]

review in October 2004. At that time, copies of the draft revised EIS 
will be distributed to interested and affected agencies, organizations, 
Indian Tribes, and members of the public for their review and comment. 
The EPA will publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft 
revised EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the draft 
revised EIS will be 45 days from the date the NOA appears in the 
Federal Register.
    The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance 
from other agencies, organizations, Indian Tribes, and individuals who 
may be interested in or affected by the proposed action. Your comments 
are appreciated throughout the analysis process.
    Comments received in response to this proposed action, 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 decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or 
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 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 names and addresses within 
thirty days.
    The final revised EIS is scheduled to be available by January 2005. 
In the final revised EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to 
substantive comments received during the comment period for the draft 
revised EIS. The responsible official is Gary Larsen, Mt. Hood National 
Forest Supervisor. The responsible official will decide which, if any, 
of the alternatives will be implemented. The Juncrock Timber Sale 
decision and rationale will be documented in a Record of Decision, and 
subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).

    Dated: August 9, 2004.
Gary L. Larsen,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-18582 Filed 8-12-04; 8:45 am]
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