[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 22 (Thursday, February 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5603-5604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2005]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Warren County, PA; Notice of Intent
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger
District, will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement to
disclose the environmental consequences of the proposed West Branch of
Tionesta Project. The Forest Service is proposing actions that would
move the West Branch of Tionesta Project Area from the existing
condition towards the Desired Future Condition (DFC) and would maintain
the DFC in situations where it has been attained. The DFC is described
in the Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan
(Forest Plan).
Proposed activities to meet the Desired Future Condition fall into
four main categories. (1) Timber harvest and reforestation treatments
consist of: shelterwood seedcut/removal cut, shelterwood removal cut,
salvage removal cut, salvage shelterwood seed cut/removal cut, single
tree selection, group selection, commercial thinning, intermediate
thinning, pre-commercial thinning, improvement cutting, manual site
preparation and release, herbicide application, fertilization, fencing,
controlled burning, scarification, and tree planting. (2) Wildlife
habitat improvement treatments consist of: noncommercial thinning, oak/
hickory/shrub underplanting, pruning and release of apple trees,
release of white pine trees, hawthorn release, constructing new
openings, opening maintenance, planting/fencing shrubs in openings,
mowing, topdressing, seeding with wildflowers and grass, constructing
nest/roost boxes. (3) Transportation treatments consist of: road
decommissioning, road maintenance, road construction, road resurfacing,
expanding and developing stone pits, and changing road access. (4)
Watershed treatments consist of: Stream restoration and enhancement,
obliterate and restore illegal stream crossings, enclose open top
bridges, apply limestone surfacing within 300 feet of streams, and
restore the natural flow of the stream.
DATES: Comments and suggestions concerning the scope of the analysis
should be submitted (postmarked) by March 4, 2005 to ensure timely
consideration.
ADDRESSES: Submit written, oral, or e-mail comments by: (1) Mail:
``West Branch of Tionesta Project,'' ID Team Leader, 29 Forest Service
Drive, Bradford, PA 16701; (2) phone: (814) 362-4613; (3) e-mail:
[email protected] (please note: when
commenting by e-mail be sure to list West Branch of Tionesta EIS in the
subject line and include a U.S. Postal Service address so we may add
you to our mailing list). For further information contact O'Dell E.
Tucker, project team leader, Bradford Ranger District, at (814) 362-
4613 or mail/e-mail correspondence to addresses listed above. The
scoping letter and maps for the West Branch of Tionesta EIS are posted
on the ANF Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Allegheny National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) sets site-specific goals for the
management of forest resources. The West Branch of Tionesta Project
includes portions of Management Area (MA) 3.0, which emphasizes timber
harvesting as a means to make desired changes to forest vegetation and
satisfy the public demand for wood products. The project area also
includes portions of MA 6.1, which emphasizes providing habitat for
wildlife, attractive scenery, and opportunities for semi-primitive
motorized recreation; and portions of MA 8.0, which emphasizes
protection of unique ecosystems for scientific purposes and dispersed
recreation. Finally, the project area contains portions of MA 9.1,
which emphasizes forest area to be managed with minimal investments
only to protect the environment and the incidental forest users.
Preliminary Issues were identified based on past projects in the
area (environmental assessments), issues developed for similar
projects, and site-specific concerns raised by the resource
specialists. These issues, listed below, will provide a framework that
the Forest Service will use to analyze a range of alternatives,
including No Action for the Project Area.
(1) Roads--The West Branch of Tionesta project area contains
heavily roaded areas due to extensive oil and gas developments in the
northwestern and eastern portions of the project area. Water quality
and stream flow regimes are the primary concerns of heavy road
densities. Sedimentation of streams and riparian areas is also a
concern from roads due to impacts to stream channel morphology and
aquatic habitat. The West Branch of Tionesta Roads Analysis Project
(RAP) team will continue evaluating these and other road related
issues, and will present their findings in a RAP document that will be
available to the public.
(2) Special Designation Waters--Wildcat Run and Arnot Run are
designated ``Exceptional Value Watersheds'' by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection. Slater Run, while not a State
special designated water, flows directly into the Allegheny River where
threatened, endangered, and sensitive species are located. The special
status of waterways in these watersheds will increase sensitivity
towards land disturbing activities such as vegetation and road
management.
(3) Biological Diversity and Wildlife Habitat--The area is
dominated by fifty-one to one hundred and ten year age-classes. There
is a shortage of habitat provided by younger age classes and old
growth. Existing younger age classes will develop into older age
classes in the next decades as they mature. Certain wildlife species
require different ages of vegetation. Other wildlife species need a
variety of forest types positioned near each other or perhaps near
water. Management practices should reflect a balance of activities that
assure biological diversity is maintained or enhanced. Concepts of
biological diversity suggest that land management should encourage a
variety of habitats.
(4) Proposed Special Emphasis Areas--There are proposed management
activities within the project area identified by Allegheny Defense
Project for special management. Proposed vegetation management
activities in these areas follow current forest plan direction.
Project Area and Roads Analysis Project Public Meeting: The public
meeting for the project area and the RAP for WBTPA has been scheduled
for Saturday, February 19, 2005 at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We will meet at
the Bradford
[[Page 5604]]
Ranger District Office at the junction of State Route 321 and State
Route 59 South, Marshburg, PA. (R.S.V.P by calling 814-362-4613). There
will also be an opportunity for the public to ask questions and make
suggestions to the ID Team.
Comment Requested: This notice of intent initiates the scoping
process, which guides the development of the environmental impact
statement. Your comments will help the Forest Service refine and
enhance the list of issues that are considered when analyzing
alternatives to the proposed action. When this analysis is nearly
complete, the Draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency and become available for public review (expected by November
2005). At that time the Environmental Protection Agency will publish a
Notice of Availability of the document in the Federal Register (this
will begin the 45-day comment period on the Draft EIS). After the
comment period ends on the Draft EIS, the comments will be analyzed and
considered by the Forest Service in preparing the final environmental
impact statement. The Final EIS and Record of Decision are scheduled
for release in May 2006.
Comments received, including names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record and may be
subject to public disclosure. 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.
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, reviewers of
draft environmental impact statements 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement
stage may be waived or dismissed by the courts City of Angoon v. Hodel,
803 F.2nd 1016, 1022 [9th Cir. 1986] and MDSU Wisconsin Heritages, Inc.
v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 [E.D. Wis. 1980]).
Because of the above 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 are made available to
the Forest Service at a time when they can be meaningfully considered
and responded to in the final environmental impact statement. Comments
on the draft environmental impact statement should be as specific as
possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages,
sections, or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also address
the adequacy of the draft environmental impact statement or the merits
of the alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement.
Reviewers may wish to refer to 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.
This decision will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR 215. The
responsible official is John R. Schultz, Bradford Ranger District, 29
Forest Service Drive, Bradford, PA 16701.
Dated: January 27, 2005.
Kevin B. Elliott,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 05-2005 Filed 2-2-05; 8:45 am]
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