[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61783-61784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21339]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Umatilla National Forest, Columbia and Garfield Counties, WA 
School Fire Salvage Recovery Project

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 disclose environmental effects on a proposed action 
to recover the economic value of dead and dying trees damaged in the 
School Fire, and remove potential hazard trees from open forest travel 
routes, developed recreation sites, and administrative sites within 
North Patit Creek, Little Tucannon River, Cummings Creek, Tumalum 
Creek, Headwaters of Tucannon River, and Pataha Creek subwatersheds. 
School Fire, located 12 miles south of Pomeroy, Washington, burned 
approximately 52,000 acres across mixed ownership in August 2005, of 
that approximately 27,000 acres were on National Forest System Lands 
administered by Pomeroy Ranger District, Umatilla National Forest.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by November 28, 2005. The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and be available to the public 
for review by April 2006. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed by 
July 2006.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Responsible Official, Kevin D. 
Martin, Forest Supervisor, Umatilla National Forest, 2517 S.W. Hailey 
Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801. Send electronic comments to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dean Millett, Project Team Leader, 
Pomeroy Ranger District, 71 West Main Street, Pomeroy, WA 99347, phone 
(509) 843-1891. e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Purpose and Need. The purpose and need of the School Fires Salvage 
Recovery Project includes: (1) Recovery of the economic value of a 
portion of dead and dying trees consistent with protection of other 
resource values; and (2) Improving public safety within the fire area 
by removing potential hazard trees along open forest travel routes, 
developed recreation sites, and administrative sites.
    Proposed Action. This action includes salvage of dead and dying 
trees from approximately 10,000 acres and removal of potential hazard 
trees for public safety along open forest travel routes, developed 
recreation sites, and administrative sites. Salvage harvest methods 
would include ground based, skyline, and helicopter yarding systems. 
Ground based systems would not be used on sustained slopes greater than 
30 percent. To facilitate haul some existing classified roads would be 
reconstructed and about 15 miles of temporary roads would be 
constructed. No new classified road construction is proposed and all 
temporary roads would be closed or decommissioned after project 
activities are completed. No commercial harvest or road construction is 
proposed within the Willow Spring Inventoried Roadless Area. Tree 
planting is proposed in salvage harvest areas where there is 
insufficient seed source to ensure natural regeneration in a timely 
manner. Some areas would have sub-merchantable trees felled prior to 
planting, and these areas would be broadcast burned to reduce excessive 
fuel loading before planting. Forest Plan amendments would be included 
as needed.
    Possible Alternatives. 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.
    Scoping. Public participation will be especially important at 
several points during the analysis, beginning with the scoping process 
(40 CFR 1501.7). Initial scoping began with the project listed in the 
2005 Fall Edition of the Umatilla

[[Page 61784]]

National Forest's Schedule of Proposed Actions. Two informational field 
trips were conducted on October 18 and October 25, 2005. A public 
meeting will be scheduled for November 2005, to discuss the project. 
Other meetings will be scheduled as needed. Also, correspondence with 
tribes, government agencies, organizations, and individuals who have 
indicated their interest will be conducted.
    Preliminary Issues. Preliminary issues identified include the 
potential effect of the proposed action on: soils, water quality and 
fish habitat, snags and down wood, disturbance to cultural resources, 
potential for noxious weed expansion, threatened, endangered and 
sensitive aquatic, terrestrial and plant species, potential loss of 
economic value of trees damaged by the wildfire, and the safety and use 
of the area by public and land managers.
    Comment. Public comments about this proposal are requested to 
identify issues and alternatives to the proposed action and to focus 
the scope of the analysis. 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 will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decisions 
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 name and address 
within a specified number of days.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review. A draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and made available for public review by April 
2006. The EPA will publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft 
EIS in the Federal Register. The final EIS is scheduled to be available 
July 2006.
    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 
draft impact statements must structure their participation in the 
environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and 
alerts the 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 stage but that are not raised until after 
completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 
environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement 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 
environmental impact statement 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, Umatilla National Forest. The responsible 
official will decide where, and whether or not to salvage timber, and 
remove potential hazard trees. The responsible official will also 
decide how to mitigate effects of these actions and will determine when 
and how monitoring of effects will take place. The School Fire Salvage 
Recovery Project decision and reasons for the decision will be 
documented in a record of decision. That decision will be subject to 
Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

    Dated: October 20, 2005.
Edwin V. Pugh,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 05-21339 Filed 10-25-05; 8:45 am]
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