[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76750-76751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24517]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Plumas National Forest; Plumas County, CA; Empire Vegetation 
Management Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare a supplement to the final 
Environmental Impact Statement to document and clarify additional 
analysis of cumulative environmental effects primarily in five resource 
areas: Vegetation, Fire/Fuels/Air Quality, Wildlife, Watershed, and 
Botanical Resources/Noxious Weeds. The supplement will also clarify the 
discussion of planning areas. Additional details will be added to 
Appendix D: Proposed Actions for Each Road in Each Watershed and 
Appendix G: Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions. 
Additional maps will be included to provide further information to the 
public.

DATES: Scoping is not required for supplements to environmental impact 
statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c)4(4)). The draft supplemental environmental 
impact statement is expected to be issued in January 2006 and the final 
supplemental environmental impact statement is expected in April 2006.

ADDRESSES: Plumas National Forest, 159 Lawrence Street, P.O. Box 11500, 
Quincy, CA 95971; Mount Hough Ranger District, 39696 Highway 70, 
Quincy, CA 95971.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Rotta, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Mt. Hough Ranger District 39696 Highway 70, Quincy, CA 95971 
(530) 283-7687.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The prior notice of intent for this project 
appeared in the Federal Register on February 9, 2005. The Notice of 
Availability for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement appeared on 
May 20, 2005. A Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of 
Decision were issued on August 9, 2005. The legal notice of the Record 
of Decision appeared in the Feather River Bulletin on August 24, 2005. 
The decision was appealed and later reversed on November 18, 2005.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose and need remain the same as was described in the FEIS. 
In the FEIS, the purpose of and need for the project has three 
elements: (1) To implement fuel reduction in the Wildland Urban 
Interface (WUI) and, as part of the larger HFQLG fuel treatment 
strategic network as called for by the HFQLG Act (Section 401(b)(1) and 
(d)(1)) and the HFQLG amendment to the LRMP, to reduce the potential 
size and intensity of wildfires and provide fire suppression personnel 
safe locations for taking action against wildfires; (2) to implement 
group selection and individual tree selection, as directed in the HFQLG 
Act (Section 401(b)(1) and (d)(2)) and the HFQLG amendment to the LRMP, 
to test the effectiveness of an uneven-aged silvicultural system in 
achieving an all-aged, multistory, fire resilient forest, providing an 
adequate timber supply that contributes to the economic stability of 
rural communities, and improving and maintaining ecological health of 
the forest; and (3) to reduce impacts of the transportation system on 
forest resources and provide the necessary access for the fuel 
treatments and the group and individual tree selection harvests.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action and all alternatives will remain the same as 
described in the FEIS. These alternatives include varied levels of fuel 
treatments, group selection timber harvest, individual tree selection 
harvest and transportation system improvement.

[[Page 76751]]

Responsible Official

    Jim Pena, Forest Supervisor, Plumas National Forest, P.O. Box 
11500, Quincy, CA 95971.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Based on the supplement, the responsible official will decide 
whether to implement the project based on an alternative in the FEIS or 
not implement the project at this time.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft supplemental environmental impact statement will be 
prepared for comment. The comment period on the draft supplemental 
environmental impact statement will be 45 days from the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in 
the Federal Register.
    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 supplemental 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 supplemental environmental impact statement stage but that are 
not raised until after completion of the final supplemental 
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 
supplemental environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft supplemental 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages of the draft 
supplement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
supplemental 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.
    Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: December 20, 2005.
James M. Pena,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 05-24517 Filed 12-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M