[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17435-17437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-3281]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Umatilla National Forest Invasive Plants Treatment, Umatilla 
National Forest, Oregon and Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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

SUMMARY: The Umatilla National Forest proposes to treat approximately 
25,000 acres of invasive plants located across the 1.4 million acre 
National Forest. It is anticipated that approximately 4,000

[[Page 17436]]

acres of both existing and newly discovered sites would be treated in 
any year. The proposed treatment methods includes: Manual pulling or 
use of hand tools, use of mechanical hand tools, herbicide, cultural 
methods such as grazing or mulching, and biological controls. The 
method used would depend on resource protection concerns for a given 
site.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by May 17, 2006. The draft environmental impact statement is expected 
in March 2007 and the final environmental impact statement is expected 
in September 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments about this project to Kevin D. Martin, 
Forest Supervisor, Umatilla National Forest, 2517 SW. Hailey Avenue, 
Pendleton, OR 97801. Electronic comments can be mailed to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen Westlund, Project Leader, Walla 
Walla Ranger District, 1415 West Rose Street, Walla Walla, WA 99362. 
Phone: 509-522-6009 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this action is to provide a rapid and more 
comprehensive, up to date approach for the control and eradication of 
invasive plants that occur on the National Forest. The purpose of 
controlling or eradicating weed infestations is to maintain or improve 
the diversity, function, and sustainability of desired native plant 
communities and other natural resources that can be adversely impacted 
by invasive plant species. Specifically, there is an underlying need on 
the Forest to: (1) Implement treatment actions to contain and reduce 
the extent of invasive plants at existing inventoried sites, and (2) 
rapidly respond to new or expanded invasive plant sites as they may 
occur in the future.

Proposed Action

    A detailed project description can be found on the Umatilla 
National Forest Web page in the NEPA reading room; http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/projects/readroom. Various types of treatments 
would be used to contain, control, or eradicate invasive plants 
including the use of herbicides, physical, and biological methods. 
Treatments are proposed for existing or new infestations including new 
plant species that currently are not found on the Forest. Potential 
treatments based on existing mapped sites include: Biological or 
physical methods used on approximately 3,920 acres; approximately 
17,300 acres of uplands would utilize chemical, physical, or biological 
methods; approximately 3,400 acres of riparian areas would be treated 
with chemical, physical, or biological methods, and physical methods on 
50 acres. Any use of chemicals would be done in accordance with USDA 
Forest Service policies, regulations and Forest Plan Standards as well 
as product label requirements. Chemicals approved for use, within or 
outside riparian areas, are listed in the Pacific Northwest Region 
Invasive Plant Program Preventing and Managing Invasive Plants FEIS 
(Regional Invasive Plant EIS), April 2005 and ROD. Monitoring of 
treated sites would determine what follow-up treatments would be 
needed. Ground based or aerial application methods would be used based 
on accessibility, topography, and the size of treatment area and may 
include spot spraying, wicking, stem injection, hand broadcast and boom 
broadcast. Aerial application is proposed on approximately 1,420 acres 
covering 20 sites ranging in size from 1 to 418 acres. When needed to 
facilitate recovery, native seed would be used to recover the site and 
increase competition. Physical methods include manual control, hand 
mechanical and cultural methods. Biological weed control activities 
typically include the release of parasitic and ``host specific'' 
insects. Presently, insects are the primary biological control agent in 
use.

Responsible Official

    The Forest Supervisor, Kevin Martin, will be the responsible 
official for making the decision and providing direction for the 
analysis. He can be contacted at the address listed above.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The responsible official will decide what type of methods and how 
they will be used to control invasive plants on the Umatilla National 
Forest.

Scoping Process

    The public is asked to provide the responsible official with 
written comments describing their concerns about this project. At this 
time, no public meetings are being planned.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. When reviewing 
the proposed action, bear in mind that the Forest has been operating 
under the 1995 Umatilla National Forest Environmental Assessment for 
the Management of Noxious Weeds and herbicides were used only on a 
limited basis. Monitoring has indicated that this approach is not 
successful. In 2005 the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region 
completed and implemented the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive plant 
Program FEIS providing new direction and updating the hercides that 
would be permitted for use in the Region. The new hercides offer many 
advantages over the more limited set allowed previously, including 
greater selectivity, less harm to desired vegetation, reduced 
application rates, and lower toxicity to animals and people. The 
proposed treatments will be guided by this FEIS. The most useful 
comments to developing or refining the proposed action would be site 
specific concerns and those that can help us develop treatments that 
would be responsive to our goal to control, contain, or eradicate 
invasive plants as well as being cost effective. Prevention measures 
have already been built into the Regional Invasive Plant FEIS and will 
be implemented with all actions occurring on the Forest. The purpose of 
this proposed action is to begin treatments on known invasive plant 
sites and provide a mechanism to respond rapidly when new infestations 
are discovered.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 
will be 45 days from the date of 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 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 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

[[Page 17437]]

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 meaningful consider them and 
respond to them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying an 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.
    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: March 30, 2006.
Kevin D. Martin,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-3281 Filed 4-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M