[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58637-58638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5072]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bridger-Teton National Forest, Greys River Ranger District, 
Wyoming. Upper Greys Vegetation Treatment

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The analysis area of 11,855 acres is located in the Upper 
Greys River watershed on the Greys River Ranger District of the 
Bridger-Teton National Forest. It is approximately 20 miles southeast 
of Afton, Wyoming on the west slope of the Wyoming Range. All lands 
within the 11,855 acre analysis area are National Forest System lands, 
within Lincoln County, Wyoming. The legal description includes portions 
of: T30N, R116W and T29N, R116W.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by November 15, 2007. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected in February 2008 and the final environmental impact statement 
is expected in April 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: District Ranger, Greys River 
Ranger District, P.O. Box 339, Afton, Wyoming. For further information, 
mail correspondence to: [email protected] and on 
the subject line put only ``Upper Greys River Vegetation Treatment.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: District Ranger, Greys River Ranger 
District, P.O. Box 339, 641 N. Washington St., Afton, Wyoming 83110, or 
phone (307) 886-5310.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to attain desired vegetation 
conditions including increased diversity of tree age and size classes, 
improve the health and vigor of some mature timber stands and reduce 
the risk of stand replacing fire. It further reduces soil erosion and 
sedimentation from existing sources. A stand replacing fire is highly 
likely in this area due to dense, mature forests with an abundance of 
down dead and ladder fuels and would be apt to change the area from 
mature forest to grasses and forbs, damage existing seedlings, saplings 
and young forest. The loss of vegetation would also create conditions 
conducive to excess soil erosion over the landscape. The Bridger-Teton 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) and the 2004 
Greys River Landscape Scale Assessment (LSA) have both identified 
opportunities for vegetation treatments to help improve resource 
conditions. The LSA found that the lodgepole pine vegetation in the 
Greys River falls outside the range of properly functioning condition 
and identified an opportunity to treat over 7,000 acres by 2010.

Alternative 1--Proposed Action

    This proposal was developed primarily to help achieve desired 
conditions described in the LSA while responding to issues from 
previous public scoping, changes in resource demand, and recently 
identified resource issues. It is designed to improve Forest resource 
conditions as identified in the LSA.
    The proposal is to treat approximately 591 acres and reduce 
existing sediment sources within the 11,855 acre analysis area which 
lies in the upper Greys River drainage. The proposed action would take 
place from approximately 2008 through 2011 and would include:
    1. Commercial harvest of approximately 591 acres of mixed conifer 
timber.
     Approximately 436 acres would be treated using a 
clearcutting silvicultural system.
     Approximately 155 acres would be treated using a selection 
silvicultural system to remove dead and dying trees, low vigor trees, 
or small groups of trees less than 2 acres in size, while retaining 40 
to 70% of healthy trees in the stand.
     Approximately 4.5 miles of temporary road would be 
constructed and then closed and rehabilitated after use. These would be 
mostly short spurs to access log landing areas off the main roads. 
Approximately 1.5 miles of existing closed roads would be used for 
timber hauling and closed and rehabilitated after use.
    2. Identifying segments of existing logging roads and trails, 
including all culverts and creek crossings, that have the potential to 
erode, particularly those segments that are delivering, or have the 
potential to deliver, sediment to stream channels and other water 
bodies. Restore identified areas to Elimination Class 3 and 4 (as 
defined in the Forest

[[Page 58638]]

Plan). Segments of the designated road system would be reconstructed to 
improve drainage, reduce sediments, ensure fish passage and provide 
improved public safety before log hauling could occur.
    3. Treating slash created from timber harvest by broadcast burn or 
pile burn.
    All treatments are planned within Desired Future Condition (DFC) 
area 1B. The management emphasis for DFC 1B is scheduled wood fiber 
production and use, livestock production, and other commodity outputs.

Possible Alternatives

Alternative 2--No Action Alternative

    This alternative is required under NEPA regulations and also serves 
as a baseline of information for comparison of other alternatives. 
Though this alternative does not respond to the purpose and need for 
action, it does address some issues.

Responsible Official

    Jay Dunbar, District Forest Ranger, Greys River Ranger District, 
Afton, Wyoming.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    This decision will be whether or not to implement specific 
vegetation management projects and associated road improvements, as 
allowed in the LRMP and LSA. The decision would include any mitigation 
measures needed in addition to those prescribed in the LRMP.

Scoping Process

    The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance 
from individuals, organizations, tribal governments, and federal, 
state, and local agencies interested in or affected by this project. In 
addition, comments submitted on the March 9, 2007 scoping effort will 
also be considered in preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement. Public participation will be solicited by notifying in 
person and/or by mail known interested and affected publics. News 
releases will be used to give the public general notice. Public 
participation activities would include requests for written comments. 
The first formal opportunity to comment is to respond to this notice of 
intent, which initiates the scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7). Scoping 
includes: (1) Identifying potential issues, (2) narrowing the potential 
issues and identifying significant issues of those that have been 
covered by prior environmental review, (3) exploring alternatives in 
addition to No Action, and (4) identifying potential environmental 
effects of the proposed action and alternatives.

Preliminary Issues

    The Forest Service has identified the following potential issues. 
Your input is especially valuable here. It will help us determine which 
of these merit detailed analysis. It will also help identify additional 
issues related to the proposed action that may not be listed here.
    Issue 1--The effects of vegetative treatment on lynx foraging 
habitat, security cover for elk and other habitat, including Snake 
River cutthroat trout habitat.
    Issue 2--The effects of vegetative treatment on forest health, 
specifically the high proportion of older age class conifer stands and 
declining tree condition, including high dwarf mistletoe infection 
levels in lodgepole pine.
    Issue 3--The effects of vegetative treatment on fuel loading. High 
fuel loadings exist in dead and down material, as well as from recent 
mortality losses, due to mountain pine beetle and long-term site 
productivity.
    Issue 4--The effects of roads and harvest activities on water 
quality.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    The Draft EIS (DEIS) is proposed to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment in the 
winter of 2008. At that time, the EPA will publish a notice of 
availability for the DEIS in the Federal Register. The comment period 
on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA 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 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. 
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: October 4, 2007.
Heidi Whitlatch,
Acting District Forest Ranger.
[FR Doc. 07-5072 Filed 10-15-07; 8:45 am]
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