[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 66 (Friday, April 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18493-18494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6899]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bend/Ft. Rock Ranger District; Deschutes National Forest; Oregon; 
Dead Log Vegetation Management Project EIS

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) on a proposed action to address forest health and 
hazardous fuels concerns within the 16,000-acre planning area known as 
the Deadlog Vegetation Project. The planning area is located about 36 
miles southeast of Bend, Oregon; it is located in Township 22S, Range 
15E, and Township 23S, Ranges 14E and 15E. The alternatives will 
include the proposed action, no action, and additional alternatives 
that respond to issues generated through 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.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by 30 days following the date that this notice appears in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Phil Cruz, District Ranger, Bend/
Ft. Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3rd St., Suite A-262, Bend, OR 97701.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Macfarlane, Environmental 
Planner, Bend/Ft. Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3rd St., Suite A-262, 
Bend, Oregon, 97701, phone (541) 383-4044. E-mail 
[email protected].
    Responsible Official. The responsible official will be John Allen, 
Forest Supervisor, Deschutes National Forest, P.O. Box 1645 Hwy 20 
East, Bend, OR 97701.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Purpose and Need. Many forest stands in the project area are 
sustaining a higher density of understory trees than they would have 
historically and are susceptible to bark beetle mortality. Large 
diameter trees are unable to compete with the younger, more vigorous 
trees for available resources. Also, understory trees and brush 
combined with a high degree of buildup of natural fuels on the forest 
floor are contributing to the risk of uncharacteristically severe fire 
behavior, should a wildfire start in the planning area. The purpose of 
the project is to:
     Manage stands of late old structure ponderosa pine to 
promote sustainability over the long term;
     In dense stands dominated by ponderosa pine, return stands 
toward historic conditions addressing tree species composition, 
stocking levels and resistance to insects, disease and fire mortality;
     Reduce surface fuels throughout the planning area to 
levels that will not sustain stand replacement fires; manage lodgepole 
pine stands to reduce the acres susceptible to bark beetle mortality;
     And reduce potential for the spread of ponderosa pine 
dwarf mistletoe.
    Proposed Action. The proposed actions are intended to sustain, 
enhance, and protect long-term productivity and resiliency of the 
forest ecosystem, and maintain and enhance wildlife habitat. Proposed 
actions include selection harvest, commercial thinning, small tree 
thinning and ladder

[[Page 18494]]

fuels reduction, activity fuels treatments, and mowing and prescribed 
underburning to treat natural fuels.
    Issues. The following is a list of concerns or issues related to 
the proposed action that the interdisciplinary team has identified. 
Other issues may arise from public input. Where issues cannot be 
resolved through project design or mitigation, they may be the basis 
for developing alternatives to the Proposed Action.
     Deer Hiding Cover: In some parts of the Deadlog planning 
area, deer hiding cover is currently below Forest Plan standards. A 
Forest Plan Amendment will be necessary if proposed treatments reduce 
the level cover further.
     Open Road Density: The amount of roads in the planning 
area exceeds the target road density identified in the Forest Plan for 
deer summer range. Roads may be identified for closure or 
decommissioning.
     Heritage Resources: There are prehistoric and historic 
heritage resources within the planning area, that could be affected by 
either wildfire or the proposed active management of the fuels.
    Comment. Public comments about this proposal are requested in order 
to assist in identifying issues, determine how to best manage the 
resources, and to focus the analysis. Comments received to this notice, 
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 decision under 36 CFR parts 215 
and 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 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.
    A draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and available for public review by October 2008. The EPA will 
publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft ETS in the Federal 
Register. The final ETS is scheduled to be available January 2009.
    The comment period on the draft ETS 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 
a draft EIS 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 ETS stage but that are not 
raised until after completion of the final ETS may be waived or 
dismissed by the courts [City of Angoon 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 ETS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft ETS 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 ElS of 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, Deschutes National Forest. The responsible 
official will decide where, and whether or not to thin stands, and 
apply natural fuels treatments. The responsible official will also 
decide how to mitigate impacts of these actions and will determine when 
and how monitoring of effects will take place.
    The Deadlog Vegetation Project decision and the reasons for the 
decision will be documented in the record of decision. That decision 
will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (35 CFR Part 215).

Rolando Mendez,
Bend/Ft. Rock Deputy District Ranger.
 [FR Doc. E8-6899 Filed 4-3-08; 8:45 am]
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