[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 100 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29735-29736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11222]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Plumas National Forest; California; Moonlight and Wheeler Fires 
Recovery and Restoration Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

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    Introduction: A notice of intent to prepare an EIS for the 
Moonlight Fire Recovery and Restoration Project was published in the 
Federal Register on Monday, January 7, 2008 (Vol. 73, No.4, pp. 1201-
1202). After scoping the Moonlight Fire and Wheeler Fire Recovery and 
Restoration Projects separately in December 2007, the Forest Service, 
Plumas National Forest, has merged the two projects together. In 
December 2007, the Mt. Hough Ranger District of the Plumas National 
Forest began the process to determine the scope (the depth and breadth) 
of the environmental analysis. At that time, it was anticipated that 
the Moonlight Fire Recovery and Restoration Project analysis would be 
documented in an EIS and the Wheeler Fire Recovery and Restoration 
Project analysis would be documented in an Environmental Assessment. 
From comments received it was determined to document the analysis for 
both projects in one EIS. The new project name is Moonlight and Wheeler 
Fires Recovery and Restoration Project.
SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, Plumas National Forest will prepare 
an EIS on a proposal to harvest dead trees on approximately 15,568 
acres in the Moonlight and Antelope Complex fires areas. The Moonlight 
and Antelope Complex fires burned about 88,000 acres between July and 
September 2007 on the Plumas National Forest.

DATES: The draft EIS is expected in June 2008 and the final EIS is 
expected in September 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Rich Bednarski, Interdisciplinary 
Team Leader, Mt. Hough Ranger District, 39696 Highway 70, Quincy, CA 
95971. Comments may be: (1) Mailed; (2) hand delivered between the 
hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays Pacific Time; (3) faxed to (530) 
283-1821; or (4) electronically mailed to: [email protected]. Please indicate the name ``Moonlight and 
Wheeler Fires Recovery and Restoration Project'' on the subject line of 
your email. Comments submitted electronically must be in Rich Text 
Format (.rtf), plain text format (.txt), or Word format (.doc).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich Bednarski, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Mt. Hough Ranger District, 39696 Highway 70, Quincy, CA 95971. 
Telephone: (530) 283-7641 or electronic address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is designed to meet the 
standards and guidelines for land management activities in the Plumas 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1988), as amended by 
the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group (HFQLG) Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) 
(1999, 2003), and as amended by the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment 
FSEIS and ROD (2004).
    The proposed project is located in Plumas County, California, 
within the Mt. Hough Ranger District of the Plumas National Forest. The 
project is located in all or portions of: sections 13, 23-27, 34-35, 
T28N, R1OE; sections 13-14, 17-19, 23-24, 29-34, T28N, R11E; sections 
19-20, 29-32, T28N, R12E; sections 1-2, 13-14, 23-25, T27N, R1OE; 
sections 2-11, 13-15, 17, 19-22, 25, 35-36, T27N, R11E; sections 5, 8, 
17-20, 29-32, T27N, R12E; sections 1-5, 9-12, 14-16, 21-23, and 26-27, 
T26N, R12E; sections 23-29 and 31-36, T27N, R12E; and sections 19, 20, 
and 30, T27N, R13E; Mount Diablo Meridian.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of the project would be to provide for short-term local 
economic benefit by creating jobs from the sale of dead merchantable 
trees, as well as contribute to local and regional areas with net 
revenues and receipts. The project would promote long term economic 
recovery through restoration by re-establishing forested conditions. 
The wood quality, volume, and value of dead trees deteriorate rapidly. 
The value of trees would cover the cost of their removal and possibly 
other activities associated with the project.
    As a result of the Moonlight and Antelope Complex fires, thousands 
of acres burned with high vegetation burn severity resulting in 
deforested condition. As a result, shrub species will dominate these 
areas for decades and experience a delay in returning to a forested 
condition. The early establishment of conifers through reforestation 
will expedite forest regeneration.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action would harvest dead conifer trees on 
approximately 15,568 acres using the following methods: ground based, 
skyline, and helicopter. Trees greater than 14 inches diameter at 
breast height (dbh) would be whole tree harvested on the ground-based 
areas.
    Trees less than 14 inches dbh would be removed as biomass material 
on the ground-based areas. Approximately 7,517 acres would have trees 
less than 14 inches dbh removed as biomass material and approximately 
122 acres would be removed from site preparation. Ground-based 
equipment would be restricted to slopes less than 35 percent, except on 
decomposed granitic soils where equipment would be restricted to slopes 
less than 25

[[Page 29736]]

percent. On the skyline and helicopter areas, trees greater than 16 
inches dbh would be harvested. Limbs and tops in the skyline and 
helicopter areas would be lopped and scattered to a depth less than 18 
inches in height. Skyline yarding would require one end suspension, 
with full suspension over intermittent or perennial streams. Dead 
conifers would be harvested from Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas. 
Equipment restriction zone widths within Riparian Habitat Conservation 
Areas would be established based on the stream type and steepness of 
the slope adjacent to the streams. Snags would be retained in snag 
retention areas, which are approximately ten acres in size, on 
approximately ten percent of the project area. Harvest activities would 
not occur within the snag retention areas except for operability 
(safety) reasons. Approximately 33 miles of temporary roads would be 
constructed.
    Approximately 30 acres (fourteen landings) of helicopter landings 
would be constructed. Excess fuels on landings would be piled, a 
fireline constructed around the piles, and the piles burned. Following 
completion of the project, the temporary roads and landings would be 
subsoiled, reforested, and closed. Approximately 17,474 acres would be 
reforested with conifer seedlings in widely spaced clusters to emulate 
a naturally established forest. The areas would be reforested with a 
mixture of native species.
    The Moonlight and Antelope Complex fires impacted twenty-five 
California spotted owl Protected Activity Centers (PACs). According to 
the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment FSEIS and ROD (2004), page 37, 
after a stand-replacing event, the habitat conditions are evaluated 
within a 1.5 mile radius around the activity center to identify 
opportunities for re-mapping the PAC. If there is insufficient suitable 
habitat for designating a PAC within the 1.5 mile radius, the PAC may 
be removed from the network.

Possible Alternatives

    In addition to the proposed action, a no action alternative would 
be analyzed. Additional alternatives may be developed and analyzed 
throughout the environmental analysis.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The USDA, Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal.

Responsible Official

    Alice B. Carlton, Plumas National Forest Supervisor, PO Box 11500, 
Quincy, CA 95971.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether to: (1) Implement the proposed 
action; (2) meet the purpose and need for action through some other 
combination of activities; or, (3) take no action at this time.

Scoping Process

    Scoping is conducted to determine the significant issues that will 
be addressed during the environmental analysis. Comments that were 
received for the Moonlight Fire Recovery and Restoration Project and 
the Wheeler Fire Recovery and Restoration Project will be considered in 
the combined analysis. Additional comments on the Moonlight and Wheeler 
Fires Recovery and Restoration Project will also be considered. Scoping 
comments will be most helpful if received by May 23, 2008.

Permits or Licenses Required

    An Air Pollution Permit and a Smoke Management Plan are required by 
local agencies.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft EIS will be prepared for comment. The comment period on the 
draft EIS 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 EISs 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 EIS stage, but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final EIS, may be waived or dismissed by 
the courts. City of Rangoon 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 EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS 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 EIS 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: May 13, 2008.
Mark Beaulieu,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E8-11222 Filed 5-21-08; 8:45 am]
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