[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 197 (Wednesday, October 14, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52740-52741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24373]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Kings River Experimental Watershed Forest Health and Research 
Project

AGENCY: Sierra National Forest, Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare a Kings River Experimental 
Watershed Forest Health and Research Project (KREW Project) 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will evaluate the 
environmental effects of the KREW Project which is designed to treat 
portions of the Kings River watershed to improve forest health and to 
examine the short- and long-term effects of these treatments. The 
research will lead to information that will be instrumental in future 
land management planning for the Sierra National Forest (SNF) and other 
Sierra Nevada forests.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by November 13, 2009. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected December 2009 and the final environmental impact statement is 
expected April 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Judi Tapia, SNF, Supervisor's 
Office, 1600 Tollhouse Road, Clovis, CA 93611, Attn: KREW Project.
    Comments may also be sent via e-mail to [email protected], or via 
facsimile to 559-294 4809.
    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such a way that they are useful to the Agency's preparation of 
the EIS. We intend to use comments received from the public to help 
formulate our draft EIS so please provide any suggestions or concerns 
prior to the close of the comment period.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record 
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be 
accepted and considered, however.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For research information, contact 
Carolyn Hunsaker, Ecologist, Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW), 
available by phone at 559-323-3211 or via e-mail at 
[email protected]. For forest management information, contact Judi 
Tapia at 559-297-0706 extension 4938 or via e-mail at: 
[email protected]. Information regarding the KREW Project EIS can be 
found on the SNF Web site located at: http://www.fs.fed.us/sierralprojects/.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service routinely conducts land 
management activities to help restore forests to a healthy, diverse, 
fire-resilient condition by reducing stand densities and fuel loads. 
Such management activities involve thinning forests to reduce 
competition among trees for water, nutrients, and sunlight; to reduce 
the continuity of fuels; and to protect and/or reestablish a resilient, 
diverse forest ecosystem.
    PSW, in collaboration with the SNF, propose to complete a land 
management project to achieve forest health goals, part of which is the 
subject of research to assess the response of the ecosystem to these 
management practices. The forest management practices are designed for 
ecological restoration: for example, to reduce the effects of 
uncharacteristic wildfire, drought, invasive species and insect attack 
while providing habitat for wildlife species including sensitive 
species such as California spotted owl, Pacific fisher, and Yosemite 
toad.
    The proposed KREW Project activities, implemented under the SNF 
Land and Resources Management Plan (LRMP) as amended by the 2004 SNF 
LRMP Amendment, have two coupled components: Component 1, management 
treatments and Component 2, research to examine ecosystem response to 
those treatments. The research has been underway since 2000 to 
instrument the subject watersheds and measure baseline (pre-treatment) 
ecological response. Upon completion of the forest restoration 
treatments planned post-treatment data collection will be completed.
    The project area encompasses 3,051 acres and has two separate 
parts: the KREW Providence Unit (1,899 acres) and the KREW Bull Unit 
(1,152 acres). The KREW Providence Unit is off of the Dinkey Creek 
Road, adjacent to the Providence Creek Road. The KREW Bull Unit is on 
Patterson Mountain adjacent to the Ross Crossing Road and includes part 
of the Teakettle Experimental Forest.
    Much is known about vegetative responses to thinning in terms of 
growth rates, resistance to insect attack, and resulting fire behavior 
in treated stands. Less is known about physical, biological, and 
chemical responses to moderate thinning of trees and application of 
prescribed fire at a watershed scale. The KREW Project research 
component is a replicated, paired-watershed research area for headwater 
streams in the southern Sierra Nevada. The KREW Project research 
addresses both basic and applied science questions regarding 
sustainable forests for current and future conditions. The KREW Project 
research component is a formal research project and has a scientist 
reviewed study plan that is periodically updated (http://www.psw.fs.fed.us/snrc/water/kingsriver). The Forest Service already 
collects data at eight instrumented watersheds on the following topics 
to meet KREW Project research goals:
     Hydrology.
     Meteorology.
     Air quality.
     Sediment & turbidity.
     Soils & geomorphology.
     Water chemistry.
     Biology.

--Stream macroinvertebrates.
--Algae.
--Riparian & upland vegetation & fuels.
--Yosemite toad.

    In June of 2009, the Sierra Nevada Alliance highlighted the need to 
monitor, protect and restore Sierra Nevada headwater resources. The 
KREW Project is uniquely positioned to allow researchers to collect 
data from an area where a particular management practice is applied 
along with corresponding data from a similar, but untreated area. By 
conducting various types of thinning and prescribed fire treatments and 
comparing data from paired areas, the proposed research project is 
intended to evaluate the watershed-scale effects of management 
activities designed to create a more sustainable forest in a 
financially viable way.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The KREW Project has two goals: the SNF's goal of forest health 
treatment for

[[Page 52741]]

the Providence and Bull Units of the Kings River watershed and PSW's 
goal of information development on treatment methods. There is an 
urgent need to treat headwaters in the Kings River watershed to improve 
forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire, and while doing 
so, to further our understanding of ecological responses to forest 
management activities.
    Sierra waters are critical for the health and welfare of California 
and yet there has been minimal attention and resources dedicated to the 
protection and restoration of this headwater resource. The Sierra 
Nevada Alliance reports that 75% of California's rain and snow falls in 
the Sierra which provides 55 to 65% of California's developed water. 
The need for the proposed research in the Sierra Nevada is emphasized 
by financial support to the KREW Project from the State of California, 
CalFed Watershed Program administered by the California Regional Water 
Quality Control Board, and by a recent report from the Sierra Nevada 
Alliance, ``Investing in California's Headwaters: The Sierra Nevada.'' 
In addition, the National Science Foundation is funding university 
scientists to perform research to cooperate with the KREW Project. The 
research component of the KREW Project influenced the siting selection 
of the California portions of the National Ecological Observatory 
Network. The KREW Project research component is designed to be relevant 
to Federal, State and private forest land. The KREW Project will also 
provide much needed data for the Southern Sierra Integrated Regional 
Water Management Plan.
    North and others in 2009 recognized that ``management practices 
that help restore the forest headwaters of Sierran watersheds will 
benefit water production and quality for downstream users.'' The SNF 
and PSW have been working toward the goal of forest health treatment in 
the Kings River watershed for more than a decade. As each year goes by, 
the health of the forest in these areas has a greater potential to be 
impacted by various factors including drought, uncharacteristic 
wildfire and insect infestation. Treatment to enhance ecological health 
in the Kings River watershed has been delayed due to setbacks in the 
completion of key environmental documentation. It is important that 
treatments be accomplished and research information be available to 
provide factual information for the design of future forest management 
activities.
    The KREW Project objectives include:

     Treat the Providence and the Bull Units to improve 
forest ecological health in a financially viable way.
     Define the variability in and understand the processes 
of headwater streams, their riparian areas, and associated 
watersheds.
     Evaluate the effects of management activities 
(prescribed fire, mechanical thinning, and commercial tree 
harvesting) designed to create a more sustainable forest.
     Provide an instrumented research site to evaluate 
regional stresses such as air pollution and climate change.
     Develop a multidisciplinary database that is dense 
enough in time and space for computer modeling applications.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action would apply treatments on the majority of the 
acres in Providence and Bull Units for ecological restoration and study 
their short- and long-term effects at the watershed scale. The proposed 
action includes tree thinning with commercial tree harvest, 
underburning, reforestation, plantation maintenance, fuels treatments, 
and herbicide treatments to plantations and noxious weeds. Tree removal 
and retention emphasizes heterogeneity through a variable growing space 
retention based on aspect, slope position, site productivity, tree 
species and recognition of micro-site conditions. Restoration of native 
species composition is proposed through the regeneration of pine 
species; the retention of existing brush, pine and oaks consistent with 
the desired conditions; enhancement of growing conditions of existing 
young pine; and the eradication of noxious weed species.
    The integrated condition of the streams and their associated 
watersheds and riparian areas will be evaluated with physical, chemical 
and biological measurements taken under a formal research study. The 
research areas within the Units, a subset of the entire proposed 
treatment area, have been assigned a treatment type for the purpose of 
the experimental design. The 1,899-acre Providence Unit includes 
research watersheds of 298 acres of potential thinning, 327 acres of 
underburn, 245 acres of combined underburning and potential thinning, 
and 120 acres of control (untreated). The 1,152-acre Bull Unit includes 
research areas of 131 acres of thinning, 342 acres of underburn, and 
412 acres of combined thinning and underburning. The 562-acre control 
area for the Bull Unit is outside the KREW Project. Only a portion of 
the research areas designated for mechanical thinning will be thinned. 
Forest management treatments also occur outside the research areas and 
are not constrained by the research design.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The KREW Project is a collaborative effort between the SNF and the 
PSW. The PSW and the SNF share responsibility as the lead agency.

Responsible Officials

    Ed Cole, SNF Forest Supervisor, Supervisor's Office, 1600 Tollhouse 
Road, Clovis, CA 93611
    Peter Stine, Program Manager, PSW, 1731 Research Park Drive, Davis, 
CA 95618.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision to be made is whether to implement the planned forest 
health treatments and proceed with research on the effects of those 
treatments, alternative forest health treatments, or select no action.

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. Public scoping 
meetings will be held at the SNF, Supervisor's Office, 1600 Tollhouse 
Road, Clovis on Wednesday October 14th at 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 
6:30 to 8 p.m. on the same date at the SNF High Sierra Ranger District, 
29688 Auberry Road, Prather, CA.
    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of 
the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be 
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly 
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions.

    Dated: October 1, 2009.
Edward C. Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E9-24373 Filed 10-13-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M