[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 250 (Thursday, December 31, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69326-69328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31052]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Klamath National Forest, CA, Johnny O'Neil Late-Successional 
Reserve (LSR) Habitat Restoration and Fuel Reduction Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

[[Page 69327]]


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

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SUMMARY: The Klamath National Forest will prepare an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to promote the development of 
late-successional habitat, retain existing large trees, and reduce the 
risk of large, high severity wildfires to move toward more ecologically 
resilient conditions on approximately 7,245 acres of the Johnny O'Neil 
LSR. This project is proposed under the authority of the Healthy Forest 
Restoration Act of 2003. The project is located in portions of the 
Johnny O'Neil LSR north of the Klamath River in the Lower Horse Creek, 
Middle/Horse Creek and Salt Gulch sub-watersheds of the McKiimey Horse 
watershed. These sub-watersheds include habitat for anadromous fish and 
streams are listed as 3 03(d) impaired under the Clean Water Act. The 
legal description of the proposed project area of the Mt. Diablo Base 
Meridian is: T41N, R11W, Sections 15, 22-27, and 34-36; T47N, R1OW, 
Sections 20 and 30; T46N, R11W, Sections 1-3 and 10-15; and T46N, R1OW, 
Sections 6 and 18.

DATES: The comment period on the proposed action will extend 30 days 
from the date the Notice of Intent is published in the Federal 
Register. The draft EIS is expected to be completed by September 2010, 
and the final EIS is expected to be completed by March 2011.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Patricia A. Grantham, Forest 
Supervisor, Klamath National Forest, 1312 Fairlane Road, Yreka, 
California 96097, ATTN: Johnny O'Neil LSR Team Leader. Electronic 
comments, in acceptable plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf), or Word 
(.doc) may be sent via e-mail to comments[email protected] with Subject: Johnny O'Neil LSR 
Restoration, or via facsimile to 530-841-4571.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Burnett, Happy Camp and Oak Knoll 
Ranger Districts, Klamath National Forest, Happy Camp, California 
96039. Phone: 530-493-2243. 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:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of the Johnny O'Neil LSR Habitat Restoration and Fuel 
Reduction Project is to move the project area toward more ecologically 
resilient conditions that can better support desirable late-
successional attributes and habitat, and reduce the likelihood of 
large, damaging high-severity wildfires. This project is proposed under 
the direction of Section 7(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act that 
directs federal agencies to carry out programs for the conservation of 
threatened and endangered species. The Forest Service is also directed 
to conduct habitat restoration and enhance protection from stand 
replacing wildfire by the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, the Northwest 
Forest Plan as incorporated in the Klamath National Forest Land and 
Resource Management Plan (LRMP) of 1995, and the National Fire Plan. 
The need for action in the project area primarily results from changes 
in fire regimes over the last century. Fire suppression over the last 
century, combined with past vegetation management in the Johnny O'Neil 
area, has resulted in a landscape dominated by denser, young and mid-
successional forests that are lacking structural diversity. The Johnny 
O'Neil LSR is located in an area of high concentration of lightning 
strikes, but few fires have occurred in this LSR since the 1930s. 
Without the influence of fire to create and maintain stand diversity, 
many of the stands within the Johnny O'Neil LSR are unlikely to develop 
into functional late-successional habitat due to factors associated 
with inter-tree competition and lower resilience to mixed-severity 
fires. Approximately 76 percent of the Johnny O'Neil LSR currently is 
in early or mid-successional stages, and about 20 percent is in late-
successional stages.

Proposed Action

Habitat Restoration

    Restoration treatments include the combination of tree thinning and 
prescribed fire. All thinning will deliberatively vary spacing between 
trees (variable density thinning) to create more structurally diverse 
stands. Prescribed fire will mimic low-intensity wildfires. Insect 
outbreaks that can affect dense stands of trees are currently not an 
issue in this landscape; however, treatments proposed would reduce the 
potential of these occurring at large scales. The proposal is 
summarized as follows:

Thinning in Plantations

    Approximately 1,100 acres of thinning are proposed within 
plantations of which approximately 700 acres would be thinned using 
mastication (cutting and shredding of small trees and shrubs). Some of 
these plantations are within riparian reserves. Plantations proposed 
for treatment were planted to Douglas-fir and/or ponderosa pine 
approximately 20 to 50 years ago. They are dense, even-aged, and 
single-story. Thinning would aim to increase growth and vigor of 
healthy trees, increase structural diversity and break up fuel 
continuity within these young stands.

Thinning in Unmanaged (Natural) Stands

    About 1,000 acres in the project are unmanaged or minimally managed 
in terms of timber harvest. Some of these acres are within riparian 
reserves. Thinning would reduce competition between trees, thereby 
reducing stress on large old trees, increasing growth and vigor of mid-
successional trees, and reducing or removing ``ladder fuels''. The 
removal of trees greater than 20 inches in diameter at breast height 
(DBH) would occur only in limited instances for site-specific purposes; 
removal of these trees would be the exception rather than the rule.

Fuel Reduction Treatments

    About 5,000 acres are proposed to be treated by underburning only, 
and about 1,400 acres by underburning combined with mechanical 
thinning. In addition, about 700 acres of mastication would occur, 
primarily near private property where prescribed fire is not considered 
appropriate. Prescribed fire would decrease surface and ladder fuels in 
strategic locations such as major ridges, within thinning units and 
within un-treated stands. Combined, these efforts would contribute to 
protecting the larger blocks of late-successional habitat and 
increasing the landscape's resilience to severe wildfires, and return 
fire to the ecological system. Fuel treatments will occur in some 
riparian reserves that need this treatment.
    Harvest Methods, Yarding Methods, and Temporary Road Construction: 
``Harvesting'' refers to tree-cutting methods. ``Yarding'' refers to 
tree removal methods once the trees have been cut. In stands that are 
to be yarded using cable systems, mechanical harvesters (also known as 
``feller-bunchers'') may operate on slopes less than 50%. Mechanical 
harvesters would only operate straight up and down fall lines with no 
mid-slope turning. In stands that are to be yarded using ground-based 
methods such as rubber-tired skidders, mechanical harvesters may 
operate on slopes less than 45%. In general, skidding would be limited 
to slopes less than 35%. On slopes greater than those stated above, 
trees would be

[[Page 69328]]

hand-cut. About 870 acres of ground-based yarding and 440 acres of 
cable yarding have been identified. The majority of the project area 
includes existing roads that can be used to accomplish proposed 
activities. About two miles of temporary roads would be constructed. 
Some new landings may be required.

Responsible Official

    Patricia A. Grantham, Forest Supervisor, Klamath National Forest, 
1312 Fairlane Road, Yreka, CA 96097.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The responsible official will decide whether to adopt and implement 
the proposed action, an alternative to the proposed action, or take no 
action to make changes to existing conditions in the Johnny O'Neil 
Late-Successional Reserve.

Scoping Process

    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking information, 
comments, and assistance from federal, state, and local agencies and 
other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected 
by the proposed action.
    Members of the Johnny O'Neil Team have been meeting informally with 
interested individuals, adjacent landowners and residents, and 
organizations to discuss the need for treatment of the Johnny O'Neil 
LSR and various possible ways to treat the area.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by 
November 2010. EPA will publish a notice of availability of the draft 
EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the draft EIS will 
extend 45 days from the date the EPA notice appears in the Federal 
Register. At that time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to 
interested and affected agencies, organizations, and members of the 
public for their review and comment. It is very important that those 
interested in the management of the Klamath National Forest participate 
at that time.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in March 2011. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service will respond to comments received during 
the comment period that are: Within the scope of the proposed action; 
specific to the proposed action; have a direct relationship with the 
proposed action; and include supporting reasons for the responsible 
official to consider. Submission of comments to the draft EIS is a 
prerequisite for eligibility to participate in the pre-decisional 
objection process under the 36 CFR part 218 regulations.

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: A draft EIS will be prepared for comment. The 
comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    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 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 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 EIS. 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: December 18, 2009.
Patricia A. Grantham,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E9-31052 Filed 12-30-09; 8:45 am]
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