[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 44981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18615]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLOR932000-L16100000-DF0000-LXSS062H0000; HAG 10-0177]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on Bureau of Land 
Management Lands in Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Vegetation 
Treatments Using Herbicides on Bureau of Land Management lands in 
Oregon and by this notice is announcing its availability. The EIS 
proposes to increase the number of herbicides currently in use on BLM-
managed lands in Oregon and increase the number of objectives for which 
they can be used.

DATES: The BLM anticipates signing a Record of Decision within 30 to 90 
days of publication of the Final EIS. There will be a 30-day appeal 
period following issuance of the Record of Decision (ROD) before the 
decision can take effect. The availability of the ROD will be announced 
via a subsequent Federal Register notice. Information about the appeal 
period will be included in the ROD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Todd 
Thompson, EIS Project Manager, telephone (503) 808-6326; address Bureau 
of Land Management--OR932, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97208; e-
mail [email protected].
    Copies of the Vegetation Treatments Final EIS are available at the 
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/vegtreatmentseis/. 
Copies have been sent to libraries and BLM district offices throughout 
Oregon. Copies have also been sent to affected Federal, State, tribal, 
and local government agencies, to persons who have asked to be on the 
project mailing list, and to everyone who submitted comments on the 
Draft EIS. Requests to receive printed or Compact Disk copies of the 
Final EIS should be sent to one of the addresses listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft EIS for Vegetation Treatments 
Using Herbicides on BLM Lands in Oregon was released for public comment 
in October 2009. Approximately 1,050 comments were received on the 
Draft EIS and the ideas presented in these comments were used to 
improve the analysis presented in the Final EIS. The Proposed Action, 
Alternative 4, would allow for the use of 16 herbicides east of the 
Cascades and 13 herbicides west of the Cascades to control noxious and 
invasive weeds; treat vegetation along roads, rights-of-way, and BLM 
improvements; and conduct certain habitat improvement projects. The 
Oregon BLM currently utilizes four herbicides and uses them only for 
the treatment of noxious weeds.
    In 1984, the BLM was prohibited from using herbicides in Oregon by 
a U.S. District Court injunction issued in Northwest Coalition for 
Alternatives to Pesticides, et al. v. Block, et al., (Civ. No. 82-6273-
E). Following completion of an EIS examining the use of four herbicides 
for the treatment of noxious weeds only, the injunction was modified by 
the court in November 1987, (Civ. No. 82-6272-BU). For the subsequent 
23 years, the BLM in Oregon has limited its herbicide use to the four 
herbicides analyzed and limited the use of those four herbicides to the 
control and eradication of Federal, State, or county listed noxious 
weeds. In that time, new herbicides have become available that can be 
used in smaller doses, are more target-specific, and are lower risk to 
people and other non-target organisms. In 2007, the BLM Washington 
Office Rangeland Resources Division completed the Vegetation Treatments 
Using Herbicides on BLM Lands in 17 Western States Programmatic EIS and 
related ROD (Programmatic EIS), making 18 herbicides available for a 
full range of vegetation treatments in 17 western states, including 
Oregon. Oregon cannot fully implement that decision, however, until and 
unless the 1984 District Court injunction is lifted. The Final EIS 
being released today, Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on BLM 
Lands in Oregon, tiers to the Programmatic EIS, incorporates standard 
operating procedures for the use of herbicides, provides additional 
detailed analysis regarding the potential for human and environmental 
risks generated in support of the Programmatic EIS and addresses the 
concerns raised in the 1984 District Court injunction.
    This Final EIS addresses all 15.7 million acres of BLM lands in 
Oregon and all 18 herbicides approved for use by the 2007 ROD for the 
Programmatic EIS, which are being used in the other 16 western states. 
The Final EIS analyzes a ``no action'' and three action alternatives 
which were shaped in part by the comments received during 12 public 
scoping meetings held throughout Oregon in July 2008. A ``no 
herbicides'' reference analysis is also included. The alternatives 
address eight ``Purposes'' or issues also identified during scoping.
    The Final EIS analysis indicates that by using standard operating 
procedures identified in applicable BLM manuals and policy direction, 
along with Programmatic EIS-adopted mitigation measures, human and 
environmental risk from the use of herbicides is both minimized and 
reduced from current levels. The proposed action would also slow the 
spread of noxious weeds on BLM lands by about 50 percent and result in 
an estimated 2.2 million fewer infested acres in 15 years than under 
current program capabilities. The Final EIS and forthcoming ROD do not 
authorize any specific herbicide treatment projects. Site-specific 
projects will be subject to additional NEPA analysis.
    Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
National Marine Fisheries Service is being conducted to ensure 
continued applicability of informal consultation and the Biological 
Opinion issued on the Programmatic EIS by those two agencies 
respectively.
    The responsible official for the EIS is the BLM Oregon and 
Washington State Director.

Edward W. Shepard,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 2010-18615 Filed 7-29-10; 8:45 am]
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