[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10573-10574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04487]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Conejos Peak Ranger District, Rio Grande National Forest; 
Colorado; CP District-wide Salvage Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Conejos Peak Ranger District, Rio Grande National Forest, 
proposes to salvage timber stands killed or infested by spruce beetles; 
reduce fuel loading adjacent to private lands; and regenerate forested 
acres, as needed, to move toward the long-term desired conditions 
described in the Forest Plan.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by March 31, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice should be addressed 
to Andrea Jones, District Ranger; Conejos Peak Ranger District; 15571 
CR T.5; La Jara, CO; 81140. Comments may also be sent via email to 
[email protected], or via 
facsimile to 719-274-6301, with subject `CP District-wide Salvage 
Project.'
    All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are 
placed in the record and are available for public inspection and 
copying. The public may inspect comments received at the Conejos Peak 
Ranger District office, address listed above. Visitors are encouraged 
to call ahead to 719-274-8971 to facilitate document access.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Tooley, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, telephone: (719) 274-8971 or visit the Forest Web site: http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/riogrande/landmanagement/projects.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through 
Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Estimated Dates

    The draft environmental impact statement is expected September 2017 
and the final environmental impact statement is expected December 2017.

Purpose and Need for Action

    Extensive spruce beetle mortality has occurred across the Conejos 
Peak Ranger District since 2002, affecting over 67,000 acres to date. 
As a result, existing conditions within certain Management Area 
Prescriptions (MAPs) have departed from desired conditions described in 
the Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). Management 
emphasis is on wood production within some MAPs, and there is express 
intent to evaluate insect and disease outbreaks against the potential 
for loss of commercial forest resources, with an emphasis on protecting 
the commercial resources. Within other MAPs, vegetation composition and 
structure are managed to meet specific objectives for the area (e.g. 
recreation), and vegetation management treatments are implemented to 
accomplish those objectives or contribute to user safety. Within yet 
other MAPs, the plant communities may be managed in a range of 
successional stages to achieve biological diversity, and vegetation 
management treatments are allowed with resource constraints.
    These desired conditions for the MAPs tie to overarching Forestwide 
Desired Conditions and Objectives. One overarching Desired Condition is 
to supply wood products while providing for the biological diversity of 
forested areas. An associated Objective provides an emphasis on long-
term sustainable production of resources for economies, communities, 
and people. Another overarching Desired Condition is that fuel profiles 
be consistent with land uses and estimates of historic fire regimes. An 
associated Objective provides for using appropriate vegetative-
management methods to modify unacceptable fuel profiles, contributing 
to the protection of human life, property, and resources needed to 
support long-term industries, with firefighter safety being paramount.
    This disparity between existing and desired conditions creates a 
need to utilize available dead and dying trees in a timely manner to 
meet multiple-use mandates and provide for the protection of 
firefighters, users, communities, and private resources. The purpose of 
this project is to provide an adaptive decision framework for 
responding to spruce beetle mortality with salvage and hazardous fuel 
treatment projects in a timely and cost-effective manner, while 
providing for site-specific protection of biological diversity and 
other resource management objectives.

Proposed Action

    The Conejos Peak Ranger District of the Rio Grande National Forest 
proposes to salvage dead and dying spruce from suitable areas across 
the district, as well as modify forest fuels adjacent to private 
property and administrative sites within areas affected by spruce 
beetle mortality. Salvage harvest activities would occur on up to 
17,000 acres across the district, on lands determined by the Forest 
Plan as appropriate for timber harvest. Hazardous fuel treatment 
activities would occur on up to 1,000 acres of treatment area, on lands 
determined by the same plan as appropriate for pre-commercial hand-
thinning operations. Activities would begin in the summer of 2018 and 
continue for 10-15 years.
    Activities associated with spruce salvage harvest would include: 
(1) Commercial logging and log hauling operations; (2) National Forest 
System Road maintenance and reconstruction; (3) Re-opening old non-
system roads, followed by rehabilitation; (4) Temporary road 
construction and rehabilitation; (5) Areas identified for public and 
commercial firewood gathering; (6) Planting of native conifer seedlings 
as needed to meet future forest objectives.
    Activities associated with hazardous fuel treatments within spruce 
mortality zones would include: (1) Pre-commercial thinning by chainsaw 
within 400 feet of private boundary or 200 feet of administrative sites 
to create defensible space; (2) Hazard tree removal by chainsaw within 
400 feet of private boundary or 200 feet of administrative sites; (3) 
Pruning of residual trees to lift crown base height; (4) Piling and 
burning or removal of activity-generated fuels within timber sale or 
pre-commercial thinning areas.
    The proposed action also includes development of an implementation 
checklist for later-stage analysis. The developed checklist would tier 
to this early-stage decision and allow focus on compliance alone in 
relation to (1) project decision, (2) Forest Plan, statute, and 
regulation, and (3) reporting and notification requirements.

Responsible Official

    Conejos Peak District Ranger at 15571 County Road T.5; La Jara, CO; 
81140

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    An environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared that 
discloses the environmental consequences of implementing the proposed 
action and alternatives to the proposed action, including No Action. A 
separate Record

[[Page 10574]]

of Decision (ROD) will explain the Responsible Official's decision 
regarding whether or not to implement some level of timber harvest and 
other proposed activities on all, part, or none of the area analyzed, 
given the consideration of multiple-use goals and objectives.

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. The Forest 
invites public comment and participation in this project by publication 
of this notice. Comments are also invited by: publication in the 
quarterly Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA); public notice regarding 
this project in the newspaper of record, the Valley Courier; and 
letters to potentially interested individuals, tribal governments, 
elected officials, and State and other Federal Agencies. Information 
will also be posted on the Rio Grande National Forest project Web site 
as this project progresses. Comments received during these and other 
scoping efforts will be considered in this EIS. No scoping meetings are 
planned at this time.
    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 anonymous comments will not provide 
the Agency with the ability to provide the respondent with subsequent 
environmental documents.

Preliminary Issues

    The effect of proposed activities on the habitat structural needs 
of the local population of Canada Lynx, a Threatened species, and their 
primary prey, the snowshoe hare.

Comment Requested

    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 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 state, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is 
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's positions 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion the final environmental impact statement 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 
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 environmental impact statement
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement 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 
environmental impact statement 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.

    Dated: February 24, 2016.
Andrea Jones,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 2016-04487 Filed 2-29-16; 8:45 am]
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