[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 116 (Monday, June 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28005-28007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12750]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Middle Fork Ranger District; Willamette National Forest; Lane
County Oregon; Youngs Rock Rigdon EIS
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is preparing an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Youngs Rock Rigdon project. The project area is
located on the western slope of the Cascades in the Upper Middle Fork
Willamette Watershed, approximately 15 miles south of Oakridge, OR. The
project area is approximately 33,000 acres in size. Forest management
treatments are proposed on approximately 6,800 acres within the project
area. The project area is within the Northwest Forest Plan management
allocations of Matrix, Late Successional Reserve, Administratively
Withdrawn, and Riparian Reserves (3,000 acres). Treatments are also
proposed in the 1990 Willamette Forest Plan Deadhorse Special Interest
Area (SIA), which would require a Forest Plan Amendment.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by July 17, 2019. The draft EIS is expected April 2020 and the final
EIS is expected January 2021.
ADDRESSES: Scoping comments can be submitted electronically through
https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=55868. Written comments may be submitted via mail
or by hand delivery to Duane F. Bishop, District Ranger, Middle Fork
Ranger District, 46375 Highway 58, Westfir, OR 97492.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Tucker (District Planner) by
email at [email protected] or by phone at 541-782-5346, between
8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for
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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 overall purpose of the Youngs Rock Rigdon EIS is to restore and
enhance the ecological, social, and economic aspects of the landscape.
The actions proposed in the Youngs Rock Rigdon project are needed to
improve stand and landscape diversity, structure, and resiliency;
strategically reduce hazardous fuels; sustainably manage existing trail
systems and dispersed recreation while minimizing impacts to natural
resources; identify a sustainable road system needed for safe and
efficient travel and for administration, utilization, and protection of
National Forest System lands; and provide a sustainable supply of
forest products.
Proposed Action
The Middle Fork Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest
is proposing multiple actions to meet the purpose and need of the
project, as described below.
Commercial and non-commercial thinning and regeneration harvest is
proposed in about 4,500 acres of stands. Within the 3,000 acres of
older natural origin stands of mixed conifer forest, the emphasis is on
creating late seral open forest through variable density thinning with
skips (untreated areas) and gaps (openings) scattered throughout the
stands. This thinning would be primarily through timber harvesting but
also includes using non-commercial methods such as underburning, fall
and leave, and fall and remove for aquatic habitat restoration
activities. Gap sizes range from 0.25 to 3 acres in size. Within the
1,500 acres of younger managed stands of mixed conifer and moister
upland forest, the emphasis is on connecting late seral forest and
creating open seral forest. Multiple logging systems, road maintenance,
temporary road construction, and pit development would be required for
commercial harvest. Meadow restoration activities on approximately 300
acres would include tree cutting, piling, pile burning, pruning,
noxious weed treatment, underburning, and planting native plants.
Aquatic restoration activities would occur on approximately 700 acres
of floodplain and Riparian Reserves and include streamside tree
tipping, Riparian Reserve fall and leave, and floodplain augmentation
and instream restoration. Thinning and fuel treatments would occur in
some Riparian Reserves outside of riparian no harvest areas and would
include allowing backing prescribed fire. All treatments would be
designed to maintain and/or improve Aquatic Conservation Strategy
Objectives.
Hazardous fuel reduction treatments would be proposed to reduce
existing fuel loadings as well as to reduce logging slash in treated
stands to levels within Forest Plan standards and guidelines.
Treatments would be proposed in locations that would offer a strategic
benefit, in regard to tactics and firefighter safety, for future fire
management. Proposed treatments on approximately 1,300 acres of
understory fuel treatment units are strategically located to connect
fuel breaks around adjacent private industrial forest and would include
underburning, understory thinning (removal of brush and trees less than
7 inch DBH [diameter at breast height]), pruning, whipfelling,
chipping, piling, and burning. Total post-harvest fuel treatments are
4,500 acres.
The proposed action includes relocating two miles of existing trail
and removing and replacing two bridges to minimize impacts within the
floodplain and required maintenance due to poor current location. The
project also proposes to manage dispersed recreation sites within close
proximity to Endangered Species Act listed fish habitat. This would
result in some sites being decommissioned, and others being managed to
minimize impacts to natural resources (i.e., walk-in sites; designated
parking areas, and non-motorized restrictions).
The proposed action would identify a sustainable road system needed
for safe and efficient travel and for administration, utilization, and
protection of National Forest System lands. The District Ranger and
project Interdisciplinary Team propose to implement the Willamette
National Forest Road Investment Strategy, which would result in
recommendations for system roads to remain open, be stabilized and
stored, or be decommissioned.
The activities in the proposed action would provide a sustainable
supply of forest products including approximately 65 million board feet
of timber.
Forest Plan Amendment
Restoration is needed for the unique mixed conifer forest of oaks
and pines in western Oregon. Past fire suppression has created dense
forest, where oaks and pine require open forest. The Forest Plan
Amendment would allow timber harvest to reduce stand density in the
Deadhorse Management Area 5a--SIA where no programmed harvest is
allowed (Willamette Land and Resource Management Plan, IV p. 138).
About 400 acres of treatments in the 1,701 acre Deadhorse SIA is
proposed, including prescribed fire, meadow enhancement, and removal of
timber on about 80 acres; while maintaining and protecting the SIA
cultural features. The amendment is specific to the project area and
proposed activities and follows the 2012 Planning Rule. The substantive
provisions of 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that directly apply to the
proposed amendment are Sec. 219.8 Sustainability and Sec. 219.9
Diversity of plant and animal communities.
Responsible Official
The responsible official will be Duane F. Bishop, District Ranger,
Middle Fork Ranger District.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Given the purpose and need, the responsible official will determine
whether the proposed actions comply with all applicable laws governing
Forest Service actions and with the applicable standards and guidelines
found in the Willamette Forest Plan; whether the EIS has sufficient
site-specific environmental analysis to make an informed decision; and
whether the proposed action meets the purpose and need for action. With
this information, the responsible official must decide whether to
select the proposed action or one of any other potential alternatives
that may be developed, and what, if any, additional actions should be
required.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the EIS. Public comments regarding this proposal are
requested in order to assist in identifying issues and opportunities
associated with the proposal, how to best manage resources, and to
focus the analysis. Those wishing to object must meet the requirements
at 36 CFR 218.
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 EIS. Therefore, comments should be provided prior to the close of
the comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer's
concerns and contentions.
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
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considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the Agency
with the ability to provide the respondent with subsequent
environmental documents.
Dated: May 16, 2019.
Frank R. Beum,
Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2019-12750 Filed 6-14-19; 8:45 am]
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