[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Withdrawn, and Riparian Reserves (3,000 acres).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]
 BILLING CODE 3411-15-P