[Federal Register: March 16, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 52)]
[Notices]
[Page 15214-15215]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16mr01-10]
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[[Page 15214]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Viveash Fire Timber Salvage EIS--Santa Fe National Forest
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Santa Fe National Forest will prepare an environmental
impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to harvest trees killed by the
Viveash Fire. The Viveash Fire burned approximately 29,000 acres on the
Pecos Ranger District in late May through early June of 2000. The
purpose of the proposal is to harvest some of the fire killed timber
and provide a variety of wood products through both commercial timber
sales and non-commercial personal use permits. The EIS will be designed
to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370a, and the National Forest Management Act,
16 U.S.C. 1600-1614, and their respective implementing regulations.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
on or before April 14, 2001. The draft EIS is expected to be available
for public review in June 2001. The final EIS is expected to be
published in September 2001.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposal, or
requests to be placed on the project mailing list, to Daniel A.
Crittenden, District Ranger, Pecos-Las Vegas Ranger District, Santa Fe
National Forest, P.O. Drawer 429, Pecos, NM, 87552.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Napp, Viveash Project
Coordinator (505) 757-6121; or cnapp@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to recover forest
products--sawtimber, firewood, specialty products (vigas and
latillas)--from trees killed by the Viveash Fire. Specifically this
includes removing up to 25 million board feet over 5,000 acres of the
29,000 acre fire, concentrating in areas with high volume per acre;
removing trees in areas with high and moderate intensity burns only
(trees 100% scorched or totally devoid of any green needles) except
incidental removal of green trees where necessary; no new road
construction (specified or temporary); concentrating harvest from areas
with low susceptibility to soil erosion, compaction and water runoff.
Resource protection measures will be included to protect resources such
as snags, soils, heritage resources, water quality and wildlife.
Public scoping packages are expected to be sent out to those on the
Viveash project mailing list in February or early March, 2001. A public
scoping meeting will be held in the town of Pecos soon thereafter. A
second public meeting in Pecos is planned shortly after issuance of the
draft EIS.
Decision To Be Made
The Forest Service will prepare an EIS. The District Ranger of the
Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest will decide
whether or not to implement this project, and if so, in what manner.
Responsible Official
Daniel A. Crittenden, District Ranger Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger
District, Santa Fe National Forest, P.O. Drawer 429, Pecos, New Mexico
87552, is the Responsible Official for this decision. He will document
his decision in a Record of Decision.
Estimated Dates for Filing
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by July
15, 2001. At that time, EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of
the draft EIS in the Federal Register. 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. It is very important that those
interested in the management of this area participate at that time.
The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by October 2001. In the
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments and
responses received during the comment period that pertain to the
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable
laws, regulations and policies considered in making a decision
regarding the proposal.
The Reviewers Obligation To Comment
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice at this early stage 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 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 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: March 7, 2001.
Leonard Atencio,
Forest Supervisor, Santa Fe National Forest.
[FR Doc. 01-6511 Filed 3-15-01; 8:45 am]
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