[Federal Register: May 11, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 92)]
[Notices]
[Page 24095-24097]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11my01-19]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
County Line--Fourmile Project, McKean And Warren Counties, PA
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger
District will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to
disclose the environmental consequences of the proposed County Line--
Fourmile Project, and alternatives to the proposal.
The County Line--Fourmile Project area is located just north and
northeast of Sheffield, Pennsylvania within Mead and Sheffield
Townships in Warren County and Hamilton Township in McKean County. The
total project area is approximately 12,515 acres, with 70% National
Forest System lands and 30% private land.
The Forest Service is proposing to move from the existing condition
of the County Line--Fourmile project area towards the Desired Future
Condition, as detailed in the Allegheny National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan. Vegetation management, wildlife habitat
improvements and transportation activities are proposed to respond to
the following resource management needs: (1) To restore native
vegetation to improve plant and wildlife habitat diversity, and move
toward the desired age class distributions of forested stands, (2) To
foster sustainable forest management through harvest and reforestation
projects in stands needing treatment, (3) To provide high quality
hardwoods and contribute to the economic vitality of local communities,
(4) To improve wildlife cover and forage conditions and the
distribution of non-
[[Page 24096]]
forest wildlife habitats, (5) To improve the distribution of non-forest
habitats to meet the needs of wildlife species that prefer or require
herbaceous openings, and (6) To provide an adequate transportation
system to facilitate the activities proposed while protecting watershed
values.
Proposed activities to meet the Desired Future Condition are: (1)
Initiation of regeneration harvest through a shelterwood/removal cut
sequence (604 acres); (2) Completion of removal cuts on stands already
treated with a shelterwood (527 acres); (3) Intermediate harvest
including thinning and conifer release (199 acres); (4) Reforestation
treatments including herbicide application (1080 acres), site
preparation (967 acres), fertilization (644 acres), and fencing (139
acres); (5) Wildlife habitat improvement including conifer/mast
underplanting (219 acres), planting shrubs and mast in openings (49
acres), opening construction/maintenance and seeding (141 acres),
savannah construction (6 acres), apple tree pruning and releasing
shrubs (48 acres), and vernal pool construction (9 pools); (6)
Transportation activities on roads to be used for the proposed timber
sale including road construction (0.6 miles), road reconstruction (2.6
miles), road maintenance (22.6 miles), limestone surfacing (5.7 miles),
and stone pit expansion and construction (8 acres); and (7) Resource
protection activities including closing the end of Forest Road 139.3
(0.9 miles).
DATES: Comments identifying issues concerning the effects of the
proposal should be postmarked on or before June 4, 2001 to receive
timely consideration in the draft EIS. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section for public meeting dates.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Chris Ryan, Team Leader, USDA
Forest Service, 3801 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308. Send
electronic comments to: r9_allegheny_nf@fs.fed.us. See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for additional information about electronic filing
and public meeting addresses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Ryan, Team Leader, at 661-391-
6107 or Jim Apgar, Bradford Ranger District, at 814-362-4613.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information presented in this notice is
included to help the reviewer determine if they are interested in or
potentially affected by the proposed land management activities. The
information presented in this notice is summarized. Those who wish to
provide comments, or are otherwise interested in the project, are
encouraged to obtain additional information from the contact identified
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Preliminary Issues
Three preliminary issues have been identified:
1. Road Management--The Forest Service will complete a Roads
Analysis, which will assess the benefits, problems and risks of the
current road system within the project area and identify management
opportunities. This analysis may identify road issues related to the
proposal.
2. Even-Aged/Uneven-Aged Management--The Forest Plan specifies the
primary silvicultural system to be used in each management area. Even-
aged management is the system identified for most of the Project Area.
Uneven-aged management is an option considered for inclusions such as
riparian areas, wet soils, or visually sensitive areas.
The interdisciplinary team will develop and analyze at least one
alternative emphasizing uneven-aged management.
3. Class A Trout Fishery--The Project Area includes Fourmile Run,
which is a Class A trout fishery. Maintenance of fisheries values and
water quality will be important considerations for management
activities in the vicinity.
Public Involvement and Public Meetings
An Open House will be held to provide information on the Roads
Analysis for this project and for other projects proposed on the
Bradford Ranger District. This meeting will be held at the Bradford
Ranger District Office on May 14, 2001, from 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
Comments may be sent by electronic mail to
r9_allegheny_nf@fs.fed.us. Please reference the County Line--Fourmile
Project on the subject line. Also, include your name and mailing
address with your comments so documents pertaining to this project may
be mailed to you.
Additional information concerning the proposal can be accessed on
the internet in the ``Projects'' section of the Allegheny National
Forest website, located at www.fs.fed.us/r9/allegheny.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency and available for public review by September 2001.
The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in
the Federal Register.
Comments received, including names and addresses of those who
comment, will become part of the public record and may be subject to
public disclosure. Any person may request the Agency to withhold a
submission from the public record by showing how the Freedom of
Information Act permits such confidentiality.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, 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 position and
contentions (Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519
553 [1978]). Also, environmental objection that could be raised at the
draft environmental impact statement state but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement
stage may be waived or dismissed by the courts (City of Angoon v.
Hodel, 803 F.2nd 1016, 1022 [9th Cir. 1986] and Wisconsin Heritages,
Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 [E.D. Wis. 1980]).
Because of the above 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 are made available to
the Forest Service at a time when they can be meaningfully considered
and responded to in the final environmental impact statement. Comments
on the draft environmental impact statement should be as specific as
possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages,
sections, 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 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.
After the comment period ends on the draft EIS, the comments received
will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the
final EIS.
The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in March 2002. In the
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the comments
received (40 CFR 1503.4). The responsible official will consider the
comments, responses, environmental consequences discussed in the
environmental impact statement,
[[Page 24097]]
and applicable laws, regulations and policies in making a decision
regarding this proposal. The responsible official will document the
decision and reasons for the decision in a Record of Decision. That
decision will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR part 215.
The responsible official is John R. Schultz, District Ranger,
Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, HC 1, Box 88,
Bradford, PA 16701.
Dated: April 24, 2001.
Dale Dunshie,
Acting Forest Supervisor,
[FR Doc. 01-11866 Filed 5-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-U
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 2001/05/11 EST