[Federal Register: May 28, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 102)]
[Notices]
[Page 36852-36853]
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Notices
Federal Register
Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for
the Deep Vegetation Management Project, Ochoco National Forest, Crook
and Wheeler Counties, OR
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to supplement a final environmental impact
statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare a draft supplement to
the final environmental impact statement (Draft SEIS) for the Deep
Vegetation Management Project. A Notice of Intent to Prepare a draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was originally published in the
Federal Register on December 23, 1999. The Notice of Availability of
the DEIS appeared in the Federal Register on April 27, 2001, the Notice
of Availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was
published on October 12, 2001.
On September 26, 2001, Ochoco and Deschutes National Forest Deputy
Supervisor Becky Heath signed the Record of Decision (ROD) to implement
Alternative C (mod) of the Deep Vegetation Management Project Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). On November 9, 2001, six
environmental groups appealed this decision. On April 26, 2002, Acting
Ochoco Forest Supervisor, Judy Levin, withdrew the September 26, 2001
ROD. Additional information will be incorporated into the Draft SEIS to
address raised in the appeal with emphasis on the effects of prescribed
fire on snags and down wood, and the effects of on-going grazing by
domestic livestock.
DATES: Comments concerning this analysis should be received, in writing
by June 10, 2002, to be most useful.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Judith E. Levin, Acting Forest
Supervisor, Ochoco National Forest, P.O. Box 490, Prineville, Oregon
97754, or William Fish, Acting District Ranger, Paulina Ranger
District, 7803 Beaver Creek Road, Paulina, Oregon 97751.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Mafera, Deep Project Leader,
Paulina Ranger District, 7803 Beaver Creek Road, Paulina, OR 97751,
phone (541) 477-6910.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SEIS will display the original
alternatives, including C (mod) selected in the 2001 ROD. Specific
actions include: Silvicultural treatments that include timber harvest
on approximately 6,393 acres (approximately 14mmbf), Precommercial
thinning of approximately 10,042 acres, Post harvest fuels treatment on
approximately 5,511 acres, Natural fuels underburning of approximately
4,192 acres, Forage enhancement/Juniper reduction underburning on
approximately 4,549 acres, Riparian planting along 28 miles of stream,
Large woody material placement on 7.4 miles of stream, Riparian
protection at six dispersed recreation sites, Aspen enhancement on
approximately 81 acres, Willow enhancement at two sites, Meadow
enhancement on approximately 825 acres, Culvert replacement at eight
locations, Road closure of approximately 16.2 miles, Road
decommissioning on 15.2 miles. These activities would occur on
approximately 19,800 acres within the Deep Creek watershed, located on
the Paulina Ranger District of the Ochoco National Forest. The total
planning area of the Deep Vegetation Management Project is 55,368
acres.
The purpose and need for action is to provide landscape-level
health and diversity with the project by moving and existing vegetation
toward conditions that are sustainable, provide habitat diversity, and
contribute to riparian management objectives. Also to provide multiple
use benefits: such as wildlife and fish habitat restoration; riparian
and watershed restoration; visual quality; and timber products.
The original issues will guide the analysis. The original issues
are: landscape level pattern and vegetative diversity; water quality
and fish habitat; and fuels and fire hazard.
The decision-to-be-made will include whether, where, and/or how
much of each proposed vegetation activity should occur, and/or how much
road and where decommissioning, repair, obliteration, or construction
should occur.
The public is invited to offer suggestions and comments in writing.
Comments received in response to this notice, including the names and
addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public
record on this proposal and will be available to public inspection.
Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered;
however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have standing to
appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR part 215. Additionally,
pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d); any person may request the agency to
withhold a submission form the public record by showing how the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality may be granted
in only limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The
Forest Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision
regarding the request for confidentiality, and where the request is
denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the requester
that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address
within a specified number of days.
The Draft SEIS is expected to be completed in June 2002. The
comment period on the Draft SEIS will be 45 days from the date the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in
the Federal Register.
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
a Draft SEIS 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 SEIS stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the Final SEIS 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 objects
are
[[Page 36853]]
made available to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully
consider them and respond to them in the Final SEIS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the Draft SEIS 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 SEIS 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.)
The Final SEIS will be completed in September 2002. In the Final
SEIS, 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 SEIS and applicable
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making the decisions
regarding the Deep Vegetation Management Project.
The Forest Service is the lead agency. The Forest Supervisor of the
Ochoco National Forest is the Responsible Official. The Responsible
Official will determine which alternative best meets the purpose and
need of this project and addresses the key issues raised about this
project. The decision and rationale will be documented in the Record of
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal
Regulations (36 FR part 215).
Dated: May 15, 2002.
Judith E. Levin,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-13198 Filed 5-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
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