Spruce Gulch Bark Beetle and Fuels Reduction
Draft EIS available for public comment
(Laramie, Wyo. June 30, 2008) – The Forest Service is seeking comments
on the Spruce Gulch Bark Beetle and Fuels Reduction Project Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS). The Draft EIS discloses the environmental effects of
a proposal to harvest beetle-killed trees in the Spruce Gulch area of the Medicine
Bow-Routt National Forests. The proposal also includes reducing the risk of
catastrophic wildfire by removing dead and dying trees in proximity of private
lands and communities in and adjacent to the analysis area. The Spruce Gulch
analysis area is 40 miles southwest of Laramie, Wyoming and 35 miles north of
Walden. The analysis area encompasses roughly 32,322 acres.
The Forest Service received 33 comment letters in response to collaboration
and public involvement efforts during the past several months. Information contained
in the letters was used to define significant issues related to the project proposal.
The DEIS has two alternatives in addition to the Proposed Action. Alternative 1 -- No
Action; Proposed Action -- Forest Health Emphasis (4,372 acres); and Alternative 2 --
Fuels Management Emphasis (2,352 acres). Adaptive management prescriptions include
salvage, sanitation/salvage, shelterwood, group selection, individual tree selection,
commercial thinning, and overstory removal.
The analysis was completed using streamlined National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) authorities offered by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
While the streamlined process shortens the timeline for project completion,
it does not cut corners on public involvement, analysis, or full disclosure
about the project.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement and instructions for commenting
are available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/projects/foresthealth/index.shtml