[Federal Register: February 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 35)]
[Notices]
[Page 8176-8177]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23fe04-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Invasive Plant Treatment Project--Olympic, Gifford Pinchot, and
Mt. Hood National Forests and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic
Area; Oregon and Washington
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to document and disclose the potential environmental
effects of proposed invasive plant treatment activities. This project
evaluates site specific treatment applications on the Olympic, Gifford
Pinchot, and Mt. Hood National Forests, and on the Columbia River Gorge
National Scenic Area. This action implements a variety of treatment
methods, including manual, mechanical, chemical and biological control.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this analysis should be
received no later than April 5, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Invasive Plant Team, USDA Forest
Service, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR 97208-3623.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eugene Skrine, Team Leader, Invasive
Plant EIS Project, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR
97208-3623 or by calling (503) 808-2685.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Need for the Proposal
In recent years invasive plant populations have significantly
increased on the Olympic, Gifford Pinchot, and Mt. Hood National
Forests, and on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Forest
inventories indicate that there are approximately 1000 invasive plant
sites. These sites occupy about 16,000 acres of National Forest land,
approximately 4,000 acres on the Olympic, 3,500 acres on the Gifford
Pinchot, 1,000 acres on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area,
and 7,500 acres on the Mount Hood. Invasive plants continue to expand
every year, and have the potential to increase at rates of up to 8-12
percent per year.
Invasive plants are compromising our ability to manage the National
Forests for a healthy native ecosystem. Invasive plants create a host
of environmental and other effects, most of which are harmful to native
ecosystem processes, including: displacement of native plants;
reduction in functionality of habitat and forage for wildlife and
livestock; loss of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species;
increased soil erosion and reduced water quality; alteration of
physical and biological properties of soil, including reduced soil
productivity; changes to the intensity and frequency of fires; high
cost (dollars spent) of controlling invasive plants; and loss of
recreational opportunities.
Proposed Action
The USDA Forest Service, Olympic, Gifford Pinchot, and Mt. Hood
National Forests, and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
propose to treat areas infested with invasive plants. We estimate the
cumulative treatment area to be about 16,000 acres, including
approximately 7,000 acres by manual treatment, 1,500 acres by
mechanical treatment, and 7,500 acres by chemical treatment.
The proposed treatments will be conducted in compliance with Forest
Plan direction to enhance our ability to protect native ecosystems from
invasive, non-native plants. Some of the treated areas are likely to be
small in size, while others are somewhat extensive. Treatment methods
will employ manual, mechanical and chemical methods. The selection of
individual treatment methods is based on information such as the
biology of particular invasive plant species, site location, and size
of the infestation. The development of long-term site goals and
treatment of infested areas will be linked to revegetation and
monitoring.
Proposed Scoping
Public participation is an important part of this analysis. The
Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance from
Federal, State and local agencies, tribes, and other individuals or
organizations who may be interested in or affected by the proposed
action. Comments submitted during the scoping process should be in
writing. They should be specific to the action being proposed and
should describe as clearly and completely as possible any issues the
commenter has with the proposal. This input will be used in preparation
of the draft EIS.
To facilitate public participation additional scoping opportunities
will include: a scoping letter, public meetings (dates and locations
yet to be determined), newsletters, and a Web site with address (http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/invasiveplant-eis/multiforest-sitespecific-information.htm
).
Preliminary Issues Identified to Date
Preliminary issues associated with the Proposed Action include:
Human Health--Implementation of treatment
methods (particularly herbicides) designed to manage invasive plants
may pose risks to the health and safety of workers and the public.
Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species--
The treatment of invasive plants can affect Threatened, Endangered, and
Sensitive Species.
Aquatics--The treatment of invasive plants,
particularly with herbicides, can affect aquatic ecosystems, including
water quality and watershed health.
Tribes and Treaty Rights--The treatment of
invasive plants has potential to affect plants considered culturally
important to American Indian Tribes.
Recreation--The treatment of invasive plants can
affect recreation on the Forests.
Wildlife--The treatment of invasive plants has
potential to affect wildlife.
Preliminary Alternatives
The No Action alternative will serve as a baseline for comparison
of alternatives. This alternative will offer no treatment of affected
sites. It will be fully developed and analyzed. Additional alternatives
may be developed around the proposed action to address key issues
identified in the scoping and public involvement process.
Estimated Dates for Draft and Final EIS
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment by
September 2004. 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.
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
the draft EIS 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.
[[Page 8177]]
v. NRDC. 435 U.S. 519. 553 [1978]). Also, environmental objectives that
could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not raised until
after the completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by the
courts (City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2d 1016, 1022 [9th Cir. 1986]
and Wisconsin Heritage, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334 [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 EIS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if the comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also
address the adequacy of the draft EIS or the merits of alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provision of the National Environmental Policy Act (40
CFR 1503.3) in addressing these points.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the
public record on this proposed action and will be available for public
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments may 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 from the public record by showing how
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the
FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very 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.
Comments on the draft EIS will be analyzed, considered, and
responded to by the Forest Service in preparing the final EIS. The
final EIS is scheduled to be completed in February 2005. There will be
four responsible officials for this multiforest EIS. Dale Hom, Forest
Supervisor of the Olympic National Forest, Claire Lavendel, Forest
Supervisor of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Gary Larsen, Forest
Supervisor of the Mt. Hood National Forest, and Dan Harkenrider, Area
Manager of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area will share the
duties of responsible official for this project. They will consider
comments, responses, environmental consequences discussed in the final
EIS, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making the
decision and rationale for the decision in the Record of Decision. It
will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR part 215).
Dated: February 12, 2004.
Jim Golden,
Deputy Regional Forester, Pacific Northwest Region.
[FR Doc. 04-3581 Filed 2-20-04; 8:45 am]
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