[Federal Register: January 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 12)]
[Notices]
[Page 3232-3234]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ja08-26]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Spruce Gulch Bark Beetle and Fuels Reduction Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA--Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act,
notice is hereby given that the Forest Service, Medicine Bow-Routt
National Forests, will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
to disclose the environmental consequences of the proposed Spruce Gulch
Bark Beetle and Fuels Reduction project (Spruce Gulch). The Spruce
Gulch analysis area encompasses approximately 32,000 acres of National
Forest System (NFS) land, 390 acres of interspersed private land, and
150 acres of State of Wyoming land. The majority of the analysis area
is situated within the Ecological Restoration--Forest Products
Management Area (MA 5.15). MA 5.15 is managed to maintain or restore
healthy ecological conditions through a variety of management
activities, including timber harvest, while providing a mix of
ecological and human needs. The remaining area is situated within a
Wildland--Residential Interface Management Area (MA 7.1). National
Forest System (NFS) lands adjacent to the residential interface areas
are managed to minimize risks of catastrophic fires and insect and
disease epidemics.
Mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) are at epidemic
levels in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming and are causing
significant mortality of lodgepole pine trees. In response to this
situation, a Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic Declaration was issued by
the Rocky Mountain Regional Office on June 25, 2007. The declaration
was based on analysis of aerial survey data and ground survey data sets
of forests containing lodgepole pine at risk for mountain pine beetle
infestation. The mountain pine beetle epidemic declaration encompasses
the Spruce Gulch analysis area in southern Wyoming. Proposed treatments
associated with the Spruce Gulch project will focus on salvaging dead
and dying timber to promote regeneration of future lodgepole pine
stands and reducing hazardous fuel concentrations adjacent to private
lands and egress routes.
The Forest Supervisor of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests
has
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determined that the Spruce Gulch project is authorized under sections
102(a)(1) (Federal land in wildland-urban interface areas) and
102(a)(4) (insect and disease epidemics) of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003. HFRA provides for expedited
environmental analysis and treatments of lands that are at risk of
wildland fire, have experienced windthrow or blowdown or are at risk of
insect and disease epidemics. Accordingly, the environmental analysis
associated with the Spruce Gulch project will proceed according to
section 104 of the HFRA.
To move toward the desired future condition, as described in the
Medicine Bow Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Revised Forest
Plan 2003), and meet the purpose and need of the project proposal,
proposed silvicultural treatments include: (1) Clearcutting; (2)
commercial thinning; (3) shelterwood removal; (4) shelterwood
preparatory cut; (5) shelterwood seed cut; (6) group selection; (7)
individual tree selection; (8) sanitation/salvage; and (9) salvage
treatments. Transportation activities associated with the project
proposal consist of road construction and road reconstruction.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by February 15, 2008. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is
expected to be available for public review in April 2008, the Final
Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be available in June
2008, and the Record of Decision is expected to be released in
September 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit written, oral, or E-mail comments by: (1) Postal
service-Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, ATTN: Melissa Martin,
Project Coordinator, 2468 Jackson Street, Laramie, WY 82070; (2)
telephone-(307) 745-2371; (3) E-mail-mmmartin@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Cobb at (307) 245-2338.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose of the Spruce Gulch project is to reduce current
mountain pine beetle populations in forested stands dominated by
lodgepole pine trees, decrease the risk and hazard of catastrophic
wildfire in the proximity of private lands and homes, and to reduce the
susceptibility of vegetation to catastrophic fire and further mountain
pine beetle attacks.
The project is needed to:
Reduce the threat of future beetle infestations in stands
that have a moderate to high beetle risk;
Reduce the risk of high intensity/high severity wildfires
within treatment areas by reducing hazardous fuel loadings associated
with treatments and beetle killed trees;
Reduce the effects of tree mortality on the overall
health, scenic quality, and condition of forested areas; and
Salvage forest products from forested lands classified as
being suitable to keep them in production and positively contributing
to the Forest's Allowable Sale Quantity.
Proposed Action
Under the Proposed Action, the Laramie Ranger District of the
Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests will evaluate a variety of bark
beetle related salvage, suppression, and prevention silvicultural
treatments and hazardous fuels abatement treatments on approximately
4,500 acres. Current estimates identify 1,859 acres of clearcutting,
146 acres of commercial thinning, 38 acres of overstory removal, and
2,463 acres of adaptive management prescriptions. Adaptive management
prescriptions including salvage, sanitation/salvage, shelterwood, group
selection, individual tree selection, commercial thinning, and
overstory removal. Adaptive management strategies are proposed on these
acres because it would be difficult, at this point in time, to
determine the exact location, timing, treatment types, and specific
amounts of treatment type that would best address the rapidly spreading
mountain pine beetle epidemic. The treatments would be located
primarily within MAs 5.15 and 7.1, with a small amount of treatments
within MA 5.13--Forest Products.
Approximately 1,041 of the 4,500 acres identified above fall within
MA 7.1--Residential/Forest Interface; these acres would be managed
using a combination of silvicultural treatments to reduce hazardous
fuels. Management activities would generally occur less than one-half
mile, or as identified within specific community wildfire protection
plans, from the identified communities and would be subordinate to more
restrictive management areas. Appropriate treatment boundaries would be
based on site-specific conditions such as topography, vegetation
conditions, and fuel loadings.
Approximately 0.3 miles of specified road construction, 2.7 miles
of temporary road construction, and 8.8 miles of road reconstruction
could be required for project implementation. The final assessment of
road needs has not been determined, and could be more or less. To
accommodate the amount of harvest and road construction, the proposal
may include some soil and water projects to mitigate road related
problems.
Note: Forest-wide Direction contained in the Medicine Bow Land
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan 2003) generally limits the
size of openings created by even-aged management (e.g. clearcuts) to
40 acres (Forest Plan page 1-35). Exceptions are granted, however,
in areas that have experienced natural catastrophic conditions such
as fire, insect or disease attacks, or windstorms. The Spruce Gulch
Proposed Action currently proposes a clearcut prescription on 49
units (totaling 1,859 acres), 22 of which exceed the 40 acre maximum
size limitation. The largest proposed clearcut unit is 138 acres,
while the majority of the other units are between 41 and 80 acres.
These larger clearcut units primarily fall within MA 5.15
(Ecological Restoration) which allows created openings as large as
250 acres (Forest Plan page 2-63, Vegetation Guideline 2)
Collaboration Process: As required by Title I, section 104 of the
HFRA, the Forest Service engaged in a collaborative process with local
stakeholders prior to developing the Proposed Action described above.
Members of the collaborative group included, but were not limited to,
private landowners within or adjacent to the analysis area boundary,
industry representatives, State and local government officials, and
members of public interest groups. The collaborators participated in
three meetings hosted by the Forest Service during the months of
November and December of 2007, and contributions from the group were
considered and incorporated in to the final design of the Proposed
Action.
Responsible Official
The responsible official for the Spruce Gulch Bark Beetle and Fuels
Reduction project is the Laramie District Ranger of the Medicine Bow-
Routt National Forests.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Spruce Gulch Bark Beetle and Fuels Reduction Environmental
Impact Statement will evaluate site-specific management proposals,
consider alternatives to the Proposed Action, and analyze the effects
of the activities proposed in the alternatives. It will form the basis
for the Responsible Official to determine: (1) Whether or not the
Proposed Action and alternatives are responsive to the issues, are
consistent with Forest Plan direction, meet the purpose and need, and
are consistent with other related laws and regulations directing
National Forest Management
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activities; (2) whether or not the information in the analysis is
sufficient to implement proposed activities; and (3) which actions, if
any, to approve.
Preliminary Issues
The following potential issues and concerns were identified via
internal scoping and collaboration efforts: (1) Beetle spread from NFS
lands to adjacent private lands; (2) cumulative impacts of past and
proposed treatments; (3) intensity of vegetative treatments and slash
disposal adjacent to wildland-urban interface areas; (4) ingress/egress
for forest users and property owners; and (5) management of mapped and
inventoried old growth stands.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process that guides the
development of the environmental impact statement. Comments that are
site-specific in nature are most helpful to resource professionals when
trying to narrow and address the public's issue and concerns. Comments
on the Spruce Gulch proposal will be accepted until February 15, 2008
as identified previously in this notice of intent. Comments will be
reviewed and issues will be identified. Issues that cannot be resolved
by design criteria or minor changes to the Proposed Action may generate
alternatives to the Proposed Action. This process is driven by comments
received from the public, other agencies, and internal Forest Service
concerns. To assist in commenting, a scoping letter providing more
detail on the project proposal has been prepared and is available to
interested parties. Contact Melissa Martin, Project Coordinator, at the
address listed in this notice of intent if you would like to receive a
copy.
Release of Names
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who commented, 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 will not have
standing to object to the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Part 218.
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 ten
(10) days.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement
will be 45 days from the date of the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, that 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 objections that could be raised during
the draft environmental impact statement stage, but are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement, may
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d
1016, 1022 (9\th\ 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 related to 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 document. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives
displayed in the document. Reviewers should refer to the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations at 40 CFR 1503.3 for implementing the
procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act for
addressing these points.
Dated: January 9, 2008.
Thomas A. Florich,
Acting Laramie District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 08-113 Filed 1-16-08; 8:45 am]
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