ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES
Fremont-Winema
National Forests
Paisley Ranger District
Winter Fire Salvage Project

A decision was made on this project on May 29, 2003 by Forest Supervisor Karen Shimamoto. That decision was appealed. On August 12, 2003, the original decision was withdrawn. Since then, the proposed action has been narrowed and the Environmental Assessment (EA) has been rewritten to clarify a variety of points. A review version of the EA was provided here, see below, and public comments on this document were accepted for 30 days. On February 20, 2004, the EA and a new Decision Notice were issued.

ONRC and NEDC appealed jointly during the 45-day appeal period. After negotiating with ONRC, Forest Supervisor Shimamoto agreed, on April 26, 2004, not to harvest a portion of the north end of the project area and ONRC, on its own and on behalf of NEDC, withdrew the appeal. Forest Supervisor Shimamoto is of the opinion that ONRC and/or NEDC would have litigated this decision. While the Forest Service is very likely to have won any legal challenges, litigation may have delayed implementation of the entire project until the value of the burned trees declined to the point that they could not be sold.

The remaining portion of the project was awarded to Fremont Sawmill on April 28, 2004 and work began on May 3. That firm purchased 9.3 million board feet of timber for about $77,000. The portion that will not be sold would have produced between 3 and 4 million board feet of timber with an estimated stumpage value of around $25,000.

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Appeals

• Settlement Agreement
• Oregon Natural Resources Council and Northwest Environmental Defense Center

Decision

• Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Effect [PDF - 363K] [DOC - 201K]
• Appendix E - Response to Comments [PDF - 298K] [DOC - 141K]
• Public Notice in the Newspaper of Record

Environmental Assessment

• Cover [PDF - 139K]
• Table of Contents [PDF - 89K] [DOC - 44K]
• Summary [PDF - 24K] [DOC - 201K]
• CHAPTER 1: Purpose and Need [PDF - 147K] [DOC - 293K]
• CHAPTER 2: Alternatives [PDF - 459K] [DOC - 353K]
• CHAPTER 3: Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences [PDF - 1,269K] [DOC - 1,287K]
• CHAPTER 4: Consultation [PDF - 40K] [DOC - 442K]
• CHAPTER 5: References [PDF - 118K] [DOC - 76K]
• Appendices
  • Appendix A - Issues Related to Beschta [PDF - 72K] [DOC - 49K]
  • Appendix B - Best Management Practices [PDF - 179K] [DOC - 490K]
  • Appendix C - Forest Plan Amendment [PDF - 34K] [DOC - 28K]
  • Appendix D - Maps
    • Figure 1-1 Vicinity Map [JPEG - 29K]
    • Figure 1-2 Management Allocations [JPEG - 69K]
    • Figure 2-1 Alternative #2 [JPEG - 187K]
    • Figure 2-2 Alternative #3 [JPEG - 188K]
    • Figure 2-3 Forest Plan Amendment [JPEG - 155K]
    • Figure 2-4 Forest Plan Amendment [JPEG - 163K]
    • Figure 2-5 Planting Areas [PDF - 45K]
    • Figure 2-6 Roads [PDF - 74K]
    • Figure 3-1 Stream Reaches [JPEG - 124K]
    • Figure 3-2 BAER Treatments [PDF - 29K]
  • Appendix E - Response to Comments [PDF - 298K] [DOC - 141K]

Comments Received

• Oregon Natural Resources Council [PDF - 379K] [DOC - 228K] [RTF - 201K]
• Jay Lininger [PDF - 117K] [DOC - 80K] [RTF - 82K]
• The Collins Companies [PDF - 379K]
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife [PDF - 427K]

Public Notice of Comment Period

• Legal Notice in Herald and News November 13, 2003 [PDF - 20K] [DOC - 30K]
• Letter to Prior Commenters [PDF - 38K] [DOC - 36K] [RTF - 154K]
• Summary of Key Changes Since August 12 Withdrawal [PDF - 24K] [DOC - 20K]

Proposed Action/Revised EA For Public Review

• Table of Contents [PDF - 24K] [DOC - 201K]
• Summary [PDF - 24K] [DOC - 201K]
• CHAPTER 1: Purpose and Need [PDF - 147K] [DOC - 295K]
• CHAPTER 2: Alternatives [PDF - 459K] [DOC - 357K]
• CHAPTER 3: Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences [PDF - 1,159K] [DOC - 1,306K]
• CHAPTER 4: Consultation [PDF - 40K] [DOC - 441K]
• CHAPTER 5: References [PDF - 118K] [DOC - 71K]
• Appendices
  • Appendix A - Issues Related to Beschta [PDF - 72K] [DOC - 48K]
  • Appendix B - Best Management Practices [PDF - 179K] [DOC - 490K]
  • Appendix C - Forest Plan Amendment [PDF - 34K] [DOC - 28K]
  • Appendix D - Maps
    • Figure 1-1 Vicinity Map [JPEG - 29K]
    • Figure 1-2 Management Allocations [JPEG - 69K]
    • Figure 2-1 Alternative #2 [JPEG - 187K]
    • Figure 2-2 Alternative #3 [JPEG - 188K]
    • Figure 2-3 Forest Plan Amendment [JPEG - 155K]
    • Figure 2-4 Forest Plan Amendment [JPEG - 163K]
    • Figure 2-5 Planting Areas [PDF - 78K]
    • Figure 2-6 Roads [PDF - 74K]
    • Figure 3-1 Stream Reaches [JPEG - 124K]
    • Figure 3-2 BAER Treatments [PDF - 29K]

• Economic Impact [PDF - 53K] [DOC - 139K] [RTF - 761K]

Scoping

• Original Proposed Action Statement