Cavanah Analysis Area Multi-Resource Management Projects, Placer County, CA

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Cavanah Analysis Area Multi-Resource Management Projects, Placer

County, CA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will

prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for proposed timber

harvest, plantation thinning, fuelbreak construction, wildlife habitat

improvement projects, and upgrading of the Robinson Flat (#43) road

within the North Fork Middle Fork American River watershed in

accordance with the requirements of 36 CFR 219.19. The project area is

located within portions of T.14N., R.12E., Section 1; T 14N., R.13E.

Sections 5, 6, 7, 8; T.15N., R.12E., Sections 24, 25, 36; and T.15N.,

R.13E., Sections 15-22 and 27-33, MDB&M.

If upgrading of the #43 road is part of the selected alternative in

the EIS project, a site specific Forest Plan amendment will be part of

the Record of Decision.

The agency invites comments and suggestions on the scope of the

analysis. In addition, the agency gives notice of the full

environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur on

the proposal so that interested and affected people are aware of how

they may participate and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments should be made in writing and received by April 8,

1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the project should be directed

to Rich Johnson, District Ranger, Foresthill Ranger District, 22830

Foresthill Road, Foresthill CA 95631.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Bradford, Environmental Coordinator, Foresthill Ranger District,

Foresthill, CA 95631, telephone (916) 478-6254.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cavanah Analysis Area is located in the

North Fork Middle Fork American River watershed. It lies south of

Screwauger Canyon, west of the top of Mosquito Ridge, east of the #44

road and Little Grisley Creek and north of the Greek Store site. This

area is part of the larger Cavanah Ecosystem Management Area.

The proposed fuelbreak (Defensible Fuel Profile Zone or DFPZ) would

be parallel to the Mosquito Ridge (#96) road from the Greek Store area

north to Little Bald Mountain. This proposal would create a fuelbreak

with widely spaced trees and a low shrub understory. The creation of

the DFPZ will change the appearance of the existing vegetation. Current

visual quality objective for the foreground viewing area on the

Mosquito Ridge (#96) road is Retention. This means that management

activities are not evident to the casual forest user. A visual

management zone in the immediate foreground of the Mosquito Ridge road

(within the DFPZ) would be established to meet this objective. By

establishing this zone this proposal meets current standards and

guidelines for visual quality objectives for Management Area #99

(Mosquito) in the Tahoe National Forest Land and Resource Management

Plan (LRMP).

The proposed improvement of the Robinson Flat (#43) road is

designed to make the section of the road west of Little Bald Mountain

drivable by passenger cars, which would improve the motorized

recreational experience in the Robinson Flat and Mosquito Ridge areas.

The proposal will need Management Practice L2 (Multi-Resource Road

Access Development) available in the Management Area (#91--Sunflower)

in order to accomplish this project. In the current Tahoe LRMP, this

management practice is not available in this Management Area. If this

proposal is part of the

[[Page 9144]]

selected alternative, the Forest LRMP will be amended to include L2 as

a management practice available in Management Area #91.

In preparing the environmental impact statement, the Forest Service

will identify and analyze a range of alternatives that address the

issues developed for this area. One of the alternatives will be no

treatment. Other alternatives will consider differing levels of timber

harvest; different techniques for fuels reduction; differing amounts of

plantation thinning; different types of wildlife habitat improvement;

and whether to upgrade the #43 road. It also means that the needs of

people and environmental values will be considered in such a way that

this area will represent a diverse, healthy, productive, and

sustainable ecosystem.

Public participation will be important during the analysis,

especially during the review of the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement. The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and

assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other

individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by

the proposed action. This input will be used in preparation of the

draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The scoping process

includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been

covered by a relevant previous environmental analysis.

4. Exploring additional alternatives.

5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed

action and alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and cumulative effects

and connected actions).

The following list of issues has been identified through initial

scoping:

(1) To what extent will harvesting and creation of the DFPZ affect

water quality?

(2) What affect will the creation of the DFPZ have on the potential

for large catastrophic wildfires within the project area?

(3) To what extent can forest health be improved within the project

area? In addition, what level of timber commodities could result from

forest health improvement projects?

(4) To what extent will the view form the Mosquito Ridge (#96) road

be affected? What will the visual character be resulting from the

proposed activities?

(5) What affect will the proposed activities have on long-term soil

productivity?

(6) To what extent will air quality in the Sacramento Valley be

affected by proposed activities?

(7) What affect will including harvest of < 10'' diameter trees

have on the potential to sell harvested trees in a commercial timber

sale?

Comments from other Federal, State, and local agencies,

organizations, and individuals who may be interested in, or affected by

the decision, are encouraged to identify other significant issues.

Public participation will be solicited through mailing letters to

potentially interested or affected mining claim owners, private land

owners, and special use permittees on the Foresthill Ranger District;

posting information in local towns; and mailing letters to local timber

industries, politicians, school boards, county supervisors, and

environmental groups. Continued participation will be emphasized

through individual contacts. Public meetings used as a method of public

involvement during preparation and review of the draft environmental

impact statement will be announced in newspapers of general circulation

in the geographic area of such meetings well in advance of scheduled

dates.

The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date

the Environmental Protection Agency 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

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 at the

draft EIS stage but that are not raised until after 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 Heritages Inc.

v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of the

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 meaningful 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 comments refer to

specific pages or chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address

the adequacy of the draft EIS 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 draft EIS is expected to be available for public review by the

end of April, 1996. The final EIS is expected to be available by the

end of June, 1996.

The responsible official is John H. Skinner, Forest Supervisor,

Tahoe National Forest, PO Box 6003, Nevada City, CA 95959.

Dated: February 28, 1996.

John H. Skinner,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 96-5354 Filed 3-6-96; 8:45 am]

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