San Juan Wildlife and Fuels Improvement Projects, Tahoe National Forest; Nevada County, California

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

San Juan Wildlife and Fuels Improvement Projects, Tahoe National

Forest; Nevada County, California

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; Intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Forest Service will prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposal to implement a

Fuels and Wildlife improvement project on the Nevada County Ranger

District. This project is intended to utilize vegetative manipulation,

biomass removal, and prescribed fire to lower existing fire hazards and

improve wildlife habitat in the project area. There will be some timber

harvest included in the project to help accomplish desired levels of

crown closures and spacing of standing trees. the EIS described herein

pertains only to the treatment areas as outlined within the San Juan

Project proposals.

The Forest Service gives notice of the full environmental analysis

and decision making process that will occur on the Proposed Action so

that interested and affected people, along with local, State and other

Federal agencies are aware of how they may participate and contribute

to the final decision. The Tahoe National Forest invites written input

concerning issues specific to the Proposed Action.

The Proposed Action is to establish a series of treatment areas

over 2,500 acres along the Graniteville Road north east of Nevada City.

The area lies within the Nevada City Ranger District of the Tahoe

National Forest. The proposed project includes 700 acres of prescribed

burning, 328 acres of oak culturing, 452 acres of shrub modification,

and 1,619 acres of commercial thinning which will generate

approximately 5.2 MMBF. The intent of the project is to lower levels of

existing living and dead fuels that could contribute to the spread and

intensity of a wildlife event in the area. The design of the project

will allow the manipulation of the existing stand structure to be done

in such a manner that will also enhance wildlife habitat and migration

corridors. The exclusion of fire from the area over the past 100 years

has affected fire potential and has degraded wildlife habitat due to

overgrowth in the area. Alternatives to the proposed action will be

developed by March, 1997.

Internal scoping and public comments to date have identified the

following issues: Affect of project on California Spotted Owl, Goshawk

and deer habitat, effects of timber harvest on soil stability, use of

prescribed fire near existing residence, the level of forest products

that the project may provide, visual integrity of the area, the

stability of affected watersheds and any potential erosion.

[[Page 11414]]

DATES: Input concerning issues with the Proposed Action must be

received by March 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Direct written input and questions about the Proposed Action

and Environmental Impact Statement to the Forest Supervisor, Tahoe

National Forest, P.O. Box 6003, Nevada City, CA. 95959-6003. Telephone

(916)265-4531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Carlson, Project Leader, Nevada

City Ranger District, Tahoe National Forest, P.O. Box 6003, Nevada

City, CA. 95959-6003. Telephone (916)265-4531.

SUPPEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will tier to the Tahoe National

Forest Land and Resource Management Plan and Forest Plan EIS. The

purpose of the Proposed Action is four-fold.

1. Address public concerns about potential destruction of private

and public lands due to uncontrolled wildfires.

2. Improve the existing state of the forested areas in such a

manner that wildlife within the area will have better forage, habitat,

cover, and migration corridors.

3. Improve the overall health of the timber stands by removing

undesirable understory and other weakened or high-risk trees.

4. Provide forest products for the forest products industry.

Public Scoping Process: A letter describing the Proposed Action was

mailed to a list of interested parties on January 9, 1997. An article

describing the project and soliciting information/concerns from the

public was published in the ``The Union'' newspaper in Grass Valley,

CA. On February 18, 1997. The Tahoe National Forest plans to issue a

scoping letter to all interested publics in March, 1997. A public

meeting with potentially interested parties and specialists occurred on

February 22, 1997.

The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 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

a draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so the 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, 533 (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 these court rulings, it

is very important that those interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the 45-day comment period on the draft EIS

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 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 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.)

A draft EIS is expected to be available for agency and public

review by April 1997. A final EIS is expected to be completed by June

1997 and documented by a Record of Decision.

The responsible official for the EIS and decision is John H.

Skinner, Forest Supervisor, Tahoe National Forest, P.O. Box 6003,

Nevada City, CA 95959-6003.

Dated: March 4, 1997.

John H. Skinner,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97-6138 Filed 3-11-97; 8:45am]

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