Diamond Lake Drawdown, Umpqua National Forest, Douglas County, Oregon

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Diamond Lake Drawdown, Umpqua National Forest, Douglas County,

Oregon

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) that addresses the impacts associated with the

temporary drawdown of Diamond Lake in 1999. Diamond Lake is

approximately 80 air miles northeast of Medford, Oregon, on the Diamond

Lake Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest. The proposed

action, which was put forth by the Oregon Department of Fish and

Wildlife (ODF&W), will lower the level of Diamond Lake approximately

seven (7) feet. This drawdown will allow the ODF&W to treat the Lake

with rotenone in September of 1999 in order to remove an undesirable

baitfish known as the tui chub. The chub, which is believed to have

been illegally introduced into the lake within the past ten years, has

populated the Lake to the extent that it is adversely affecting the

favored rainbow trout. Prior to the introduction of the tui chub,

Diamond Lake was recognized as a premier trout fishery in Southern

Oregon.

The Forest Service began internal scoping of this proposal in

November of 1997. The public was given notice of the proposal in

January of 1998 through the Forest's Schedule of Proposed Actions. An

informational letter with a copy of the ODF&W proposal was mailed to

interested publics in January as part of

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the agency's external scoping effort. Following the mailing, an Open

House was held in Roseburg and Medford, Oregon, as a continuation of

the scoping effort.

As a result of the scoping performed to date, a number of concerns

have been identified. Those concerns are associated with the rate at

which the ODF&W has proposed to lower the Lake, and the disposition of

the dead fish after it is treated by the Department of Fish and

Wildlife. These concerns are likely to lead to the development of one

or more alternatives to the proposed action.

Any alternatives to the Proposed Action must meet the need of

lowering the level of Diamond Lake to a reasonably safe level by

September 15 during the year the Lake is scheduled for treatment.

The agency invites written comments on this project. In addition,

the agency gives notice of this analysis so that interested and

affected people are aware of how they may participate and contribute to

the decision making process.

DATES: Comment concerning this proposal must be received by March 6,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions to Don Ostby, Forest

Supervisor, Umpqua National Forest, P.O. Box 1008, Roseburg, Oregon

97470.

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 will not have

standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR parts 215 or

217. 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 each confidentiality.

Persons requesting such 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 re-submitted with or without name and address within 10

days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Direct questions concerning the proposed

action and environmental analysis to Jim Leoni, Interdisciplinary Team

Leader, Umpqua National Forest, P.O. Box 1008, Roseburg, Oregon 97470,

phone (541) 957-3391.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The need for action is to lower the level of

Diamond Lake to a reasonably safe level by September 15 during the year

the lake is to be treated. The Purpose of lowering the Lake is to allow

the ODF&W to treat the Lake with a fish toxicant known as rotenone. The

ODF&W has proposed the use of four pumps to lower the Lake from its

natural level of approximately 72,880 acre feet to a level of 53,000

acre feet, which is approximately seven (7) feet below the Lake's

natural level. The proposed pumping period is July 1 to September 15 of

1999. A Lake level of approximately seven feet below the natural level

is intended to prevent any treated water from escaping down Lake Creek

where it could be harmful to non-target fish during the first 14 to 21

days following treatment. Diamond Lake is expected to refill in April

of 2000 and resume its normal flow down Lake Creek.

The Forest Service is conducting this analysis as a basis for

issuing a special use permit to the ODF&W allowing the Department to do

the following: (a) Temporary placement of four (4) pumps, with a fifth

pump as a backup, at the north end of Diamond Lake where the Lake

empties into Lake Creek; (b) temporary use of Forest Service boat ramps

and launch facilities during the storage and application of the

rotenone; and (c) temporary drawdown of Diamond Lake.

The application of rotenone by the ODF&W is a connected action. The

EIS will also disclose the effects of this connected action.

Diamond Lake is a natural lake situated at an elevation of 5,182

feet in the Cascade mountains of southern Oregon. The Lake has a

surface of approximately 2,930 acres and is relatively shallow, with a

maximum depth of just over 50 feet. Diamond Lake drains into Lake

Creek, which empties into Lemolo Lake and two other impoundments before

the water becomes free-flowing in the upper reaches of the North Umpqua

River. The flow of water from Lemolo Lake and the other impoundments is

regulated by Pacific Corp and is outside the scope of this analysis.

The ability of the tui chub to reproduce prolifically has

interrupted the traditional food chain of the rainbow trout. As a

result, there has been a severe decline in the survival of fingerling

rainbow trout and the subsequent growth of the surviving trout. The

decline in the number of rainbow trout may be responsible for the

perceived decline in bald eagles and osprey that inhabit or visit the

Lake. These species rely heavily on the rainbow trout as a source of

food, and the tui chub are not large enough to provide an alternative

food source.

The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review July

1998. Your comments and suggestions are encouraged and should be in

writing. 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 it is important to give reviewers

notice at this early stage as a result 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 that it is meaningful and

alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont

Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. versus 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 versus Hodel, 803 F.

2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir, 1986) and Wisconsin heritages, Inc. versus

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 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).

The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in September 1998. In

the

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final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments and

responses received during the comment period that pertain to the

environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable

laws, regulations, and policies considered in making a decision

regarding the proposal. Don Ostby, Forest Supervisor for the Umpqua

National Forest, is the responsible official. The Forest Supervisor

will document the decision and rationale for the Diamond Lake Drawdown

decision in the Record of Decision, which will be subject to Forest

Service Appeal Regulations 36 CFR part 215.

Dated: January 27, 1998.

Don Ostby,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98-2439 Filed 1-30-98; 8:45 am]

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