Upper Illinois River Landscape Management Projects, Siskiyou National Forest, Josephine County, Oregon

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Upper Illinois River Landscape Management Projects, Siskiyou

National Forest, Josephine County, Oregon

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service (USFS), as a cooperating agency, the

USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS). The purpose of the EIS is to analyze and

disclose the environmental impacts of a site-specific proposal to

commercially harvest and regenerate timber, construct, reconstruct and

decommission roads, implement timber stand improvement activities,

conduct prescribed burns and implement ecosystem restoration projects.

The activities are proposed in the East Fork and West Fork Illinois

River Watersheds located on lands administered by the Siskiyou National

Forest, Illinois Valley Ranger District, and the Bureau of Land

Management, Medford District, Grants Pass Resource Area, Josephine

County, Oregon.

The USFS/BLM Proposed Action will be in compliance with the

Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1989), the

Bureau of Land Management, Medford District, Resource Management Plan

(1995), and the Northwest Forest Plan (1994) which provide overall

guidance for forest management in the respective Agency's planning

areas. This proposal is scheduled for implementation during Fiscal

Years 2000-2003.

The Siskiyou National Forest, together with the Bureau of Land

Management, Medford District, invite written comments concerning the

scope of the analysis in addition to those comments already received as

a result of local public participation activities. The Forest Service

will also give notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-

making process so that interested and affected people are made aware as

to how they may participate and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Issues and comments concerning the scope, implementation and

analysis of the proposed action must be received in writing before June

25, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written issues with the Proposed Action to Joel King,

District Ranger, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568 Redwood

Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon 97523, and/or Robert C. Korfhage, Grants

Pass Resource Area Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Medford

District, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, Oregon 97504.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the Proposed

Action and EIS to either the Forest Service or BLM contacts. The Forest

Service contact is Peter Gaulke, Environmental Coordinator, Siskiyou

National Forest, PO Box 440, Grants Pass, Oregon 97528, phone (541)

471-6758. The BLM contact is Doug Parker, Interdisciplinary Team

Leader, Bureau of Land Management, Medford District, 3040 Biddle Road,

Medford, Oregon 97504, phone (541) 770-2388.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Upper Illinois River Landscape

Management Projects planning area contains approximately 37,000 acres

in the East Fork Illinois River Watershed, and 51,000 acres in the West

Fork Illinois River Watershed.

The legal description of the East Fork Illinois River Watershed

Planning Area is: T.17N., R.05E., Sections, 1-4, 9-11; T.17N.,

R.06E., Section 6; T.18N., R.05E., Sections 1-5, 8-17, 20-36;

T.18N., R.06E., Sections 5-8, 17-20, 30-31; T.19N., R.05E., Sections

31-36; T.19N., R.06E., Sections 31-32, Humbolt Meridian; T.39S.,

R.07W., Sections 7-9, 16-21, 29-31; T.39S., R.08W., Sections 11-16,

20-28, 33-36; T.40S., R.07W., Sections 19-21, 28-32; T.40S., R.08W.,

Sections 2-4, 10-11, 14-15, 21-28, 33-36; T.41S., R.07W., Sections

5-8, 16-18; T.41S., R.08W., Sections 1-5, 9-17, Willamette Meridian.

The legal description of the West Fork Illinois River Watershed

Planning Area is: T.18N., R.03E., Sections 1, 12; T.18N., R.04E.,

Sections 1-5, 8-15, 24: T.18N., R.05E., Sections 5-8, 17-20; T.19N.,

R.04E., Sections 32-36; T.19N., R.05E., Sections 31-32, Humbolt

Meridian; T.39S., R.08W., Sections 30-31; T.39S., R.09W., Sections

18-20, 24-36; T.39S., R10W., Sections 24-26, 34-36; T.40S., R.08W.,

Sections 6, 9, 20, 31-32; T.40S., R09W., Sections 1-24, 26-34;

T.40S., R.10W., Sections 1-2, 12-13, 24-26, 35-36; T.41S., R08W,

Sections 4-9, 16-18; T,41S., R.09W., Sections 2-10, 12-18; T.41S.,

R.10W., Sections 1-2, 11-13, Willamette Meridian. Within these legal

descriptions, only Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management

managed lands will be considered for management activities.

The Forest Service is proposing to implement activities identified

on its 5-Year Action Plan within the East Fork Illinois River

Watershed. Activities include, in part, the Kingfish Timber Sale, Elder

Trail Timber Sale, and Cougar Ridge Timber Sale, involving

approximately 2485 acres of harvest units. Silvicultural prescriptions

include commercial thinning, small group selection and regeneration

harvests. The Upper Illinois River Landscape Management Projects

includes precommercial thinning for forest health and stand

development,

[[Page 27506]]

road decommissioning, prescribed burning for wildlife habitat

improvement and fuels reduction, and stream restoration activities.

These proposed activities will involve Matrix (MA-14), Partial

Retention (MA-13), Riparian Reserve (MA-11) and Late-Successional

Reserve (MA-8) land allocations.

Projects activities associated with the Esterly Lakes Landscape

Project are planned in both the East Fork and West Fork Illinois River

Watersheds on BLM administered lands. These projects are being planned

as a part of the implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan and the

Medford District's Resource Management Plan. The Easterly Lakes

Landscape Project includes a mix of forest stand thinning to promote

forest health and desired forest habitat conditions, timber harvesting,

prescribed burning to reduce fire hazard and manipulate stand

composition, and young stand management such as thinning and/or

brushing on BLM administered lands. It will also include the

restoration of declining special vegetation types and habitats, stream

and riparian reserve restoration, and various types of roadwork.

The Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action is to implement

management direction in the Upper Illinois River planning area and

specifically focus on:

(1) A healthy and resilient ecosystem and watershed in the

planning area.

(2) Meet Visual Resource Management Objectives.

(3) Riparian reserves for Aquatic Conservation Strategy

Objectives, water quality, and fisheries within the project areas in

the long-term.

(4) Silvicultural treatments that maintain or improve forest

health.

(5) Harvest timber to meet the demand for wood products.

(6) Unique wildlife or botanical habitats identified in the

respective planning documents.

In preparing the EIS, the Forest Service will tier to the Northwest

Forest Plan, the BLM Medford District's Resource Management Plan, and

the Siskiyou National Forest's Land and Resource Management Plan as

amended. The Forest Service will also consider issues submitted to the

Proposed Action, and develop additional alternatives to the proposed

action that respond to the significant issues with the Proposed Action.

The no action alternative will be considered.

Public participation will be important at several times during the

analysis. The first time is during the scoping period [Reviewer may

wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environment

Policy Act (CFR) at 40 CFR 1501.7]. The Agency will be seeking written

issues with the Proposed Action from Federal, State, and local

agencies, any affected Indian tribes, and other individuals who may be

interested in or affected by the Proposed Action. This input will be

used to develop additional alternatives. The scoping process includes:

Identifying potential issues;

Selecting significant issues with the Proposed Action,

needing in-depth analysis;

Eliminating insignificant issues; issues that have been

analyzed and documented in a previous EIS, issues that controvert

the need for the Proposed Action, or issues that are outside the

authority of the Responsible Official to decide;

Exploration of additional alternatives based on the

issues identified during the scoping process; and

Identification of potential environmental effects of

the proposed action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and

cumulative effects and connected actions).

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for review by July 1999. The

comment period for the Draft EIS will be 45 days from the date that the

EPA published the Notice of Availability appears in the Federal

Register.

The Forest Service believes it is important to give Reviewers

notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public

participation in the environmental review process. First, a reviewer of

a Draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental

review process of the proposal so that it is specific, meaningful, and

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

Yankee Nuclear Power Corp v. NRDC, 453 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 these court rulings,

it is very important that those interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the 60-day comment period so that

substantive comments and objectives are made available to the Forest

Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider 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 inadequacy of the draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives

formulated and discussed in the EIS. 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.

After the 60-day comment period ends on the draft EIS, comments

will be considered and analyzed by the Agency in preparing the final

EIS. The final EIS is scheduled for completion by October 1999. In the

final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the 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 the decsion

regarding the proposal. A final EIS is expected in November 1999.

The Forest Service Responsible Official will be Mike Lunn, Siskiyou

National Forest Forest Supervisor. The Bureau of Land Management

Responsible Office will be Robert C. Korfhage, Grants Pass Resource

Area Field Manager. They will consider the final EIS, applicable laws,

regulations, policies, and analysis files in making their decisions.

The Responsible Officials will document the decision and rationale in

their Record of Decision. The Forest Service decision will be subject

to appeal by the general public under 36 CFR 215. The Bureau of Land

Management decision will be subject to protest by the general public in

accordance with 43 CFR Part 5003.

Dated: May 10, 1999.

J. Michael Lunn,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 99-12692 Filed 5-19-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-11-M