TwoBee Landscape Management Project, Willamette National Forest, Lane and Linn Counties, OR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TwoBee Landscape Management Project, Willamette National Forest,

Lane and Linn Counties, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) on a proposal to thin and regenerate forest stands,

construct and reconstruct roads, decommission and obliterate roads,

restore and maintain ecosystem function, and use prescribed fire within

the Two Bee project area in the Upper McKenzie River drainage. The

project area is about 60 miles east of Springfield/Eugene, and is in

portions of the Hackleman, Smith, and Browder Creek drainages. The

purpose and need for action is to provide timber products from this

area as part of the Willamette National Forest annual harvest and to

maintain and restore ecosystem function. Harvest and regeneration would

provide both short-term and long-term benefits to society in the form

of wood fiber and economic opportunity. The project is proposed for

fiscal years 2001 and 2002. The Willamette National Forest invites

written comment on this proposal and the scope of analysis. The agency

will give notice of the full environmental analysis and decision making

process for the proposal so interested and affected people may

participate and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received

in writing by August 30, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to John Allen, District Ranger,

McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie Bridge, OR 97413.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Norm Michaels, TwoBee project leader,

McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie Bridge, OR 97413, phone (541) 822-

3381.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA, Forest Service Proposed Action is

to reintroduce natural fire through the prescribed burning of

understory layers in selected stands. Trees will be harvested through

commercial thinning, selection harvest, and regeneration harvest on an

estimated 1,000 acres, removing about 20 million board feet of timber.

There will be permanent roads constructed and temporary roads

constructed to access treatment units. There will also be roads

repaired and decommissioned or obliterated. This proposed action will

continue to develop opportunities for post/pole/chip/firewood products

from small-sized trees; and develop habitat improvement projects for a

variety of wildlife, fish, and sensitive plant species.

These activities will be consistent with the 1990 Final EIS for the

Willamette National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan and the

Willamette Land and Resource Management Plan as amended by the 1994

Record of Decision for management of habitat for late-successional and

old-growth forest related species within the range of the Northern

Spotted Owl. This project will be guided by the recommendations in the

Upper McKenzie Watershed Analysis.

The decision-to-be-made will include whether and/or how much

harvest should occur, whether and/or which activities should be

accomplished to maintain or improve the ecosystem function such as

prescribed burning of natural fuels, whether and/or how much road

decommissioning, repair, obliteration, or construction should occur,

and whether and/or which activities would be appropriate for

improvement of habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants.

The project area includes all or portions of T13S, R6E, Sec 25;

T13S, R7E, Sec 29, 30, 31, 32; T14S, R6E, Sec 12, 13, 23, 24, 25-28,

34-36; T14S, R7E, Sec 5-8, 17-20, 29-31; T15S, R6E, Sec 1, 2, 11, 12;

T14S, R7E, Sec 6.

Preliminary issues have been identified: landscape level pattern

and vegetative diversity; stand health and vigor; water quality;

proposed endangered; threatened or sensitive species; heritage

resources; big game habitat; and recreational activities.

Alternatives to be considered will include the no action

alternative, plus action alternatives that will be developed in

response to key issues. The action alternatives will include various

levels of timber harvest, prescribed fire, road work, and other

activities which may be identified.

Initial scoping will begin in June 1999. The public is invited to

offer suggestions and comments in writing. Comments received in

response to this notice, including the names and addresses of those who

comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal

and will be available to 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 part 215. 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 such confidentiality may be granted in only 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

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denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the requester

that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address

within a specified number of days.

The draft EIS expected to be completed in April 2000. The comment

period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date of the

Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability 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, 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. 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 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 November 2000. In the

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 the decision

regarding the TwoBee Landscape Management Project.

The Forest Service is the lead agency. John Allen, District Ranger,

is the Responsible Official. As the Responsible Official, he will

decide whether to implement the project. The Responsible Official will

document the decision and reasons for the decision in the Record of

Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal

Regulations (36 CFR part 215).

Dated: June 16, 1999.

John Allen,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 99-16474 Filed 6-28-99; 8:45 am]

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