Goose Restoration Projects, Winema National Forest, Klamath County, Oregon

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Goose Restoration Projects, Winema National Forest, Klamath

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) for restoration projects on the Klamath Ranger District

of the Winema National Forest. The planning area is located in T32S,

R6E, T32S, R7 1/2E, T33S, R6E, and T33S, R7 1/2E, Willamette Meridian.

Projects included under this analysis include commercial timber

harvest, precommercial thinning, underburning, post and pole harvest,

reforestation, evaluation of access and travel opportunities, road

closures and obliterations, correction of sediment problems at the

Annie Creek dispersed site, and elk forage enhancement. The Forest

Service is initiating the process of preparing an EIS to analyze and

disclose the effects of the proposed action and alternatives.

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

in writing by September 20, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Goose Project, Klamath Ranger

District, 1936 California Ave., Klamath Falls, Oregon, 97601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phil Jahns, Klamath Ranger District,

Winema National Forest, 1936 California Avenue, Klamath Falls, Oregon

97601, phone 541-885-3400 or e-mail at: pjahns/

r6pnw__,[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Goose Planning Area is located on the

east side of the southern Cascades immediately south of Crater Lake

National Park. The elevation ranges from 4000 to 6000 feet and

encompasses forest types ranging from lodgepole pine and white fir in

the lower elevations to Shasta red fir and Mountain hemlock in the

higher reaches. The planning area contains one of the largest root

disease pockets in western North America.

This project-level EIS will tier to the 1990 Winema National Forest

Land and Resource Management Plan, as amended by the 1994 Record of

Decision for ``Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land

Management Planning Document Within the Range of the Northern spotted

Owl'' (Forest Plan). The Forest Plan provides guidance for management

activities within the potentially affected area through its goals

objectives, management area direction, and standards and guidelines.

The project would occur primarily within Scenic Management Area (MA3)

and to a lesser extent within Late Successional Reserve (MA16) and

Timber Management Area (MA12).

Purpose and Need

The purpose of the project is to (1) develop implementable

treatments that will reduce the risk of large scale disturbances and/or

encourage development of old growth characteristics within the planning

area, (2) review the adequacy of the transportation system for the

future and recommend deletion of those segments that are surplus to the

needs or that are contributing to water quality problems, and (3)

produce a timber product from matrix lands.

Proposed Action

The proposal contains a series of projects which reduce forest

mortality to root disease while improving watershed condition. Up to

1930 acres of commercial harvest with thinning prescriptions will be

proposed. Up to 2320 acres may be treated with prescribed underburning,

possibly in conjunction with thinning. Up to 335 acres will be

precommercially thinned and up to 100 acres will have opportunities to

harvest posts and poles. Other proposed activities are 150 acres of

seeding to improve elk foraging habitat, evaluation of access and

travel opportunities and up to 40 miles of road may be closed or

obliterated. In addition, the recreation site by Annie Creek will be

reconstructed to minimize sediment.

Alternatives

The No Action alternative will serve as a baseline for comparison

of alternatives and will be fully developed and analyzed. With the No

Action alternative, there would be no activities implemented based on

the Goose analysis. Previously approved activities, and routine

protection and maintenance activities will continue. The proposed

action, as described above, will be considered and other alternatives

will be developed around the proposed

[[Page 45505]]

action to address issues identified in the scoping and public

involvement process.

Issues

The preliminary issues that have been identified include the

importance of the area for elk calving, the need to improve

connectivity of late seral habitat between blocks of Late Successional

Reserve and Crater Lake National Park, and the potential impact of the

project on roadless values.

Public Involvement

Public participation will be important at several points during the

EIS preparation. The first point is during the scoping process (40 CFR

1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information and comments

from Federal, State, and local agencies, tribes, 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 EIS.

Public scoping will be achieved through mailings, notification in

the Klamath Falls Herald & News, and if interest dictates, public

meetings will be held within the Klamath Basin.

A range of alternatives will be considered including the No Action

alternative. As issues are identified, other potential alternatives

will be developed.

Comments received in response to this notice, 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 such confidentiality.

Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the

FOIA, 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 resubmitted with or without name and address within a specified

number of days.

Estimated Dates For Draft and Final EIS

The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

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

January 2000. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from

the date EPA's 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, 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 Angoom 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 be 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.

After the 45 day comment period ends on the draft EIS, the comments

will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the

final EIS. The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by April 2000. In

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

comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). Forest Supervisor, Winema National

Forest, is the responsible official and will consider comments,

responses, environmental consequences discussed in the EIS and

applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making a decision

regarding this proposal. 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: August 12, 1999.

Mary C. Erickson,

Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor, Winema National Forest.

[FR Doc. 99-21634 Filed 8-19-99; 8:45 am]

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