Duck-Sheriff Project, Allegheny National Forest

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Duck-Sheriff Project, Allegheny National Forest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act,

notice is hereby given that the Forest Service, Allegheny National

Forest (ANF), will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to

disclose the environmental consequences of the proposed Duck-Sheriff

project.

The purpose of this project is to move the ANF from the existing

condition towards the desired future condition (DFC) as detailed in the

Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan). The Forest Plan allocates land to management where wood

production is one of the featured objectives (Management Area [MA]

3.0). Equally important, the Forest Plan allocates land to management

that emphasizes wildlife and recreation (MA 6.1). The Duck-Sheriff

project contains both of these management areas.

In order to move toward the DFC, the acres in early successional

age class (0-20 year age) need to increase; healthy forested stands

capable of producing high quality, high value sawtimber need to be

maintained; and understories dominated by fern, grass or undesirable

vegetation need to develop desirable seedlings. Project proposals

include timber harvesting as a means for making desired changes to

forest vegetation and satisfying the demonstrated public need for wood

products. Management actions necessary to meet the purpose and need

include: 1,364 acres of regeneration harvest to ensure future forests;

herbicide, fertilizer, fencing, mechanical site preparation, and/or

planting to ensure seedling establishment and growth in understories.

An additional 1,842 acres of intermediate harvests are planned to

reduce the competition for light and nutrients, thereby improving the

health, vigor, and growth of residual trees and to restore the

understory within mature forests. Activities associated with these

silvicultural practices include 3 miles of new road construction, 28

miles of road restoration, 9 miles of road betterment, and 7 acres of

stone pit development to provide an adequate long-term transportation

system.

Additional areas need to be designated for management of late

successional values, riparian areas need protection and enhancement,

sections of the North Country Trail need improvement, water borne

recreation needs enhancement, wildlife habitat needs improvement, and

interpretation of wildland heritage needs to be increased. Project

proposals (management actions) were designed to address these needs.

During project analysis issues will be identified that focus on the

management of the area. Alternatives will be developed to show various

ways to address the issues. This process is driven by comments received

from the public, other agencies, and internal Forest Service concerns.

To assist in commenting, a scoping letter providing more detailed

information on the project proposal has been prepared and is available

to interested parties.

After analysis, the responsible official will select an alternative

that maximizes net public benefits for the Duck-Sheriff Project area.

DATES: Comments, suggestions, and recommendations for achieving the

purpose and need for the Duck-Sheriff Project are now being accepted.

The public comment period will be for 30 days from the date this notice

is published in the Federal Register. Comments and suggestions should

be submitted in writing and postmarked by March 4, 1999 to ensure

timely consideration.

CONTACT PERSONS & ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions

concerning the proposed action to: ``Duck-Sheriff Project'', attention

Sue Wingate--ID Team Leader, Bradford Ranger District, HC1 Box 88,

Bradford, PA 16701. For further information, contact Sue Wingate @

(814) 362-4613. The responsible official for this project is John R.

Schultz, District Ranger,

[[Page 5020]]

Bradford Ranger District, HC1 Box 88, Bradford, PA 16701.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The analysis of the Duck-Sheriff project is

conducted under the guidance of the National Environmental Policy Act

and the Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan.

Preliminary issues were developed based on past public involvement on

other projects, known concerns of other agencies, interdisciplinary

team identification of Forest Service concerns, and identified

opportunities in the project area. The following issues will be carried

forward in the project analysis. They will be modified as additional

issues are identified during scoping: (1) Road management and new

access; (2) deer densities and investments to restore desireable

understory vegetation; (3) vegetation treatments along the North

Country Trail; (4) uneven-aged timber management; and (5) old-growth

forest and contiguous canopy.

Preliminary alternatives were developed to display management

opportunities in response to the known issues. Management actions

within the alternatives respond to the issues in different ways by

varying the size and intensity of the treatments and projects proposed.

The amount of even and uneven-aged management, wildlife, recreation

development, road management, watershed rehabilitation and other

activities differ within the alternatives. The combinations of proposed

activities are likely to be adjusted after all comments are reviewed.

Comments considered beyond the scope of this project which will not

be evaluated. This includes whether or not commercial timber harvest

should occur on National Forest System lands; the validity of the

science of silviculture and forest management; and whether or not to

allow the use of herbicides on the Allegheny National Forest on a

programmatic level.

Commenting

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. In a recent legal opinion, the Forest Service's Office of

General Council (OGC) has determined that names and addresses of people

who respond to a Forest Service solicitation are not protected by the

Privacy Act and can be released to the public. The Forest Service

routinely gives notice of and requests comments on proposed land and

resource management actions accompanied by environmental documents, as

well as on proposed rules and policies. Comments received in response

to such solicitations, including names and addresses of those who

comment, will be considered part of the public record and will be

available for such inspection, upon request. 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. The

opinion states that such confidentiality may be granted in only very

limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency and to be available for public review by May 15,

1999. At that time the Environmental Protection Agency will publish a

notice of availability of the document in the Federal Register. A

public comment period on the Draft EIS 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

draft environmental impact statements 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised

until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft

environmental impact statement 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

environmental impact statement 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 comment period ends on the Draft EIS, the comments will

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

environmental impact statement. The Final EIS is scheduled to be

completed by September 15, 1999. The decision will be subject to appeal

under 36 CFR 215.

Dated: January 27, 1999.

John R. Schultz,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 99-2377 Filed 2-1-99; 8:45 am]

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