Mill Creek Timber Sales and Related Activities, Rogue River National Forest Jackson County, OR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Mill Creek Timber Sales and Related Activities, Rogue River

National Forest Jackson County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service (USFS), 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 trees, construct, reconstruct, and

decommission roads, implement vegetation density management activities,

implement wildlife projects, and conduct prescribed burns. The

activities are proposed in the Upper Rogue River watershed located on

lands administered by the Rogue River National Forest, on the Prospect

Ranger District, within Jackson County, Oregon. The Proposed Action

will tier to and be designed under the Rogue River National Forest Land

and Resource Management Plan (1990), as amended by the Record of

Decision for the Northwest Forest Plan (1994), which provides guidance

for land management activities. This proposal is scheduled for

implementation during fiscal Years 2000-2003. The Prospect Ranger

District invites written comments concerning the scope of the analysis

in addition to those comments that will be solicited 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 by January 5, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments regarding the Proposed Action to

Joel King, District Ranger, Prospect Ranger District, 47201 Highway 62,

Prospect, Oregon, 97536.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the Proposed

Action and EIS to Don Boucher, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Propect

Ranger District, 47201 Highway 62, Prospect, Oregon, 97536, phone: 541-

560-3400, FAX: 541-560-3444, e-mail:dboucher/

[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Mill Creek Timber Sales and Related

[[Page 69692]]

Activities Project will take place within the following sub-watersheds

within the Upper Rogue River watershed: Barr Creek, Ginkgo Creek, Union

Creek, Upper and Lower Mill Creek, and Castle Creek. Only Forest

Service managed lands would be treated. The project area is

approximately 45 air miles north of Medford, Oregon. It is bounded on

the north by Castle Creek, on the west by State Highway 62, on the

south by Red Blanket Creek, and on the east by Crater Lake National

Park.

The Forest Service is proposing to implement activities which

include, in part, one or more timber sales involving approximately

7,500 acres of harvest units. Silvicultural prescriptions include:

density management of overstocked stands of trees (approximately 3,800

acres); treating mature stands with small group selections or even-aged

management (approximately 2,000 acres); and, density management of

small, younger stands for forest health and stand development

(approximately 1,700 acres). Other projects include road

decommissioning (approximately 22 miles), prescribed fire for wildlife

habitat improvement and fuels reduction (approximately 500 acres),

density management of stands of young trees less than six inches in

diameter (approximately 2,000 acres), and other wildlife improvement

projects. Minor amounts of new road construction or reconstruction may

be necessary to access harvest units. these activities are proposed on

Matrix lands in the Northwest Forest Plan. Incidental treatments, not

including timber harvest, are proposed within Riparian Reserves.

The Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action is to plan timber

sales and associated road and vegetation management activities to

implement management direction from the Rogue River National Forest

Land and Resource Management Plan and the Northwest Forest Plan and to

manage for ecosystem needs.

The Forest Service will consider issues with the Proposed Action,

and develop additional alternatives to the Proposed Action that respond

to the significant issues. The no-action alternative will also be

considered.

Public participation will be important during the analysis.

Reviewers may refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations

for implementing the procedural provisions of the national

Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1501.7. The Forest Service will seek

written concerns and comments regarding 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 Draft EIS is expected to be filled with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for review by April 2000. The

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

EPA publishes the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

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 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.

Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the

FOIA, confidentially 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 maybe

resubmitted with or without name and address within a specified number

of days.

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 Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). also,

environmental objections that could be raised at the Draft EIS stage,

but that are not raised until after the 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, 409 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 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 45 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 release by August 2000. 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 decision

regarding the proposal.

The Forest Service is the lead agency. The Responsible Official is

Joel King, Prospect District Ranger. The Responsible Official will

consider 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 in making a decision

regarding the Mill Creek Timber Sales and Related Activities. The

Responsible Official will document the decision and rationale in the

Record of Decision. The decision will be subject to appeal by the

general public under Forest Service appeal regulations (36 CFR part

215).

Dated: November 22, 1999.

Joel T. King,

Prospect District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 99-31346 Filed 12-13-99; 8:45 am]

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