Ashland Watershed Protection Project, Rogue River National Forest, Jackson County, Oregon

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Ashland Watershed Protection Project, Rogue River National

Forest, Jackson County, Oregon

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 the Ashland Watershed Protection Project on the

Rogue River National Forest. The overall goal for the management of the

Ashland Creek Watershed is to continue to provide high quality drinking

water for the City of Ashland and to maintain large areas of late-

successional habitat by creating a landscape relatively resistant to

large-scale stand replacing wildfires. The objectives of this project

is to manage vegetation in a manner that reduces the current fire

hazard and restores fire dependent ecosystems to conditions where the

chance for large-scale, stand replacing wildfires is reduced. The

Forest Service gives notice of the full analysis and decision-making

process so that interested and affected peoples are made aware as to

how they may participate and contribute to this supplemental analysis

and decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this analysis should be

received by March 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Linda Duffy, District Ranger,

Ashland Ranger District, Rogue River National Forest, 645 Washington

Street, Ashland, Oregon, 97520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristi Mastrofini, Ashland Ranger

District, Rogue River National Forest, 645 Washington Street, Ashland,

Oregon, 97520, Telephone (541) 482-3333; FAX (541) 858-2402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Ashland Creek Watershed supplies the

City of Ashland with its domestic water. A Cooperative Agreement

between the City of Ashland and the Forest Service for the management

of the Ashland Watershed was originally approved in 1929. A Memorandum

of Understanding drafted in 1985 and updated in 1996, defines the roles

and responsibility of both the City of Ashland and the Forest Service

in the management of the watershed. In accordance with these agreements

and the Rogue River National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan,

the Forest Service is responsible for providing fire protection for the

Ashland Watershed through appropriate fire management strategies.

The project area is located within the Mt. Ashland Late-

Successional Reserve (LSR), which is located mostly within the Ashland

Creek Watershed, and partially within the Hamilton and Tolman Creek

sub-watersheds (tributaries of Bear Creek). The legal location

description for all actions is T. 39 S., R. 1 E., in sections 17, 19,

20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, and 34; T. 40 S., R. 1 E., in sections 4

and 5; W.M., Jackson County, Oregon.

As required by the April 1994 Amended Rogue River Land and Resource

Management Plan, an LSR Assessment was completed prior to planning for

vegetation manipulation activities. The Mt. Ashland LSR Assessment

identified the need for this fire hazard reduction strategy, which has

been reviewed by the Regional Ecosystem Office.

The Proposed Action for the Ashland Watershed Protection project

would treat vegetation and dead and down fuels on an estimated 1,500

acres using a variety of treatment methods. Treatment methods that will

be considered include prescribed fire, mechanical manipulation of

vegetation (cutting with chainsaws and handpiling for burning), and

tree (canopy) removal through commercial means. About 1,000 acres would

be treated with underburning or non-commercial mechanical methods, and

about 500 acres would be treated using commercial tree removal. This

Proposed Action would also include the reconstruction of .25 mile of

road, and the construction of one new helicopter landing. Preliminary

issues include: maintenance of water quality within a domestic supply

watershed; protection of LSR characteristics; maintenance of long-term

site productivity; economic feasibility associated with the removal of

large amounts of small trees and shrubs; protection of terrestrial

habitat, aquatic habitat, and rare plant and animal species; aesthetics

and social considerations; and the effectiveness of various fire

management strategies proposed. Preliminary alternatives of the

Proposed Action include options to: reduce fire hazard using only non-

commercial mechanical treatment methods; economically efficient non-

commercial and commercial removal techniques; and treatment methods

that would focus on minimizing the changes in late-successional stand

structures.

In March of 1998, following extensive environmental analysis and

community involvement that started in July of 1996, a Decision Notice

authorizing the implementation of the Ashland Interface Fire Hazard

Reduction (HazRed) project was signed. Appeals to that decision were

filed with the Regional Forester that resulted in the decision being

reversed in July of 1998. Reversal was based on the finding by the

Regional Forester that an additional 30-day Notice and Comment period

was warranted following an Environmental Assessment (EA) revision

process.

The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

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

1999. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date

the EPA publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.

The draft and final EIS will be prepared and circulated in accordance

with 40 CFR 1502.9. Comments received on the draft EIS will be

considered in the preparation of the final EIS. The final EIS is

scheduled to be completed July 1999.

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

the draft structure their

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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, (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 comment period so that

substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest

Service at the time when it can meaningful 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.

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

substantive comments and responses received during the comment period

that pertain to the environmental consequences discussed at the draft

EIS and applicable laws, regulations, and policies considered in making

a decision regarding the Ashland Watershed Protection Project.

The Responsible Official is Linda Duffy, Ashland District Ranger on

the Rogue River National Forest. The Responsible Official will document

her decision and rationale for the decision in the Record of Decision.

That decision will be subject to Forest Service appeal regulations (36

CFR Part 215).

Dated: February 12, 1999.

Linda L. Duffy,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 99-4644 Filed 2-24-99; 8:45 am]

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