[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 103 (Friday, May 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30902-30903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13235]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2011 /
Notices
[[Page 30902]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Shasta Lake Management Unit, Shasta-Trinity National Forest;
California; Green-Horse Habitat Restoration and Maintenance Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Shasta-Trinity National Forest proposes to reduce fuels on
approximately 41,816 acres under the Green-Horse Habitat Restoration
and Maintenance Project. Proposed treatments include mostly prescribed
underburning, with some thinning, pruning, piling, and pile burning.
The proposed action does not include any commercial timber harvest, new
forest system or temporary road construction, or existing road
reconstruction.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by June 30, 2011. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
to be completed in January of 2012 and the final environmental impact
statement is expected in August of 2012.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Betsy Hammet, 1602 Ontario Street,
Sandpoint, ID 83864. Comments may also be submitted via e-mail to
[email protected] with ``Green-Horse
Habitat Restoration and Maintenance'' in the subject line, or by
facsimile to (530) 275-1512.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project leader Betsy Hammet, 1602
Ontario Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864. Phone: (208) 263-1059; e-mail
address: [email protected]. Comments may also be provided during normal
business hours via telephone by calling project fuels specialist Ben
Newburn at (530) 339-0024; e-mail address: [email protected].
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may
call (530) 242-5526.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The majority of the project area is located within the Shasta Lake
Unit of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, in Shasta County,
approximately 20 miles northeast of Redding, California. The project
area encompasses approximately 46,336 acres. A detailed description of
the proposed action and treatment map can be downloaded from the Forest
Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_projects?forest=110514.
Purpose and Need for Action
The project's purpose and need arose from a comparison of the
existing and desired conditions within the project area. Desired
conditions have been identified in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan (hereafter referred to as the
``forest plan''). The purpose of the project is as follows:
Reduce fuel accumulations in the project area and trend
the area toward historic fire regime conditions.
Reduce the risks and consequences of public health and
safety concerns related to poor air quality during wildfire events.
Protect, enhance or maintain wildlife habitat quality, in
particular for threatened, endangered and Forest Service sensitive
species (e.g., bald eagles).
Protect, enhance or maintain scenic values, campgrounds,
trails and other recreational values.
Proposed Action
Approximately 41,637 acres are proposed for prescribed
underburning. In addition, hand thinning and/or brush cutting, pruning,
piling, and burning of hand piles and/or underburning would occur on
approximately 92 acres 50 feet from private property boundaries and on
approximately 83 acres within 300 feet surrounding bald eagle nest
sites. Approximately 4.61 miles (about 4 acres) of dozer firelines
would be improved or constructed. Dozer lines would be approximately 8
feet wide. Project design features are included in the proposal to
ensure protection of a variety of forest resources. The proposed
treatment methods and prescriptions would be accomplished using an
adaptive management strategy to allow modification of treatments if
necessary during implementation.
A project-level forest plan amendment is also proposed. Currently,
the forest plan requires an average of 20 tons per acre of downed wood
for the limited roaded motorized forest plan management prescription.
Management direction for the roaded recreation prescription is an
average of 10 tons of unburned dead and down material per acre on
slopes less than 40 percent and where feasible, the same amount on
slopes over 40 percent. Those down fuel levels contradict current
Forest Service Handbook soil standards, which recommend fuel levels of
less than about 6 tons per acre overall to reduce the risk of adverse
effects to soils from wildfires.
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest proposes to amend the Forest
Plan to require an average of 5 to 15 tons per acre for those two
management prescriptions. This project-level amendment is proposed to
enable the Forest Service to achieve the stated fuel reduction
objectives while providing for wildlife habitat needs and protecting
soil and soil productivity. The amendment would affect approximately
16,602 acres of areas with limited roaded motorized recreation
management prescriptions and 9,662 acres of areas with roaded
recreation management prescriptions.
Responsible Official
The responsible official for this proposal is J. Sharon Heywood,
Shasta-Trinity Forest Supervisor.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The responsible official will decide whether to implement the
proposed action, no action, or other alternatives considered under
analysis. She will consider the comments, responses, disclosure of
environmental consequences, and applicable laws, regulations, and
policies in making the decision and stating the rationale in the Record
of Decision.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. Public scoping
will include notices in the newspaper of record, mailings of the
scoping package to interested and affected parties and posting of the
project on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest project planning
[[Page 30903]]
webpage and notice in the Quarterly Schedule of Proposed Actions.
Comment Requested
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of
the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions. The submission of
timely and specific comments can affect a reviewer's ability to
participate in subsequent administrative appeal or judicial review.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be
accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide
the respondent with standing to participate in subsequent
administrative or judicial reviews.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21.
Dated: May 23, 2011.
J. Sharon Heywood,
Forest Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011-13235 Filed 5-26-11; 8:45 am]
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