[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26733-26734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10728]
[[Page 26733]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest; Evanston-Mountain View
Ranger District; Utah; Smiths Fork Vegetation Restoration Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Evanston-Mountain View Ranger District of the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest proposes to treat approximately 4,300
acres of a variety of vegetation types within the 58,000-acre Smiths
Fork project analysis area, located in Uinta County, Wyoming, and
Summit County, Utah, approximately 25 miles southwest of Mountain View,
Wyoming. Proposed treatment acivities include salvage clearcuts;
sanitation salvage; and thin, pile, and burn. This proposal is being
developed in direct response to the continuing mountain pine beetle
epidemic in the area and its potential long-term impacts on the Smiths
Fork area. The project is being undertaken under the auspices of the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act (``HFRA'').
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by May 31, 2012. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
in August 2012 and the final environmental impact statement is expected
November 2012.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Smiths Fork Vegetation Restoration
Project, Attn: Rick Schuler, P.O. Box 1880, Evanston, WY 82931.
Comments can also be hand delivered Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. at the following physical address: 1565 Highway 150, Suite A,
Evanston, Wyoming. In addition, comments can be submitted
electronically to: [email protected] or submitted via facsimile to 307-783-8639.
Reviewers should provide comments at such times and in such a way
that they are useful to the agency's preparation of the EIS. Comments
should be provided prior to the close of the comment period and should
clearly articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions. Submission
of timely and specific comments can affect a reviewer's ability to
participate in the objection process or judicial review.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will become 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 the objection process
associated with this project under the HFRA or judicial review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Gomben, Environmental
Coordinator, at 801-236-3407.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The HFRA recognizes healthy forests or forest health as an integral
part of forest management. The proposed action responds directly to
forest health objectives as described in the HFRA. The purpose of this
project is to reduce the effects from current mountain pine beetle
infestation in forested stands dominated by lodgepole pine trees and to
reduce the susceptibility of vegetation to high-intensity wildfire and
further mountain pine beetle attacks. The project is needed to: (1)
Salvage forest products from, and manage stand densities on, forested
lands classified as suitable for timber production to keep them
positively contributing to the national forest's allowable sale
quantity; (2) Reduce the effects of tree mortality associated with the
mountain pine beetle epidemic to restore healthy ecological conditions
and scenic quality; (3) Accelerate regeneration of forested stands
killed by the mountain pine beetle; and (4) Manage hazardous fuel
loading associated with the mountain pine beetle epidemic and salvage
operations to minimize the potential for large, high intensity/high
severity wildfires.
This action responds to the goals and objectives outlined in the
Wasatch-Cache National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan
(``Forest Plan''), and helps move the project area towards desired
conditions described in that plan.
Proposed Action
The proposed project includes treatment of approximately 4,300
acres of aspen and lodgepole communities using timber harvest,
prescribed fire, and mechanical fuels treatments. Sanitation salvage
would be used on approximately 1,730 acres, clearcuts would be used on
approximately 1,241 acres, sanitation salvage with pile and burn would
be used on approximately 76 acres, clearcut with pile and burn would be
used on approximately 40 acres, roadside salvage would occur on
approximately 695 acres, and approximately 514 acres would be undergo a
thin, pile, and burn prescription.
Proposed treatments are intended to reduce both the amount and
continuity of woody fuels, to remove hazard trees, to harvest beetle-
killed or infested trees, and to create a mix of tree ages and species.
The proposed action would retain habitat for sensitive and other
species, such as northern goshawks, where needed. The proposed action
is also expected to make improvements to visual quality. Treatments in
the vicinity of private land would be intended to reduce the threat of
wildfire to human life and property.
Access to treatment units, as currently mapped, is anticipated to
involve approximately 3.1 miles of new specified road construction,
approximately 10.7 miles of temporary road construction, approximately
6.7 miles of additional temporary road use on the existing road prism,
and approximately 2.6 miles of road reconstruction. Approximately 3.8
miles of easements through private land would be needed for access to
units 4, 20, and 79.
Possible Alternatives
In addition to the proposed action, a no action alternative will be
considered. This alternative would continue current management without
the actions of this proposal. Because this project is being analyzed
via the HFRA, one additional alternative that addresses the purpose and
need for the project may be developed in response to issues generated
during the scoping process.
Responsible Official
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest forest supervisor.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decision to be made is whether or not to implement vegetation
restoration treatments in the Smiths Fork project area, and if so, to
what degree and where.
Preliminary Issues
Preliminary issues are the effects of treatments on wildlife
habitat, and the effects of insect and disease outbreaks on current
forest health.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental
[[Page 26734]]
impact statement. This project is not subject to the notice, comment,
and appeal process found at 36 CFR part 215. Rather, it is subject to
the predecisional administrative review process found at 36 CFR part
218. This process provides the opportunity to resolve issues raised in
an objection and identify potential solutions. Only persons who submit
specific written comments on the proposed action during the 30-day
comment period will be eligible to file an objection. This comment
period represents the only opportunity for the public to comment on
this proposal prior to the objection process. The opportunity to
comment will end 30 days after a legal notice announcing the request
for scoping comments is published in the Salt Lake Tribune, which is
the newspaper of record.
Dated: April 26, 2012.
Cheryl Probert,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012-10728 Filed 5-4-12; 8:45 am]
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