[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33158-33159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13576]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Plumas National Forest, California, Sugarloaf Hazardous Fuels
Reduction Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service, Feather River Ranger District of the
Plumas National Forest (PNF) will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) on the Sugarloaf Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project
proposed to modify fire behavior, promote forest and watershed health,
while contributing to the economic stability of rural communities
through: fuels treatments; group selections (GS); area and variable
density thinning from below; road improvements; and prescribed fire
treatments on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The Sugarloaf Project
is located south of Little Grass Valley Reservoir, from Goat Mountain
in the north to American House in the south, surrounding the community
of La Porte; including the Valley Creek Special Interest Area (SIA)
administered by the PNF.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
within 45 days from date of publication in the Federal Register. The
draft environmental impact statement is expected July 2012 and the
final environmental impact statement is expected August 2012. A
decision is expected in September 2012 and implementation may begin as
early as spring of 2013.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Carol Spinos, Interdisciplinary
Team Leader, Feather River Ranger District Ranger District, 875
Mitchell Avenue, Oroville, CA 95965. Comments may be: (1) Mailed; (2)
hand delivered between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays
Pacific Time; (3) faxed to (530) 532-1210; or (4) electronically mailed
to: comments-pacificsouthwest-plumas-featherrvr@fs.fed.us. Please
indicate the name ``Sugarloaf Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project'' on
the subject line of your email. Comments submitted electronically must
be in Rich Text Format (.rtf), plain text format (.txt.) or Word
(.doc).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Spinos, Interdisciplinary Team
Leader, Feather River Ranger District Ranger District, 875 Mitchell
Avenue, Oroville, CA 95966. Telephone: (530) 534-6500 or electronic
address: cspinos@fs.fed.us.
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: The proposed action is designed to meet the
standards and guidelines for land management activities described in
the Plumas National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (PNF LRMP)
(USDA 1988) as amended by Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group (HFQLG)
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) and Record of
Decision (ROD) (USDA 1999a, 1999b, 2003b, 2003c), and the Sierra Nevada
Forest Plan Amendment (SNFPA) FSEIS and ROD (USDA 2004a, 2004b). This
project is being planned under authorization of the Healthy Forest
Restoration Act (H.R. 1904; Pub. L. 108-148; 36 CFR part 218--
Predecisional Administrative Review Process).
The Sugarloaf Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project boundary
encompasses all or portions of T. 21 N., R. 8 E., sec. 24-26; T. 21 N.,
R. 9 E., sec. 2, 3, 5-10, 15-22, 27-32 in Plumas County, CA, MDM.
Purpose and Need for Action
This Project is proposed to establish defensible fuel profile zones
(DFPZs), modify fire behavior, promote forest and watershed health,
while contributing to the economic stability of rural communities in
Plumas County, CA. Fire behavior needs to be modified in selected
forest stands in order to reduce high fuel loading and resulting
increased risks to people, structures, and resources in the wildland
urban-interface (WUI). There is a need for forest health, tree species
diversity and structural complexity to be altered in the Sugarloaf
Project area, because stand densities are unnaturally overcrowded and
dominated by shade-tolerant tree species (e.g. Douglas-fir and white-
fir) and high fuel loads, at-risk from stand-replacing wildfire, insect
infestations and disease. There is a need to improve watershed health
as road surfaces are eroding, contributing sedimentation downstream to
degrade water quality. There is a need to contribute to local forestry-
related employment and provide forest products offerings, vital for
rural communities such as La Porte and American House, isolated from
urban job markets.
Proposed Action
The USDA Forest Service, Feather River Ranger District of the
Plumas National Forest will prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS) for the Sugarloaf Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. The proposed
action would establish 992 acres of defensible fuel profile zones
(DFPZs) using 763 acres of variable density and 229 acres of thinning
from below; 100 acres of group selection (GS); 5 miles of NFS
classified road reconstruction, 5 miles of unclassified (temporary)
road construction (closed post operations) and the construction of up
to 52 new log landing sites; 223 acres of mastication; 455 acres of
hand thin, pile, and burn; 3,195 acres of prescribed fire using manual
ignition (i.e., drip torch) techniques, and 28 miles of National Forest
System (NFS) road improvements to mitigate resource damage; consistent
with the Plumas National Forest Travel Management decision. The
selected NFS land roads would be improved using various methods, such
as grading, removing and upgrading culverts, ripping and seeding, slope
re-contouring, and installing barriers. Wood by-products from these
treatments are expected to produce 7 million board feet of
commercially-valuable timber, while retaining all live trees greater
than 29.9 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) and a minimum of 40
percent forest canopy cover.
Possible Alternatives
In addition to the proposed action, a no-action alternative and a
non-commercial funding alternative aimed solely at reducing hazardous
fuels as required by the Memorandum and Order dated 11/04/2009 (Case
2:05-CV-00205-MCE-GGH). Additional alternatives may be developed and
analyzed during the environmental analysis process.
Responsible Official
The Plumas National Forest Supervisor is the Responsible Official.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decision to be made is whether to: (1) Implement the proposed
action; (2) meet the purpose and need for action
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through some other combination of activities; or, (3) take no action at
this time.
Preliminary Issues
The US Forest Service has identified the following preliminary
issues including potential cumulative effects to watershed resources
and wildlife habitat.
Permits or Licenses Required
An Air Pollution Permit, Smoke Management Plan, and California
Water Quality Board timber harvest waiver for waste discharge are
required by local agencies.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. The Sugarloaf
Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project will initiate and request comments
at: an open house in Oroville, CA in June 2012, an official 45 day
comment period once a Notice of Availability (NOA) is published in the
Federal Register, a 30 day objection period, and an objection
resolution period.
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.
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 Agency with the ability to provide the respondent with subsequent
environmental documents. Individual members of organizations must have
submitted their own comments to meet the requirements of eligibility as
an individual, objections received on behalf of an organization are
considered as those of the organization only.
There will not be an appeal period after the final decision.
Instead of an appeal period, there will be an objection process before
the final decision is made and after the final EIS is mailed (36 CFR
part 218). In order to be eligible to file an objection to the
preferred alternative identified in the final EIS, specific written
comments related to the project must be submitted during scoping or any
other periods public comment is specifically requested on this EIS (36
DFR 218.5).
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.
Dated: May 23, 2012.
Laurence Crabtree,
Acting Plumas National Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012-13576 Filed 6-4-12; 8:45 am]
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