[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 206 (Friday, October 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63597-63598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25319]
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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
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 206 / Friday, October 24, 2014 /
Notices
[[Page 63597]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest; Idaho; Johnson Bar Fire
Salvage
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement--
corrected.
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SUMMARY: This is a corrected notice. This notice updates the scoping
period from 30 days to 45 days and gives notice that the proposed
project will be subject to 36 CFR 218 subpart A and B regulations. The
original notice was published in the Federal Register on October 16,
2014 pages 62098-62099. The Forest Service gives notice of its intent
to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Johnson Bar Fire
Salvage Project. The Proposed action would utilize ground based
(tractor and skyline) and helicopter logging systems to harvest trees
killed by the Johnson Bar Fire. Harvested areas would be replanted with
early seral species such as ponderosa pine, western white pine and
western larch. Approximately 3 miles of roads would be decommissioned
to reduce sediment related impacts to the watershed. The EIS will
analyze the effects of the proposed action and alternatives. The Nez
Perce-Clearwater Forests invites comments and suggestions on the issues
to be addressed. The agency gives notice of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and decision making process on the proposal
so interested and affected members of the public may participate and
contribute to the final decision.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by December 8, 2014. The draft environmental impact statement is
expected in March 2015 and the final environmental impact statement is
expected July 2015.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mike Ward or Tam White,
Interdisciplinary Team Leaders; 502 Lowry Street, Kooskia, Idaho 83539.
Comments may also be sent via email to [email protected]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Ward, Interdisciplinary Team
Leader, (208) 926-6413 or Tam White, Interdisciplinary Team Leader
(208) 926-6416.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of the Johnson Bar Fire
Salvage Project would be to recover the economic value of the timber
burned in the fire and move the area towards desired species
compositions (ponderosa pine, western white pine and western larch)
through reforestation as well as improve watershed conditions.
Purpose: Provide a sustained yield of resource outputs at a level
that will help support the economic structure of local communities and
provide for regional and national needs (Nez Perce Forest Plan, II-1)
Need: There is a need to utilize dead trees resulting from the fire
in a timely manner to provide social and economic benefits before they
lose commercial value and merchantability, which would contribute to
the supply of timber for local, regional, and national needs.
Purpose: Reduce potential sediment inputs into the aquatic
ecosystem.
Need: Sediment input from gravel and native surface roads can flow
into streams, negatively affecting fish habitat and water quality.
Improvement of watershed function and stream conditions can be
accomplished by reducing road densities and repairing existing roads
and culverts to reduce sediment and improve drainage.
The Proposed Action would: Salvage harvest approximately 4,000
acres of dead trees within the approximate 13,000 acre fire area.
Harvesting operations would primarily utilize skyline and helicopter
logging systems with a small component of ground based tractor skidding
where appropriate. Openings are likely to exceed 40 acres.
Approximately 23 segments of temporary roads would be built to
provide line machine access from existing system roads. These spurs
generally average approximately 0.16 miles each and would be removed
following harvest.
Fire killed or ``dead'' trees for the purposes of this project are
determined using guidelines that determine mortality by the amount of
scorch and fire severity surrounding the roots and lower trunk. Field
validation of these guidelines indicates they are accurate for the
forest types and fire severity in the project area. All live trees will
be generally retained however incidental removal may occur to
facilitate harvest operations.
Reforestation would plant long lived early seral tree species such
as ponderosa pine, western white pine and western larch. This strategy
would allow us to continue towards the goal of restoring more resilient
tree species across the landscape. Seventeen to thirty-three tons per
acre of standing and down large woody debris would be left across the
treatment area to provide soil microclimate and habitat, long term
nutrients, soil stability, and snag habitat. For safety reasons,
retention would generally occur in clumps rather than individual snags
distributed across the units. Retention would generally favor the
largest snags. Approximately 3 miles of unneeded roads may be
decommissioned by placing them in a hydrologically stable condition.
This may involve a range of road decommissioning methods from culvert
removal to full recontouring.
As they are developed, additional information and maps will be
posted to ``NEPA Projects'' page on the Forests Web site: http://data.ecosystem-management.org/nepaweb/project_list.php?forest=110117.
Responsible Official and Lead Agency
The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal. The
Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest Supervisor is the responsible official.
The Decision To Be Made is whether to adopt the proposed action, in
whole or in part, or another alternative; and what mitigation measures
and management requirements will be implemented.
The Scoping Process for the EIS is being initiated with this
notice. The scoping process will identify issues to be analyzed in
detail and will lead to the development of alternatives to the
proposal. The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from
other Federal, State, and local agencies; Tribal
[[Page 63598]]
Governments; and organizations and individuals who may be interested in
or affected by the proposed action. Comments received in response to
this notice, including the names and addresses of those who comment,
will be a part of the project record and available for public review.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement will be
prepared for comment. The second major opportunity for public input
will be when the draft EIS is published. The comment period for the
draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection
Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Draft EIS is anticipated to be available for public review in March
2015.
Dated: October 17, 2014.
Rick Brazell,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2014-25319 Filed 10-23-14; 8:45 am]
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