ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 

LEMOLO WATERSHED PROJECTS TIMBER SALES 

and RELATED ACTIVITIES

DIAMOND LAKE RANGER DISTRICT 

UMPQUA NATIONAL FOREST 

DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON 

October 10, 2003 

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LEAD AGENCY: USDA - FOREST SERVICE

Umpqua National Forest 

2900 Stewart Parkway 

P.O. Box 1088 

Roseburg, Oregon 97470 

RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: JOHN OUIMET

 District Ranger 

Umpqua National Forest 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: STEVE BUSKIE & RACHEL MILLER

Public Consultation Facilitators 

Diamond Lake Ranger District 

2020 Toketee Ranger Station Rd. 

Idleyld Park, Oregon 97447 

Phone: (541) 498-2531 or (541) 767-5012 

 ABSTRACT 

The Lemolo Watershed Projects draft Environmental Impact Statement provides the decision makers and the public with the expected environmental 

impacts of five alternatives including the proposed action. The Diamond Lake Ranger District, Umpqua National Forest proposes to conduct timber 

harvest, temporary and system road construction, system road reconstruction, temporary and system road decommissioning, permanent helicopter 

landing construction, site preparation, natural fuels treatment, soil restoration, and reforestation activities within matrix lands inside the Lemolo Lake 

Analysis Area in 2004-2005. The analysis area encompasses the Bradley Creek, Thirsty Creek, Lemolo Reservoir, North Umpqua Headwaters, and 

Lake Creek 6th Level Watersheds located in the Lemolo Lake 5th Level Watershed. Timber sales would regeneration harvest 448 acres, commercially 

thin 892 acres, partial harvest 39 acres, small group harvest 146, selectively harvest 42 acres for posts and poles, and harvest 10 acres for house logs 

while meeting current standards and guidelines for matrix lands. Approximately 3.17 miles of new system road construction, 51.79 miles of system 

road reconstruction / maintenance, 6.19 miles of system road decommissioning inside potential sale area boundaries, 4.83 miles of road 

decommissioning outside potential sale area boundaries, 3.9 miles of temporary road construction and subsequent obliteration, 2 acres of permanent 

helicopter landing construction, 264 acres of sub-soiling, 282 acres of natural fuels burning, would occur within the planning area. Six sales are 

planned to be sold in 2004-2005 and operate for 2 to 3 years. A combination of skyline, helicopter, loader, and mechanized logging systems would be 

utilized to harvest timber 

Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments during the review period of the draft environmental impact statement by November 

24th, 2003. This will enable the Forest Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to use information acquired into the 

preparation of the final environmental impact statement, thus avoiding undue delay in the decision making process. Reviewers have an obligation to 

structure their participation in the National Environmental Policy Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts to the reviewers’ position and 

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978), Environmental objections that could have been raised at the 

draft stage may be waived if not raised until after completion of the Circuit, 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 

(E.D. Wis. 1980). Comments on the draft environmental impact statement should be specific and should address the adequacy of the statement and the 

merits of the alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3). 

The environmental policies and procedures specified in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) regulations (40 CFR, Chapter V) were used in developing this Environmental Assessment.