Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Notices 42105 

TABLE 1—ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN FOR EACH TYPE OF RESPONDENT

Affected public 

Estimated 

number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Total annual 

responses 

Est. total 

hours per 

response 

Estimated total 

burden 

Reporting 

State agencies ..................................................................... 54 24 1,296 0.25 324 

Non-profit Institutions ........................................................... 3,445 1 3,445 0.25 861 

Total Estimated Reporting Burden ...................................... 3,499 1.35 4,741 0.25 1,185 

Recordkeeping 

State agencies ..................................................................... 54 861.8 46,537 0.10 4,714 

Non-profit Institutions ........................................................... 3,445 10.78 1 37,129 0.20 7,426 

Total Estimated Recordkeeping Burden .............................. 3,499 2 23.91 83,666 0.15 12,140 

Total Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Reporting .............................................................................. 3,499 1.35 4,741 0.25 1,185 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... 3,499 23.91 83,666 0.15 12,140 

Total .............................................................................. 3,499 25.27 88,407 0.15 13,325 

1 Certain procurement requirements only apply to the 2,679 school food authorities and residential child care institutions participating in the 

Special Milk Program. 2 Rounded from 23.91146. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17841 Filed 8–17–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Willamette National Forest, McKenzie 

River Ranger District; Oregon; Flat 

Country Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Flat Country Project is 

located on the western slope of the 

Cascades, extending from Scott 

Mountain to the upper reach of the 

McKenzie River, eight miles east of 

McKenzie Bridge, Oregon. The project 

area is approximately 74,063 acres. 

There is a high amount of mid-seral 

stands, moving the seral distribution 

away from historic levels and limiting 

stand structure and species diversity 

across the landscape. This project 

proposes to thin, reduce the number of 

trees, and increase the size and structure 

of the remaining forest over time. 

Activities proposed include forest 

management treatments across 

approximately 5,001 acres, including 

forest thinning (including riparian 

reserve thinning) and regenerating 

harvests. Additional proposed activities 

would include road work (including 

maintenance, reconstruction, temporary 

road construction, and 

decommissioning), and meadow 

enhancements. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

September 19, 2018. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected March 2019 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected August 2019. 

ADDRESSES: Scoping comments can be 

submitted electronically through 

https://cara.ecosystemmanagement.org/Public// 

CommentInput?Project=53966. You may 

also submit written comments via mail 

or by hand delivery to Darren Cross, 

District Ranger, McKenzie Bridge 

Ranger District, 57600 McKenzie Hwy., 

McKenzie Bridge, OR 97413; or via 

facsimile to 541–822–7254. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dean Schlichting (Project Team Leader) 

at deandschlichting@fs.fed.us, 541–822– 

7214. 

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: 

Background 

This project was originally an 

environmental assessment and was 

scoped from May 22 to June 23, 2018. 

Scoping comments were received on a 

range of concerns and topics. Primary 

concerns included: Providing a 

sustainable supply of timber products 

for local industry, reasons for and 

against road construction, preserving 

and impacting northern spotted owl 

habitat, no logging of mature forests, 

encouraging the creation of early seral 

habitat, and alerting the recreating 

public of operation schedules and haul 

routes to avoid conflict. After the review 

of the project and due to the complexity 

and size of this project, as well as public 

input, the decision was made to elevate 

the analysis to an environmental impact 

statement. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The Flat Country Project is proposed 

to provide a sustainable supply of 

timber products, actively manage stands 

to improve stand conditions (density, 

diversity, and structure), increase 

vegetative habitat complexity and 

hardwood composition along streams, 

and sustainably manage the network of 

road systems in the project area. Within 

the project area trees are competing for 

sunlight, water and nutrients causing 

reduced tree growth and vigor. The 

productivity and site conditions of 

forests in the project area allow for the 

production of forest products while 

being sensitive to the ecology of the area 

and meeting other important natural 

values and services. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action has multiple 

facets: 

(1) Commercially harvest about 5,001 

acres (3.7% of the Project Area) and 

regenerate roughly 962 acres (1.0% of 

the Project Area). We propose to use 

thinning across the majority of the 

project and these treatments would 

incorporate some untreated areas (skips) 

and create gaps of up to three acres with 

variable spacing of remaining trees. We 


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42106 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Notices 

would design the regeneration harvest 

to increase forest-age diversity across 

the project area. The type of 

regeneration harvests would vary and 

may potentially include: Shelterwood 

harvests, two-aged systems, group 

selection harvests, variable retention 

harvests, and seed tree harvests. The age 

of stands proposed for treatment range 

from 29 to 150 years. 

(2) Thin and treat fuels on 

approximately 767 acres of riparian 

reserves outside of riparian buffers to 

accelerate and/or improve Aquatic 

Conservation Strategy Objectives 

(ACSOs). Additional riparian reserve 

treatments could occur on up to 50 acres 

within buffers, including diversity 

thinning in plantations, wood 

placement in creeks and cutting and 

leaving conifers in areas of hardwoods 

to encourage hardwood growth. All 

treatments will be designed to accelerate 

and/or improve ACSOs. 

(3) Maintain or reconstruct 

approximately 146 miles of road, 

including installation of approximately 

200 culverts (primarily replacements). 

(4) Decommission and hydrologically 

stabilize approximately 11 miles of 

road. 

(5) Construct 16 miles of temporary 

roads; temporary roads would be 

restored to their previous function and 

closed after all project activities are 

completed. 

(6) Create fuel breaks along forest 

roads. Treatments would occur along 

approximate 57 miles of road and range 

from 33 to 66 feet wide which would 

equate to about 2597 acres. 

(7) Enhance dry and wet meadow 

habitats on approximately 368 acres, 

which includes a combination of tree 

removal and broadcast burning. 

(8) Reduce hazardous fuels on both 

existing fuel loadings and logging slash 

as a result of harvest to bring stands to 

levels within Forest Plan standards and 

guidelines. Proposed treatments include 

broadcast or under-burning, machine 

piling, burning of landings, hand piling 

and chipping. 

Possible Alternatives 

Due to the responses we received 

from the initial scoping, there is at least 

one other action alternative that may be 

considered. One commentor suggested 

the Forest Service consider alternatives 

that avoid logging mature forests. The 

district will develop an alternative that 

harvests only in previously managed 

stands under 80 years old (Alternative 

3). 

Responsible Official 

McKenzie River District Ranger. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

Given the purpose and need, the 

scope of the decision to be made by the 

responsible official will be as follows: 

Do the proposed actions comply with all 

applicable laws governing Forest 

Service actions and with the applicable 

standards and guidelines found in the 

Willamette Land and Resource 

Management Plan (LRMP)? Does the 

Environmental Impact Statement have 

sufficient site-specific environmental 

analysis to make an informed decision? 

Do the proposed actions meet the 

purpose and need for action? With these 

assurances the responsible official must 

decide: Whether or not to select the 

proposed action or one of any other 

potential alternatives that may be 

developed, and what, if any, additional 

actions should be required. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent begins the formal 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. 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. 

We are interested in your comments 

on the following questions: Are there 

alternative ways to meet the purpose of 

the project other than the proposed 

action we offer, which you would like 

the Forest Service to consider and 

analyze? Is there any information about 

the project area, which you believe is 

important in the context of the proposed 

activities that you would like the Forest 

Service to consider? What specifically 

are the potential effects of this proposal 

that you are particularly concerned 

about? For example, rather than simply 

stating that you would like a change in 

a proposed activity or that you would 

not like an activity to take place, it is 

most helpful to understand why you 

desire this. What are your underlying 

concerns with an activity or action; 

what are the effects from the activity 

that concern you? 

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. 

Dated: July 26, 2018. 

Chris French, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17837 Filed 8–17–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Comprehensive River Management 

Plan for Black Butte Wild and Scenic 

River, Including Portions of Cold 

Creek, Mendocino National Forest, 

Mendocino County, California 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 

3(d)(1) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Act, the USDA Forest Service 

announces the completion and 

availability of the comprehensive river 

management plan for Black Butte Wild 

and Scenic River, including portions of 

Cold Creek. On May 11, 2018, Acting 

Mendocino Forest Supervisor, Gar 

Abbas signed a decision notice to adopt 

a comprehensive river management plan 

(‘‘CRMP’’) for Black Butte Wild and 

Scenic River (including Cold Creek). 

The Black Butte Wild and Scenic River 

CRMP (including Cold Creek) addresses 

resource protection, development of 

lands and facilities, user capacities, and 

other management practices necessary 

or desirable to achieve the purposes of 

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This 

CRMP was prepared after consultation 

with State and local governments and 

the interested public. An environmental 

assessment (EA) was prepared as part of 

the CRMP development. This EA has 

been prepared in compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act and 

other relevant federal laws and 

regulations. The EA discloses the direct, 

indirect, and cumulative environmental 

effects that would result from adopting 

the CRMP. 

The Black Butte Wild and Scenic 

River CRMP (including Cold Creek) and 

the EA are available for review at 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/ 

?project=50351 and the following 

offices: Upper Lake Ranger District, 

10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake, 

CA 95484. Mendocino National Forest 

Supervisor’s Office, 825 N Humboldt 

Ave., Willows, CA 95988. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Information may be obtained by 

contacting Hilda Kwan, District 

Hydrologist, Mendocino National 


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