[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78842-78844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22038]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests; California; Mokelumne 
Amador Calaveras Forest Resilience Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (``Forest Service''), United States 
Department of Agriculture is preparing an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Mokelumne Amador Calaveras (MAC) Forest 
Resilience Project. The MAC Forest Resilience Project is a 246,838-
acres planning effort designed to address the threats wildfire and

[[Page 78843]]

climate change elicit to watershed resiliency at a scale and intensity 
that will be effective in improving our ability to protect communities, 
critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat and ecosystem services. 
Current forest conditions have placed the Project Area at an elevated 
risk of high-severity wildfires. The proposed action includes 
vegetation management treatments designed to better align current 
forest structure and composition with desired conditions, focusing on 
fuel reduction, forest thinning, prescribed fire, fuel break 
construction and maintenance, non-native invasive plant control and 
eradication, and other ecological and watershed restoration activities. 
The Planning, Appeals, and Litigation System identification number for 
the project is 65796.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by October 28, 2024. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected mid-2025 and the final environmental impact statement is 
expected early 2026.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments via mail or by hand delivery to 
Eldorado National Forest Supervisor's Office at 100 Forni Road, 
Placerville, CA 95667. Comments may be submitted electronically online 
via the project website https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65796. 
From the project website, click on the `Comment/Object on Project' link 
located on the right-hand side under the `Get Connected' box.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carinna Robertson, Resource Management 
Staff Officer via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d8bbb9aab1b6b6b9f6aab7babdaaacabb7b698adabbcb9f6bfb7ae"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a191b081314141b540815181f080e0915143a0f091e1b541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>, or by phone at 
1-209-813-6039. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 
800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of MAC Forest Resilience Project is to restore 
ecosystem health and resilience to wildfire, insect and disease, 
drought, and climate change; reduce safety hazards across public lands; 
reduce the spread of non-native species; maintain and support local 
economies, and maintain and improve aspen groves, riparian areas, 
streams, and meadows. The proposed actions are needed to reduce the 
risks of wildfire within and adjacent to USDA Forest Service managed 
lands, improve and maintain safe ingress/egress routes for fire 
personnel, equipment, and the public, maintain and promote plant and 
wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce the spread of non-native 
invasive plants.

Proposed Action

    The MAC Forest Resilience Project will include a broad range of 
management activities to meet the purpose and need of the project. A 
combination of commercial and non-commercial mechanical forest 
thinning, other mechanical and hand fuel treatments, prescribed fire, 
hazard tree removal, salvage logging, invasive species treatments, and 
additional ecological restoration activities are proposed. Forest 
thinning will be implemented to reduce fuel loads, reduce stand 
densities, and increase forest heterogeneity across the landscape. 
Multiple logging systems, road maintenance, temporary road 
construction, and landing development will be required for product 
removal during forest thinning.
    Shaded fuel breaks will be constructed and maintained to break up 
large expanses of continuous fuels, support firefighter access and 
safety, and provide control points for the implementation of prescribed 
fire.
    Prescribed fire treatments will be implemented, including, but not 
limited to, pile burning and understory broadcast burning, to reduce 
fuel loads, increase understory productivity and diversity, and allow 
fire to perform its natural ecological role.
    Hazard trees will be identified, felled, and removed to improve 
safety along roadways, recreation areas, trails, access routes, 
infrastructure, and other specific areas. Salvage of insect-, disease-, 
drought-, and fire-killed trees is included to efficiently eliminate 
accumulated fuels and to facilitate a rapid response to mortality 
events.
    Non-native invasive plant control and eradication treatments are 
proposed for known infestations and for future new infestations. 
Manual, biological, and chemical control or targeted grazing methods 
will be used to eradicate infestations or to contain or control their 
spread.
    Ecological restoration activities will include aspen grove 
maintenance and improvement, riparian improvements such as native plant 
plantings and streambank stabilization, removal of encroaching conifers 
and trail and road rerouting around meadows, as well as process-based 
stream restoration techniques and aquatic organism passage 
improvements.
    Treatments will be implemented using a staged approach over the 
next 10 years. Follow-up treatments to achieve or maintain desired 
conditions will be implemented beyond 10 years. To determine priorities 
and locations for treatments, spatial modeling will be used to identify 
focus areas for maximizing effectiveness. The proposed action will 
include an extensive list of management requirements, including 
restrictions, constraints, and retention requirements for protection of 
resources and to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, 
and policy.

Forest Plan Amendments

    The proposed action will include project-specific forest plan 
amendments to implement the management approaches and conservation 
measures presented in the Conservation Strategy for the California 
Spotted Owl in the Sierra Nevada (USDA Forest Service 2019).
    The EIS will also consider an alternative developed in compliance 
with the existing Forest Plans to enable a comparative assessment of 
the proposed action developed in compliance with the project-specific 
forest plan amendments and similar actions proposed under current plan 
direction. The Eldorado and Stanislaus Forests will each make 
independent decisions on the potential future adoption of any project-
specific Forest Plan amendments included in the EIS.

Expected Impacts

    The MAC Forest Resilience Project EIS will evaluate both the 
effectiveness of the proposed action and action alternative(s) at 
meeting the purpose and needs of the project and the potential 
environmental consequences of these proposed actions in comparison to 
the no action alternative. The EIS will focus the analysis to address 
significant issues identified through the public scoping process. The 
project is expected to significantly increase forest health and 
resilience by reducing the likelihood of high-severity wildfire, 
reducing stand densities, and increasing forest heterogeneity. 
Restoration to healthier, more resilient and more fire-resistant 
forests will reduce uncontrolled emissions and public health impacts 
from wildfire smoke over the long term, improve growth, life span, and 
carbon storage of residual trees. Surface water quality, supply, and 
reliability will be protected by reducing fire-induced soil erosion, 
benefiting local and downstream users, hydroelectric and water supply 
infrastructure, and special-status species.
    The consequences of taking no action are high. The area would 
remain at an

[[Page 78844]]

elevated risk of high-severity wildfire that would result in forest and 
wildlife habitat losses and watershed degradation. The treatments 
proposed to create the desired conditions may cause short-term impacts 
to sensitive resources, including California spotted owl protected 
activity centers.

Responsible Officials

    The Responsible Officials will be Amy Reid, Acting Forest 
Supervisor, Eldorado National Forest, and Jason Kuiken, Forest 
Supervisor, Stanislaus National Forest.

Scoping Comments and the Objection Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. In this process 
the Agency is requesting comments on potential alternatives and 
impacts, and identification of any relevant information, studies, or 
analyses of any kind concerning impacts affecting the quality of the 
human environment. There will be up to two public workshops during the 
scoping 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 final EIS; therefore, comments should be provided prior to the 
close of the comment period and should clearly articulate the 
reviewer's concerns and contentions. Commenting during scoping and any 
other designated opportunity to comment provided by the Responsible 
Official as prescribed by the applicable regulations will also govern 
eligibility to object once the final EIS and draft Record of Decision 
has been published. 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, they will not be used to 
establish eligibility for the objection process.
    Objections will be accepted only from those who have previously 
submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project 
during scoping or other designated opportunity for public comment in 
accordance with Sec.  218.5(a). Issues raised in objections must be 
based on previously submitted timely, specific written comments 
regarding the proposed project unless based on new information arising 
after designated opportunities.

Permits, Licenses or other Authorizations Required

    The Project includes actions within aquatic or riparian areas that 
may be subject to future permitting requirements under Section 404 of 
the Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 401 of the CWA, and/or Section 1600 
et seq of California Fish and Game Code. Additionally, the Project will 
require consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS) on listed species. Based on current and potential future 
funding from the state of California, compliance with the California 
Environmental Quality Act will be required.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Given the purpose and need, the Responsible Officials will 
determine whether the proposed actions comply with all applicable laws 
governing Forest Service actions and with the applicable standards and 
guidelines found in the Forest Plans of the Eldorado National Forest 
and Stanislaus National Forest; whether the EIS has sufficient 
environmental analysis to make an informed decision; and whether the 
proposed action and any action alternatives meet the purpose and needs 
for action. With this information, the Responsible Officials must 
decide whether to select the proposed action and what, if any, 
additional actions should be required.

Substantive Provisions

    The substantive provisions of 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that may 
directly apply to the proposed project-specific forest plan amendments 
are 36 CFR 219.9 Diversity of Plant and Animal Communities, (a) 
Ecosystem plan components, (1) Ecosystem integrity (36 CFR 219 (a)(1)); 
36 CFR 219.9 Diversity of Plant and Animal Communities, (a) Ecosystem 
plan components, (2) Ecosystem diversity, (i) key characteristics 
associated with the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem types (36 CFR 
219(a)(2)(I)); 36 CFR 219.9 Diversity of Plant and Animal Communities, 
(a) Ecosystem plan components, (2) Ecosystem diversity, (ii) rare 
aquatic and terrestrial plant and animal communities (36 CFR 219 
(a)(2)(ii)); and 36 CFR 219.8 Sustainability, (b) Social and Economic 
Sustainability, (1) Social, cultural, and economic conditions relevant 
to the area influenced by the plan (36 CFR 219.8(b)(1)).

Keith Lannom,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2024-22038 Filed 9-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P


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