[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38153-38154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18823]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Texas Blowdown Changed Condition Analysis, National Forests and 
Grasslands in Texas, Angelina, Montgomery, Sabine, San Augustine, San 
Jacinto, and Walker Counties, Texas

AGENCY: Forest Service.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to announce that the U.S. Forest Service will 
prepare an analysis of storm-damaged areas on the Angelina, Sabine, and 
Sam Houston National Forests to determine changed conditions due to a 
catastrophic windstorm. The changed condition analysis will be used to 
identify proposed actions for site preparation and reforestation on 
national forest lands extensively damaged by the February 1988 
windstorm. Initial plans are for the analysis to consider only areas 
within Management Area 1--Upland Forest Ecosystems and Management Area 
2--Red cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) Emphasis on the three affected 
National Forests. The analysis will determine the existing conditions 
of these management areas, the desired future conditions for the areas 
as directed in the 1996 Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) for 
the National Forests and Grassland in Texas (NFGT), and potential 
management actions to achieve the desired future conditions.
    In addition to the determination of appropriate reforestation 
needs, the information gathered in this process would be used to 
analyze the need to amend the forest plan's allocation of Management 
Area 2 on the Angelina and Sabine National Forests due to changed 
conditions on these forest caused by the storm damage.
    Public involvement will be requested and accepted continually 
throughout these efforts. Public involvement will also be conducted as 
part of ``scoping'' following the issuance on the Notice of Intent to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement based on the results of the 
Changed Condition Analysis.

DATES: The Texas Blowdown Changed Condition Analysis is scheduled to be 
completed by October 1998.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information, and comments concerning the notice 
can be sent to: Team Leader, Texas Blowdown Changed Condition 
Analsysis, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, 701 North First 
Street, Lufkin, Texas 75961.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Keith Baker, Project Environmental Coordinator. Phone: 409-344-6205 
(New Waverly, TX).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background on the Changed Conditions and Actions Taken to Date

    On the afternoon of February 10, 1998, a storm with hurricane-force 
winds stuck the forests of east Texas. The storm left a path of 
destruction from near Houston to Toledo Bend Reservoir, a distance of 
approximately 150 miles. Approximately 103,000 acres of national forest 
land on the Sabine, Angelina and Sam Houston National Forests were 
damaged by the windstorm. The LRMP had allocated the majority of the 
lands affected by the storm to Management Area 1 (upland forest 
ecosystems) and Management Area 2 (red-cockaded woodpecker emphasis). 
Other Management Areas (MAs) were also affected, including MA-4 
(streamside management zones), MA-8 (special area management), MA-9 
(recreation area management), and MA-10 (administrative and special use 
sites).
    The Forest Service categorized the storm damage severity and extent 
on the three affected national forests as follows:
    <bullet> extensive damage--loss of greater than 60 percent of the 
existing trees (11,600 acres),
    <bullet> moderate damage--loss of 30 to 60 percent of the existing 
trees (65,400 acres), and
    <bullet> light damage--loss of 10 to 30 percent of the existing 
trees (26,000 acres).
    The NFGT determined that an emergency response was needed to meet 
three objectives: (A) reduce the potential for high intensity wildfires 
spreading into the intermingled private ownerships that include 
individual homes, subdivisions, and rural communities; (B) minimize 
further damage to RCW and bald eagle habitat; and (C) reduce the risk 
of anticipated bark beetle attack to living trees that could kill 
additional federal and private timber, RCW habitat, and bald eagle 
habitat. The Forest Service requested approval for alternative 
arrangements for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (NEPA) from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to 
expedite the removal of the blown down and damaged timber. On March 10, 
1998, CEQ approved the Forest Service's request for alternative 
arrangements and the NFGT undertook actions to remove blown down and 
damaged trees to meet the three objectives. As part of these 
alternative arrangements, the Forest Service and CEQ agreed that the 
actions taken to reforest the damaged areas of the three affected 
national forests would be analyzed and the effects disclosed in an 
Environmental Impact Statement.

2. Preparation of the Texas Blowdown Changed Condition Analysis

    The objectives of the Changed Condition Analysis are twofold: (1) 
to provide the basis for reforestation proposals in the storm damaged 
areas of the NFGT and (2) to analyze the need to adjust land 
allocations to MA-2 on the Angelina and Sabine National Forests to meet 
LRMP objectives for red-cockaded woodpecker habitat. The analysis will 
synthesize a range of information about the affected areas, including 
inventories of existing vegetation and special features such as 
heritage sites, threatened, endangered, and sensitive species; 
potential vegetation as guided by the Ecological Classification System 
(ECS) developed in conjunction with the Kisatchie National Forest and 
the Nature Conservancy; and management direction from the 1996 LRMP.
    The inventory information will be used to define the existing 
conditions within the blowdown-affected areas. The ECS information and 
LRMP direction will provide the basis for the desired future 
conditions. Comparing the existing conditions to the desired future 
conditions will identify the management opportunities to meet the 
objectives of the LRMP.

[[Page 38154]]

    Once opportunities have been determined, management practices, such 
as those for site preparation and reforestation or for changes in MA-2 
allocations, will be identified and developed into a Proposed Action. 
The Changed Condition Analysis is scheduled to be completed on or about 
October 1998.

3. Public Involvement in the analysis Process

    The concerns and expectations of National Forest constituents 
played a significant role in the development of the 1996 LRMP. The 
February windstorm brought sudden and unexpected changes to the 
biological and social components of the NFGT, particularly on the 
Angelina and Sabine National Forests. It is important to involve the 
public as the Forest Service develops the analysis and determines the 
opportunities for management actions. Since the analysis will not be a 
``decision document'' and will not involve the NEPA process, formal 
public involvement through scoping will not be done. The NFGT has been 
regularly informing the public about the progress of the ongoing storm 
recovery actions through regular information updates. The NFGT will 
contact the interested public with information about the analysis and 
offer the opportunity for participation in the analysis process.

4. Issuing the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement

    The NFGT will issue a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) after developing proposed actions 
based on the Changed Condition Analysis. The NOI will include a 
description of preliminary proposed actions, issues, and alternatives. 
The public will be asked to comment on these items as part of the 
scoping process under NEPA. Public comments will be used to further 
refine the proposed action, issues, and alternatives, and the range of 
alternatives to be considered in the EIS.

    Dated: July 9, 1998.
Ronnie Raum,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-18823 Filed 7-14-98; 8:45 am]
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