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[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 154 (Friday, August 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46236-46238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17994]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California; Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Pilgrim Vegetation Management 
Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Shasta-Trinity National Forest will prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SETS) for the Pilgrim Vegetation 
Management Project to present additional information consistent with 
the court ruling Conservation Congress v. Forest Service, Case No. 07-
0264 (E.D. Cal., May 13, 2008). This action will require modification 
of the current Project Level Management Indicator Assemblage Report for 
the Pilgrim Vegetation Management Project dated February 15, 2007.

DATES: The draft SETS is expected to be issued in September 2008 and 
the final SETS expected in November 2008.

ADDRESSES: Shasta-McCloud Management Unit, 204 W. Alma St., Mt. Shasta, 
California 96067.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deimis Poehlmann, Planning Officer, 
Shasta-McCloud Management Unit, McCloud Ranger Station, P.O. Box 1620, 
McCloud, California 96057, telephone (530) 926-9656 or via e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service is proposing to prepare a 
supplement to the final environmental impact statement for the Pilgrim 
Vegetation Management Project in

[[Page 46237]]

accordance with FSH 1909.15--Chapter 10--Section 18.1 and Section 18.2.
    The Record of Decision (ROD), Pilgrim Vegetation Management Project 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and other relevant 
documentation can be found on the Shasta McCloud Management Unit 
website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/projects/smmu-projects.shtml.
    The original Notice of Intent for this project was published in the 
Federal Register February 14, 2005. The Notice of Availability of the 
Pilgrim Vegetation Management Project Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement was published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2006. In 
June 1, 2007, a ROD was issued. This decision was appealed on August 5, 
2007 and August 6, 2007. The Appeal Deciding Officer upheld the 
decision on September 18, 2007. A motion for summary judgment was filed 
by Conservation Congress and Klamath Forest Alliance in the United 
States District Court for the Eastern District of California on March 
17, 2008.
    In the recent court ruling concerning the ROD for the Pilgrim 
Vegetation Management Project, Conservation Congress v. Forest Service, 
Case No. 07-0264 (E.D. Cal., May 13, 2008), the court ruled the Forest 
Service did not fully comply with its monitoring obligations for 
certain species as outlined in the forest plan, and remanded the matter 
to the agency for further action consistent with the order. This SEIS 
will address and respond to the specific issues identified in the court 
ruling.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The draft SEIS will not change the purpose and need for the Pilgrim 
Vegetation Management Project as described in Chapter 1, pages 1 
through 15, of the FEIS. The draft SEIS will provide additional 
analysis and supplemental information specific to the issues identifed 
in the court ruling, Conservation Congress v. Forest Service, Case No. 
07-0264 (E.D. Cal., May 13, 2008), and document the analysis and 
changes made within the Project Level Management Indicator Assemblage 
Report (Appendix L) and within the FEIS as necessary.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action and alternatives will remain the same as 
described in Chapter 2, pages 17 through 33, of the FEIS. In summary, 
the FEIS considers four alternatives in detail. Alternative 4 is the no 
action alternative. Alternative 1, the Preferred Alternative, would 
restore forest health and ecosystem functions by commercial thinning 
and sanitation harvest on approximately 3100 acres of overstocked 
coniferous stands, sanitation and salvage harvest on approximately 10 
acres of knobcone pine, and regeneration of approximately 415 acres of 
diseased and insect infested stands--15% green tree retention will not 
be met on approximately 255 of these acres because there are not enough 
disease-free trees to meet this standard. All regeneration units will 
be replanted with healthy conifer seedlings. Alternative 1 would also 
release approximately 20 acres of aspen by removing competing conifers, 
restore approximately 275 acres of dry meadows by removal of 
encroaching conifer trees, underburn approximately 200 acres of natural 
and activity fuels, mechanically pile and burn approximately 700 acres 
of activity fuels, close approximately 10 miles of roads to reduce 
maintenance costs, decommission approximately 2 miles of roads not 
needed for future management, reconstruct one road-stream crossing, and 
construct approximately 0.3 miles of new road needed for present and 
future management. Alternative 2 is the same as Alternative 1 except 
that on approximately 535 acres of proposed thinning/sanitation, canopy 
closure would be maintained at 60% on average. Alternative 3 is the 
same as Alternative 1 except that on approximately 415 acres of 
regeneration harvest, 15% of the area would be retained in trees that 
are generally the largest and/or oldest trees in the stands even though 
they are diseased.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    Lead Agency: USDA, Forest Service.

Responsible Official

    J. Sharon Heywood, Forest Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity National 
Forest, 3644 Avtech Parkway, Redding, CA 96002.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Responsible Official will review the supplemental information 
and determine if any modifications should be made to the June 1, 2007 
ROD.

Scoping Process

    Scoping is not required for supplements to environmental impact 
statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c)4).

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft SETS will be prepared for comment. A legal notice will be 
published in the newspaper of record and a Notice of Availability will 
be published in the Federal Register to inform the public that 
supplemental information is available for review and comment. The draft 
SETS will be distributed to all parties that received the 2007 FETS and 
ROD and to those parties that filed an appeal of the 2007 decision. The 
comment period on the draft SEIS will be 45 days from the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in 
the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice of several court rulings related to public participation in the 
environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft SETS must 
structure their participation in the environmental review of the 
proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the 
reviewer's position and contentions. (Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978)). Also, environmental 
objections that could be raised at the draft SETS stage but are not 
raised until after completion of the final SETS may be dismissed by the 
courts (City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) 
and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. 
Wis. 1980)). Because of these court rulings, it is very important that 
those interested in this proposed action participate by the close of 
the 45 day comment period. Timely submittal of comments and objections 
to the Forest Service ensures they can be meaningfully considered and 
responded to in the final SETS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft SETS should 
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to 
specific pages or chapters of the draft supplement. Comments may also 
address the adequacy of the draft SEIS or the merits of the 
alternatives fonnulated and discussed in the statement. In addressing 
these points, reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural 
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3.
    Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

[[Page 46238]]

    Dated: July 29, 2008.
J. Sharon Heywood,
Forest Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
[FR Doc. E8-17994 Filed 8-7-08; 8:45 am]
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