Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices 67175

proposed action. It is also an

opportunity for the public to comment

on the project.

Public participation is an important

part of the analysis. The public may

visit Forest Service officials at any time

during the analysis and prior to the

decision. Public scoping has been

ongoing for the Interior Wetlands

project. The Forest Service will be

seeking additional information,

comments, and assistance from Federal,

State, and local agencies, as well as

local Native American tribes and other

individuals or organizations that may be

interested in or affected by the proposed

action. This input will be used in

preparation of the draft and final EIS.

The scoping process will:

Identify potential issues.

Identify issues to be analyzed in depth.

Identify alternatives to the proposed

action.

Explore additional alternatives that will be

derived from issues recognized during

scoping.

Identify potential environmental effects of

this project and alternatives (e.g. direct,

indirect, and cumulative effects and

connected actions).

Estimated Dates for Filing

The DEIS is expected to be filed with

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and to be available for public

review by November 2002. At that time

EPA will publish a Notice of

Availability of the DEIS in the Federal

Register. The comment period on the

DEIS will be 45 days from the date the

EPA publishes the Notice of Availability

in the Federal Register. It is very

important that those interested in the

management of this area participate at

that time.

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed by February 2003. In the

final EIS, the Forest Service is required

to respond to comments and responses

received during the comment period

that pertain to the environmental

consequences discussed in the DEIS and

to applicable laws, regulations, and

policies considered in making a

decision regarding the proposal.

Reviewer’s Obligations

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

environmental impact statements must

structure their participation in the

environmental review of the proposal so

that it is meaningful and alerts the

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

environmental impact statement stage

but that are not raised until after

completion of the final EIS may be

waived or 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 so that substantive

comments and objections are made

available to the Forest Service at a time

when it can meaningfully consider and

respond to them in the final EIS.

To be most helpful, comments on the

DEIS should be as specific as possible

and may address the adequacy of the

statement or the merit of the alternatives

discussed. 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 in addressing these points.

Responsible Official

The District Ranger of the St. Ignace

and Sault Ste. Marie Ranger Districts,

Hiawatha National Forest, 1798 West

US–2, St. Ignace, MI 49781, is the

Responsible Official. As the Responsible

Official, he will decide if the proposed

project will be implemented. He will

document the decision and reasons for

the decision in the Record of Decision.

Authority: National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321–

4346); Council on Environmental Quality

Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500–1508); U.S.

Department of Agriculture NEPA Policies

and Procedures (7 CFR Part 1b).

Dated: November 7, 2001.

Clyde Thompson,

Forest Supervisor, Hiawatha National Forest,

2727 North Lincoln Road, Escanaba, MI

49829.

[FR Doc. 01–31894 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Blue Fire Forest Recovery Project,

Lassen and Modoc Counties, CA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, Modoc

National Forest, Warner Mountain

Ranger District (Forest Service) will

prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to disclose the

environmental consequences of the

proposed Blue Fire Forest Recovery

Project, and alternatives to the proposal.

The decision to be made, is to select this

proposed action or one of the

alternatives to this proposal. The

alternatives to this proposal will include

a no-action alternative.

The Blue Fire Forest Recovery Project

area is located approximately 20 miles

southeast of Alturas CA and 9 miles east

of Likely, CA, within Lassen and Modoc

Counties, CA. The total project area is

approximately 33,500 acres, all of which

are National Forest System lands.

The Forest Service proposes to move

wildland resource conditions within the

Blue Fire (August 2001) towards the

desired conditions described by the

Modoc National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (MLRMP),

as amended by the Sierra Nevada Forest

Plan Amendment Record of Decision—

Jan 2001 (SNROD), and to implement

Standards and Guidelines described by

MLRMP as amended by SNROD. Within

the Blue Fire, but outside the South

Warner Wilderness (SWW), and outside

of Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs),

the Forest Service proposes to take

actions. The areas where actions are

proposed are identified as Old Forest

Emphasis Area and General Forest, in

the SNROD. Actions proposed within

the Old Forest Emphasis Area are

designed to benefit landscape

conditions for old forest structure and

function. Where the Blue Fire has killed

at least 75% of the trees in a timber

stand, the Forest Service is proposing to

provide long-term watershed protection

by reestablishing timber stands with

appropriate mixes of native tree species

and by reducing the threat of

catastrophic wildfire losses in these

plantations. The Forest Service proposes

to remove heavy fuels created by the

Blue Fire through implementation of

salvage timber sales. Salvage timber

sales are the proposed method of fuels

removal because now, and for a short

time into the future, these heavy fuels

have a commercial value that will

support the costs of their removal and

contribute to subsequent reforestation

and environmental restoration work. If

these trees are not harvested, they will

deteriorate over time, fall down and

result in fuel loadings that will not meet

Standards and Guidelines of the

MLRMP or SNROD. In these timber

stands where salvage harvest is

proposed, planting and subsequent

activities crucial to plantation survival

are proposed. Other activities are

proposed to meet the direction of

MLRMP and SNROD.

Following is a brief summary of

activities proposed: (1) No salvage

harvest will occur in the South Warner

67176 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices

Wilderness nor any of the three

Inventoried Roadless Areas; (2) no

salvage harvest will occur in any timber

stands with less than 75% of the trees

killed by the Blue Fire, this includes

one Great Gray Owl Protected Activity

Center (PAC), one complete goshawk

PAC and about 1⁄2 of another goshawk

PAC; (3) where salvage harvest occurs,

no live trees will be cut; consistent with

SNROD, 30 of the largest dead trees per

10 acres will be retained in all treatment

areas; consistent with SNROD, 5 logs

(min. 20′′ dia. and 10 ft.) will be left for

woody debris; protection for Riparian

Conservation Areas (RCAs) will be

consistent with SNROD; all dead trees

8’’ DBH and larger and excess to snag

and down log needs will be removed by

salvage harvest; all dead trees between

6’’ and 8’’ DBH will be removed by

subsequent service contracts; groundbased harvest systems with designated

skid trails will be used on

approximately 9,500 acres and

helicopter harvest will occur on

approximately 600 acres, whole tree

removal (including tops) to landing is

required; (4) salvage of 2 RCAs is

included in the description of activity 3,

except that in RCAs the maximum size

harvest tree is 24’’ DBH and both RCAs

will be helicopter harvested; (5) salvage

of the Bald Eagle Management Area is

included in the description of activity 3,

except that all dead trees within 200 feet

of the shoreline of Blue Lake will

remain uncut; (6) removal and/or

rearrangement of dead trees between 1’’

and 5’’ DBH within harvest stands is

proposed on 292 acres of Urban

Wildland Intermix Zones and 250 acres

of Strategically Placed Area Treatments;

(7) Reforest 10,100 acres of harvest units

and approximately 200 acres of existing

plantations killed by the Blue Fire, by

hand planting appropriate mixes of

species, periodically removing brush

from around planted trees by hand

grubbing, controlling gopher

populations by underground baiting

with strychnine treated pellets as

needed to ensure plantation survival

and installing biodegradable plastic

tubing on tree seedlings to prevent

above ground animal damage as needed

to ensure plantation survival, wider

planting spacing in fuel treatments

described in activity 6 will be

maintained over time; (8) Road activities

include: 5 miles of aggregate

resurfacing; opening and reusing 28

miles of existing temporary roads,

constructing and using 4.4 miles of new

temporary roads; and closure of 32.4

miles of temporary roads by pulling

culverts, outsloping and water-barring,

and in some site-specific cases, seeding,

tilling or re-contouring; application of

magnesium chloride on system roads to

alleviate dusting; and closure of some

system roads temporarily during harvest

for public safety; (9) logs will be placed

in designated portions of East Creek to

create desired pool/riffle ratios; (10) One

road (0.4 miles) immediately adjacent to

Harvey Creek RCA will be

decommissioned; (11) As needed, some

areas of disturbed soils may be seeded

with native grass and shrub species to

minimize invasion by noxious weeds,

and (12) Small Business Administration

(SBA) set-aside is currently estimated at

68% of timber sale volume, with SBA

sales ranging from 5–10 million board

feet (MMBF).

DATES: Comments identifying issues

concerning the effects of the proposal

should be postmarked on or before

January 28, 2002 to receive timely

consideration in the draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to: Douglas Schultz, Team Leader,

USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 220,

Cedarville, CA 96104. Send electronic

comments to: dschultz@fs.fed.us. Please

reference the Blue Fire Forest Recovery

Project on the subject line. Also, include

your name and mailing address with

your comments so documents

pertaining to this project may be mailed

to you. Comments received, including

names and addresses of those who

comment, will become part of the public

record and may be subject to public

disclosure. Any person may request the

Agency to withhold a submission from

the public record by showing how the

Freedom of Information Act permits

such confidentiality.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas Schultz, Team Leader, at 530–

279–6116 or Edith Asrow, District

Ranger, Warner Mountain Ranger

District, at 530–279–6116.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

information presented in this notice is

included to help the reviewer determine

if they are interested in or potentially

affected by the proposed land

management activities. The information

presented in this notice is summarized.

Those who wish to provide comments,

or are otherwise interested in the

project, are encouraged to obtain

additional information from the contact

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Preliminary Issues

Two preliminary issues have been

identified:

1. Fuel Treatment—The Forest

Service will complete an analysis which

will assess the benefits, problems and

risks of fuel treatments. That analysis

will consider: appropriate fuel levels

(tons/ac) to retain on the land; size

classes of fuels to remove to attain that

level; and most appropriate methods of

removing that fuel, including salvage

logging and service contracts.

2. Environmental Restoration—The

Forest Service will complete an analysis

that will assess the benefits, problems

and risks of actions which will restore

or protect desired environmental

conditions, including reforestation and

associated activities, decommissioning

of 0.4 miles of existing road adjacent to

Harvey Creek, depositing woody debris

in East Creek to improve pool/riffle

ratio, and maintaining wider tree

spacing in Urban Intermix and

Strategically Placed fuel treatments.

Public Involvement

Additional information concerning

the proposal can be accessed on the

internet at www.r5.fs.fed.us/modoc/

management/nepa/nepa.html.

Process Procedures and Timelines

On October 26, 2001, the Modoc

National Forest began a Scoping Period

for a proposed Action for the Blue Fire

Forest Recovery Project Environmental

Assessment. A Legal Notice of the

proposed action was published in the

Modoc County Record on October 25,

2001, and a Scoping Summary

description was mailed to

approximately 220 persons or groups.

The Scoping Period for this proposed

action closed November 26, 2001.

Comments were received from 32

commenters.

Since the close of the original scoping

period, the Forest Service decided to

prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement. The original proposed action

was slightly modified, and is described

above. All comments received from the

earlier scoping period will be

considered in the EIS, unless

respondent submits new comments

indicating changes to prior submissions.

The draft EIS is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection

Agency and available for public review

by May 2002. The comment period on

the draft EIS will be 45 days from the

date the Environmental Protection

Agency publishes the notice of

availability in the Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of draft environmental impact

statements must structure their

participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so that it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices 67177

reviewer’s position and contentions

(Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.

v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519 553 [1978]).

Also, environmental objection that

could be raised at the draft

environmental impact statement state

but that are not raised until after

completion of the final environmental

impact statement stage may be waived

or dismissed by the courts (City of

Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2nd 1016, 1022

[9th Cir. 1986] and Wisconsin Heritages,

Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338

[E.D. Wis. 1980]).

Because of the above rulings, it is very

important that those interested in this

proposed action participate by the close

of the 45-day comment period so that

substantive comments are made

available to the Forest Service at a time

when they can be meaningfully

considered and responded to in the final

environmental impact statement.

Comments on the draft environmental

impact statement should be as specific

as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages,

sections, or chapters of the draft

statement. Comments may also address

the adequacy of the draft environmental

impact statement or the merits of the

alternatives formulated and discussed in

the statement. Reviewers may wish to

refer to Council on Environmental

Quality Regulations for implementing

the procedural provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act at 40

CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

After the comment period ends on the

draft EIS, the comments received will be

analyzed and considered by the Forest

Service in preparing the final EIS.

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed in September, 2002. In the

final EIS, the Forest Service is required

to respond to the comments received (40

CFR 1503.4). The responsible official

will consider the comments, responses,

environmental consequences discussed

in the environmental impact statement,

and applicable laws, regulations and

policies in making a decision regarding

this proposal. The responsible official

will document the decision and reasons

for the decision in a Record of Decision.

That decision will be subject to appeal

under 36 CFR part 215.

The responsible official is Dan

Chisholm, Forest Supervisor, Modoc

National Forest, 800 W. 12th St., Alturas

CA, 96101.

Dated: December 19, 2001.

Dan Chisholm,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 01–31910 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Deschutes Provincial Advisory

Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Deschutes Provincial

Advisory Committee (PAC) will meet on

January 16, 2002 at the Crook County

Library, Broughton Room, 200 E. 2nd

Street in Prineville, Oregon. A business

meeting will begin at 9:00 am and finish

at 3:00 pm. Agenda items will include

a discussion on the management

implications of the Eastside Screens,

Litigation Update, ICBEMP update, PAC

Recommendations Regarding The

Northwest Forest Plan Successes/

Failures, Info Sharing and a Public

Forum from 2:30 pm till 3:00 pm. All

Deschutes Province Advisory

Committee Meetings are open to the

public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mollie Chaudet, Province Liaison,

USDA, Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger District,

1230 N.E. 3rd., Bend, OR 97701, Phone

(541) 416–6872.

Leslie A.C. Weldon,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 01–31909 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Forest Counties Payments Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Forest Counties Payments

Committee has scheduled a business

meeting on January 19–20, 2002, to

discuss how it will provide Congress

with the information specified in

Section 320 of the Fiscal Year 2001

Interior and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act. The meeting will be

held from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and

is open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

January 19–20, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Pontchartrain Hotel, 2031 Saint

Charles Avenue, New Orleans,

Louisiana 70140.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Randle G. Phillips, Executive Director,

Forest Counties Payments Committee,

(202) 208–6574; or via e-mail at

rphillips01@fs.fed.us.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

320 of the 2001 Interior and Related

Agencies Appropriations Act (Pub L.

106–291) created the Forest Counties

Payments Committee to make

recommendations to Congress on a longterm solution for making Federal

payments to eligible States and counties

in which Federal lands are situated. The

Committee will consider the impact on

eligible States and counties of revenues

from the historic multiple use of Federal

lands; evaluate the economic,

environmental, and social benefits

which accrue to counties containing

Federal lands; evaluate the expenditures

by counties on activities occurring on

Federal lands which are Federal

responsibilities; and monitor payments

and implementation of Pub. L. 106–393,

The Secure Rural Schools and

Community Self-Determination Act of

2000.

Dated: December 19, 2001.

Elizabeth Estill,

Deputy Chief, Programs and Legislation.

[FR Doc. 01–31873 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Notice of Resource Advisory

Committee Meeting

AGENCY: Ravalli County Resource

Advisory Committee, Hamilton, MT.

Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the authorities in

the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(Public Law 92–463) and under the

Secure Rural Schools and Community

Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public

Law 106–393) the Bitterroot National

Forest’s Ravalli County Resource

Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday,

January 22, 2001 in Hamilton Montana

for a business meeting. The meeting is

open to the public.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

business meeting in January 22 begins at

6:30 p.m., at the Holiday Inn, 138

Bitterroot Plaza Drive, Hamilton,

Montana. Agenda topics will include

FACA overview, Charter overview,

Process of project identification/

recommendation, election of

Chairperson, operating guidelines, and

establishment of future meeting

schedule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeanne Higgins, Stevensville District

Ranger and Designated Federal Officer,

Phone: (406) 777–5461.