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Plumas National Forest, Feather River Ranger District, CA; Sugarberry Project
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: June 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 119)]
[Notices]
[Page 35607-35608]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jn06-43]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Plumas National Forest, Feather River Ranger District, CA;
Sugarberry Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement to disclose the environmental effects resulting from
construction of fuel breaks known as defensible fuel profile zones
(DFPZs); harvest and reforestation of timber stands; enhancement of
black oak and aspen stands; improvement of aquatic and wildlife
habitat; underburning rare plants occurrences; and road construction,
reconstruction, and decommissioning.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. The draft environmental impact statement is expected by
December 2006, and the final environmental impact statement is expected
by April 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to James M Pe[ntilde]a, Forest
Supervisor, Plumas National Forest, P.O. Box 11500, 159 Lawrence
Street, Quincy, CA 95971-6025. Comments may be (1) mailed to the
Responsible Official; (2) hand-delivered between the hours of 8 a.m.-
4;30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays; (3) faxed to
(530) 283-7746; or (4) electronically mailed to:
comments-pacificsouthwest-plumas@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Joyce, Project Leader, Feather
River District, 875 Mitchell Avenue, Oroville, CA 95965, or call (530)
534-6500.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Sugarberry Project area is located
within the Feather River Danger District of the Plumas National Forest
in Yuba, Sierra and Plumas Counties. Encompassing approximately 45,000
acres, the project area is located south and east of Little Grass
Valley Reservoir, from Gibsonville Ridge in the north to the North Yuba
River in the south. Treatment units range in elevation from 2,400 to
6,500 feet above sea level. Communities in and near the project area
include Clipper Mills, Strawberry Valley, and La Porte.
The Sugarberry Project is proposed as part of a broad resource
management program to promote the ecological health of lands and
economic health and stability of communities in the northern Sierra
Nevada under the authority of the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group
Forest Recovery Act (HFQLG Act).
Purpose and Need for Action
The Forest Service has identified the following project objectives:
(1) Protect rural communities and forest ecosystems from high-intensity
wildfires; (2) promote a healthy all-aged, multistoried, fire-resilient
forest; (3) contribute to the stability and economic health of rural
communities; (4) promote the health of unique plant communities; and
(5) promote healthy aquatic and riparian ecosystems.
Proposed Action
To achieve project objectives, the Forest Service proposes to
construct approximately 2,100 acres of fuelbreaks known as Defensible
Fuel Profile Zones (DFPZ). A DFPZ is a strategically located strip of
land approximately \1/4\ mile in width on which fuels, both living and
dead, have been modified in order to reduce the potential for sustained
crown fire and to allow fire suppression personnel a safer location
from which to take action against a wildfire. The DFPZs in the
Sugarberry Project would be part of a larger, strategic system of DFPZs
on the Plumas National Forest, adjacent private lands, and other
national forests.
Proposed DFPZs are located primarily on ridges with tree crowns
spaced at a distance that reduces the potential for crown fire spread
(generally 40 percent canopy cover). DFPZs would be constructed through
mechanical thinning and biomass removal on approximately 400 acres,
mastication on approximately 300 acres, underburning on approximately
1,400 acres, and hand cutting, piling, and burning on approximately 40
acres.
The Forest Service proposes to harvest approximately 30 million
board feet of timber from group selection units (1,300 acres),
individual tree selection units (300 acres), and DFPZ mechanical
thinning units (400 acres). Group selection involves harvest of trees
less than 30-inches in diameter from small (one-half to two acres)
groups. Over time, this would create an uneven-aged (all-aged) forests
made up of a patchwork of small groups of same-aged trees. Individual
tree selection harvest would combine removal of diseased or otherwise
unhealthy trees with thinning from below to improve forest health and
favor fire resilient tree species. Existing and temporary roads would
be needed to access timber and DFPZ treatment areas. An estimated 27
miles of existing road would be reconstructed with 3 additional miles
of new classified road construction and 12 miles of new temporary spur
construction. Another estimated 5 miles of road, no longer in use or
needed, would be decommissioned or closed by various methods, such as
ripping and seeding, re-contouring, and installing barriers. Projects
that promote the health of unique plant communities include enhancement
of approximately 100 acres of black oak stands and 20 acres of aspen
stands, along with underburning occurrences of the rare clustered
lady's slipper on 5-10 acres and monitoring results.
Aquatic and riparian restoration projects include restoring and
enhancing aquatic, native plant, and riparian habitat by replacing or
upgrading six culverts; restoring meadows; stabilizing stream channels
and banks; and constructing one sediment settling pond.
Responsible Official
James M. Pe[ntilde]a, Forest Supervisor, P.O. Box 11500, 159
Lawrence Street, Quincy, CA 95971-6025 is the Responsible Official.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Responsible Official will decide whether to implement this
proposal, an alternative design that moves the project area towards the
desired condition, or
[[Page 35608]]
not to implement any project at this time.
Scoping Process
Public questions and comments regarding this proposal are an
integral part of this environmental analysis process. Comments will be
used to identify issues and develop alternatives to the proposed
action. To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering
issues and concerns related to the proposed actions, comments should be
as specific as possible.
Information about the proposed action will be mailed to adjacent
landowners, as well as to those people and organizations that have
indicated a specific interest in the project, to Native American
entities, and Federal, state, and local agencies. The public will be
notified of any meetings regarding this proposal by mailings and press
releases sent to local newspaper and media. A meeting in a community in
the project area is planned for July 2006, although specific
information is not available at this time.
Preliminary Issues
The following preliminary issues have been identified for this
proposal: (a) Impacts from ground disturbing activities within
watersheds that may be approaching or over the threshold of concern,
(b) potential impacts on soil productivity and soil hydrologic function
of erodible or easily compacted soils, (c) economic feasibility of the
project due to high treatment and regeneration costs, and (d)
alteration of habitat components utilized by the California spotted
owl, e.g., canopy cover and medium to large trees. Continued analysis
will determine the relevance of preliminary issues. Additional issues
may be identified during the scoping process.
Permits or Licenses Required
No Federal permits, licenses, or entitlements are necessary to
implement the proposed project. State requirements, based on Federal
laws, and administered by the County Agricultural Commissioner for air
quality management will be followed. These requirements include burning
only on permissive burn days or receiving a special variance prior to
ignition. Smoke permits are required from the Northern Sierra and
Feather River Air Quality Management Districts (AQMD) prior to any
understory or pile burning. Timber Harvest Activity Waivers are
required from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping proces which guides the
development of the environmental impact statement. The public is
encouraged to take part in the process and is encouraged to visit with
Forest Service officials at any time during the analysis and prior to
the decision. The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments,
and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other
individuals or organizations that may be interested in, or affected by,
the proposed vegetation management activities.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement will be
prepared for comment. The comment period on the draft environmental
impact statement 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 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 environmental impact statement 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 theser 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 them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages 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 disucssed in the statement. 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.
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)
Dated: June 14, 2006.
Michael Condon,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-5546 Filed 6-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M