Plumas National Forest, Feather River Ranger District, CA; Sugarberry Project, 35607-35608 [06-5546]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35607-35608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5546]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 21, 2006 / 
Notices

[[Page 35607]]



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]
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