Tripod Fire Salvage Project, Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, Okanogan County, WA, 78135-78136 [06-9905]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78135-78136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9905]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Tripod Fire Salvage Project, Okanogan and Wenatchee National 
Forests, Okanogan County, WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the USDA Forest Service will 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposal to 
recover the economic value through salvage harvest of dead and dying 
trees damaged in the Tripod Complex Fire, to remove potential hazard 
trees from open roads, and to reforest salvage harvest units within 
specified drainages of the Methow Valley and Tonasket Ranger Districts, 
Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests. Details of the proposal are 
further described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. 
Approximately 2,800 acres would be treated in the proposed project 
area.
    The analysis area encompasses a portion of the burned area in the 
Middle Fork Beaver Creek, Lightning Creek, Chewuch River, Ramsey Creek, 
Boulder Creek, North Fork Boulder Cree, Bromas Creek, Brevucinus Creek, 
Twentymile Creek, Pelican Creek, McCay Creek, Granite Creek, Cedar 
Creek, and Cabin Creek drainages, along Road 37 and Road 39 within the 
fire boundary, and includes parts of the following townships: T34N, 
R23E; T34N, R24E; T35N, R22E; T35N, R23E; T35N, R24E; T36N, R22E; T36N, 
R23E; T36N, R24E; T37N, R22E; T37N, R23E; T38N, R23E; and T39N, R23E; 
Williamette Meridian. The Tripod Complex Fire, located five miles 
northeast of Winthrop, Washington, burned approximately 175,000 acres 
across mixed ownership in July to September 2006. Approximately 164,000 
acres were on National Forest System lands administered by the Methow 
Valley Ranger District and the Tonasket Ranger District, Okanogan and 
Wenatchee National Forests.
    The purpose of the EIS will be to evaluate a range of reasonable 
alternatives for this proposal and take public comment on the analysis. 
The direction in the amended Okanogan National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan (Forest Plan) provides the overall guidance for 
management of National Forest System lands included in this proposal.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by January 29, 2007. The draft DEIS is expected to be available to the 
public for review by March 2007. The final EIS is scheduled to be 
completed by June 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to John Newcom, Methow Valley 
District Ranger, 24 West Chewuch Road, Winthrop, Washington 98862, 
Attn: Tripod Fire Salvage Project. Comments may be mailed 
electronically to comments-pacificnorthwest-okanogan-
methowvalley@fs.fed.us. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below 
for the format and other information about electronic filing of 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Stoehr, Tripod Fire Salvage 
Project Leader, USDA Forest Service, Methow Valley Ranger District, 24 
West Chewuch Road, Winthrop, Washington 98862; phone 509-996-4003.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose and need of the Tripod Fire Salvage Project includes: 
(1) Recovery of the economic value of a portion of dead and dying trees 
in the project areas; (2) Improving public safety within the fire area 
by removing potential hazard trees along open forest roads; and (3) Re-
establishing trees in salvage harvest units where there are few or no 
green trees that can act as a seed source.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Supervisor for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National 
Forests proposes to salvage dead and dying trees from approximately 
2,800 acres within a portion of the area burned by the Tripod Complex 
Fire. Salvage harvest methods would include ground based and skyline 
yarding systems. Ground-based yarding systems would not be used on 
sustained slopes greater than 35 percent. To facilitate haul, 6.5 miles 
of existing classified roads would be reconstructed and about 3.5 miles 
of temporary roads would be constructed. No new classified road 
construction is proposed and all temporary roads would be closed or 
decommissioned after project activities are completed. No commercial 
harvest or road construction is proposed within the Granite Mountain, 
Long Swamp, and Tiffany Inventoried Roadless Areas. Roadside hazard 
trees and trees expected to become a hazard in the future within the 
project area along open roads and along any closed roads to be opened 
for implementation for this project, would be felled and removed to 
provide safe and adequate road access. Tree planting is proposed in 
salvage harvest units where there is insufficient seed source to ensure 
natural regeneration in a timely manner. The proposed action would 
require amendments of the Forest Plan to: (1) Allow harvest of green 
trees larger than 21' diameter breast height that are expected to die 
from fire effects, (2) Allow snowplowing and motorized use of 
designated, groomed snowmobile routes to facilitate salvage operations, 
(3) Allow motorized access in Management Area 26, which is deer winter 
range, during the winter season to facilitate salvage operations, and 
(4) Exceed open road density standards in discrete management areas as 
a result of salvage operations.

Possible Alternatives

    A full range of alternatives will be considered, including the 
proposed action, no action, and additional alternatives that respond to 
issues generated during the scoping process.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official is James L. Boynton, Forest Supervisor, 
Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee, 
Washington 98801. The Responsible Official will document the Tripod 
Fire Salvage Project decision and reasons for the decision in a Record 
of Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service appeal 
regulations (36 CFR Part 215).

Nature of the Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National 
Forests will decide whether or not to salvage timber, remove potential 
hazard trees, and reforest salvage harvest units, and if so, the 
locations and extent of treatments. The decision will include whether 
or not to reconstruct classified roads and construct new temporary 
roads for access within the project area, and if so, how much. The 
Forest Supervisor will also decide how to

[[Page 78136]]

mitigate effects of these actions and will determine when and how 
monitoring of effects will take place. In making his decision, the 
Forest Supervisor will consider how well each alternative meets the 
purpose and need, the manner in which each alternative responds to key 
issues raised and public comments received during the analysis, and the 
impacts of proposed project activities to National Forest System land 
and resources.

Scoping Process

    Public participation will be sought at several points during the 
analysis, including listing of this project in the Winter 2006 and 
subsequent issues of the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests 
Schedule of Proposed Action; letters to Indian Tribes, agencies, 
organizations and individuals who may be intersted in or affected by 
the proposed activities; and a legal notice in The Wenatchee World 
newspaper. A public meeting will be scheduled in January 2007 to 
describe the proposed action and identify public issues. Other meetings 
will be scheduled as needed. The scoping process will also include 
identifying major issues to be analyzed in depth, exploring 
alternatives to the proposed actions, and identifying potential 
environmental effects of the proposed action and alternatives (i.e., 
direct, indirect and cumulative effects).

Preliminary Issues

    Preliminary issues identified include the potential effect of the 
proposed action on soils, water quality and fish habitat, snags and 
down wood, and threatened, endangered and sensitive terrestrial and 
plant species; disturbance to cultural resources; potential for noxious 
week expansion; potential loss of economic value of trees damaged by 
the wildfire; and the safety and use of the area by the public.

Comment Opportunity

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
development of the EIS. The Forest Supervisor is seeking public and 
agency comment on the proposed action to determine if any additional 
issues arise. Additional issues may lead either to other alternatives, 
or additional mitigation measures and monitoring requirements. Comments 
and data may be submitted electronically by sending electronic mail (e-
mail) to: comments-pacificnorthwest-okanogan-methowvalley@fs.fed.us. 
Include the project name in the e-mail subject line and submit comments 
either as part of the e-mail message or an attachment in one of the 
following three formats: Microsoft Word, rich text format (rtf) or 
Adobe Portable Document Format (pdf).

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft EIS will be prepared for comment. The comment period on the 
draft EIS will be 30 days fromt he date the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register. 
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review in March 2007 and 
the final EIS is expected to be completed by June 2007.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulilngs 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 EIS 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. 
Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.E. 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 meaningful consider them and 
respond to them in the final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS 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 EIS or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed 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 in response to this notice, including names and 
addresses of those who comment, will be consdiered part of the public 
record on this Proposed Action adn will be available for public 
inspection.

    Dated: December 21, 2006.
Anita Spargur,
Human Resources Officer and Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-9905 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
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