Malheur National Forest; Oregon; Malheur National Forest Site-Specific Invasive Plants Treatment Project, 18713-18715 [2011-7727]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18713-18715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7727]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Malheur National Forest; Oregon; Malheur National Forest Site-
Specific Invasive Plants Treatment Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: On March 31, 2006 the Malheur National Forest published a 
Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for a similar project (Federal Register Vol. 72, No. 62, page 
16281-1628). There has been a delay in filing the 2006 draft EIS and 
the invasive plant inventory and proposed action have been updated 
since then resulting in this correction. The following information is 
the updated Proposed Action. The Forest Service proposes to eradicate, 
control, or contain invasive plants within the Malheur National Forest. 
The Proposed Action is to treat invasive plants using integrated 
methods including chemical (herbicides and adjuvants), physical 
treatments (mechanical and manual treatment), and biological controls. 
These treatments will be used on existing infestations (approximately 
2,287 acres) or new infestations, including new plant species that 
currently are not found on the Forest. Treatment could be anywhere on 
Forest Service system lands including rangelands, wilderness, timber 
harvest areas, along roads and road rights-of-way (including 
decommissioned roads), along trail routes, at dispersed and developed 
recreation sites, and on other disturbed sites (i.e. fires, flood 
events, and rock sources) where invasive plants are located. Mulching, 
seeding and planting of competitive, desirable vegetation may occur to 
restore treated sites.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by May 5, 2011. The draft environmental impact statement is expected 
March 2012 and the final environmental impact statement is expected 
March 2013.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Teresa Raaf, Forest Supervisor, 
Malheur National Forest, P.O. Box 909, John Day, OR 97845. Comments may 
also be sent via facsimile to 541-575-3002. Electronic comments in 
acceptable plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf), or Word (.doc) may be 
submitted to: comments-pacificnorthwest-malheur@fs.fed.us. Please put 
``Malheur NF Invasive Plants Treatment Project'' occurs in the subject 
line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carole Holly, Project Leader, Phone 
541-575-3026 or e-mail: cholly@fs.fed.us.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action (Updated)

    Invasive plants displace or alter native plant communities and 
cause

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long-lasting economic and ecological problems within and outside the 
National Forest. They can increase fire hazards, degrade fish and 
wildlife habitat, out-compete native plants, impair water quality and 
watershed health, and adversely affect a wide variety of other resource 
values such as scenic beauty and recreational opportunities. Invasive 
plants can spread rapidly across the landscape to all land ownerships. 
Field inventories have identified about 30 different invasive plant 
species within the boundaries of the Forest. Species of greatest 
concern include Canada thistle, houndstongue, diffuse knapweed, 
Dalmatian toadflax, whitetop, and sulfur cinquefoil, among others. Our 
ability to prevent or minimize the adverse impacts of these and other 
invasive plants is greatest if populations can be treated while they 
are small and in the early stages of invasion. Additional benefits of 
early stage treatments include reduced treatment costs, less chemical 
use, and less ground and habitat disturbance. The purpose of treating 
invasive plant infestations is to maintain or improve the diversity, 
function, and sustainability of desired native plant communities and 
other natural resources that can be adversely impacted by invasive 
plant species. Without action, invasive plant populations will become 
increasingly difficult and costly to control and will further degrade 
forest and grassland ecosystems. Invasive plants will continue to 
expand and spread every year without effective treatment (the R6 2005 
FEIS estimated a rate of 8-12 percent per year; this rate may be 
reduced due to adherence to prevention standards in the R6 2005 ROD).
    The Malheur National Forest has been treating invasive plants 
without the authorization to rapidly respond to new infestations or the 
use of herbicides (an exception is that herbicides have been used in 
spot treatments totaling 10-20 acres/year along roads on the former 
Snow Mountain Ranger District--Ochoco National Forest). However, many 
invasive target species require herbicides for effective treatment. 
Monitoring has shown physical treatments alone cannot control invasive 
species. A previous attempt to authorize the use herbicides was made, 
but the project was litigated and enjoined. In December 2002, the U.S. 
District Court (Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project v. US Forest 
Service, CV 01-703-HA) concluded that the Malheur National Forest 
Environmental Assessment for invasive plant control was insufficient 
because it failed to address new information regarding herbicides and 
the causes of the spread of invasive plants.
    The Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program Preventing and 
Managing Invasive Plants FEIS (referred to as the R6 2005 FEIS) (USDA 
Forest Service, 2005a) and Record of Decision for Invasive Plant 
Program Management (referred to as the R6 2005 ROD) (USDA Forest 
Service 2005b). Vectors and causes of invasive plant spread were 
explored in detail and new standards for prevention, site treatment and 
restoration, and an updated list of herbicides for effectively 
responding to invasive plant threats were added.
    The prevention standards have been applied to land use decisions 
made since the R6 2005 ROD was adopted. However, the treatment and 
restoration part of the Malheur invasive plant control program is not 
consistent with the 2005 standards and needs to be updated. New and 
existing invasive plant populations on the Malheur National Forest 
require more timely, effective and cost-efficient treatment actions to 
comply with the intent of the R6 2005 ROD (which was incorporated into 
the Malheur Forest Plan).
    In addition, after the R6 2005 ROD signed, a new herbicide 
(aminopyralid) became available. Aminopyralid (also known as Milestone 
TM) is specifically labeled for treatment of invasive plants in 
forested settings. This herbicide is effective on hard to control 
invasive plant species such as hawkweed, knapweed, and Canada thistle. 
It is preferred by invasive plant specialists at the state and county 
level.

Previous Public Outreach

    The MNF scoped on this project previously (a (NOI) to prepare an 
EIS requesting public input was published in the Federal Register 
Volume 71, No. 62/March 31, 2006 on pages 16281-16282). Regional and 
local workload prevented us from being able to complete an EIS during 
the intervening years. The new Proposed Action is based on an updated 
inventory of invasive plants that was recently completed (February 
2011).

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action is to treat invasive plants using integrated 
methods including chemical (herbicides and adjuvants), physical 
treatments (mechanical and manual treatment), and biological controls. 
Treatment could be anywhere on Forest Service system lands including 
rangelands, wilderness, timber harvest areas, along roads and road 
rights-of-way (including decommissioned roads), along trail routes, at 
dispersed and developed recreation sites, and on other disturbed sites 
(i.e. fires, flood events, and rock sources) where invasive plants are 
located. Mulching, seeding and planting of competitive, desirable 
vegetation may occur to restore treated sites. A map of invasive plant 
locations can be found on the Malheur National Forest Web site at 
https://www.fs.fed.us/r6/malheur/land&resourcesmanagement/projects/. 
Based on surveys, inventories and anecdotal reports accumulated over 
the last several years, target invasive species occupy approximately 
2,287 acres on the Forest. The infestations are broadly distributed, 
often occurring in areas of high spread potential (e.g., along roads). 
There are likely additional invasive plant sites that have not yet been 
identified.
    The Proposed Action would treat existing infestations according to 
Forest Plan standards. Specific project design features would be 
implemented to minimize unintended, adverse effects to non-target 
plants, animals, water, and people. New invasive plants detected on the 
Forest (beyond the current inventory) would also be treated using an 
``Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR)'' process.
    Ground based herbicide application methods would be used based on 
accessibility, topography, and the size of treatment areas. No aerial 
treatment is proposed. Spot and selective spraying where individual and 
groups of plants are targeted would be the primary method of 
application; however some herbicide broadcasting may occur from ATV or 
trucks. Broadcast treatments would occur when necessary based on the 
size, density or distribution of target species. ATVs may be used to 
facilitate broadcast in otherwise inaccessible areas. Ongoing 
monitoring of each site would dictate the treatment method, whether 
herbicides are needed, and the type of continued or follow-up 
treatments needed. Acreage treated would average up to 2,300 acres per 
year, with a total of 23,000 acres treated over the life of the project 
(about 10 years). Herbicide treatments would be done in accordance with 
label advisories, USDA Forest Service policies, and Forest Plan 
management direction. Specific design features would be applied to 
minimize or eliminate the potential for invasive plant treatments to 
adversely affect non-target plants, animals, human health, water 
quality, and aquatic organisms.
    The R6 2005 ROD (now part of the Malheur Forest Plan) authorized 
the use of ten herbicide active ingredients. Each of the ten herbicides 
is known to be effective on the target species found on

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the Forest. A given herbicide may be effective on many target species 
but each site would usually be treated with only one of the ten 
approved herbicides (some tank mixes may be used); however, a different 
herbicide might be used in a follow-up treatment. The more herbicides 
choices in the toolbox, the better the effect expected over time (R6 
2005 FEIS page 4-18, 4-26).
    A site-specific, non-significant amendment to the Malheur Forest 
Plan is also proposed to add an 11th herbicide, aminopyralid, to the 
list of authorized herbicides for use on the Forest to treat invasive 
plants. Aminopyralid was not labeled for wildland use in 2005; however, 
the R6 2005 ROD Standard 16 acknowledges that new herbicides may be 
added given proper analysis. Aminopyralid has undergone extensive risk 
assessment since 2005. It is proposed for use because it would increase 
the effectiveness of treatment for some broadleaf target species, and 
reduce potential adverse impacts, compared to herbicides authorized in 
the R6 2005 ROD. Aminopyralid is likely to be effective on a large 
proportion of the current target species acreage.

Possible Alternatives

    The Forest Service is considering an alternative of treating 
without the use of aminopyralid and only using the 10 herbicides 
approved in the R6 2005 ROD. The No Action alternative will also be 
considered, which would continue the current non-herbicide program on 
the Malheur National Forest.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official is the Malheur National Forest Supervisor.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor will make the following decisions based on 
the interdisciplinary analysis: (1) Whether or not to authorize site-
specific invasive plant treatments using herbicides and other methods; 
(2) whether or not to implement an Early Detection and Rapid Response 
process for infestations that are detected over the next 5 to 15 years; 
(3) what mitigation measures (design features) are required and (4) 
what monitoring and adaptive management will occur.

Preliminary Issues

    The following issues were identified in scoping that occurred in 
2006:
    Human Health: The health of forestry workers and the public may be 
at risk from exposure to herbicides. Chemical spray drift or contact by 
walking through recently sprayed areas may increase the risk, 
particularly to people who have heightened sensitivity to chemicals. In 
addition, health consequences could result from well water and other 
drinking water contaminated by herbicides.
    Treatment Effectiveness: Existing invasive species populations may 
continue to expand and new populations could become established without 
using all methods aggressively.
    Wildlife: Herbicides, particularly when applied through broadcast 
spraying, may harm terrestrial wildlife species.
    Non-target Plants: Herbicides, particularly when applied through 
broadcast spraying, may harm non-target plants.
    Soil Biology: Herbicide use may harm soil organisms or soil 
biology.
    Fish and Water: Herbicide treatments on riparian areas have the 
potential to adversely affect water quality and aquatic ecosystems.

Permits or Licenses Required

    Pesticide application licenses will be required for those 
implementing this project. Pesticide Use Proposals for wilderness 
herbicide applications need to be signed by the Regional Forester; 
otherwise Pesticide Use Proposals are signed by the Forest Supervisor. 
This project may involve riparian herbicide application subject to a 
Department of Environmental Quality water quality permit.

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates a new scoping process to guide the 
development of the environmental impact statement. Scoping comments 
from 2006 are part of the record and will be used to generate issues 
and alternatives for detailed study in the EIS. Scoping comments sent 
previously need not be re-sent; new comments are also welcome. No 
public meetings are planned.
    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of 
the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be 
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly 
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record 
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be 
accepted and considered; however, those who only submit anonymous 
comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 
36 CFR 215.

    Dated: March 28, 2011.
Teresa Raaf,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2011-7727 Filed 4-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P