Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Site-Specific Invasive Plant Treatment Project and Forest Plan Amendment Number 28, 12002-12004 [2012-4628]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12002-12004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4628]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Site-Specific Invasive 
Plant Treatment Project and Forest Plan Amendment Number 28

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: Invasive plants are currently damaging the ecological 
integrity of lands within and outside these administrative units. New 
tools and management techniques became available with the Pacific 
Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program, Preventing and Managing 
Invasive Plants, Final Environmental Impact Statement (USFS 2005a, R6 
2005 FEIS),

[[Page 12003]]

and Record of Decision (USFS 2005b, R6 2005 ROD). The Proposed Action 
would allow for use of these tools, including additional herbicides and 
application methods to increase treatment effectiveness. A Forest Plan 
amendment is proposed to allow the use of aminopyralid 
(Milestone[supreg]).

DATES: Scoping input must be received by April 2, 2012, 30 days from 
the date of publication in the Federal Register. The draft 
environmental impact statement is expected to be published Summer 2012 
and the final environmental impact statement is expected approximately 
January 2013.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Attn: Laura Potash, Mt. Baker-
Snoqualmie National Forest, 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 3A, Everett, 
Washington 98201. Comments may also be sent via email to mbs_invasiveplantNEPA@fs.fed.us (note underscore after mbs) or via 
facsimile to (425) 783-0212. 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. No 
public meetings concerning the project are scheduled at this time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Potash, Project Leader, at (425) 
783-6043.
    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

    There is a need for improved effectiveness in eradicating, 
controlling and containing invasive plants on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie 
National Forest. The current Forest-wide treatment approach pre-dates 
the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program, Preventing and 
Managing Invasive Plants Record of Decision (R6 2005 ROD). The R6 2005 
ROD amended the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie (MBS) Forest Plan by adding 
management direction for invasive plants and authorizing new tools to 
increase treatment efficacy and reduce potential adverse effects of 
treatment.
    The current program needs to be updated so that goals for invasive 
plant management can be met.
    As directed by the Forest Service Manual 2080, the Forests are 
applying the principles of Integrated Weed Management (IWM). IWM is an 
interdisciplinary pest management approach by which one selects and 
applies a combination of management techniques that, together, control 
a particular invasive plant species or infestation efficiently and 
effectively, with minimum adverse impacts to non-target organisms.
    Since the publication of the R6 2005 ROD, a new chemical, 
aminopyralid, has been found to have lower risk to aquatic organisms 
than previously approved herbicides and higher effectiveness on 
particular invasive plants. Thus, a Forest Plan amendment is proposed 
to allow the use of aminopyralid. In addition, since 2005, invasive 
plant sites have been located in wilderness areas.
    The purpose of the project is to control invasive plants in the 
most effective manner possible while minimizing adverse impacts to 
people and the environment.
    In 2005, there were approximately 90 known target species sites, 
and most of the sites were smaller than 0.1 acre. The 2012 inventory 
estimates about 968 individual sites, totaling approximately 5,250 
acres. The current program has not kept up with the treatment need.
    The following site-specific examples demonstrate why additional 
herbicides, methods, and protocols are needed to improve treatment 
effectiveness:
    1. The annual treatment planning process does not provide rapid 
enough response.

    Example: A pit on Road SR 542 was used for a log deck and waste 
rock deposit site. Common comfrey spread into the area; the 5 stems 
discovered in 2008 nearly tripled in density in one year.

    2. Additional herbicides would increase effectiveness for 30 of the 
37 known target species on the Forest.

    Example: Darrington end of Mountain Loop; over 100 gallons 
glyphosate has been applied in the five years from 2006 through 
2010; 23 gallons were applied in 2010, and target species population 
continues to increase.

    3. The ability to broadcast would increase effectiveness in 
continuous invaded areas where plant density is greater than about 70 
percent.
    4. New sites have been detected in wilderness areas. Three sites 
are located in the Wild Sky Wilderness along the un-decommissioned 
segment of the North Fork Skykomish Road 63, which is now part of the 
North Fork Skykomish Trail 1051. Another site is located on 
Scorpion Mountain within the Wild Sky Wilderness. An additional site 
occurs within the Glacier Peak Wilderness boundary, at an old trailhead 
beyond the junction with the Mill Creek Trail. This area was 
historically used to unload stock and a great amount of disturbance 
occurred here.
    The alternatives will be evaluated for their ability to cost-
effectively treat invasive plants.
    The lower the average cost of a treated acre, the more acres that 
can be treated annually, and the more likely treatment goals will be 
met (less infestation over time). All of the alternatives are designed 
to follow R6 2005 ROD standards to minimize or eliminate adverse 
impacts of treatment. The intent is to increase treatment effectiveness 
without any significant risk to people or the environment.

Public Outreach

    On 10/28/2010, the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBSNF) 
mailed government-to-government notices to local Tribes. On 11/1/2010, 
the MBSNF mailed public scoping notices to interested citizens, groups, 
industry, and agencies on the Forest SOPA mailing list. The notices 
summarized the Invasive Plant Management Project and invited comments. 
The January 1, 2011-March 31, 2011 Quarterly Schedule of Proposed 
Actions also included the proposal. The Forest Service received 7 
comment letters and 2 telephone responses to the 11/1/2010 to 12/8/2010 
scoping effort. Comments were received from 3 agencies, 3 organizations 
and 3 individuals. The scoping notice and comment letters are available 
in the Project Record and need not be repeated. Two key issues were 
identified in the scoping letters: concern about herbicide toxicity, 
and concern about cost-effectiveness of treatments. The scoping period 
will extend to April 2, 2012. No public meetings are planned at this 
time.

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action would allow for use of additional herbicides 
and application methods than currently available, to increase treatment 
effectiveness. A Forest Plan amendment is proposed to allow the use of 
aminopyralid (Milestone[supreg]). The Proposed Action also adds 
broadcasts application to the list of approved application methods for 
known sites and the new invader strategy. Broadcasting is required for 
a few dense infestations that cover large areas. Stream buffers and 
mitigation measures would apply to herbicide use, and certain 
herbicides would not be broadcast near streams and other water bodies. 
Treatments are proposed throughout the Forest, including within

[[Page 12004]]

wilderness areas. The Proposed Action would modify the current annual 
planning process for Early Detection, Rapid Response (EDRR) (new 
invader strategy) and require that sites be screened by appropriate 
interdisciplinary specialists, who would use the key questions to 
determine appropriateness of treatment under EDRR, and which Management 
Requirements and Mitigation Measures (MR/MM) applies at each new site. 
The review team would screen the new site(s) and prepare a file 
checklist demonstrating that treatment would be within the scope of the 
NEPA decision. Proposed control measures have been identified for each 
invasive species site (see https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/mbs/landmanagement/projects, Invasive Plant Management). Treatments are 
often a combination of methods, such as herbicide/manual or cultural/
manual. All treatments would be done according to Management 
Requirements and Mitigation Measures (MR/MM), intended to minimize risk 
and maximize effectiveness.

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 Forest Service is also considering an 
alternative where not all treatments would be spot treatments and 
broadcast would be limited to existing treatments at Skyiou Island. The 
No Action alternative will also be considered, which would continue the 
current invasive plant management program on the MBS National Forest.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official is the MBS 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 MR/MM are required and (4) what monitoring and adaptive 
management will occur.

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. 
A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is 
required for herbicide use into waters of the United States or adjacent 
conveyances with a hydrologic surface connection to water at the time 
of application. Project design features and buffers are intended to 
minimize pollution discharge to the extent practicable and this project 
conforms to current permit requirements. A permit will be obtained 
before herbicide is used within 3 feet of waters of the United States 
or flowing ditches that are connected to the waters of the United 
States.

    Dated: February 17, 2012.
Rodney Mace,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012-4628 Filed 2-27-12; 8:45 am]
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