Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests; ID; Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Project, 9029-9031 [2013-02750]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 / Notices
pseudorabies and to present a
significant risk of introducing the
diseases into commercial swine
populations. Does the plan accurately
present the risk that feral swine pose of
transmitting these diseases? Are there
other significant potential sources of
introduction that APHIS should
consider?
• Responsibility. The plan outlines an
approach in which States and Tribes
would play a significant role in
identifying and monitoring possible
sources of introduction of pseudorabies
or swine brucellosis into the
commercial swine herd in their State or
Tribe, with the ultimate goals of quickly
identifying and responding to outbreaks
and thereby preventing the spread of
swine brucellosis or pseudorabies
through the interstate movement of
commercial swine. What role should a
State or Tribe have for ensuring that
swine moved from the State or Tribe do
not spread these diseases? What role lies
with APHIS, or with the commercial
swine industry?
• Swine Health Plan. Would the
Swine Health Plan concept described in
the action plan be sufficient to prevent
the spread of swine brucellosis and
pseudorabies through the interstate
movement of diseased swine? If the plan
concept would be sufficient, do States
and Tribes currently have sufficient
personnel and resources to draft and
implement such a plan? How long is it
likely to take a State or Tribe to draft
such a plan and arrange resources as
specified in their plan?
• Program consolidation. The action
plan considers consolidating the swine
brucellosis and pseudorabies programs,
and the regulations pertaining to these
programs, into one domestic swine
health program. Does such a
consolidation make sense? If not, how
would the two regulatory programs need
to differ?
• Indemnity. The plan considers
consolidating the existing regulations
governing indemnity paid for swine
destroyed because they are known to be
infected with swine brucellosis with
those governing indemnity paid for
swine destroyed because they are
known to be infected with pseudorabies,
as well as streamlining certain
provisions of the regulations. Does such
a consolidation make sense?
We will consider all comments that
we receive as we continue to explore
potential new approaches to managing
swine brucellosis and pseudorabies.
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Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of
February 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–02772 Filed 2–6–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests;
ID; Clear Creek Integrated Restoration
Project
AGENCY:
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
ACTION:
This is a corrected notice.
This notice updates information about
proposed actions in the Clear Creek
Integrated Restoration Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
The DEIS will include two site-specific,
nonsignificant amendments of the Nez
Perce Forest Plan (1987). The proposed
amendments would clarify the Forest’s
interpretation of old growth standards
found in the Nez Perce Forest Plan, and
would adopt the Regional soils standard
for the Clear Creek Integrated
Restoration project area. The original
notice was published in the Federal
Register on January 6, 2012, pages 775
and 776. The Forest Service gives notice
of its intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for the
Clear Creek Integrated Restoration
Project. The Proposed action would use
a combination of timber harvest, precommercial thinning, prescribed fire
and reforestation to achieve the desired
range of age classes, size classes,
vegetative species distributions, habitat
complexity (diversity) and landscape
patterns across the forested portions of
the project area. Road decommissioning,
culvert replacements and road
improvements are also proposed to
improve watershed health. The EIS will
analyze the effects of the proposed
action and alternatives. The Nez PerceClearwater Forest invites comments and
suggestions on the issues to be
addressed. The agency gives notice of
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) analysis and decision making
process on the proposal so interested
and affected members of the public may
participate and contribute to the final
decision.
SUMMARY:
The Draft Environmental Impact
Statement is expected in March 2013,
and will be followed by a 45-day public
comment period. The Final
DATES:
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9029
Environmental Impact Statement is
expected in November 2013.
ADDRESSES: Send written or electronic
comments to Lois Hill, Interdisciplinary
Team Leader; Kamiah Ranger Station;
903 3rd Street; Kamiah, ID 83536; FAX
208–935–4257; Email commentsnorthern-nezperce-moosecreek@fs.fed.us. Include your name,
address, organization represented (if
any), and the name of the project for
which you are submitting comments.
Electronic comments will be accepted in
MS Word, Word Perfect, or Rich Text
formats. 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, anonymous
comments will not provide the Agency
with the ability to provide the
respondent with subsequent
environmental documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lois
Hill, Interdisciplinary Team Leader,
(208) 935–4258.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
objective of the Clear Creek Integrated
Restoration Project is to manage forest
vegetation to restore natural disturbance
patterns; improve long term resistance
and resilience at the landscape level;
reduce fuels; improve watershed
conditions; improve elk habitat
effectiveness; improve habitat for early
seral species; and maintain habitat
structure, function, and diversity.
Timber outputs from the proposed
action would be used to offset treatment
costs and support the economic
structure of local communities and
provide for regional and national needs.
Purpose and Need for the Proposal
Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat
Improvement
Purpose: Trend vegetation species
composition, structure, and
distributions toward desired conditions
described in the Forest Plan.
Need: There is a need to change tree
species composition by retaining and
planting early seral species, such as
ponderosa pine, western larch and
western white pine. The project area has
a high proportion of grand fir/Douglas
fir habitat. These habitats tend to be
more susceptible to insects and
diseases. Grand fir is unlikely to survive
a wildfire. There is a need to trend the
area toward a more diverse and resilient
forest structure by creating a range of
age classes, size classes, habitat
complexity (diversity) and disturbance
patterns that more closely emulate
natural mixed severity disturbance.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 / Notices
Increasing early seral species in
managed areas would help trend the
area toward, or maintain, desired habitat
conditions and would make these
habitats more resistant and resilient to
change agents such as insects, diseases,
and fire.
There is a need to increase diversity
within previously harvested areas to
begin restoring long-term habitat quality
for sensitive and old growth associated
species. Historic logging practices and
fire suppression have created a
landscape that is more highly
fragmented than would be expected to
result from natural disturbances. Ladder
fuels have increased and there has been
a shift to shade tolerant species. Habitat
structure and patch sizes of young
forests are simplified and smaller than
would be expected to result from
natural disturbances. Edges of patches
are straight and even.
There is a need to increase young
forest habitats on this landscape. Age
classes are dominated by middle-aged
and mature forest habitats. Forest
management would increase high
quality early seral wildlife habitats by
retaining large trees and promoting
establishment of tall shrubs and
hardwood tree species by using variable
retention regeneration harvest. In the
short term, this would benefit wildlife
species that use early seral habitats,
such as neotropical migratory birds,
resident birds, small mammals, and big
game species. In the long term, large tree
retention would help maintain habitat
structure and complexity needed by old
growth associated species.
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Goods and Services
Purpose: To utilize timber outputs
produced through restoration activities
to support the economic structure of
local communities and provide for
regional and national needs (Forest Plan
page II–1).
Need: There is a need to provide a
sustained yield of resource outputs, as
directed by the Forest Plan. Much of the
area consists of grand fir dominated
stands that have insect and disease
infestations that are contributing to
increased tree mortality, or are at risk
from stand replacing events. Stands
proposed for treatment are currently
losing volume and value due to insects
and diseases. Harvest of the timber
would provide materials to local
industries.
Fire Regime/Natural Disturbance
Restoration and Fuel Reduction
Purpose: Reduce ladder fuels created
by shade-tolerant species and create
more natural patch sizes by emulating
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Jkt 229001
mixed severity fire (Forest Plan page II–
2).
Need: There is a need to increase
patch sizes to shift age and size class
distributions to increase high quality
early seral wildlife habitats. Effective
fire suppression in this area began in the
1930’s. As a result, there has been a
vegetative shift to less fire resistant
species, and an increase in ladder fuels
that can contribute to the risk of high
intensity and potentially resource
damaging wildfire. Some portions of the
project area have been identified as
being up to five times outside of their
normal fire return intervals. Past harvest
patterns do not emulate natural
disturbance patterns nor do they
emulate natural habitat structure.
Landscape burning and timber harvest
that mimics natural fire would help
increase forest resilience, help reduce
risk of wildfires, and help create high
quality habitats that would benefit
neotropical migratory birds, resident
birds, small mammals, and big game
species. Fire dependent wildlife species
would benefit from landscape burning.
Watershed Improvement
Purpose: Reduce potential sediment
inputs into the aquatic ecosystem from
roads.
Need: There is a need to drain
roadside ditchline water away from
streams by installing cross drain pipes
near live stream crossings. The cross
drain pipes collect ditchline water and
direct it onto the forest floor. There is
also a need to replace existing
undersized, damaged, or rusting
culverts on streams to minimize failure
potential.
There are 283 miles of road within the
project area, 200 of which are needed
for current and future management. The
remaining 83 miles of road have been
cleared for decommissioning under the
South Fork-West Fork Clear Creek Road
Decommissioning Environmental
Assessment (2011). The roads needed
for management can contribute
sediment to streams through road
surface erosion and potential culvert
failures. Surface erosion occurs during
spring snowmelt and rain events. Dirt
coming off roads is diverted into
ditchlines which are often directed into
streams. Preliminary surveys show most
roads in the area are drained by ditches.
Culvert failures can result from
undersized, damaged or rusting culverts
which can plug with debris and then
fail as water saturates the surrounding
fill. Failures can contribute large pulses
of sediment into streams. Surveys
indicate at least 60 miles of road with
culverts that are in need of replacement
or cleaning. There is a minimum of 40
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high or moderate priority culverts in
need of replacement, and 12 in need of
cleaning. There are an additional 40 low
priority culverts in need of replacement
and 15 in need of cleaning. The
surveyed roads pose the highest risk to
streams in the project area.
The desired condition for roads is to
have ditchlines that drain road surface
water away from streams and onto forest
the forest floor. All culverts at stream
crossings are appropriately sized to
allow for the passage of material within
minimal risk of plugging.
The Proposed Action would:
Improve Forest Health, Provide Goods
and Services, Reduce Fuels and
Improve Wildlife Habitat
• Conduct ‘‘variable retention’’
regeneration harvest and post harvest
burning activities on up to 2,500 acres
to create early sucessional plant
communities and improve wildlife
habitat while re-establishing long-lived
early seral tree species. Variable
retention harvest would include areas of
full retention (clumps), irregular edges,
and retention of snags and legacy trees
to provide structure and a future source
of woody debris. Openings will likely
exceed 40 acres.
• Commercially thin approximately
7,810 acres to reduce stand densities
improve forest health and reduce the
chance of crown fire.
• Apply improvement harvest to
approximately 311 acres (thin from
below) to remove encroachment and
ladder fuels from ponderosa pine
dominated stands.
• Construct a minimum temporary
road system to carry out the proposed
action. Roads would be
decommissioned after use.
• Pre-commercially thin
approximately 1,865 acres to reduce
stand densities improve forest health
and reduce fuels.
• Restore approximately 42 acres of
bunchgrass communities through
prescribed burning and revegetation
with native grasses to improve wildlife
winter range through reestablishment of
native grasses and forbs.
• Apply approximately 1,400 acres of
low and mixed severity prescribed fire
within the Clear Creek Roadless area to
restore natural fire regimes, reduce
fuels, improve wildlife habitat and
create mosaic forest conditions.
Proposed activities are consistent with
Idaho Roadless Rule. There is no timber
cutting planned within the Clear Creek
Roadless area.
• Site-specifically amend the Nez
Perce Forest Plan (1987) to clarify the
Forest’s interpretation of old growth
features described in the Forest Plan.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 / Notices
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The amendment would replace the
definitions for old growth found in
Appendix N of the Forest Plan with the
definitions found in ‘‘Old Growth Forest
Types of the Northern Region’’ (Green,
et al., 1992, errata corrected 02/05, 12/
07, 10/08, 12/11).
Reduce Sediment Production and
Address Transportation Needs
• Conduct maintenance on or
improve 100–130 miles of system roads
including culvert installation or
replacement, ditch cleaning, and riprap
placement for drainage improvement. It
may also include gravel placement, road
grading and dust abatement.
• Additional site specific
maintenance or improvements would
occur to improve watershed conditions
on up to 20 miles of roads outside of
proposed treatment areas.
• Decommission 2–5 miles of system
roads no longer considered necessary
for transportation needs.
• Site-specifically amend the Nez
Perce Forest Plan (1987) to adopt the
Region 1 soil standard of 15% for
detrimentally compacted, displaced, or
puddled soils for the Clear Creek
Integrated Restoration project area.
Possible Alternatives the Forest
Service will consider include a noaction alternative, which will serve as a
baseline for comparison of alternatives.
The proposed action will be considered
along with additional alternatives that
will be developed to meet the purpose
and need for action, and to address
significant issues identified during
scoping.
The Responsible Official is Rick
Brazell, Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest
Supervisor, Clearwater National Forest
Supervisor’s Office, 12730 Highway 12,
Orofino, ID 83544.
The Decision To Be Made is whether
to adopt the proposed action, in whole
or inpart, or another alternative; and
what mitigation measures and
management requirements will be
implemented.
The Scoping Process for the EIS was
initiated with the original notice
published on January 6, 2012. The
scoping process identifies issues to be
analyzed in detail and leads to the
development of alternatives to the
proposal. The Forest Service is seeking
information and comments from other
Federal, State, and local agencies; Tribal
Governments; and organizations and
individuals who may be interested in or
affected by the proposed action.
Comments received in response to this
notice, including the names and
addresses of those who comment, will
be a part of the project record and
available for public review.
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Early Notice of Importance of Public
Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
will be prepared for comment. The next
major opportunity for public input will
be when the DEIS is published. The
comment period for the DEIS will be 45
days from the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes the notice
of availability in the Federal Register.
The Draft EIS is anticipated to be
available for public review in March
2013.
Dated: January 28, 2013.
Joyce E. Thompson,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Notice of Proposed New Fee Sites
Bighorn National Forest, Forest
Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed New Fee
Sites.
AGENCY:
The Bighorn National Forest
is proposing to charge new fees at two
recreation rental sites under the Federal
Lands Recreation Enhancement Act,
(Title VIII, Pub. L. 108–447). Fees are
assessed based on the level of amenities
and services provided, costs of
operation and maintenance, market
assessment, and public comment. Funds
from the fees will be retained locally
and used for the operation and
maintenance of these recreation sites.
The Sheep Mountain Fire Lookout on
the Powder River Ranger District will be
available for overnight rental. The
facility is located approximately 25
miles southwest of Buffalo, Wyoming, at
the end of Forest Road 28. The lookout
offers an extraordinary experience in a
historical structure. Renting a historical
lookout is widely popular on national
forests. The fee proposed for this facility
is $50 per night. The lookout can
accommodate two to four people. A
single vault toilet will be available
nearby; water and electricity are not
available. This facility will be available
from approximately Memorial Day to
the end of October, weather permitting.
The Powder River Ranger District is
also proposing rental of the Pole Creek
cabin, located off Forest Road 456. The
cabin is located along both a winter
snowmobile trail and a trail within the
Pole Creek Cross Country Ski Area. The
cabin can accommodate up to four
people; water and electricity are not
SUMMARY:
Fmt 4703
Send any comments about these
fee proposals by August 1, 2013, so
comments can be compiled, analyzed,
and shared with a Recreation Resource
Advisory Committee. New fees would
begin in late summer 2013.
DATES:
Comments should be sent
by regular mail to Bill Bass, forest
supervisor, 2013 Eastside 2nd Street,
Sheridan, WY 82801 or by email to
comments-Bighorn@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Forest Service
Frm 00005
available. A single vault toilet is located
nearby. The proposed fee for this site is
$35 per night. The Pole Creek Cabin will
be available all year.
An analysis of nearby private cabins
and recreation rental facilities with
similar amenities indicates that the
proposed fees are comparable with
similar sites in the area.
ADDRESSES:
[FR Doc. 2013–02750 Filed 2–6–13; 8:45 am]
PO 00000
9031
Sfmt 9990
Questions about the proposal should be
addressed to Brian Boden, natural
resource specialist, Powder River
Ranger District, 1415 Fort Street,
Buffalo, WY 82834, bboden@fs.fed.us,
or 307.684.7806. Information about the
proposed fee sites can also be found on
the Bighorn National Forest Web site at
www.fs.usda.gov/bighorn/.
The
Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement
Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–447) directed
the Secretary of Agriculture to publish
a six month advance notice in the
Federal Register whenever new
recreation fee areas are established.
This new fee will be reviewed by a
Recreation Resource Advisory
Committee prior to a final decision and
implementation.
People wanting to rent Pole Creek
Cabin or Sheep Mountain Lookout
would do so through the National
Recreation Reservation Service at
www.recreation.gov or by calling
877.444.6777, when the facilities
become available. The National
Recreation Reservation Service charges
a $9 fee for reservations.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: January 31, 2013.
William T Bass,
Forest supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2013–02577 Filed 2–6–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 26 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9029-9031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02750]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests; ID; Clear Creek Integrated
Restoration Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This is a corrected notice. This notice updates information
about proposed actions in the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The DEIS will include two site-
specific, nonsignificant amendments of the Nez Perce Forest Plan
(1987). The proposed amendments would clarify the Forest's
interpretation of old growth standards found in the Nez Perce Forest
Plan, and would adopt the Regional soils standard for the Clear Creek
Integrated Restoration project area. The original notice was published
in the Federal Register on January 6, 2012, pages 775 and 776. The
Forest Service gives notice of its intent to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement for the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Project.
The Proposed action would use a combination of timber harvest, pre-
commercial thinning, prescribed fire and reforestation to achieve the
desired range of age classes, size classes, vegetative species
distributions, habitat complexity (diversity) and landscape patterns
across the forested portions of the project area. Road decommissioning,
culvert replacements and road improvements are also proposed to improve
watershed health. The EIS will analyze the effects of the proposed
action and alternatives. The Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest invites
comments and suggestions on the issues to be addressed. The agency
gives notice of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis
and decision making process on the proposal so interested and affected
members of the public may participate and contribute to the final
decision.
DATES: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected in March
2013, and will be followed by a 45-day public comment period. The Final
Environmental Impact Statement is expected in November 2013.
ADDRESSES: Send written or electronic comments to Lois Hill,
Interdisciplinary Team Leader; Kamiah Ranger Station; 903 3rd Street;
Kamiah, ID 83536; FAX 208-935-4257; Email comments-northern-nezperce-moose-creek@fs.fed.us. Include your name, address, organization
represented (if any), and the name of the project for which you are
submitting comments. Electronic comments will be accepted in MS Word,
Word Perfect, or Rich Text formats. 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,
anonymous comments will not provide the Agency with the ability to
provide the respondent with subsequent environmental documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lois Hill, Interdisciplinary Team
Leader, (208) 935-4258.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of the Clear Creek Integrated
Restoration Project is to manage forest vegetation to restore natural
disturbance patterns; improve long term resistance and resilience at
the landscape level; reduce fuels; improve watershed conditions;
improve elk habitat effectiveness; improve habitat for early seral
species; and maintain habitat structure, function, and diversity.
Timber outputs from the proposed action would be used to offset
treatment costs and support the economic structure of local communities
and provide for regional and national needs.
Purpose and Need for the Proposal
Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat Improvement
Purpose: Trend vegetation species composition, structure, and
distributions toward desired conditions described in the Forest Plan.
Need: There is a need to change tree species composition by
retaining and planting early seral species, such as ponderosa pine,
western larch and western white pine. The project area has a high
proportion of grand fir/Douglas fir habitat. These habitats tend to be
more susceptible to insects and diseases. Grand fir is unlikely to
survive a wildfire. There is a need to trend the area toward a more
diverse and resilient forest structure by creating a range of age
classes, size classes, habitat complexity (diversity) and disturbance
patterns that more closely emulate natural mixed severity disturbance.
[[Page 9030]]
Increasing early seral species in managed areas would help trend the
area toward, or maintain, desired habitat conditions and would make
these habitats more resistant and resilient to change agents such as
insects, diseases, and fire.
There is a need to increase diversity within previously harvested
areas to begin restoring long-term habitat quality for sensitive and
old growth associated species. Historic logging practices and fire
suppression have created a landscape that is more highly fragmented
than would be expected to result from natural disturbances. Ladder
fuels have increased and there has been a shift to shade tolerant
species. Habitat structure and patch sizes of young forests are
simplified and smaller than would be expected to result from natural
disturbances. Edges of patches are straight and even.
There is a need to increase young forest habitats on this
landscape. Age classes are dominated by middle-aged and mature forest
habitats. Forest management would increase high quality early seral
wildlife habitats by retaining large trees and promoting establishment
of tall shrubs and hardwood tree species by using variable retention
regeneration harvest. In the short term, this would benefit wildlife
species that use early seral habitats, such as neotropical migratory
birds, resident birds, small mammals, and big game species. In the long
term, large tree retention would help maintain habitat structure and
complexity needed by old growth associated species.
Goods and Services
Purpose: To utilize timber outputs produced through restoration
activities to support the economic structure of local communities and
provide for regional and national needs (Forest Plan page II-1).
Need: There is a need to provide a sustained yield of resource
outputs, as directed by the Forest Plan. Much of the area consists of
grand fir dominated stands that have insect and disease infestations
that are contributing to increased tree mortality, or are at risk from
stand replacing events. Stands proposed for treatment are currently
losing volume and value due to insects and diseases. Harvest of the
timber would provide materials to local industries.
Fire Regime/Natural Disturbance Restoration and Fuel Reduction
Purpose: Reduce ladder fuels created by shade-tolerant species and
create more natural patch sizes by emulating mixed severity fire
(Forest Plan page II-2).
Need: There is a need to increase patch sizes to shift age and size
class distributions to increase high quality early seral wildlife
habitats. Effective fire suppression in this area began in the 1930's.
As a result, there has been a vegetative shift to less fire resistant
species, and an increase in ladder fuels that can contribute to the
risk of high intensity and potentially resource damaging wildfire. Some
portions of the project area have been identified as being up to five
times outside of their normal fire return intervals. Past harvest
patterns do not emulate natural disturbance patterns nor do they
emulate natural habitat structure. Landscape burning and timber harvest
that mimics natural fire would help increase forest resilience, help
reduce risk of wildfires, and help create high quality habitats that
would benefit neotropical migratory birds, resident birds, small
mammals, and big game species. Fire dependent wildlife species would
benefit from landscape burning.
Watershed Improvement
Purpose: Reduce potential sediment inputs into the aquatic
ecosystem from roads.
Need: There is a need to drain roadside ditchline water away from
streams by installing cross drain pipes near live stream crossings. The
cross drain pipes collect ditchline water and direct it onto the forest
floor. There is also a need to replace existing undersized, damaged, or
rusting culverts on streams to minimize failure potential.
There are 283 miles of road within the project area, 200 of which
are needed for current and future management. The remaining 83 miles of
road have been cleared for decommissioning under the South Fork-West
Fork Clear Creek Road Decommissioning Environmental Assessment (2011).
The roads needed for management can contribute sediment to streams
through road surface erosion and potential culvert failures. Surface
erosion occurs during spring snowmelt and rain events. Dirt coming off
roads is diverted into ditchlines which are often directed into
streams. Preliminary surveys show most roads in the area are drained by
ditches. Culvert failures can result from undersized, damaged or
rusting culverts which can plug with debris and then fail as water
saturates the surrounding fill. Failures can contribute large pulses of
sediment into streams. Surveys indicate at least 60 miles of road with
culverts that are in need of replacement or cleaning. There is a
minimum of 40 high or moderate priority culverts in need of
replacement, and 12 in need of cleaning. There are an additional 40 low
priority culverts in need of replacement and 15 in need of cleaning.
The surveyed roads pose the highest risk to streams in the project
area.
The desired condition for roads is to have ditchlines that drain
road surface water away from streams and onto forest the forest floor.
All culverts at stream crossings are appropriately sized to allow for
the passage of material within minimal risk of plugging.
The Proposed Action would:
Improve Forest Health, Provide Goods and Services, Reduce Fuels and
Improve Wildlife Habitat
Conduct ``variable retention'' regeneration harvest and
post harvest burning activities on up to 2,500 acres to create early
sucessional plant communities and improve wildlife habitat while re-
establishing long-lived early seral tree species. Variable retention
harvest would include areas of full retention (clumps), irregular
edges, and retention of snags and legacy trees to provide structure and
a future source of woody debris. Openings will likely exceed 40 acres.
Commercially thin approximately 7,810 acres to reduce
stand densities improve forest health and reduce the chance of crown
fire.
Apply improvement harvest to approximately 311 acres (thin
from below) to remove encroachment and ladder fuels from ponderosa pine
dominated stands.
Construct a minimum temporary road system to carry out the
proposed action. Roads would be decommissioned after use.
Pre-commercially thin approximately 1,865 acres to reduce
stand densities improve forest health and reduce fuels.
Restore approximately 42 acres of bunchgrass communities
through prescribed burning and revegetation with native grasses to
improve wildlife winter range through reestablishment of native grasses
and forbs.
Apply approximately 1,400 acres of low and mixed severity
prescribed fire within the Clear Creek Roadless area to restore natural
fire regimes, reduce fuels, improve wildlife habitat and create mosaic
forest conditions. Proposed activities are consistent with Idaho
Roadless Rule. There is no timber cutting planned within the Clear
Creek Roadless area.
Site-specifically amend the Nez Perce Forest Plan (1987)
to clarify the Forest's interpretation of old growth features described
in the Forest Plan.
[[Page 9031]]
The amendment would replace the definitions for old growth found in
Appendix N of the Forest Plan with the definitions found in ``Old
Growth Forest Types of the Northern Region'' (Green, et al., 1992,
errata corrected 02/05, 12/07, 10/08, 12/11).
Reduce Sediment Production and Address Transportation Needs
Conduct maintenance on or improve 100-130 miles of system
roads including culvert installation or replacement, ditch cleaning,
and riprap placement for drainage improvement. It may also include
gravel placement, road grading and dust abatement.
Additional site specific maintenance or improvements would
occur to improve watershed conditions on up to 20 miles of roads
outside of proposed treatment areas.
Decommission 2-5 miles of system roads no longer
considered necessary for transportation needs.
Site-specifically amend the Nez Perce Forest Plan (1987)
to adopt the Region 1 soil standard of 15% for detrimentally compacted,
displaced, or puddled soils for the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration
project area.
Possible Alternatives the Forest Service will consider include a
no-action alternative, which will serve as a baseline for comparison of
alternatives. The proposed action will be considered along with
additional alternatives that will be developed to meet the purpose and
need for action, and to address significant issues identified during
scoping.
The Responsible Official is Rick Brazell, Nez Perce-Clearwater
Forest Supervisor, Clearwater National Forest Supervisor's Office,
12730 Highway 12, Orofino, ID 83544.
The Decision To Be Made is whether to adopt the proposed action, in
whole or inpart, or another alternative; and what mitigation measures
and management requirements will be implemented.
The Scoping Process for the EIS was initiated with the original
notice published on January 6, 2012. The scoping process identifies
issues to be analyzed in detail and leads to the development of
alternatives to the proposal. The Forest Service is seeking information
and comments from other Federal, State, and local agencies; Tribal
Governments; and organizations and individuals who may be interested in
or affected by the proposed action. Comments received in response to
this notice, including the names and addresses of those who comment,
will be a part of the project record and available for public review.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
will be prepared for comment. The next major opportunity for public
input will be when the DEIS is published. The comment period for the
DEIS will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register. The Draft
EIS is anticipated to be available for public review in March 2013.
Dated: January 28, 2013.
Joyce E. Thompson,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2013-02750 Filed 2-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P