Tahoe National Forest; California; North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project EIS, 51650-51652 [2021-20044]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51650-51652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20044]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Tahoe National Forest; California; North Yuba Landscape 
Resilience Project EIS

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 
preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the North Yuba 
Landscape Resilience Project. The purpose of the Project is to improve 
and restore forest health and resilience, reduce the risk of 
uncharacteristic wildfire, protect and secure water supplies, and 
protect communities from the effects of high-severity wildfire and 
climate change in the North Yuba River watershed. Actions to reduce 
hazardous forest fuels and enhance forest resilience to severe 
disturbances from wildfire, insect and disease infestation, drought, 
and anticipated future climate change are intended to provide long-term 
benefits to the Landscape's communities and ecosystems. These actions 
include several project-specific amendments to the Land Management Plan 
for the Tahoe National Forest related to management of California 
spotted owl habitat. The amendments are based on the Conservation 
Strategy for the California Spotted Owl in the Sierra Nevada (USDA 
Forest Service 2019) and rely on the best available science.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
30 days from date of publication in the Federal Register. The draft 
environmental impact statement is expected July 2022, and the final 
environmental impact statement is expected March 2023.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments via mail or by hand delivery to Eli 
Ilano, Tahoe National Forest Supervisor, c/o Laurie Perrot, Attn: North 
Yuba Project, 631 Coyote Street, Nevada City, CA 95959. Comments may 
also be submitted electronically: https://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_project_exp.php?project=59693.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Perrot, Forest Environmental 
Coordinator, [email protected]. Additional information concerning 
the proposed Project is available online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/tahoe/landmanagement/projects. Individuals who use 
telecommunication devices for the hearing-impaired (TDD) may call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every 
day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed North Yuba Landscape Resilience 
Project (Project) is a watershed-scale forest restoration project in 
the North Yuba Watershed within the Tahoe National Forest developed 
through a collaborative process by the North Yuba Forest Partnership, a 
diverse group of nine entities. The Project area stretches from New 
Bullards Bar Reservoir east up to the Sierra Crest along Highway 49. 
The planning area (or Landscape) is approximately 275,000 acres, of 
which approximately 210,000 acres are National Forest System lands. The 
watershed includes substantial forest habitat, is an important source 
of water to downstream users, supports high biodiversity, offers 
excellent opportunities for recreation, and is home to the communities 
of Camptonville, Downieville, and Sierra City.
    Many homes and communities are located within and near the 
Landscape's forested areas. Recognizing community safety and forest 
health are complementary and interrelated, the Forest Service is acting 
together with other public and private stakeholders to reduce the risk 
of high-severity wildfire and protect communities at an increased pace 
and scale, given the geographic scope and severity of the problem.
    Given project implementation will occur over many years, it is 
desirable to allow regular opportunities to address changing conditions 
on the ground (e.g., insect outbreak, wildfire, etc.) and provide 
periodic formal, structured public comment and pre-decisional 
administrative review opportunities before decisions are made. Toward 
this end, a staged decision-making approach is planned for this 
Project. Staged decision-making means proposed actions for the entire 
Landscape would be analyzed in the EIS; however, separate records of 
decisions would be issued for smaller sub-project areas within the 
Landscape. This approach would allow surveys to be completed prior to 
each decision and provide the opportunity to review potential new 
information or changed circumstances that could have a bearing on the 
proposed action and its impacts and

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potentially require supplemental NEPA analysis.

Purpose and Need for Action

    Tahoe National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP 1990) 
as amended by the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Record of 
Decision (SNFPA ROD 2004), collectively referred to as the Forest Plan, 
provides the foundation for the purpose of the Project. The Project's 
purpose is further supported by the North Yuba Forest Partnership's 
four goals for this Landscape: (1) Improve and restore forest health 
and resilience, which is aligned with Forest Plan direction to respond 
to deteriorating forest health by reducing susceptibility of forest 
stands to insect- and drought-related tree mortality (SNFPA ROD, pp. 6, 
32, and 44-48); (2) reduce the risk of high severity wildfire, which is 
aligned with Forest Plan direction to reduce threats to communities and 
wildlife habitat from large, severe wildfires (SNFPA ROD, pp. 8, 34, 
and 44-48); (3) protect local communities from the effects of high 
severity wildfire and climate change, which is aligned with Forest Plan 
direction to reduce the risk of wildfire to communities in the urban 
wildland interface while modifying fire behavior over the broader 
landscape (SNFPA ROD, pp. 3, 34, and 45-46); and (4) protect and secure 
water supplies through restoring watershed process and function, which 
is aligned with Forest Plan direction for addressing forest health; 
reducing risk of large, severe wildfires; and maintaining, restoring, 
and enhancing aquatic, riparian, and meadow ecosystems (SNFPA ROD, pp. 
32-34, 42-43, and 62-66).
    Needs for this proposal are driven by existing problematic 
conditions in the North Yuba Landscape in the areas of forest 
resilience, fire dynamics, fire-adapted communities, water security, 
and biodiversity conservation. Actions are needed to: (1) Restore 
forest structure and species composition to develop heterogeneous 
forest stands and a forested landscape resilient to severe impacts from 
wildfire, insect and disease infestation, drought, and anticipated 
future conditions resulting from climate change; (2) reduce hazardous 
forest fuels to reduce wildfire spread and intensity and facilitate 
reintroduction of more frequent, low- to moderate-severity fires; (3) 
reduce hazardous forest fuels and stand densities in strategic 
locations to help protect communities and critical infrastructure in 
the event of a wildfire and to facilitate wildfire management 
operations; (4) reduce sedimentation from existing roads, trails, 
ditches, and other diversions and restore the natural hydrologic 
function of soils, meadows, and fens; and (5) maintain, enhance, and 
restore important terrestrial, riparian, and aquatic habitats.

Proposed Action

    The Tahoe National Forest is proposing multiple actions to meet the 
Project's purpose and need, including prescribed fire; thinning; 
opening creation; strategic tree planting; sanitation cutting and stand 
improvement; restoration of aspen stands, meadows, and fens; stream 
channel restoration; soil decompaction; road repair, maintenance, and 
decommissioning; and removal of non-native invasive plants. In 
addition, project-specific amendments to the Tahoe National Forest Land 
and Resource Management Plan (1990 and 2004, as amended) are proposed.
    Actions are proposed in the following emphasis areas: (1) Forest 
matrix; (2) infrastructure, strategic fuel area, and designated 
recreation site; and (3) unique ecological communities. Landscape-wide 
actions are proposed for roads, soils, and non-native invasive plant 
treatments.
    Vegetation and fuels management treatments include prescribed fire, 
thinning from below, variable density thinning, creation of one to 
three-acre openings, strategic tree planting, and sanitation cutting 
and stand improvement. Prescribed fire includes underburning and piling 
and burning as well as activities needed to prepare areas for burning, 
such as mastication, chipping and hand cutting and/or pruning shrubs 
and small trees, lopping and scattering cut material, and/or machine or 
hand cutting and piling of material and fire-control line construction.
    Different types and combinations of activities are proposed in key 
areas designated in the Forest Plan: (1) Inventoried roadless areas 
(IRAs), (2) California spotted owl and northern goshawk protected 
activity centers (PACs), (3) California spotted owl home range core 
areas (HRCAs), and (4) other forested areas, which include wildland 
urban intermix (WUI) threat zones, old forest emphasis areas, and 
general forest areas. The proposed action recognizes the importance of 
re-introducing fire in the Landscape. In all designated areas, forest 
stands needing treatment would first be evaluated to determine whether 
prescribed fire could be applied as a stand-alone treatment. In such 
cases, prescribed fire would need to be effective in meeting treatment 
objectives for the stand(s) without resulting in excessive rates of 
fire spread and fire-caused mortality of large trees.
    Encroaching trees would be removed as needed in approximately 1,716 
acres of meadows and fens. Roads and/or trails impacting the meadow or 
fen would be realigned or reconstructed to reduce or eliminate their 
impact to the meadow or fen. Ditches would be plugged, and other 
diversions disconnected from the meadow or fen to restore natural 
hydrology. Incised stream channels in meadows or fens would be 
restored.
    Proposed road management actions include maintenance, improvement, 
realignment, and decommissioning. All temporary roads used for project 
implementation would be decommissioned upon completion of project 
activities. No new permanent roads are proposed for construction. 
Manual, cultural, and chemical methods would be used for invasive plant 
removal.

Forest Plan Amendment

    The proposed action includes several project-specific amendments to 
the Tahoe National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP 1990) 
as amended by the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Record of 
Decision (SNFPA ROD 2004). Proposed changes include modifying, 
removing, and adding specific forest plan components to: (1) Protect 
California spotted owl protected activity centers (PACs) by enhancing 
their resilience to severe disturbances, thereby providing for their 
long-term sustainability on the Landscape; (2) address needs for 
enhancing habitat resiliency in California spotted owl home range core 
areas (HRCAs); (3) balance needs for protecting PACs with protecting 
public and firefighter safety and reducing fire hazards near 
communities, critical access roads, and infrastructure for emergency 
services, communications, and power delivery; (4) enhance forest 
resilience by retaining large conifer trees (greater than or equal to 
30 inches diameter at breast height [DBH]) while allowing some large 
trees to be removed under specific circumstances to enhance stand 
heterogeneity and meet project objectives for tree species composition 
and stand density; (5) effectively manage forest stand density for 
improved resilience in light of anticipated climate change. The 
proposed forest plan amendments would apply only to the North Yuba 
Landscape Project.
    The proposed forest plan amendments pertaining to the California 
spotted owl are based on the Conservation Strategy for the California 
Spotted Owl in the

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Sierra Nevada (USDA Forest Service 2019, referred to as the 
Conservation Strategy). The Conservation Strategy provides updated 
management recommendations, based on best available science, that focus 
on maintaining high-quality spotted owl habitat while increasing 
habitat resiliency across landscapes.

Substantive Provisions

    In accordance with 36 CFR 219.13, the Responsible Official has 
determined the following specific substantive requirement(s) within 
Sec. Sec.  219.8 through 219.11 are directly related to the plan 
direction being added, modified, or removed by the proposed amendments: 
36 CFR 219.8(a)(1): Sustainability, (a) Ecological sustainability. (1) 
Ecosystem Integrity; 36 CFR 219.9(a)(1) and (2) and (b): Diversity of 
Plant and Animal Communities, (a) Ecosystem plan components, (1) 
Ecosystem integrity and (2) Ecosystem diversity and (b) Additional 
Species-Specific Plan Components; 36 CFR 219.10(a)(1), (5), (7), and 
(8): Multiple Use, (a) Integrated resource management for multiple use; 
(1) Aesthetic values, cultural and heritage resources, ecosystem 
services, fish and wildlife species, forage, geologic features, grazing 
and rangelands, habitat and habitat connectivity, recreation settings 
and opportunities, riparian areas, scenery, soil, surface and 
subsurface water quality, timber, trails, vegetation, viewsheds, and 
other relevant resources and uses; (5) Habitat conditions, subject to 
the requirements of Sec.  219.9, for wildlife, fish, and plants 
commonly enjoyed and used by the public; for hunting, fishing, 
trapping, gathering, observing, subsistence, and other activities (in 
collaboration with federally recognized Tribes, Alaska Native 
Corporations, other Federal agencies, and State and local governments); 
(7) Reasonably foreseeable risks to ecological, social, and economic 
sustainability; and (8) System drivers, including dominant ecological 
processes, disturbance regimes, and stressors, such as natural 
succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate change; and 
the ability of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the plan area 
to adapt to change (Sec.  219.8).

Preliminary Alternatives

    An alternative that does not adopt the proposed project-specific 
forest plan amendments would be developed and analyzed. Other 
alternatives would be developed based on scoping input.

Expected Impacts

    Among the significant impacts expected to be analyzed in the EIS 
are: Effects on habitat for the California spotted owl and other old 
forest-associated species, impacts on roadless area characteristics in 
IRAs, and impacts on the density and distibution of trees greater than 
30 inches DBH.

Responsible Official

    The Responsible Official is the Forest Supervisor of the Tahoe 
National Forest.

Scoping Comments and the Objection Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. In this process, 
the Agency is requesting comments on potential alternatives and 
impacts, and identification of any relevant information, studies or 
analyses of any kind concerning impacts affecting the quality of the 
human environment. Please visit the North Yuba Forest Partnership 
website for information about public meetings: https://yubaforests.org.
    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. Commenting during 
scoping and any other designated opportunity to comment provided by the 
Responsible Official will also establish standing to object once the 
final EIS and Draft Record of Decision has been published. 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, they will not be used to establish standing 
for the objection process.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The EIS will support staged decision-making, which will be 
documented in multiple records of decisions for sub-project areas that 
have completed surveys. For all decisions, the Responsible Official 
will consider all reasonable alternatives in light of the purpose and 
need and environmental effects to decide whether to implement the 
proposed action, implement one of the other action alternatives, or 
decide to take no action for one or more of the sub-project areas 
within the Landscape. In the initial record of decision, the 
Responsible Official will also determine whether to modify, remove, and 
add specific forest plan components that would apply to actions in the 
North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project area during the life of the 
Project. Subsequent decisions will be made as required surveys are 
completed and sub-project areas reviewed for possible new information 
and/or changed circumstances.

    Dated: September 10, 2021.
Barnie Gyant,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2021-20044 Filed 9-15-21; 8:45 am]
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