Department of Agriculture January 9, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In the Lower Joseph Creek Restoration Project area, decades of fire suppression and past land management activities have resulted in overstocked stand conditions, reduced forage productivity, degraded wetlands and springs, reduced grassland extent, and increased ladder fuels relative to historic reference and anticipated future conditions. Dry and moist upland forest types in the project area are showing a deficit of open stands dominated by large trees of ponderosa pine, larch, and Douglas-fir. Standing and down dead trees were also an important component of these stands. The purpose of the Lower Joseph Creek Restoration Project is to restore, maintain, and enhance forest and rangeland resiliency to natural disturbances, protect natural resources at risk to uncharacteristic wildfires and insect and disease outbreaks, contribute to local economic and social vitality, modify fire behavior potential, and improve future forest, range, and fire management opportunities. The USDA Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the potential environmental effects of implementing restoration treatments on National Forest System lands within the project area.