- Location
- Desert Beach So Cal
(CA & NV) NOI to prepare a supplemental EIS for Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment
April 7, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 66)]
[Notices]
[Page 16758-16759]
Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment, Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental
impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
and Pacific Southwest Regions will prepare and consider a
supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for a proposal to
amend the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan
Amendment, which was signed on January 12, 2001. Specifically, the
proposed action responds to changed circumstances and new information
identified during a year-long review of the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan
Amendment. The proposed action would amend the Land and Resource
Management Plans for the Humboldt-Toiyabe, Modoc, Lassen, Plumas,
Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sierra, Sequoia, and Inyo National
Forests, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. As done for the
original ROD, the Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region
has delegated authority to adopt any changes on behalf of the
Regional Forester for the Intermountain Region.
DATES: Scoping is not required for supplements to environmental
impact statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c) 4(4)). There was extensive public
involvement in the development of the proposed action and the Forest
Service is not inviting comments at the time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen S. Morse, Interdisciplinary
Team Leader, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 1323 Club
Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592. Phone: (707) 562-8822.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Over the past decade, the Forest Service has conducted
large-scale land and resource management planning efforts for the
Sierra Nevada bioregion. In 1992, the Forest Service Pacific
Southwest Research Station published The California Spotted Owl: A
Technical Assessment of its Current Status (CASPO Technical Report),
which initiated a Sierra Nevada-wide planning effort to address
concerns about declining California spotted owl populations. In
January 1993, the Forest Service completed an environmental
assessment that proposed guidelines for California spotted owl
conservation based on measures described in the CASPO Technical
Report. On January 13, 1993, the Regional Forester decided to adopt
these guidelines for the Pacific Southwest Region as an interim
measure to protect California spotted owl habitat until a long-term
conservation strategy could be developed.
The Forest Service analyzed options for a long-term California
spotted owl strategy in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS)
released in February 1995 and a revised draft EIS released in 1996.
In 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture chartered a Federal Advisory
Committee (FAC) to review the revised draft EIS. The FAC concluded
that the revised draft EIS was insufficient as either a California
spotted owl management plan or as a broader ecosystem management plan.
In early 1998, the Chief of the Forest Service directed the
Regional Forester of the Pacific Southwest Region to develop an
ecosystem strategy for conserving California spotted owls, old forest
ecosystems, and other forest resources, considering the
recommendations of the FAC committee and recent scientific
information presented in the Sierra Nevada Ecosystems Management
Report (SNEP) to Congress, published between June 1996 and March
1997. The SNEP Report included four volumes of scientific assessments
for the Sierra Nevada bioregion, with accompanying large database and
maps. In November 1998, the Forest Service published a Notice of
Intent to prepare an EIS to amend Land and Resource Management Plans
for 11 national forests in the Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau and
Regional Guides for the Intermountain and Pacific Southwest Regions
to address five problem areas: old forest ecosystems and associated
species; aquatic, riparian, and meadow ecosystems; fire and fuels;
noxious weeds; and lower westside hardwood ecosystems. In May 2000,
the draft EIS for the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment (SNEPA) was
released. The final EIS for the SNFPA was
released in January 2001 and the Record of Decision was signed on
January 12, 2001.
As the Forest Service was preparing the Notice of Intent for the
SNFPA, the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act
(HFQLG Forest Recovery Act) became law in October 1998 as part of the
Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The
HFQLG Forest Recovery Act required the Forest Service to conduct a 5-
year pilot project to implement certain resource protection measures
and management activities on the Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National
Forests. Based on the direction in the HFQLF Forest Recovery Act, the
Forest Service prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS)
evaluating the impacts of the pilot project. In August 1999, the
Lassen, Plumas, and Tahoe Forest Supervisors issued the Record of
Decision (ROD) and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
for pilot project implementation. Subsequently, the pilot project
area was included in the SNFPA and management direction for the pilot
project was changed to reflect the January 12, 2001 decision.
On November 16, 2001, the Chief of the Forest Service completed
his review of 234 appeals of the SNEPA ROD. The Chief affirmed the
SNFPA ROD. However, in his appeal decision, the Chief instructed the
Regional Forester of the Pacific Southwest Region to re-evaluate the
SNFPA decision in light of recent and repeated severe fire seasons
and a need to aggressively manage excessive fuel loading.
Incompatibilities between the HFQLG Forest Recovery Act and the SNFPA
were another area of concern. The Chief's appeal decision was subject
to discretionary review by the Secretary of Agriculture, however, a
review was not concluded.
On December 31, 2001, the Regional Forester chartered the Sierra
Nevada Forest Plan Amendment River Team (Team) to evaluate any needed
changes to the SNFPA ROD relative to the areas of concern identified
in the Chief's appeal decision as well as other issues raised in the
appeals, specifically the impacts of the decision on grazing permit
holders, recreation users and permit holders, and local communities.
Over the course of a year-long review, the Team worked with staffs
from national forests and ranger districts; an interagency team with
members from Federal, State, and local agencies, former members of
the SNFPA interdisciplinary team; scientists; and various various
interest groups to gain insights and new information relative to the
SNFPA ROD. The Team developed recommendations consistent with the
Regional Forester's charter to ``develop flexible solutions primarily
focused on improving local decision-making capabilities, while
meeting our obligations under applicable laws.'' In March 2003, the
Team released its findings and recommendations in a report entitled
``Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Management Review and
Recommendations'' (USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region,
R5-MB-012), March 2003).
April 7, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 66)]
[Notices]
[Page 16758-16759]
Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment, Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental
impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
and Pacific Southwest Regions will prepare and consider a
supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for a proposal to
amend the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan
Amendment, which was signed on January 12, 2001. Specifically, the
proposed action responds to changed circumstances and new information
identified during a year-long review of the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan
Amendment. The proposed action would amend the Land and Resource
Management Plans for the Humboldt-Toiyabe, Modoc, Lassen, Plumas,
Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sierra, Sequoia, and Inyo National
Forests, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. As done for the
original ROD, the Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region
has delegated authority to adopt any changes on behalf of the
Regional Forester for the Intermountain Region.
DATES: Scoping is not required for supplements to environmental
impact statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c) 4(4)). There was extensive public
involvement in the development of the proposed action and the Forest
Service is not inviting comments at the time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen S. Morse, Interdisciplinary
Team Leader, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 1323 Club
Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592. Phone: (707) 562-8822.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Over the past decade, the Forest Service has conducted
large-scale land and resource management planning efforts for the
Sierra Nevada bioregion. In 1992, the Forest Service Pacific
Southwest Research Station published The California Spotted Owl: A
Technical Assessment of its Current Status (CASPO Technical Report),
which initiated a Sierra Nevada-wide planning effort to address
concerns about declining California spotted owl populations. In
January 1993, the Forest Service completed an environmental
assessment that proposed guidelines for California spotted owl
conservation based on measures described in the CASPO Technical
Report. On January 13, 1993, the Regional Forester decided to adopt
these guidelines for the Pacific Southwest Region as an interim
measure to protect California spotted owl habitat until a long-term
conservation strategy could be developed.
The Forest Service analyzed options for a long-term California
spotted owl strategy in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS)
released in February 1995 and a revised draft EIS released in 1996.
In 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture chartered a Federal Advisory
Committee (FAC) to review the revised draft EIS. The FAC concluded
that the revised draft EIS was insufficient as either a California
spotted owl management plan or as a broader ecosystem management plan.
In early 1998, the Chief of the Forest Service directed the
Regional Forester of the Pacific Southwest Region to develop an
ecosystem strategy for conserving California spotted owls, old forest
ecosystems, and other forest resources, considering the
recommendations of the FAC committee and recent scientific
information presented in the Sierra Nevada Ecosystems Management
Report (SNEP) to Congress, published between June 1996 and March
1997. The SNEP Report included four volumes of scientific assessments
for the Sierra Nevada bioregion, with accompanying large database and
maps. In November 1998, the Forest Service published a Notice of
Intent to prepare an EIS to amend Land and Resource Management Plans
for 11 national forests in the Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau and
Regional Guides for the Intermountain and Pacific Southwest Regions
to address five problem areas: old forest ecosystems and associated
species; aquatic, riparian, and meadow ecosystems; fire and fuels;
noxious weeds; and lower westside hardwood ecosystems. In May 2000,
the draft EIS for the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment (SNEPA) was
released. The final EIS for the SNFPA was
released in January 2001 and the Record of Decision was signed on
January 12, 2001.
As the Forest Service was preparing the Notice of Intent for the
SNFPA, the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act
(HFQLG Forest Recovery Act) became law in October 1998 as part of the
Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The
HFQLG Forest Recovery Act required the Forest Service to conduct a 5-
year pilot project to implement certain resource protection measures
and management activities on the Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National
Forests. Based on the direction in the HFQLF Forest Recovery Act, the
Forest Service prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS)
evaluating the impacts of the pilot project. In August 1999, the
Lassen, Plumas, and Tahoe Forest Supervisors issued the Record of
Decision (ROD) and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
for pilot project implementation. Subsequently, the pilot project
area was included in the SNFPA and management direction for the pilot
project was changed to reflect the January 12, 2001 decision.
On November 16, 2001, the Chief of the Forest Service completed
his review of 234 appeals of the SNEPA ROD. The Chief affirmed the
SNFPA ROD. However, in his appeal decision, the Chief instructed the
Regional Forester of the Pacific Southwest Region to re-evaluate the
SNFPA decision in light of recent and repeated severe fire seasons
and a need to aggressively manage excessive fuel loading.
Incompatibilities between the HFQLG Forest Recovery Act and the SNFPA
were another area of concern. The Chief's appeal decision was subject
to discretionary review by the Secretary of Agriculture, however, a
review was not concluded.
On December 31, 2001, the Regional Forester chartered the Sierra
Nevada Forest Plan Amendment River Team (Team) to evaluate any needed
changes to the SNFPA ROD relative to the areas of concern identified
in the Chief's appeal decision as well as other issues raised in the
appeals, specifically the impacts of the decision on grazing permit
holders, recreation users and permit holders, and local communities.
Over the course of a year-long review, the Team worked with staffs
from national forests and ranger districts; an interagency team with
members from Federal, State, and local agencies, former members of
the SNFPA interdisciplinary team; scientists; and various various
interest groups to gain insights and new information relative to the
SNFPA ROD. The Team developed recommendations consistent with the
Regional Forester's charter to ``develop flexible solutions primarily
focused on improving local decision-making capabilities, while
meeting our obligations under applicable laws.'' In March 2003, the
Team released its findings and recommendations in a report entitled
``Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Management Review and
Recommendations'' (USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region,
R5-MB-012), March 2003).
