[Federal Register: February 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 27)]
[Notices]
[Page 6709-6710]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10fe03-43]
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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
[OR-930-1610-PB-LITI; HAG03-0050]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement To Amend Land and Resource Management Plans in Southwest
Oregon for Management of Port-Orford-Cedar
AGENCIES: Bureau of Land Management, USDI and Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent and initiation of public scoping.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service are
initiating work on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
to consider management alternatives for Port-Orford-Cedar in the Oregon
portion of its natural range in southwestern Oregon and northwestern
California. The SEIS is a joint effort by the Oregon/Washington BLM and
the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service, with BLM as the
lead agency. The Pacific Southwest Region of the Forest Service is a
cooperator. Specific administrative units include the Coos Bay,
Medford, and Roseburg District of the BLM and the Siskiyou, Six Rivers,
Klamath, and Shasta-Trinity National Forests. Additional cooperators
may be identified through the scoping process. The SEIS will respond to
analysis deficiencies identified in March, 2002 by the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit relating to a District Court
decision in Kern vs. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 284 F.3d 1062 (9th
Cir. 2002). This decision concluded that analysis of cumulative effects
of the current management guidelines were inadequate for the Sandy-
Remote Environmental Assessment because it did not extend to the entire
range of Port-Orford-Cedar. The SEIS will develop alternative
management strategies for the Oregon portion of the species range and
analyze effects of those strategies throughout the entire natural range
of the species.
The SEIS will amend the land management plan for the Siskiyou
National Forest and the resource management plans for the Coos Bay,
Medford, and Roseburg Districts of the Bureau of Land Management. The
BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the
management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and
national needs and concerns. The SEIS will fulfill the needs and
obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM and Forest
Service management policies.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Public scoping
will be used to identify interested and affected individuals and
groups, and to identify issues associated with the management of Port-
Orford-Cedar. Briefing materials are available on line at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.or.blm.gov/planning/Port-Orford-Cedar_SEIS/.
Comments concerning
the scope of the analysis should be received 30 days from publication
of this notice in the Federal Register. No formal public scoping
meetings are scheduled, but may be scheduled if there is sufficient
interest. Public scoping meetings will be announced in local newspapers
and at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.or.blm.gov/planning/Port-Orford-Cedar_SEIS/ at least
15 days prior to the event. Early participation is encouraged and will
help determine the future management of Port-Orfort-Cedar on public
lands in California and Oregon. In addition to the ongoing public
participation process, formal opportunities for public participation
will be provided through comment on the alternatives and upon
publication of the BLM draft RMP/EIS.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Port-Orford-Cedar EIS
Team, PO Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. Comments may be submitted
electronically to the following e-mail address: orpoceis@or.blm.gov.
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the Oregon State Office, BLM reading
room, 333 SW., 1st Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, and may be published as
part of the EIS. If you wish to withhold your name or address from
public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law.
All submissions from organizations or businesses, submitted on official
letterheads, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organization or businesses, will be
made available for public inspection in their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Denton, Bureau of Land Management,
Port-Orford-Cedar EIS Team, PO Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A root disease, Phytophthora lateralis,
currently infects Port-Orford-Cedar. Research shows the rate of spread
of the root disease is linked, at least in part, to transport of spore-
infected soil by human and other vectors. Water-borne spores then
readily spread the disease down slope and down stream. The
participating agencies believe, at this early stage, it is important to
give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
a draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to
the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections
that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by
the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir.
1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338
(E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important
that those interested in this proposed action participate by the close
of the 45 day comment period so that substantive comments and
objections are made available to the agencies at a time when it can
meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final EIS.
Current BLM management direction requires all management activities
within the range of Port-Orford-Cedar conform to guidelines described
in the Port-Orford Cedar Management Policies.
[[Page 6710]]
These Policies are designed to mitigate damage caused by Phytophthora
lateralis.
Current Forest Service management direction requires all management
activities within the range of Port-Orford-Cedar conform to guidelines
described in the Siskiyou Forest Plan in Oregon and the Six Rivers,
Klamath, and Shasta-Trinity Forest Plans in California.
The responsible official for the Forest Service is the Pacific
Northwest Regional Forester.
The responsible official for the Bureau of Land Management is the
Oregon/Washington State Director.
Charles Wassinger,
Acting State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
Richard W. Sowa,
Acting Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 03-3172 Filed 2-7-03; 8:45 am]
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