Notice of Project Objection Period Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project
Fremont-Winema National Forests Paisley Ranger District Richard N. Rine, Deputy Forest Supervisor RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL
Project Description: The proposed Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project is designed to address the intent of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) to protect stands from further incidence of insects and disease and increase the resiliency of the area to withstand severe, uncharacteristic fires.. The specific section of the HFRA most pertinent to the Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project is the direction to use HFRA authority on federal land “on which ..... the existence of an epidemic of disease or insects, or the presence of such an epidemic on immediately adjacent land and the imminent risk it will spread, poses a significant threat to an ecosystem component, or forest or rangeland resource....” (HFRA Sec. 102 (4)). The planning area is comprised of approximately 9,500 acres in the Summer Lake Watershed on the Paisley Ranger District, Fremont-Winema National Forests, Lake County, Oregon, including approximately 9,100 acres of National Forest System lands and 400 acres of private lands. The area is centered about 7 miles west of Paisley, Oregon. The legal description is T 33 S, R 17 E (central). Purpose and Need for the Project: The primary purpose of the project is to protect large ponderosa pine trees from further incidence of insects and disease. Large ponderosa pine are a chief component of late and old structural (LOS) forests. The thinning prescriptions that are designed for this primary purpose would simultaneously increase the resiliency of the area to withstand fire and diminish the likelihood of the occurrence of severe, stand-replacing wildfire. The Launch Project is also designed to provide sufficient wildlife habitat for a wide diversity of species, improve vegetative diversity, and provide forest products. The project is needed because, while the early mountain pine beetle infestation was largely confined to the lodgepole pine host, the beetles have recently begun infesting large-diameter ponderosa pine. Proposed Actions: The proposal by the Paisley Ranger District to meet the purpose and need includes Harvest, Whip Fell (with post Activity Fuels Treatment) and Burn (3,201 acres); Danger Tree Harvest (129 acres); Harvest, Predominately less than 12 inch Removal, and Burn (703 acres); Harvest, Predominately less than 15 inch Removal, and Burn (264 acres); Plantation Thin and Burn (137 acres) Fuel Reduction Treatment (313 acres); Juniper/Burn (782 acres); Aquatic Habitat Improvements (culvert replacement, headcut repair, large wood placement); and Site-specific Forest Plan Amendments in relation to mule deer habitat on winter range and harvest of green trees greater than 20.9 inches dbh. Connected actions include: Temporary road construction (approximately 6.7 miles), none of which would involve construction of new road template; landing pile burning; mechanical slash treatment; operations tree felling at approved locations for landings or temporary roads; road maintenance and reconstruction; and “interplanting” in areas where the ponderosa pine component has been lost through past harvests or mortality. Actions would be completed though a variety of mechanisms including, but not limited to: timber sale contract, stewardship authority, public works contract, cooperative
agreement, use of volunteers, and Forest Service workforce. Small diameter material being utilized as biomass in incorporated into the proposed actions A minimum of 10 percent of the area treated would be managed as leave patches for wildlife habitat diversity in small scattered retention areas. Where practical, these would be selected using criteria that would also allow them to serve as snag clumps. These well dispersed no-harvest Retention Areas would typically be 1 to 5 acres in size. Alternatives: Two action alternatives were analyzed for the Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project: Alternative 2 (the proposed action) and Alternative 3. Alternative 2 was developed by the Interdisciplinary Team to address the underlying needs of the project. The proposed action was "scoped" to the public via mailings, the internet, a public meeting and a public open house in the spring of 2007 and a 30-day comment period from May1 to June 4, 2007. That process generated the ideas that were used to identify and develop Alternative 3 as an alternative to the proposed action. Based on the analysis, and by comparing how each factor of the project purpose and need is met by each of the alternatives and the manner in which each alternative responds to the issues raised and public comments received during the collaborative process, the Responsible Official has reached a preliminary decision to favor a “Modified Alternative 2” for implementation. The modification to Alternative 2 being considered would integrate a portion of a design element analyzed with Alternative 3, into a “Modified Alternative 2.” Specifically, “Modified Alternative 2” would alter the prescription on mule deer winter range in areas where juniper thinning and burning had been proposed in Alternative 2, to drop the juniper cutting and implement only the prescribed burn activity. In those areas, totaling approximately 171 acres, existing cover would be substantially retained, with the exception of relatively small reduction related directly to the prescribed burning. Availability of the Environmental Assessment: A copy of the Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project Environmental Assessment is available online at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/frewin/projects/analyses/launch/. Printed copies of the Environmental Assessment and further information on the Project may be obtained by contacting Rick Elston, Project Environmental Coordinator, Silver Lake Ranger District, 65600 Hwy 31, P.O. Box 129, Silver Lake, OR 97638; phone 541-576-7569. Who may file an objection: The proposed Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project is subject to the HFRA objection process pursuant to 36 CFR Part 218 Subpart A, Predecisional Administrative Review Process for Hazardous Fuel Reduction Projects Authorized by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. It is not subject to the notice, comment, and appeal procedures found in 36 CFR Part 215. Individuals and organizations who have submitted comments related to the proposed Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project during the opportunity for public comment provided during preparation of the proposal or the Environmental Assessment (Section 105, HFRA) may file an objection. How to file an objection: Objections to the Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project must be filed with the Reviewing Officer:
REVIEWING OFFICER Linda Goodman, Regional Forester, USDA Forest Service, Region Six ATTN: 1570 Appeals/Objections P.O. Box 3623 333 SW First Avenue Portland, OR 97208-3623 Fax: 1-503-808-2255 Objections must be filed with the Reviewing Officer in writing. All objections shall be open to public inspection during the objection process. It is the objector’s responsibility to provide sufficient narrative description of those aspects of the Launch Integrated Fuels and Vegetation Management Project addressed by the objection, specific issues related to the proposed fuel reduction project, and suggested remedies that would solve the objection. Incorporation of documents by reference shall not be allowed. At a minimum, an objection must include the Objector’s name and address, with a telephone number if available; signature, or other verification of authorship upon request (a scanned signature for electronic mail may be filed with the objection); the name of the proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project, the name and title of the Responsible Official, and the name of the National Forest and/or Ranger District on which the proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project will be implemented. When multiple names are listed on an objection, identification of the lead objector as defined in 36 CFR Part 218.2, and verification of the identity of the lead objector shall be provided upon request. Objections, including attachments, may be mailed, hand delivered, faxed, emailed, express delivered, or messenger delivered to the Reviewing Officer. Hand delivered objections must be presented to the above address between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday except legal holidays. Objections can be filed electronically at: appeals-pacificnorthwest-regional-office@fs.fed.us. Electronic objections must be submitted as part of the actual e-mail message, or as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text format (.rtf), or portable document format (.pdf) only. E-mails submitted to email addresses other than the one listed above, or in formats other than those listed or containing viruses, will be rejected. It is the responsibility of the appellant to confirm receipt of objections submitted by electronic mail. Objection period: Objections must be filed within thirty days following publication of this legal notice in the Herald and News newspaper. The date of publication is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection pursuant to 36 CFR Part 218.9(a). Objectors may not rely on dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. The objection time period begins on the day after publication of this notice. It is the responsibility of objectors to ensure that their objection is received in a timely manner. Richard N. Rine, Deputy Forest Supervisor
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DO NOT PUBLISH BELOW THIS LINE Instructions: Publish August 18, 2007 in the Herald and News – Klamath Falls, OR