[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38153-38154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18823]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Texas Blowdown Changed Condition Analysis, National Forests and
Grasslands in Texas, Angelina, Montgomery, Sabine, San Augustine, San
Jacinto, and Walker Counties, Texas
AGENCY: Forest Service.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to announce that the U.S. Forest Service will
prepare an analysis of storm-damaged areas on the Angelina, Sabine, and
Sam Houston National Forests to determine changed conditions due to a
catastrophic windstorm. The changed condition analysis will be used to
identify proposed actions for site preparation and reforestation on
national forest lands extensively damaged by the February 1988
windstorm. Initial plans are for the analysis to consider only areas
within Management Area 1--Upland Forest Ecosystems and Management Area
2--Red cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) Emphasis on the three affected
National Forests. The analysis will determine the existing conditions
of these management areas, the desired future conditions for the areas
as directed in the 1996 Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) for
the National Forests and Grassland in Texas (NFGT), and potential
management actions to achieve the desired future conditions.
In addition to the determination of appropriate reforestation
needs, the information gathered in this process would be used to
analyze the need to amend the forest plan's allocation of Management
Area 2 on the Angelina and Sabine National Forests due to changed
conditions on these forest caused by the storm damage.
Public involvement will be requested and accepted continually
throughout these efforts. Public involvement will also be conducted as
part of ``scoping'' following the issuance on the Notice of Intent to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement based on the results of the
Changed Condition Analysis.
DATES: The Texas Blowdown Changed Condition Analysis is scheduled to be
completed by October 1998.
ADDRESSES: Requests for information, and comments concerning the notice
can be sent to: Team Leader, Texas Blowdown Changed Condition
Analsysis, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, 701 North First
Street, Lufkin, Texas 75961.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Keith Baker, Project Environmental Coordinator. Phone: 409-344-6205
(New Waverly, TX).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background on the Changed Conditions and Actions Taken to Date
On the afternoon of February 10, 1998, a storm with hurricane-force
winds stuck the forests of east Texas. The storm left a path of
destruction from near Houston to Toledo Bend Reservoir, a distance of
approximately 150 miles. Approximately 103,000 acres of national forest
land on the Sabine, Angelina and Sam Houston National Forests were
damaged by the windstorm. The LRMP had allocated the majority of the
lands affected by the storm to Management Area 1 (upland forest
ecosystems) and Management Area 2 (red-cockaded woodpecker emphasis).
Other Management Areas (MAs) were also affected, including MA-4
(streamside management zones), MA-8 (special area management), MA-9
(recreation area management), and MA-10 (administrative and special use
sites).
The Forest Service categorized the storm damage severity and extent
on the three affected national forests as follows:
extensive damage--loss of greater than 60 percent of the
existing trees (11,600 acres),
moderate damage--loss of 30 to 60 percent of the existing
trees (65,400 acres), and
light damage--loss of 10 to 30 percent of the existing
trees (26,000 acres).
The NFGT determined that an emergency response was needed to meet
three objectives: (A) reduce the potential for high intensity wildfires
spreading into the intermingled private ownerships that include
individual homes, subdivisions, and rural communities; (B) minimize
further damage to RCW and bald eagle habitat; and (C) reduce the risk
of anticipated bark beetle attack to living trees that could kill
additional federal and private timber, RCW habitat, and bald eagle
habitat. The Forest Service requested approval for alternative
arrangements for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (NEPA) from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to
expedite the removal of the blown down and damaged timber. On March 10,
1998, CEQ approved the Forest Service's request for alternative
arrangements and the NFGT undertook actions to remove blown down and
damaged trees to meet the three objectives. As part of these
alternative arrangements, the Forest Service and CEQ agreed that the
actions taken to reforest the damaged areas of the three affected
national forests would be analyzed and the effects disclosed in an
Environmental Impact Statement.
2. Preparation of the Texas Blowdown Changed Condition Analysis
The objectives of the Changed Condition Analysis are twofold: (1)
to provide the basis for reforestation proposals in the storm damaged
areas of the NFGT and (2) to analyze the need to adjust land
allocations to MA-2 on the Angelina and Sabine National Forests to meet
LRMP objectives for red-cockaded woodpecker habitat. The analysis will
synthesize a range of information about the affected areas, including
inventories of existing vegetation and special features such as
heritage sites, threatened, endangered, and sensitive species;
potential vegetation as guided by the Ecological Classification System
(ECS) developed in conjunction with the Kisatchie National Forest and
the Nature Conservancy; and management direction from the 1996 LRMP.
The inventory information will be used to define the existing
conditions within the blowdown-affected areas. The ECS information and
LRMP direction will provide the basis for the desired future
conditions. Comparing the existing conditions to the desired future
conditions will identify the management opportunities to meet the
objectives of the LRMP.
[[Page 38154]]
Once opportunities have been determined, management practices, such
as those for site preparation and reforestation or for changes in MA-2
allocations, will be identified and developed into a Proposed Action.
The Changed Condition Analysis is scheduled to be completed on or about
October 1998.
3. Public Involvement in the analysis Process
The concerns and expectations of National Forest constituents
played a significant role in the development of the 1996 LRMP. The
February windstorm brought sudden and unexpected changes to the
biological and social components of the NFGT, particularly on the
Angelina and Sabine National Forests. It is important to involve the
public as the Forest Service develops the analysis and determines the
opportunities for management actions. Since the analysis will not be a
``decision document'' and will not involve the NEPA process, formal
public involvement through scoping will not be done. The NFGT has been
regularly informing the public about the progress of the ongoing storm
recovery actions through regular information updates. The NFGT will
contact the interested public with information about the analysis and
offer the opportunity for participation in the analysis process.
4. Issuing the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement
The NFGT will issue a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) after developing proposed actions
based on the Changed Condition Analysis. The NOI will include a
description of preliminary proposed actions, issues, and alternatives.
The public will be asked to comment on these items as part of the
scoping process under NEPA. Public comments will be used to further
refine the proposed action, issues, and alternatives, and the range of
alternatives to be considered in the EIS.
Dated: July 9, 1998.
Ronnie Raum,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-18823 Filed 7-14-98; 8:45 am]
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