[Federal Register: April 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 71)]
[Notices]
[Page 19162-19163]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13ap06-39]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Oregon and Washington; Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest Invasive Plants Treatment
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest proposes to treat
approximately 25,000 acres of invasive plants located across the 2.4
million acre National Forest. The Forest anticipates to treat
approximately 4,000 acres of invasive plant sites annually. The
proposed treatment methods include: manual pulling and hand tools,
mechanized hand tools, herbicides, and biological controls. The method
proposed for a given site would depend largely on the protection of
resources and the effectiveness of the method on the target invasive
plant species.
DATES: Comments regarding the proposed action must be received by May
17, 2006. The draft environmental impact statement is expected in
March, 2007 and the final environmental impact statement is expected in
September, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Please address written comments about this project to Steven
A. Ellis, Forest Supervisor, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, P.O. Box
907, Baker City, OR 97814. Electronic comments can be mailed to:
comments-pacificnorthwest-wallowa-whitman@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene Yates, Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest, PO Box 907, Baker City, OR 97814. Phone: 541-523-1390 or e-mail
gyates@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed and Need for Action
Using a technologically modern approach to control or eradicate
invasive plants, the purpose of this action is to maintain or improve
the diversity, function, and sustainability of desired native plant
communities and other natural resources that can be adversely impacted
by invasive plant species. Specifically, there is an underlying need on
the Forest to: (1) Implement treatment actions to contain and reduce
the extent of invasive plants at existing inventoried sites, and (2)
rapidly respond to new or expanded invasive plant sites as they may
occur in the future.
Proposed Action
A detailed project description can be requested by using the
information request form at this Internet address: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/w-w/contact/feedback.shtml
or by contacting the person
listed above.
In 2005 the Pacific Northwest Region completed an FEIS and ROD for
Preventing and Managing Invasive Plants, which provided new direction
to Forests for preventing and managing invasive plant sites including
an updated list of herbicides that are approved for use. These new
herbicides offer many advantages over the more limited set previously
allowed, including greater selectivity for invasive plants, less harm
to desired vegetation, reduced application rates, and lower toxicity to
wildlife and people. The proposed invasive plant treatments will be
guided by this FEIS.
Various methods would be used to contain, control or eradicate
invasive plants including herbicides, manual or power tools and
biological control. The approximate cumulative area of invasive plant
sites that would be treated by these methods are: (a) Herbicides:
19,950 acres: (b) biological control: 4975 acres, (c) manual or
mechanical methods: 300 acres. A description of each method follows.
Herbicide Treatments: Chemical herbicides would be applied in
accordance with USDA Forest Service regulations, policies, Forest Plan
Standards and the manufacturer's product label requirements. Herbicides
approved for use in the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program
Preventing and Managing Invasive Plants FEIS (Regional Invasive Plant
EIS), April 2005 and Record of Decision. These herbicides include:
chlorosulfuron, clopyralid, glyphosate, imazapic, imazapyr, metsulfuron
methyl, picloram, sethoxydim, sulfometuron methyl, and triclopyr. The
application rates and methods will depend on the target invasive plant
species and environmental conditions, such as soil type; depth to the
water table; the distance to open water sources; wetland or upland
status; proximity to sensitive, rare or endemic plants; and the
requirements of the herbicide manufacturer's label. Follow-up
treatments may be needed depending on the effectiveness of level of
control attained by the initial treatment.
Ground based or aerial application methods would be chosen based on
the accessibility, topography and size of a given treatment area. The
following are examples of the proposed methods of application:
Spot spraying--The applicator sprays individual plants
usually from a backpack sprayer, but the method can also be used with a
hose originating from a tank mounted on a truck or ATV.
Wicking--The applicator wipes an herbicide-saturated
sponge or cloth over the target plant. This is often used in sensitive
areas, such as near water, to avoid herbicide drift or contact with the
soil and non-target vegetation.
Stem injection--A new hand application technique currently
being used on Japanese knotweed in western OR & WA. A tool is used to
inject herbicide directly into a plant.
Broadcast application--Herbicide is applied to a broad
area of ground rather than individual plants. This method is used when
the target invasive plant is so large and dense that spot spraying
becomes impractical. Broadcast application is normally accomplished
with a boom apparatus mounted on a truck or ATV.
Aerial application--a boom is mounted on a helicopter or
fixed-wing aircraft. This method is used where invasive plant sites are
too large, remote, or steep to be reached by ground based equipment.
If needed, sites would be restored using native seed, where
practical.
Manual Treatment Methods: These methods include non-mechanized
approaches, such as hand pulling or using hand tools to dig or grub out
plants or cut off seed heads. Handsaws, axes, shovel, rakes, machetes,
grubbing hoes, mattocks, brush hooks, and hand clippers may all be used
to remove invasive plant species.
Mechanical Treatment Methods: This method uses power tools and
includes one or more of the following actions: mowing, weed whipping,
road brushing, tilling or steaming.
Biological Control: Biological control is the release of inspects,
parasites, or disease pathogens which feed on or parasitize specific
invasive plants. Presently, insects are the primary biological control
agent in use. Mites, nematodes, and pathogens are occasionally used.
Biological control
[[Page 19163]]
treatments do not eradicate the target species but reduce invasive
plant cover to an acceptable level. Biological control release sites
would be monitored to determine the success of the treatments.
Invasive plant prevention measures have been adopted with the
Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program Preventing and Managing
Invasive Plants Record of Decision and FEIS and will be implemented
with this action as required.
Responsible Official
The Forest Supervisor, Steven A. Ellis, will be the responsible
official for making the decision and providing direction for the
analysis. He may be contacted at the address listed above.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The responsible official will decide what type of methods and how
they will be used to control invasive plants on the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest.
Scoping Process
The public is asked to provide the responsible official with
written comments describing their concerns about this project.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent begins the scoping process in the development
of the environmental impact statement. The most useful comments to
developing or refining the proposed action would be site specific
concerns and those that can help us develop treatments that would be
responsive to our goal to control, contain, or eradicate invasive
plants as well as being cost effective.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement
will commence 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, 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
draft environmental impact statements 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 Forest
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the draft
statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
and will be available for public inspection.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21.)
Dated: April 6, 2006.
Steven A. Ellis,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-3553 Filed 4-12-06; 8:45 am]
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