81 FR 12066 - Umatilla National Forest, North Fork John Day Ranger District; Oregon; Ten Cent Community Wildfire Protection Project

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 45 (March 8, 2016)

The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze impacts for fuels treatment in the Granite Creek Watershed of the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest and the Whitman Ranger District of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Scoping for the EIS was open for 30 days in July 2015 and numerous comments were received from the public. These comments were used to form the issues for the EIS.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12066-12067]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04303]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Umatilla National Forest, North Fork John Day Ranger District; 
Oregon; Ten Cent Community Wildfire Protection Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to analyze impacts for fuels treatment in the Granite 
Creek Watershed of the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the 
Umatilla National Forest and the Whitman Ranger District of the 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
    Scoping for the EIS was open for 30 days in July 2015 and numerous 
comments were received from the public. These comments were used to 
form the issues for the EIS.

DATES: The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be 
available for public comment in May 2016 and the final environmental 
impact statement is expected to be completed in September 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Stinchfield, North Fork John 
Day Ranger District, P.O. Box 158, Ukiah, OR 97880, (541) 427-3231.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose and need of the Ten Cent Community Wildfire Protection 
Project is to provide a safer working environment for firefighters 
while improving probability of success in protecting life and property 
associated with the adjacent private lands in the event of a wildfire 
within or threatening the values at risk (VAR) in the Granite Zone as 
defined by the Grant County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. These 
values at risk include the cities of Granite and Greenhorn, scattered 
inholdings (intermix), and the ingress/egress routes from private 
lands. Modeled flame lengths across the planning area are currently 
around 4.6 feet, with some stands showing modeled flame lengths as high 
as 20 feet. Many of the stands within the analysis area are predicted 
to exhibit active crown fires as well.
    The desired condition would result in areas within the 
strategically placed Defensible Fuel Profile Zones (DFPZs) exhibiting 
flame lengths of less than 4 feet and reducing the probability of a 
wildfire burning through the crowns of live trees. Defensible Fuel 
Profile Zones are defined as linear paths through a forested area in 
which surface and canopy fuels have been altered but where significant 
overstory is retained to shade the surface fuels. Fires that exhibit 
flame lengths of less than 4 feet can generally be attacked at the head 
or flanks by firefighters using hand tools. Handline should be able to 
hold the fire within the line, and with ladder fuels removed the chance 
of the fire running into the live tree crowns is greatly reduced as 
well. Running crown fires lead to unpredictable ember generation 
(spotting) which can further threaten values at risk.
    Therefore, there is a need:
     To create a series of strategically placed DFPZs in order 
to modify the existing fuels to reduce potential fire behavior to low 
intensity and reduce the probability of crown fire and spotting.
     To enhance landscape resilience to future wildfires within 
the Granite Creek watershed.
     To maintain and enhance local communities and economies by 
providing a diversity of resource management activities, recreational 
opportunities, commodity outputs, and ecosystem services from public 
lands.
    The overall need for the Ten Cent Community Wildfire Protection 
Project is to modify the predicted fire behavior in the project area 
while also supporting local communities by providing goods and 
services.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Service proposes the following actions within the 
project area to address the purpose and need for action. Multiple types 
of fuel reduction treatments would occur across these stands and would 
be designed to increase crown spacing and reduce surface fuels. These 
treatments would occur along the private land boundaries and extend up 
to 1.5 miles away from those boundaries, where indicated by predicted 
fire behavior. The goal would be to create a contiguous DFPZ along all 
private land borders within the project area. Strategic DFPZs would 
also be placed along roads and the forest stands within these zones 
would be treated a maximum of 500 feet from both sides of the road as 
necessary. The width of treatment would be dictated by current stand 
conditions as well as other resource management needs. The goal of 
these roadside treatments would be DFPZs that help facilitate safe 
evacuation of residents and recreationists in the event of a wildfire, 
slow the progress of a wildfire coming out of the Wilderness, and 
provide suppression forces a higher probability of successfully 
managing a wildfire using indirect or more direct suppression tactics. 
The proposed actions, with the exception of some prescribed burning, 
are within 1.5 miles of identified values at risk (cities of Granite 
and Greenhorn, private inholdings/structures, ingress and egress 
routes) with most of the treatments occurring within 0.25 miles of the 
values at risk. The area treated would include 8,137 acres of stands 
identified that currently support flame lengths greater than or equal 
to 4 feet and have a high potential for crown fire initiation. A total 
of 6,035 acres would be treated along egress routes within the project 
area. About 38,000 acres of prescribed fire is proposed across the 
watershed including a maximum of about 9,500 acres located in the NFJD 
Wilderness.

Possible Alternatives

    The Forest Service developed 4 alternatives in response to issues 
raised by the public:

 Alternative 1--No Action
 Alternative 2--Proposed Action

[[Page 12067]]

 Alternative 3--First Alternative to the Proposed Action
 Alternative 4--Second Alternative to the Proposed Action

Responsible Official

    Ian Reid, District Ranger, North Fork John Day Ranger District will 
be the responsible official for making the decision and providing 
direction for the analysis.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The responsible official will decide whether or not to authorize 
the proposal.

Preliminary Issues

    The Forest Service has identified seven issues from previous 
scoping:
     Issue 1: Large scale landscape burning may have a negative 
impact on air quality.
     Issue 2: The prescribed fire treatment proposed in Moist 
and Cold upland forests (UF) is not appropriate for these Potential 
Vegetation Groups (PVGs) and associated biophysical environments. These 
PVGs historically burned at mixed (primarily Moist UF) and high 
(primarily Cold UF and some Moist UF) severity at the hottest and 
driest time of the year. Impacts of prescribed burning in the late 
summer and fall to Moist and Cold UF stands would not be characteristic 
of these PVGs; as a result, impacts to nutrient cycling, dead wood 
recruitment, vegetative succession, wildlife species, etc., would also 
be uncharacteristic.
     Issue 3: Prescribed fire treatments in the Wilderness may 
have a negative impact on Wilderness characteristics.
     Issue 4: Mechanical treatments need to be prescribed in a 
manner which maximizes economic benefits.
     Issue 5: Some proposed treatments may be a threat to 
forest investments such as white pine plantations and Subalpine fir 
stands.
     Issue 6: Treatment under the Proposed Action would impact 
the quality of forested stands that provide connectivity between late 
and old structure and Forest Plan designated old growth habitat at the 
analysis area and larger landscape scale; treated (mechanical and 
prescribed fire) connectivity habitat would not meet Forest Plan 
standards following implementation. The treatment activities would 
affect the ability of wildlife to move freely between late and old 
structure and designated old growth stands, and may ultimately impact 
population levels and the viability of species dependent on old forest 
habitat.

ADDRESSES: Andrew Stinchfield, Project Manager, P.O. Box 158, Ukiah, OR 
97880.


    Dated: February 22, 2016.
Ian Reid,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 2016-04303 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-11-P