USDA Forest Service

Malheur National Forest

Blue Mt. Ranger District

Grant County

September 2008

This legal notice replaces and supersedes the legal notice published September 3, 2008. This restarts the objection period effective the date of publication of this legal notice.

The Dads Creek Wildand Urban Interface Project Environmental Assessment (EA) went out for public review and opportunity to object on September 3, 2008. The purpose of this notice is to advise interested public that the Forest Service is modifying the agency proposed action (Alternative 2) identified in the EA and to restart the 30-day objection period. Modification of the proposed action includes not constructing 0.8 miles of proposed temporary road near the Dixie Butte Inventoried Roadless Area. Commercial thinning in units 10, 12 and 18 accessed by this road would not occur. Precommercial thinning and underburning would still occur as described in the EA. All other proposed actions identified in the EA made available on September 3, 2008 are the same.

Malheur National Forest Supervisor Doug Gochnour, Responsible Official, is releasing the Dads Creek Wildland Urban Interface Project Environmental Assessment (a Healthy Forest Restoration Act Project) for a 30-day objection period. The project area is located approximately 7 miles northeast of Prairie City in the Dads Creek, Jeff Davis Creek, and Dan’s Creek drainages which are tributary to the John Day River system. The project area encompasses all of the NF System lands within the Dads Creek subwatershed (approx. 7,100 acres), plus approximately 115 acres of the Dixie Meadows subwatershed. The Dads Creek WUI project is included in the Grant County Community Fire Protection Plan Action Plan. The management objectives as stated in the Plan, are to provide a safe and effective area for fire suppression activities as well as enhance fire suppression capabilities by modifying potential fire behavior inside the urban forest intermix zone.

The project would reduce fuels on approximately 3,890 acres. Fuel reduction treatments include 2,668 acres of mechanical treatments including commercial thinning, precommercial thinning, understory removal, non-commercial thinning in Designated Old Growth areas, and mechanical fuel treatment; and approximately 2,532 acres of prescribed burning (1,467 acres of overlap with the above mechanical treatments). Approximately 1.0 mile of temporary road construction and 1.4 miles of new road closures are also proposed.

A non-significant Forest Plan amendment that changes standards to reduce satisfactory cover in big game winter range, and relocate a Dedicated Old Growth Area (DOG) away from the Forest Boundary is included.

This proposed hazardous fuel reduction project is subject to the objection process pursuant to 36 CFR 218, subpart A. It is not subject to the notice, comment, and appeal procedures found at 36 CFR 215 (36 CFR 218.3). Only those individuals and organizations who previously submitted written comments specific to this project, during scoping or other opportunity for public comment, have standing to file and objection (36 CFR 218.6(a)).

Objections, including attachments, must be filed (regular mail, fax, e-mail, hand delivery, express delivery, or messenger service) with the appropriate Reviewing Officer (36 CFR 218.7) within 30 days from the publication date of this notice in the Blue Mountain Eagle. Notices of objection must meet the specific content requirements of 36 CFR 218.7. Incorporation of documents by reference shall not be allowed (36 CFR 218.7 (c)). The publication date of this notice is the exclusive means for calculating the time period to file an objection (36 CFR 218.9 (a)). Those wishing to object should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source.

Objection to this Environmental Assessment must be in writing and must be fully consistent with 36 CFR 218.7. The objector must provide sufficient narrative description of those aspects of this proposed project addressed by the objection, specific issues and suggested remedies to resolve the objection. At a minimum the objection must include the objector’s name and address, with telephone number if available, a signature or other verification of authorship, identification of a lead objector if multiple names are listed on the objection, and the name of the project being objected to, the name and title of the Responsible Official, Forest and Ranger District on which the project will be implemented.

Objections must be submitted to Reviewing Officer (Regional Forester), ATTN: 1570 OBJECTIONS, 333 S.W. First Avenue, Portland Oregon 97204, faxed to (503) 808-2255, or hand delivered to the above address between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. Electronic objections, in acceptable [plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf) or Word (.doc)] formats, may be submitted electronically to HYPERLINK “mailto:appeals-pacificnorthwest-regional-office@fs.fed.us” appeals-pacificnorthwest-regional-office@fs.fed.us with Subject: Dads Creek Wildland Urban Interface Project.

The Responsible Official may not issue a decision for this hazardous fuel reduction project until the Reviewing Officer has responded to all pending objections. When no objections are filed within the 30-day time period, the decision may occur on, but not before, the fifth business day following the end of the objection-filing period.

The Environmental Assessment is available on the internet at: “http://www.fs.fed.us/56/malheur/www.fs.fed.us/r6/malheur/” http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/malheur/www.fs.fed.us/r6/malheur/ For further information or a hardcopy of the EA, contact Ryan Falk at the Prairie City Ranger District Office, 327 Front Street, Prairie City, Oregon 97869 (541) 820-3800.