Notice of Opportunity to Comment Mill Creek Dry Forest Restoration Project Ochoco National Forest Opportunity to Comment on Draft Environmental Assessment

Notice of Opportunity to Comment Mill Creek Dry Forest Restoration Project Ochoco National Forest Opportunity to Comment on Draft Environmental Assessment The Ochoco National Forest has completed a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that contains the Forest Service’s proposal for thinning, fuels reduction, and stream restoration in the Mill Creek watershed. The EA is now available for a 30-day public comment period and this notice will give you information on where to access the EA and how to submit comments. The Mill Creek Dry Forest Restoration Project area is about 15 miles to the northeast of Prineville, Oregon and encompasses 36,430 acres. The Project addresses the need to return the area to more sustainable conditions with increased resilience to insects, disease, fire, and drought. Actions to meet this need include commercial and non-commercial thinning, slash treatment, and underburning. The project also includes stream restoration activities to improve habitat conditions for fish and improve the watershed’s attainment of riparian management objectives as outlined in the Inland Native Fish Strategy (INFISH). Forest restoration work has the added benefit of producing wood products and jobs in the timber industry. The EA analyzes the environmental effects of three action alternatives. The amount of thinning and fuels reduction ranges from 13,420 to 15,232 acres in the alternatives. Differences between alternatives are based on how much work is to be done in riparian habitat conservation areas, on steep slopes, and certain wildlife focus areas. The alternatives also differ in whether trees that are larger than 21 inches diameter at breast height would be harvested during thinning and how well thinning reaches stand density objectives. The EA is available on the Forest Service project webpage: http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=58081 (use Analysis tab under Project Documents). If you have trouble accessing the document online please use the contact information below. A hardcopy is available for review on site during regular business hours at: Ochoco National Forest 3160 NE Third Street Prineville, OR 97754 How to Comment and Timeframe The opportunity to provide comment period ends 30 days following the date of that publication in the Bend Bulletin (August 16th, 2023). Do not rely on any other sources for the beginning date of the comment period. The legal notice will be posted to the project web page after it is published. Comments received after the 30-day comment period will be considered but will not provide the commenter with standing for objection. Those wishing to be eligible to object must meet the information requirements of 36 CFR 218. NOTICE: Documents associated with this project, including public comments, are part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process (40 CFR parts 1500-1509) and may be released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 U.S.C. 552. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will become part of the public record for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the agency with the ability to provide the respondent with subsequent environmental documents or the eligibility to object. Electronic, written, and oral comments will be accepted. We strongly encourage you to submit comments electronically. Those wishing to provide electronic comments should use the Forest Service online comment system available at: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?project=58081 Comments may be typed into the online form, or uploaded as an attachment in Microsoft Word, rich text format (rtf), or portable document format (PDF) only. Comments may also be submitted in writing by mail. Written comments should be sent or delivered to Jennifer Abernathy, NEPA Planner, Lookout Mountain Ranger District, 3160 NE 3rd Street, Prineville, OR 97754. Hand-delivery/Fax: comments may be hand-delivered to the Ochoco National Forest address above during regular business hours. or faxed by appointment only at this time. Anyone wishing to obtain additional information on the project or to provide comments over the phone should contact Jennifer Abernathy (jennifer.abernathy@usda.gov, 541-416-6506). Published: Aug. 22, 2023 PCO299387

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