General Location: Approximately 6 miles east of Huntsville, Utah along the South Fork of the Ogden River (Figure 1)

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1 PUBLIC SCOPING SOUTH FORK WUI OGDEN RANGER DISTRICT, UINTA-WASATCH-CACHE NATIONAL FOREST WEBER COUNTY, UTAH OCTOBER 6, INTRODUCTION The Ogden Ranger District of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest ( Forest Service ) is requesting public comments on the South Fork Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) project. The Forest Service is proposing a vegetation treatment that would lop and scatter juniper (Juniperus spp.) on National Forest System (NFS) lands. General Location: Approximately 6 miles east of Huntsville, Utah along the South Fork of the Ogden River (Figure 1) Legal Description: Township 6 North, Range 8 East, Sections 5, 6, 7, 12, Salt Lake Meridian Project number in the Planning, Appeals, and Litigation System database: PURPOSE AND NEED This land has great diversity with recreation sites, cattle grazing, mule deer winter, wildland urban interface, private property, and fishing access. Large game use this area for winter range, moving down to a lower elevation near the river when snow covers up food supplies in higher elevations. Junipers take away from this food supply by out competing the more desirable mahogany, sage, and grasses. Currently the main vegetation in the area is maple, oak, sage, mahogany, juniper, and conifer on the north aspects. Juniper densities are light, averaging less than 100 stems per acres. The purpose of this project is to remove encroaching juniper trees in order to improve watershed conditions. Juniper trees, left unchecked, will spread out over a landscape type converting from a grass and forb plant community to a dense juniper stand without browse or understory for wildlife. Historically junipers would be killed by a frequent fire return interval, restoring the area naturally for wildlife. While juniper densities are light, lop and scatter would be an appropriate treatment to remove the junipers before densities increase and additional labor would be needed to treat. There is a need to manage fuels and forest vegetation for hazardous fuel reduction, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface. The proposed action contributes to achievement of goals and objectives identified in the 2003 Revised Land and Resource Management Plan [for the] Wasatch-Cache National Forest, as amended through September 2015 ( Forest Plan ). The project area is located within the North Wasatch-Ogden Valley Management Area as described in the Forest Plan. Management prescriptions provide the framework to accomplish overall management objectives and emphasis. The project is within and consistent with the following management prescription: Page 1

2 3.1w Watershed Emphasis o (G3.1W-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring watersheds to desired conditions, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface (Forest Plan, p. 4-69). 3.0 PROPOSED ACTION The project area is approximately 1,221 acres and lies within 2,241 acres of landlocked NFS land. The proposed treatment for this area is a juniper lop and scatter covering approximately 1,221 acres. Stumps would be less than six inches and slash heights of less than 18 inches. Crews would use existing designated National Forest System roads and trails to access the project area; no new road construction is proposed. Treatments would begin in summer 2018 and take 1-3 years to complete, depending on funding. No treatments are planned with in recreation sites. 3.1 CATEGORY OF THE PROPOSED ACTION The responsible official has made a preliminary determination that the proposed juniper treatment falls within the following category of actions which is excluded from documentation in an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment and there are no extraordinary circumstances that warrant further analysis, and therefore would not be subject to objection (see 36 CFR (a)): 36 CFR 220.6(e)(6): Timber stand and/or wildlife habitat improvement activities that do not include the use of herbicides or do not require more than 1 mile of low standard road construction. 4.0 HOW TO COMMENT The scoping period will end November 8, Comments must be postmarked or received by the end of the scoping period. Please mail your written comment on the proposed project to: Ogden Ranger District Attn: South Fork WUI th Street, Suite 103 Ogden, UT Comments may be faxed to The office business hours for submitting hand-delivered comments are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an message or attached to an in a format such as portable document format(.pdf), plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or word (.doc or.docx) to: Please include South Fork WUI in the subject line. comments-intermtn-wasatch-cache-ogden@fs.fed.us Information and updates for this project are posted on the project-specific information page on the Uinta- Wasatch-Cache National Forest website at: For information about this proposed project contact Jeff Sanocki, North Zone Asst. Fire Mgmt. Officer, at or jsanocki@fs.fed.us. For information about the National Environmental Policy Act Page 2

3 process contact Sendi Kalcic, NEPA Coordinator at or Figure 1. South Fork WUI project area. Page 3

4 Figure 2. Juniper densities looking north from the Meadows Campground across State Route 39. Figure 3. Juniper densities looking south from the Meadows Campground. Page 4

5 In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA s TARGET Center at (202) (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C ; (2) fax: (202) ; or (3) program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. Page 5