Dear Interested Citizen: The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the draft Decision Memo (DM) for the proposed amendment to the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plan and Grassland Plan) has been completed and the project is now subject to a 45-day objection period. The draft Decision Memo describes the proposed decision and reasons for the decision. The Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland draft Decision Memo (DM) is available for public review and can be viewed online at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65406 Hard copies of the draft DM are available upon request by contacting the address on the letterhead or contacts listed below. Project Draft Decision The draft Decision Memo proposes to add indaziflam to the list of herbicides approved in the Forest and Grassland Plans. In 2005, the Pacific Northwest Regional Forester amended all Land and Resource Management Plans in the region to update the invasive plant management program, including approval for the use of ten herbicide active ingredients (per the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program Record of Decision, Portland, OR). The Record of Decision, as analyzed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, explained other herbicide ingredients may be added in the future. While this amendment would add the herbicide indaziflam to the list of available herbicides on the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland, it does not approve specific projects or activities related to its use. This amendment would authorize its consideration for use on a project only after site-specific analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. Administrative Review & Objection Rights This Forest Plan amendment is subject to the pre-decisional administrative review process pursuant to 36 CFR 219 Subpart B (the objection process). Only those who submitted substantive formal comment related to this amendment during the comment period or any other designated public comment period are eligible to object to the proposed decision (36 CFR 219.53). Objections must meet the requirements of 36 CFR 219.54(c); incorporation of documents by reference is permitted only as provided for at 36 CFR 219.54(b). The Regional Forester is the Objection Reviewing Officer (36 CFR 218.3). There are several options for submitting objections. We strongly encourage you to submit objections electronically. Electronically Electronic objections will be accepted through the Forest Service online comment system available at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?Project=65406. Note, oncemonthly updates to the system, usually occurring on Fridays, can briefly interfere with the public’s ability to upload objections. Electronic objections must be submitted as part of an actual e-mail message, or as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), rich text format (.rtf), or portable document format (.pdf) only. For electronically mailed objections, the sender should receive an automated electronic acknowledgement from the agency as confirmation of receipt. If the sender does not receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt of the objection, it is the sender’s responsibility to ensure timely receipt by other means. Postal Mail or Delivery Objections delivered by mail must be postmarked by the closing day of the objection filing period and received before close of the fifth business day following the end of the objection period. Regional Forester, Objection Reviewing Officer Pacific Northwest Region, USDA, Forest Service Attn: 1570 Appeals and Objections 1220 SW Third Avenue Portland, OR 97204 Hand Delivery Objections may be brought to the above address 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. A copy of the draft Decision Memo and Project Planning Record can be viewed online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65406 or by contacting the Ochoco National Forest Office at 3160 NE 3rd Street, Prineville, OR 97754. For additional information, please contact Ella Rowan, NEPA Planner, at 541-416-6583 or ella.rowan@usda.gov. Objections, including attachments, must be received by the Reviewing Officer, Regional Forester (or postmarked if submitted via US Mail), within 45 days from the date of publication of the notice of the objection in The Bulletin, (Bend, Oregon), the official newspaper of record. The publication date is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection. Those wishing to file an objection should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. Issues raised in objections must be based on previously submitted substantive formal comments regarding the proposed amendment and attributed to the objector, unless the issue is based on new information that arose after the opportunities for comment. The burden is on the objector to demonstrate compliance with this requirement for objection issues. An objection must include a statement of the issues and/or parts of the plan amendment to which the objection applies; a concise statement explaining the objection and suggesting how the proposed amendment may be improved. If applicable, the objection should identify how the objector believes that the plan amendment is inconsistent with law, regulation, or policy; and a statement that demonstrates the link between prior substantive formal comments attributed to the objector and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment. Sincerely, A. SHANE JEFFRIES Forest Supervisor
Ella Rowan
