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Decision Notice <br /> & Finding of No Significant Impact <br /> Little Snake North Timber Sale and Fuels Reduction <br /> Project <br /> USDA Forest Service <br /> Hahns Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests <br /> Routt County, Colorado <br /> T.11 N., R. 84 & 85 W. & T.12 N. R. 84 & 85 W. <br /> Decision and Reasons for the Decision <br /> Background <br /> The purpose of the Little Snake North Timber Sale and Fuels Reduction Project is to implement <br /> forest management techniques that will salvage dead and dying beetle-killed trees providing <br /> marketable forest products; reduce fuel build up for potential wildfires', improve forest health <br /> conditions that are detrimental to the renewal of our forests; develop snowshoe hare habitat; <br /> repair soil and water resource damaged areas; and decommission, relocate and/or maintain <br /> portions of the existing road system that is detrimentally contributing to watershed health. <br /> This action is needed to treat overstocked timber stands to improve growth and vigor; maintain <br /> and improve aspen stand health; develop snowshoe hare habitat to enhance lynx foraging <br /> opportunities; retain a mix of age and size classes of live timber; reduce the development of <br /> large continuous high hazard fuel conditions; reduce fuel loading associated with beetle-killed <br /> trees; reopen two existing gravel pits to provide anticipated needs for"pit-run" material for <br /> maintenance of existing roadways; protect the investment in the road system for future <br /> management activities; identify poorly located roads that are affecting watershed function; and <br /> relocate or decommission these road segments so that they do not exacerbate the effects of the <br /> beetle epidemic or large scale fire on the hillslope hydrology, watershed function and aquatic <br /> habitat. <br /> This project is an "authorized project" under Title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of <br /> 2003 (HFRA) (P.L. 108-148) Sec. 102 (a)(4). The HFRA provides authorities for expedited <br /> vegetation treatments on National Forest System lands that are currently experiencing disease or <br /> insect epidemics, or are at imminent risk of such epidemics because of conditions on adjacent <br /> land. Use of this authority requires a determination that an epidemic exists through consultation <br /> with forest health specialists. That determination was rendered June 25, 2007. <br /> Projects authorized under the HFRA are exempt from the notice, comment, and appeal <br /> procedures set out at 36 CFR 215, and instead have to follow separate review and objection <br /> procedures as described in 36 CFR 218, subpart A. <br /> The Forest Supervisor, Mary Peterson, signed a letter authorizing this proposed action under <br /> Title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) (P.L. 108-148) Sec. 102 (a)(4) on <br /> August 21, 2008. The environmental assessment (EA) documents the analysis of two <br /> alternatives to meet this need. <br /> 1 <br />