Fores Service proposals need input

The local Forest Service office wants input on two projects.
The first is the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board’s joint environmental impact statement/environmental impact report for the South Shore Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project. This project can be viewed at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/projects.
During the initial scoping for this project last summer, it was determined that the project could have significant effects on the human environment. This project will reduce the risks to communities, resources and water quality from catastrophic wildfire, and improve forest health and sustainability, according to a press release.
The project was developed in collaboration with the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, Fallen Leaf Fire Department, Lahontan, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Sierra Forest Legacy and League to Save Lake Tahoe.
Those who previously submitted comments need not resubmit them. Those who wish to submit comments on the project should do so by Feb. 15.
More information is available by calling Duncan Leao at (530) 543-2660, or email dleao@fs.fed.us or Sue Rodman, (phone 530-621-5298, email srodman@fs.fed.us).
Additional opportunities to comment will occur upon completion of the joint
draft EIS/EIR which is expected in April and the final EIS/EIR expected in August.
The second issue is the proposed action for Phase 3 of the Blackwood Creek Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project. This is the final phase and will address excessive bank erosion and channel incision, improve the capacity of Blackwood Creek to take up and retain nutrients before reaching Lake Tahoe.
The approach involves installation of physical structures made of boulders and logs, re-contouring of existing floodplain surfaces and channel, plug- and- fill of the existing gully channel, and new channel construction. Streamzone vegetation transplants will occur where needed.
To review the proposed action and map, go to http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/projects. For information, call Craig Oehrli at (530) 543-2681, or email coehrli@fs.fed.us. Comments will be accepted until Feb. 24.