Final Environmental Impact Statement Rio de los Pinos Vegetation ...

Final Environmental Impact Statement Rio de los Pinos Vegetation Management Project
1.8 Decisions to be Made Based on this Analysis
This EIS discloses the environmental consequences of implementing the proposed action and
alternatives to that action. A separate Record of Decision (ROD), signed by the Responsible
Official, will explain the management and environmental reasons for choosing the selected
alternative; discuss the rationale for rejecting other alternatives; and disclose how the decision
responds to the relevant issues.
The decision for the Responsible Official to make in the ROD is whether or not to implement
some level of timber harvest and other activities described on all, part, or none of the Analysis
Area given considerations of multiple-use goals and objectives. If the decision is made to
authorize some level of harvest, the management framework will be described (including
standards and monitoring) to ensure that Forest Plan Desired Condition objectives are met or that
movement occurs toward those objectives in an acceptable timeframe.
1.9 Key Issues Associated with the Proposed Action
An issue is defined as a point of discussion, debate, or dispute about the effects of a proposed
action on a physical, biological, social, or economic resource. An issue is not an activity in
itself; instead, it is the projected effects of the activity that create the issue. For example, timber
harvesting is an activity, but its effects on a resource can form an issue.
Some issues are considered Key because of the extent of their geographic distribution, the
duration of their effects, or the intensity of interest or resource conflict. Key Issues are used to
develop and compare alternatives, prescribe mitigation measures, and analyze the environmental
effects. For an issue to be considered Key, it must be relevant to the specific project and
appropriately addressed at that level. The Forest Service identifies Key Issues through
internal/external contact and discussion (scoping). External scoping involves the general public,
tribal governments, State, and other Federal Agencies.
Once scoping comments were received through external scoping, the interdisciplinary team
(IDT) used an issue-sorting process to identify Key Issues by which the proposed action and all
alternatives will be analyzed. The process is intended to ensure that all Key Issues are identified
and that all relevant issues are appropriately addressed in the analysis. Each concern received
during scoping was considered as a potential issue and was evaluated to determine whether the
related issue was addressed through project design, addressed through implementation of projectspecific
mitigation measures, or beyond the scope of the project. Those concerns addressed the
same way in all alternatives through design criteria are described in Chapter 2, Section 2.5 under
“Project Design Criteria Common to all Action Alternatives.”
Through this process, two Key Issues were identified for this Analysis Area. The Key Issues,
along with the indicator(s) of each issue, are presented below. Indicators that are quantifiable,
linked to cause-and-effect relationships, and responsive to the Key Issues are used to compare
the effects among alternatives.
Chapter 1 – Purpose & Need Page 1-8