Heartwood wins appeal on the Huron-Manistee National Forest

United States Department of Agriculture			
Forest Service Eastern Region
310 West Wisconsin Ave.	Suite 580
Milwaukee, WI 53203

File Code: 1570-1
Date: April 20, 2001

Mr. Mark Donham
Heartwood
RR #1, Box 308
Brookport, IL 62910

RE: Decision Notice and Finding of No Signficant Impact for the State Road
Environmental Assessment, Huron-Manistee National Forest, Appeal 01-09-0017 A215

Dear Mr. Donham:

Pursuant to 36 CFR 215.17, I have reviewed the appeal record for District
Ranger Gary Cole's Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact
signed on January 19, 2001, for the above referenced project on the Cadillac
Manistee Ranger District, Huron-Manistee National Forest. I have also
considered the recommendation of the Appeal Reviewing Officer (ARO)
regarding the disposition of your appeal. In accordance with 36 CFR
215.19(b), the Appeal Reviewing Officer's review focused on the decision
documentation developed by the Responsible Official, Gary Cole, and the
issues raised in your appeal filed on March 8, 2001. The Appeal Reviewing
Officer's recommendation is enclosed with this decision for your
information.

SUMMARY

The appeal Reviewing Officer found no evidence that the Responsible
Official's decision violated law, regulation or policy. He did, however find
a discrepancy in the documentation presented on impacts resulting from
management of lands adjacent to the project area. Based on these finding, he
has recommended that I reverse the decision in its entirety.

After careful review of the project file and the appeal, I concur with the
Appeal Reviewing Officer's analysis and findings regarding your specific
appeal issues. To avoid repetition, I adopt his rationale as my own and
refer you to the enclosed ARO recommendation for further detail.

Caring for the Land and Serving People		Printed on Recycled Paper

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United States Department of Agriculture			
Forest Service Eastern Region
310 West Wisconsin Ave.	Suite 580
Milwaukee, WI 53203

File Code: 1570-1
Date: April 16, 2001

Subject:	Appeal of Decision Notice and Finding of No significant Impact for
the State Road Environmental Assessment Project on the Cadillac-Manistee
Ranger Districts, Huron Manistee National Forest, Appeal 01-09-0017, A215

To: Appeal Deciding Officer

This letter constitutes my recommendation for the subject appeal filed by
Mark Donham on behalf of Heartwood of the decision for the State Road
Project Area Environmental Assessment on the Cadillac-Manistee Ranger
Districts of the Huron Manistee National Forest. District Ranger Gary Cole
signed the Decision Notice on January 19, 2001.

My review was conducted pursuant to 36 CFR 215.19 and the Chief's memorandum
of December 15, 1993, that defines the role and scope of the Appeal
Reviewing Officer's review. To ensure the analysis and decision are in
compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and orders, I have
carefully reviewed and considered each of the points raised by the
appellants and the decision documentation submitted by the Huron-Manistee
National Forest. My review recommendation is based upon review of the
Project File and Appeal Record, including but not limited to the scoping
letter, public comments, interested party comments, Environmental Assessment
(EA), Decision Notice (DN), and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

Appeal Points

The appellants' raised ten issues is their appeal of the State Road
decision. I will only address one issue.

Issue 1: The cumulative impacts analysis is inadequate.

The appellants contend that the cumulative effects analysis is completely
inadequate.

During my review of the project file, I found what I consider
inconsistencies, which I believe, must be addressed before this document
could be affirmed. The record indicates that the project area is adjacent to
State and Private lands where the primary use is forestry and recreation. I
found the analysis of the impacts to resources from management of adjacent
lands to be lacking:

I consider this omission to be serious enough to warrant a complete review
of the document by the Responsible Official.

Recommendation

After a careful and diligent review of the State Road project record and
after carefully considering each of the points raised by the appellants, I
cannot conclude that I would have made a similar decision as the Responsible
Official.

Appeal Deciding Officer	2

I recommend that District Ranger Gary Cole's January 19, 2001 decision for
the State Road project be reversed.

RODNE E. WINDELL
Appeal Reviewing Officer
Eastern Region Timber Sale
Contracting Officer

cc:
Forest Supervisor, Huron
Manistee NF
Responsible Official, Gary
Cole
Mark Donham

Mark Donham
RACE/Heartwood
RR # 1, Box 308
Brookport, IL 62910
618-564-3367